Exploring How Authenticity Is Constructed in Digital Technology-Supported Pre-Service Teacher Education: A Scoping Review

Digital technologies are increasingly used to create practice-oriented learning experiences in pre-service teacher education, yet authenticity is often treated as a presumed feature of technology-supported practice and receives limited analysis as a pedagogical construct. This scoping review examines how authenticity is constructed in digital technology-supported pre-service teacher education and considers its potential contribution to sustainable digital teaching. Following the PRISMA-ScR guidelines, 43 empirical studies published between 2018 and 2026 were selected from Web of Science, Scopus, and ERIC and analysed using Herrington and Oliver’s nine principles of authentic learning. The findings show that digital technologies were used mainly to connect university-based preparation with professional teaching practice. Authentic contexts and activities were consistently represented, while authentic assessment, collaboration, and expert modelling were less systematically embedded. Three contribution pathways were identified: connecting digital technologies with professional practice, supporting reflective and adaptive pedagogical judgement, and strengthening transfer-oriented teacher learning. Overall, authenticity was constructed unevenly across the reviewed digital learning designs. By synthesising evidence across different technologies through a common authentic-learning framework, the review clarifies how authenticity is pedagogically constructed and identifies design areas that require greater attention in relation to sustainable digital teaching.