Design of Approaches to the Development of Teacher’s Digital Competencies in the Process of Their Lifelong Learning

Abstract

At present, various strategies and initiatives focused on innovation of educational technologies in higher pedagogical education are offered in Ukraine. The study of the state of the formation of teachers’ digital competences in the process of their professional development has been carried out on the basis of Ternopil Volodymyr Hnatiuk National Pedagogical University. The article analyzes foreign and national approaches and strategies to the development of teachers’ digital competences. The results of the study, aimed to determine the features of mastering digital competencies in the process of teachers’ professional development and their lifelong learning, are presented. In total, 258 teachers from Ternopil and Ternopil region (Ukraine) took part in this research. The study combines a variety of statistical tools and techniques in the real contexts of higher education. The research has been carried out to determine the characteristics of elements that measure the digital competency of the professional development. The results were processed based on the Item Response Theory (IRT). This article demonstrates the utility of the standardized LD χ2 statistic and the M2 statistic as provided in the software IRTPRO, but not available readily in most IRT programs and not discussed commonly in pedagogical papers for IRT. On the basis of the research carried out at the Ternopil Volodymyr Hnatiuk National Pedagogical University, the strategy for the professional development of digital competencies of teachers in the process of their lifelong learning has been developed, which takes into account the results of the analysis of the criteria and indicators inherent for the qualitative improvement of qualifications, that have been determined by international standards and studies of professional institutions.