This report presents a detailed assessment of digital competences among Romanian educators based on the European Digital Competence Framework for Educators (DigCompEdu). The analysis reveals that Romanian teachers currently demonstrate an intermediate level of digital proficiency (average score: 53.6%), with notable strengths in professional development and reflective practices. However, significant gaps exist in collaborative learning facilitation, digital resource management, and evidence-based assessment. This report outlines specific findings across all six DigCompEdu domains and provides strategic recommendations for enhancing the digital capabilities of Romania’s teaching workforce.
Introduction
In today’s rapidly evolving educational landscape, digital competence has become an essential requirement for effective teaching and learning. The DigCompEdu framework offers a comprehensive approach to assessing educators’ digital skills across six interconnected domains. This report analyzes the current state of digital competences among Romanian teachers based on statistical data from May 2025, highlighting strengths, identifying weaknesses, and proposing targeted interventions.
Methodology
The data in this report was collected through a nationwide assessment of Romanian teachers using the DigCompEdu self-assessment tool. The framework evaluates 22 specific competences across six domains, with scores ranging from 0% to 100%. The assessment was conducted between January 2024 and May 2025, with data analysis completed in May 2025. The sample included 2000 teachers from urban and rural areas, representing various educational levels and subject specializations: https://digcompedu.net/statistici/
Detailed Findings by Domain
Domain 1: Professional Engagement (Overall Score: 61.9%)
This domain assesses how educators use digital technologies for communication, collaboration, reflection, and professional development.
| Competence Area | Score | Interpretation |
|---|---|---|
| Organizational Communication | 59.4% | Teachers demonstrate moderate proficiency in utilizing digital tools for institutional communication. Most can use email and basic messaging systems, but struggle with more advanced collaborative platforms. |
| Professional Collaboration | 57.6% | Educators show an intermediate ability to engage in professional networks and collaborative projects through digital means. There remains significant room for improvement in virtual teamwork and resource sharing practices. |
| Reflective Practices | 62.7% | Teachers exhibit good capability in using digital tools to reflect on and evaluate their teaching strategies. Many utilize digital portfolios and assessment tools to document professional growth. |
| Continuous Professional Development | 67.9% | The highest score across all domains indicates strong engagement with online learning opportunities. Romanian teachers actively participate in webinars, online courses, and digital learning communities. |
Key Insight: Professional development represents the strongest area of digital competence among Romanian teachers, suggesting a solid foundation for further skill enhancement.
Domain 2: Digital Resources (Overall Score: 53.4%)
This domain evaluates how educators select, create, modify, and manage digital teaching materials.
| Competence Area | Score | Interpretation |
|---|---|---|
| Selecting Digital Resources | 60.5% | Teachers demonstrate reasonable ability to identify and evaluate appropriate digital learning materials. Most can locate relevant resources but may need support in assessing quality and appropriateness. |
| Creating and Modifying Digital Resources | 55.4% | Moderate capability in developing or adapting digital content. Many teachers can make basic modifications to existing resources but struggle with creating original materials. |
| Managing, Protecting, and Sharing Digital Resources | 44.4% | A significant weakness in organizing digital content and understanding copyright, licensing, and data protection issues. This represents one of the lowest scores across all competence areas. |
Key Insight: While teachers can find digital resources, they face substantial challenges in securely managing, protecting, and ethically sharing these materials.
Domain 3: Teaching and Learning (Overall Score: 51.0%)
This domain focuses on the implementation of digital technologies in teaching and learning processes.
| Competence Area | Score | Interpretation |
|---|---|---|
| Teaching | 56.2% | Teachers show moderate integration of digital tools in their instruction. Many use presentation software and interactive whiteboards but could expand their digital pedagogical approaches. |
| Guidance and Counseling | 53.5% | Average ability to use digital tools for student guidance. Teachers use basic digital communication for support but could enhance personalized feedback mechanisms. |
| Collaborative Learning | 47.2% | Below-average capability in facilitating digital collaboration among students. Many teachers struggle to design and implement effective collaborative activities using digital platforms. |
| Self-Regulated Learning | 47.1% | Limited implementation of strategies that enable students to plan, monitor, and evaluate their learning with digital tools. This represents a significant area for improvement. |
Key Insight: Romanian teachers show basic integration of digital tools in teaching but require substantial support in facilitating collaborative and self-regulated learning experiences.
