Developing Digital Culture and Competencies in Future Educators Within Uzbekistan’s Transforming Educational System

Аннотация

This article reviews the development of digital culture and competencies among future educators within a rapidly changing educational landscape in Uzbekistan. This work is carried out in line with global digitalization and, accordingly, increased inclusion of information and communication technologies into the process of education, investigating how digital literacy, cybersecurity, and ICT competencies have grown to be an organic part of teacher preparation. This paper is based on the responses of students in university teacher education programs, exploring existing digital competencies among future teachers, problems related to digitally enhanced tools integration, and implications of projects such as the "One Million Programmers" program of Uzbekistan. Recommendations are made to improve the existing structure on digital literacy in teacher education so that future teachers may experience skills that will help them practice their profession in society in light of required technological advancements. Emphasis is laid on developing inclusive, safe, and flexible digital learning spaces in a manner that contributes to the professional development of teachers, taking into consideration socio-economic determinants of digitization.