Modernization of Education Programs and Formation of Digital Competences of Future Primary School Teachers

Abstract

Modernization of education programs is carried out through the digital technologies integration into the education system, in particular, into the primary education system. This leads to the integration of courses and disciplines into curricula for the development of digital competences of future primary school teachers. The purpose of the investigation was to study the features of modernization of education programs in order to form digital competences of future primary school teachers. 48 scientific publications have been examined, studied and systematized, where the integration of disciplines for the study of digital competences into the educational process of teaching future teachers is considered; consequently, three dimensions of modernization of curricula have been investigated. The first one concerns the development of general digital competences, the second one - the competence to integrate technology into educational practice, the third one - professional digital competence. It has been revealed that general digital competences are consistent with the context of the education system. Competence to integrate technologies into teaching practice focuses on the context of integration, preparing future teachers for the opportunity to use technology in future teaching of pupils, critically assess the use and teach children, using digital devices in education process. The academic paper proposes the concept of professional digital competence as the ability of a teacher to work in the context of a school education system with a digital form of education, including the process of teaching, managing digital learning environments and professional activities of a teacher. Further research should additionally explore professional digital competence in the framework of primary teacher education.