How Does Technical Background Shape Teachers' Epistemic Framings, Reflection, and Conceptualisation of Digital Competence?

ABSTRACT As digital technologies increasingly shape education and social life, teachers are expected to exercise Teachers' Digital Competence (TDC) as professional agency across pedagogical, organisational, and ethical dimensions. While policy frameworks such as DigCompEdu articulate this breadth, how teachers interpret and enact these dimensions in reflective practice remains insufficiently understood. This qualitative study examines how teachers with and without an undergraduate computer science background conceptualise TDC by mapping how their distinct disciplinary backgrounds act as epistemic lenses through two guided reflective interventions: the SELFIEforTEACHERS (SfT) self‐assessment tool and a subsequent collective reflection focused on ethical and socio‐technical issues. Moving away from a linear skill‐accumulation model, this study uses an expertise‐informed analytical lens to analyse differences in knowledge organisation, reflective orientation, and metacognitive engagement. The findings suggest that disciplinary enculturation shapes the reflective trajectory and epistemic framings of TDC. While SfT supports structured, multidimensional reflection aligned with policy intentions, deeper developmental engagement (particularly with ethical judgement) is strengthened when reflection foregrounds socio‐technical complexity. The study contributes to conceptualising TDC as epistemic resilience within evolving educational systems.