A comparative analysis of digital competence levels: teacher educators vs. preservice teachers in Lebanese teacher education programmes

This study investigates the digital competence of preservice teachers and teacher educators in Lebanese teacher education programmes and examines the influence of teacher educators’ competence on preservice teachers across a three-year programme. A cross-sectional explanatory survey was conducted with 194 preservice teachers and 84 teacher educators. Results show that preservice teachers’ digital competence increased steadily from Year 1 to Year 3. Teacher educators demonstrated moderately high digital competence, although substantial individual variation indicated inconsistent modelling of digital pedagogy. Differences in digital competence between preservice teachers and teacher educators narrowed over time, suggesting convergence by the final year. A limitation of the study is its reliance on self-reported data. The study introduces the Digital Alignment Index as a metric for evaluating the influence of teacher educators’ digital competence and highlights the need for continuous professional development, institutional digital readiness, and bidirectional mentorship to strengthen digital competence in teacher education.