Navigating Digital Fluency: Understanding Influential Factors for Moroccan Teachers' Technological Proficiency

With easy and instant access to information through the Internet in various forms of animations, podcasts, e-books, videos and more, learning can occur anytime and anywhere. Therefore, the expectations placed on teachers have evolved over the past few decades. They are now expected to guide learners in making sense of acquired knowledge, distinguishing between the essential and the optional, and effectively using this information outside educational settings. This study endeavours to assess the levels of digital competence among Moroccan high school teachers of English, French, and Arabic languages, and how these competencies influence their learners' motivation. The mixed methods approach was employed in this study to evaluate how language teachers use digital technologies, their attitudes towards them, their related skills and competencies, and their motivation for professional development. For quantitative data collection, this study utilized and adapted the “Teachers’ Digital Competence Scale (TDiCoS)” developed by Ergül and Taşar. The survey’s validity and reliability were assessed using Cronbach's alpha coefficient and found to be satisfactory. As for qualitative data, semi-structured interviews were conducted with six high school language teachers. The findings reveal that teachers' digital competence levels are generally moderate and that they vary significantly based on factors like the language they teach whereas no difference is found based on gender. However, teachers generally exhibit positive attitudes towards the importance of digital skills. The results are expected to assist teachers in identifying their strengths and areas that require further attention.