Digital transformation in education offers new spaces for participation but simultaneously risks amplifying socio-digital inequalities (Helsper, 2021; Van Dijk, 2020) in Switzerland (Erzinger et al., 2023) and internationally (Senkbeil et al., 2020). While teachers are pivotal agents in mitigating these disparities, current research and professional development often prioritize technical competence (e.g., TPACK). Yet, competence ("skill") alone does not guarantee equitable practice; teachers must also perceive these inequalities and possess the specific "will" to counteract them. Consequently, before competencies can be effectively fostered, we must understand the underlying dispositions that drive them.

We conceptualize this disposition as the Digital Educational Equity Mindset (DEEM)—a deliberative orientation influenced by Nadelson et al.’s (2019) work that directs professional knowledge toward equity goals. Situated within dynamic models of professional growth (Gollwitzer, 1990), DEEM comprises six factors: Responsibility for Promoting Equity, Success for All, Knowing and Understanding Student Population Needs, Diversity Responsive Teaching, Student-Centered Learning, and Informal Leadership. However, empirical progress has been hindered by the lack of a reliable measure to assess this specific construct.

This contribution aims to a) develop and validate the new DEEM scale in an international context and b) provide insights of its application into the Swiss educational context by measuring Swiss primary teachers DEEM.

We employed a rigorous multi-stage development design, including three pre-registered studies. Studies 1 and 2 focused on scale development using samples from the UK and USA via Prolific. In Study 1 (N = 299), we utilized Exploratory Factor Analysis to reduce an initial pool of 43 items to 18 (three per factor). In Study 2 (N = 280), Confirmatory Factor Analysis successfully confirmed the theoretical six-dimension structure (CFI = .95, RMSEA = .07) with excellent Reliability (McDonald’s ω = .94). Scalar invariance was established between samples, indicating robustness across educational cultures (ΔCFI < .01).

In the ongoing Study 3, we applied the validated scale to 211 (target 300) Swiss primary teachers (Mage = 42.35, SD = 11.49, 74% female) with an average of 16.41 years of teaching experience (SD = 10.90). Schools were drawn at random across three German-speaking cantons from three strata based on school municipalities’ socioeconomic status.

Preliminary analysis reveals high overall endorsement (M = 4.73, SD = .64, scale 1-6). Teachers most strongly endorsed Knowing and Understanding Student Population Needs (M = 5.14, SD = .73) and Success For All (M = 5.04, SD = .81), while Informal Leadership (M = 4.17, SD = 1.02) received the lowest endorsement. This mirrors Anglo-Saxon findings, indicating a persistent hesitation among teachers to lead equity initiatives beyond their own classrooms.

These findings have significant implications for the SGBF 2026 context. The study validates the newly developed DEEM scale as a psychometrically sound instrument for diagnosing inclusive beliefs across cultural contexts. Substantively, the results highlight that Professional Development must move beyond technical training. Tailored PD interventions must specifically empower teachers in translating their high ethical standards into structural advocacy to bridge the gap between digital equity beliefs and classroom reality.

Background

The digital and increasingly AI-shaped educational landscape is transforming expectations of teachers and creating new demands for professionalization. While digital technologies offer significant potential for learning, participation, and equity, they also introduce challenges such as misinformation, deepfakes, digital inequalities, and new forms of dependency (Buchner, 2025; Kerres, 2020). Teachers therefore require digital competences that enable them to support learners in developing a reflective and responsible approach to media use (Richter et al., 2024). Yet research consistently highlights substantial competence gaps, particularly in primary education . Recent work further emphasizes that digital education requires the integration of subject knowledge, didactics, and digital competences (Richter et al., 2024).

