Self-Assessed Digital Competences of Romanian Teachers During the COVID-19 Pandemic

How good do you think you are with computers? The link between teachers' perceived digital literacy, occupational efficacy, and psychological distress

The present study focused on teachers' perceived digital literacy, occupational self-efficacy, and psychological distress. Our sample included 279 Romanian teachers aged 20 to 66 (M = 31.92, SD = 11.72), with professional experience ranging from 1 to 46 years (M = 8.90). We tested a moderated mediated model, exploring occupational self-efficacy as a mediator of the relationship between perceived digital literacy (moderated by gender, controlling for age and professional experience) and psychological distress. Our findings suggested that higher levels of perceived digital literacy led to higher levels of occupational self-efficacy, which led to lower levels of psychological distress. Gender moderated this relationship, i.e., the observed indirect effects were significant for both genders, but the effects were stronger for male participants. We discuss our results concerning their practical implications for teachers' mental health and professional activity and the perspectives following the COVID-19 pandemic.

Key factors influencing teachers' motivation to transfer technology-enabled educational innovation

In response to the digital transformation in education, teachers are expected to develop new competencies. Although teachers gained valuable experience in digital technology use during the COVID-19 pandemic, research and practice show that primary school teachers need to be supported and trained for the new normal of innovative, advanced use and adoption of digital technologies in educational practice. This study aims to identify the key factors that influence teachers' motivation to transfer technology-enabled educational innovation in primary education. The Learning Transfer System Inventory (LTSI) factors and the adoption factors of technology-enabled educational innovation have been conceptually mapped. The LTSI model has been empirically validated with data collected from 12.7% of Lithuanian primary school teachers. The structural equation modeling technique was utilized to analyze causal relationships of factors influencing teachers' motivation to transfer technology-enabled educational innovation. The qualitative research method was used to provide a deeper understanding of key factors that influence motivation to transfer. The conducted analysis shows that motivation to transfer is significantly influenced by all five domains of factors: perceived value, personal characteristics, social practices, organizational and technology-enabled innovation factors. Motivation to transfer innovation varies according to teachers' perceived digital technology integration skills, which underpin the importance of applying different roles and strategies based on the teachers' skills. This study provides implications for designing effective professional development for in-service teachers and creating a suitable environment in schools for the adoption of innovation in post-COVID-19 education.

Effective Teaching during the COVID-19 Pandemic? Distance Learning and Sustainable Communication in Romania

Telecommuting in education field, enforced by Romanian Government measures as policy responses to COVID-19 pandemic, has had a tremendous effect both on teaching professionals and on students. This paper investigates the first group, namely the teachers and their perception of online education versus students’ academic performance during distance learning, with a particular focus on the negative factors impacting educational activities: objective ones, such as the limits of technology, and personal subjective ones, as in the phenomenon of negative affect. The study is based on quantitative research that assesses the relationship between personal subjective factors (skills, affect, difficulties in adapting, level of preparedness, professional satisfaction) and technological objective factors (inadequate electronic devices, faulty internet services), with a view to establishing if online education is genuinely sustainable as a valid educational system in the long run. 881 teachers from Romania were subjected to reflect on the effectiveness of online education during the pandemic, resulting in a correlational study with some interesting conclusions and directions highlighted as characteristic for a sustainable educational program. All in all, it can be concluded that when teachers become experienced in online teaching, the efficiency of online teaching is set to improve and when improvement happens, online teaching becomes sustainable as a proper method of training via online-facilitated means of communication.