Digital Competence Among English Teachers in Economically Underdeveloped Regions: Evidence from Guizhou, China
Keywords:
digital competence; English teachers; DigCompEdu; educational digitalization; teacher professional development; underdeveloped regionsAbstract
Guided by the European framework for the Digital Competence of Educators (DigCompEdu), this study examined the digital competence of 115 English teachers in Guizhou, an economically underdeveloped province in Southwest China. Descriptive statistics revealed a moderate level of digital competence among participants. Independent samples t?tests and the one-way ANOVA were conducted to examine differences across demographic and contextual variables. The results indicated that gender was the only significant differentiating factor, with male teachers reporting higher digital competence than female teachers. In contrast, educational background, teaching experience, and access to facilities and resources were not significantly associated with digital competence. These findings suggest that commonly identified predictors of teachers’ digital competence may operate differently in economically disadvantaged contexts. The study contributes to digital competence literature by providing empirical evidence from an underexplored and underdeveloped region and highlights the importance of context?sensitive professional development strategies beyond demographic characteristics and infrastructure investment alone.
https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.25.7.5
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