Professional learning for digital education spans a continuum from formal to informal opportunities (Eraut, 2004), with effectiveness linked to content focus, active learning, collaboration, sustained duration, and feedback (Darling-Hammond et al., 2017; Timperley, 2008). Uptake depends on teachers’ perceptions of relevance (Desimone, 2009; Guskey, 2002) and on their beliefs, value orientations, and motivational dispositions (Biesta et al., 2015; Tschannen‐Moran & McMaster, 2009). Digital education additionally requires interconnected professional knowledge domains described in the iProDiG framework (Irion et al., 2023). Different facilitators contribute distinct strengths: colleagues offer contextual expertise (Stoll et al., 2006), academic experts research perspectives (Cordingley et al., 2015), and external trainers cross-institutional insights (Timperley, 2008). The extent to which learning opportunities are effective is moderated by teachers’ self-efficacy, experience, and beliefs, alongside school-level factors such as culture, leadership, and resources (Opfer & Pedder, 2011; Vangrieken et al., 2015). Overall, professionalization for digital education can therefore be understood as a multidimensional process shaped by learning formats, facilitator roles, teacher orientations, and contextual conditions.

Research questions

This contribution examines the following questions:

(1) how primary teachers evaluate and use different professional development formats related to digital education,

(2) how they assess different types of facilitators, and

(3) how teachers’ value orientations, motivational dispositions, and professional knowledge relate to their classroom use of digital media.

Method and analysis

Data stem from an ongoing online survey of primary teachers in two German-speaking Swiss cantons (N = 51). The survey included evaluations of professional development formats, assessments of facilitator types, iProDiG-related constructs, and indicators for digital media use. Analyses include ANOVAs and Spearman correlations.

Results and implications

Preliminary results reveal strong preferences for school-based and collaborative formats, while media-based formats are viewed more cautiously. The comparatively low ratings of media-based formats should be interpreted cautiously, as these short inputs do not reflect the work-embedded processes Eraut describes as central to informal learning (Eraut, 2004). They may, however, facilitate learning when integrated into everyday practice. Facilitators who combine teaching experience with academic expertise receive the highest evaluations. Teachers with stronger digital beliefs, higher self-efficacy, and broader knowledge report more frequent and purposeful digital media use. Supportive team cultures, leadership, and resource availability relate to greater openness towards diverse opportunities. Given the exploratory nature of the survey and the limited sample size, these patterns should be interpreted cautiously. Yet they correspond with theoretical models that emphasize the situated, belief-dependent, and context-sensitive nature of teacher learning (Eraut, 2004; Irion et al., 2023).

Overall, the findings indicate that professionalization for digital education must address both structural and substantive dimensions. Effective professional development should be contextualized, collaborative, and relevant while fostering teachers’ digital beliefs, motivations, and knowledge. Taken together, the study contributes to understanding professional learning in digital education as a situated, belief-dependent, and context-sensitive process while highlighting avenues for aligning learning opportunities with teachers’ needs.

Artificial intelligence (AI) and digital technologies are increasingly shaping both our lives and educational systems. Early childhood educators are at the forefront of this transformation (Hubers, 2020; Bartunek & Moch, 1987). Already young children interact daily with digital tools. Teachers reported a lack of knowledge themselves and concerns about exposing young children to these technologies “too early” (Su, 2024). At the same time, they saw that avoiding the topic risks deepening existing inequalities in a digitally transformed society, which research indicates can emerge at an early age (El-Hamamsy et al., 2023).

To inform the design of a solution that addresses these problems, we examined both the research landscape and Swiss teachers’ realities. A systematic review of research on PD in digital education identified major barriers to digital education - both internal and systemic- and showed how certain features of effective programs can help address them. In parallel, focus groups with (N=18) Swiss Cycle 1 teachers highlighted their limited confidence in AI, their need for concrete, realistic classroom examples, and their preference for flexible, self-paced learning opportunities in addition to traditional workshop formats.

Together, these findings indicate that any PD offer must both build teachers’ AI-related understanding and support them in translating this knowledge into age-appropriate classroom practice. As a result, a new PD program focused on AI literacy was designed. To maximize flexibility, the PD program is conceived as a modular, hybrid offer that combines in-person workshops with asynchronous elements. It is designed to be accessible to teachers with different levels of prior knowledge, workload, and school resources, therefore supporting more equitable opportunities for professional learning.

