World Journal on Educational
Technology: Current Issues
Volume 13, Issue 4, (2021) 934-946
www.wj-et.eu
Enhancement of educators’ digital competences in the acquisition
programming fundamentals in programming environment scratch
Arturs Medveckis
* a
, Liepaja University, Faculty of Education, Sociological Research Center, Email:
arturs.medveckis@liepu.lv, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9290-2914
Tamara Pigozne
b
, University of Latvia, Scientific Institute of Pedagogy, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4518-7644
Dzintars Tomsons
c
, Liepaja University, Faculty of Science and Engineering, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3897-
2027
Suggested Citation:
Medveckis, A., Pigozneb, T., & Tomsons, D., (2021). Enhancement of educators’ digital competences in the
acquisition programming fundamentals in programming environment scratch. World Journal on
Educational Technology: Current Issues. 13(4), 934-946. https://doi.org/10.18844/wjet.v13i4.6276
Received from July 31, 2021; revised from August 15, 2021; accepted from October 05, 2021
Selection and peer review under responsibility of Prof. Dr. Servet Bayram, Yeditepe University, Turkey.
©2021 Birlesik Dunya Yenilik Arastirma ve Yayincilik Merkezi. All rights reserved.
Abstract.
Life-long learning, including development of professional competence, is an essential paradigm of the 21
st
century. The goal
of this research is to analyse the quality and efficiency of the educators’ professional competence enhancement programme
dubbed “Fundamentals of Programming in Visual Programming Environment Scratch” in accordance with the following
criteria: organization, lecturer’s competence, quality of handouts, content, expectations, usefulness, applicability, and the
overall assessment of the programme. The target group of the research is 98 educators of Latvia. Data was collected using
close and open questions to ensure triangulation of data. Results were analysed using SPSS 20. The correlation coefficient
was used to analyse the data. Per the results of the analysis, the acquisition of the professional competence enhancement
programme, educators have significantly improved their knowledge in programming, as well as the digital competence in
general.
Keywords: educators’ professional competence; digital competence; fundamentals of programming; programming
environment; Scratch.
*
Address of correspondence: Arturs Medveckis, Liepaja University, Faculty of Education, Sociological Research
Center,
Email address: arturs.medveckis@liepu.lv