Professional development of secondary school teachers through digital pedagogy: The mediating role of technological competence

Abstract

An explanatory sequential mixed-methods research design was adopted to explore the association between secondary school teachers’ use of digital pedagogy and their professional development, with technological competence as a mediator. The first quantitative phase involved a sample of 210 secondary school teachers from both the public and private sectors in Lahore, Pakistan. The sample completed a modified survey that measured the intersection of digital pedagogy, technological competence, and professional development. The second, qualitative phase incorporated semi-structured interviews with an additional sample of 8 secondary school teachers to explain the quantitative findings. From the quantitative analyses, a strong, positive relationship was found between practicing digital pedagogy and professional development (r = .842, p < .001). It was found that technological competence fully mediated this relationship, accounting for 38% of the total effect. Furthermore, the professional development of secondary school teachers was positively influenced by the use of adaptive learning technologies, digital collaboration tools, and data-driven pedagogy. These findings were echoed in the qualitative phase of the study, which indicated that the use of digital tools in educational settings is strongly related to the refinement of teachers’ pedagogical reasoning, professional collaboration, and reflective practice.