Teacher-oriented modules address foundational questions about AI (e.g., “Is AI intelligent?”, “How can AI support my work as a teacher?”) and explicitly link these to classroom activities and the knowledge students are expected to develop. Each question is explored through several complementary formats—short texts, videos, podcasts, and practical tasks—which address different sub-questions and allow teachers to choose the pathways that best fit their interests, prior knowledge, and time constraints. This flexibility aims to reduce participation barriers among teachers working in diverse school contexts.

Student-oriented modules provide learning trajectories for Cycle 1, starting with ready-to-use activities and materials that teachers can implement directly in their classrooms. These trajectories are aligned with the existing study plan and provide suggestions for introducing AI-related ideas in playful, developmentally appropriate ways. Each module further includes short “equity elements” that foreground issues of fairness, inclusion, and access for both the teachers and the students.

In conclusion, the PD aims to lower barriers to engaging with AI in early primary education, strengthen teachers’ self-efficacy, and provide concrete pathways for fostering AI literacy from the earliest school years. Its overall design connects teachers’ questions about AI with practical ways of working with young children, within formats that are compatible with their everyday constraints.

Theoretical Background

With the digital transformation of education, schools are required to prepare students with the necessary digital skills and attitudes for digitalization (OECD, 2018; Peterson et al., 2018). In this context, teachers play a crucial role, as teachers’ digital competence (TDC) has been shown to influence students’ engagement, academic self-efficacy, and learning outcomes (Althubyani, 2024; Lin et al., 2022; Starcic, 2010). Despite its importance, digital competence among teachers in Switzerland varies significantly (Prasse et al., 2017). Moreover, research examining how teacher training can effectively foster TDC remains limited.

To address this gap, our study focuses on two factors highlighted in TDC models, namely the COACTIVE model (Baumert & Kunter, 2013) and the IPRODiG model (Irion et al., 2023). According to these models, teachers’ professional development is influenced not only by the acquisition of professional knowledge but also by their beliefs regarding digitalization. Teachers’ beliefs influence motivational and affective aspects, including motivation, engagement, and openness to digitalization. According to the Theory of Planned Behavior, beliefs shape both intention and behavior. Therefore, teachers exposed to supportive normative beliefs may be more receptive to improving their digital competence and integrating digital tools in their teaching. Professional knowledge encompasses understanding of digital tools, strategies for technology integration in teaching, and the ability to use digital tools strategically in context. The DPACK model underscores the importance of professional knowledge, as its social-cultural aspect promotes equity, social justice, and learner well-being. In addition, we expect the combination of the motivation factor (beliefs) and the cognitive factor (professional knowledge) may produce synergistic effects, leading to more sustainable development of TDC.

Research Question

This research aims to inform the design of professional development programs that effectively leverage beliefs and learning activities to enhance teachers’ digital competence. Consequently, it supports sustainable TDC and equity in education. Accordingly, we investigated the following research question:

How do beliefs and/or the type of learning activity for increasing professional knowledge influence teachers’ professional competence?

Research Design and Methodology

We employ a 2 × 2 factorial design with in-service school teachers in Switzerland. The two independent variables are: Belief and learning activity for knowledge acquisition. The belief variable manipulates belief orientation through either a normative belief intervention or neutral framing. The learning activity targets knowledge and skill acquisition by contrasting (a) declarative knowledge with worked examples and (b) declarative knowledge with generative learning activities. Dependent variables include motivation (e.g., Rzejak et al., 2014), metacognitive aspects (e.g., Schraw & Dennison, 1994) , beliefs (e.g., Teo & Lee, 2010), and self-efficacy (e.g., Tschannen-Moran & Hoy, 2001).

Participants are randomly assigned to one of the four condition to complete an online learning module. We measure variables at three time points (pre-test, post-test, and a two-week follow-up) to capture changes as immediate effects and short-term effects. By including follow-up measurments, the study also explores the persistence of intervention effects, providing insight into the sustainability of professional development outcomes.

Significance

By addressing both the motivational and cognitive aspects of TDC, this study contributes to understanding the factors that influence TDC. The insights gained will inform the development of well-structured courses, enabling improved learning outcomes and professionalization among school educators. Furthermore, the findings will provide actionable guidelines for designing future teacher training programs and advancing digital equity in education.