1. Digital equity and sustainability in higher educationKarmen Drljić, Sonja Čotar Konrad, Sonja Rutar, Tina Štemberger, 2025, original scientific article Abstract: Digital equity, grounded in principles of equity and the ethics of care, is essential for ensuring quality higher education. It facilitates access, supports sustainability, and promotes inclusive education by addressing the technological dimensions of education. This study explores the relationship between digital equity and sustainability in higher education. A total of 167 students enrolled in initial teacher education programs at the University of Primorska, Faculty of Education, completed a questionnaire featuring the Digital Equity in Higher Education Scale and the Sustainability in Higher Education Scale. To achieve this study’s objectives, a principal factor analysis was conducted to validate the scales, and a multiple linear regression was employed to develop a predictive model. The findings revealed that digital equity in higher education comprises five dimensions as follows: (i) access to teachers who support the use of digital technology; (ii) access to digital technology and opportunities for its use; (iii) access to digital resources; (iv) access to culturally relevant software and applications; and (v) access to open-access resources. Sustainability in higher education encompasses two dimensions as follows: (i) collaborative problem solving and (ii) socioemotional aspects of sustainability. These dimensions interact in a complex manner. Key predictors of digital equity and sustainability included access to and use of digital technology, as well as collaborative problem solving. Importantly, this study highlighted the critical role of skilled teachers in facilitating the effective use of digital technology.
Keywords: digitalization, equity, sustainability, student teachers, higher education
Published in DiRROS: 24.07.2025; Views: 561; Downloads: 336
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2. The relative effect of job demands, resources, and personal resources on teaching quality and students' engagement during the COVID-19 pandemicŽan Lep, Eva Klemenčič Mirazchiyski, Plamen Mirazchiyski, 2023, original scientific article Abstract: During the COVID-19 pandemic's school closures and the distance education that resulted from it, teachers were faced with an increasing workload and significant changes in their working environment. Because increased workload can result not only in worsened mental health and lower work motivation, but also in worsened learning outcomes, this article explores how teacher-perceived job demands, job resources, and personal resources are related to teachers' assessment of teaching quality and student engagement during the pandemic. Using the data of 1,422 8th grade teachers in Slovenia from the IEA Responses to Educational Disruptions Survey (REDS) survey, this study also explores the perceived level of support from different institutional actors and the utility of Job demands-resources model for this specific group of workers in a specific work setting. The results show that the teachers of 8th graders in Slovenia perceived a higher level of support from their closest working environment compared to the national bureaucracy. In terms of job demands, the increased workload in preparing the lessons had negative effect on both teaching quality and student engagement, while the reported increase in time spent on direct work with students and social support received (a job resource) contributed positively to both outcome variables. In line with theoretical expectations, personal resources were positive predictors of teaching quality and student engagement in our model. Compared with the initial expectations this study had based on the underlying theoretical model, the results paint a complex relationship between job characteristics and learning outcomes during distance learning. Thus, some of the challenges both teachers and policy-makers face and will continue to face in possible similar situations are discussed.
Keywords: job demands, job resources, teachers, teaching quality, student engagement, job demandsrResources model, covid-19
Published in DiRROS: 08.07.2025; Views: 475; Downloads: 315
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3. Why do teachers need to be systemically supported in developing SEDA competencies? : insights from international large-scale assessment dataKlaudija Šterman Ivančič, 2024, independent scientific component part or a chapter in a monograph Abstract: The chapter identifies the biggest challenges facing the teaching profession nowadays, explaining how they relate to teachers’ well-being, teacher–student relationships, and positive educational student outcomes, along with the role of social and emotional competencies and diversity awareness in addressing them. We also shed light on the importance of strengthening teachers’ and students’ social and emotional competencies and diversity awareness based on the latest results of the Teaching and Learning International Survey and the Programme for International Student Assessment in countries participating in the HAND in HAND: Empowering Teachers Across Europe to Deal with Social, Emotional and Diversity-Related Career Challenges project (Austria, Croatia, Portugal, Slovenia, Sweden), where we examine the extent to which certain aspects of social and emotional competencies and diversity awareness (i.e., teachers’ views on how society values their profession, satisfaction with the profession, teacher–student relationships, teachers’ stress, self-efficacy in multicultural environments, students’ sense of belonging at school, quality of teacher–student relationships, socio-emotional competencies) are supported in teachers’ and students’ reports. While the results vary widely between the mentioned countries, significant shortages are revealed in teachers’ and students’ social and emotional competencies and diversity awareness in all five education systems. The results thus support the notion that social and emotional competencies and diversity awareness should be systematically supported in education, and the implementation of HAND in HAND: Empowering Teachers Across Europe to Deal with Social, Emotional and Diversity-Related Career Challenges project and similar projects is extremely important for fostering students’ and teachers’ well-being and positive academic outcomes.
Keywords: education, teachers, teacher's competencies, challenges of teaching, SEDA competencies, programme for international student assessment, teaching and learning international survey
Published in DiRROS: 27.01.2025; Views: 792; Downloads: 420
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