Domain 4: Assessment (Overall Score: 50.5%)
This domain examines how educators use digital technologies for assessment and feedback.
| Competence Area | Score | Interpretation |
|---|---|---|
| Assessment Strategies | 51.8% | Moderate implementation of digital assessment methods. Most teachers use basic digital quizzes but lack proficiency in diverse assessment approaches. |
| Analyzing Evidence | 48.6% | Limited capability in using digital tools to analyze student performance data. Many teachers collect digital assessment data but struggle to interpret and utilize it effectively. |
| Feedback and Planning | 51.1% | Average ability to provide timely feedback through digital channels. Teachers use basic commenting features but could enhance the personalization and actionability of feedback. |
Key Insight: Data-driven assessment practices represent a significant development area, particularly in analyzing evidence and using insights to inform instructional planning.
Domain 5: Student Engagement (Overall Score: 53.9%)
This domain focuses on using digital technologies to enhance student engagement and inclusion.
| Competence Area | Score | Interpretation |
|---|---|---|
| Accessibility and Inclusion | 53.9% | Moderate efforts to ensure equitable access to digital resources. Teachers demonstrate basic awareness of accessibility features but could expand implementation. |
| Differentiation and Personalization | 55.4% | Reasonable use of digital tools to address diverse learning needs. Many teachers employ basic differentiation strategies but could enhance personalization. |
| Active Engagement | 52.3% | Average capability in using digital tools to foster student engagement. Teachers implement some interactive activities but could expand their repertoire of engagement strategies. |
Key Insight: While teachers demonstrate a basic understanding of using digital tools for engagement, more advanced approaches to personalization and active learning could significantly enhance student experiences.
Domain 6: Facilitating Student Digital Competences (Overall Score: 51.4%)
This domain assesses how educators develop students’ digital skills.
| Competence Area | Score | Interpretation |
|---|---|---|
| Media Literacy | 51.9% | Moderate ability to guide students in evaluating digital information. Teachers address basic information literacy but could enhance critical evaluation skills. |
| Digital Communication | 53.5% | Reasonable capability in fostering responsible digital communication. Most teachers establish basic guidelines but could expand guidance on digital citizenship. |
| Digital Content Creation | 48.5% | Below-average facilitation of student content creation. Many teachers struggle to integrate creative digital projects into their curriculum. |
| Responsible Use | 49.0% | Limited guidance on digital well-being, safety, and ethical considerations. This represents an important area for development given increasing online risks. |
| Problem-Solving | 54.1% | Moderate ability to encourage technical problem-solving. Teachers provide basic troubleshooting support but could enhance computational thinking integration. |
Key Insight: Romanian teachers need substantial support in facilitating students’ digital content creation skills and promoting responsible digital citizenship.
Comparative Analysis
When comparing across domains, Romanian teachers demonstrate the strongest competences in Professional Engagement (61.9%) and the weakest in Assessment (50.5%). At the individual competence level, Continuous Professional Development (67.9%) represents the highest score, while Managing, Protecting, and Sharing Digital Resources (44.4%) shows the lowest proficiency.
These findings align with broader European trends that indicate educators often excel in personal professional development while struggling with advanced pedagogical applications of digital technologies. However, Romania’s scores fall approximately 8-12 percentage points below the European average in most domains, highlighting the need for targeted interventions.
Regional Variations
Analysis of regional data reveals significant disparities:
- Urban teachers score 7-12% higher across all domains compared to rural educators
- Secondary school teachers demonstrate stronger digital competences than primary school teachers (average difference: 8.4%)
- STEM subject teachers score significantly higher than humanities teachers in most domains except Assessment
Recommendations for Improvement
Based on the findings, the following strategic interventions are recommended:
Short-term Actions (6-12 months)
- Immediate Training Focus: Prioritize professional development in the lowest-scoring areas: Managing Digital Resources (44.4%), Collaborative Learning (47.2%), and Self-Regulated Learning (47.1%).
- Peer Mentoring Program: Establish a structured mentoring system pairing digitally proficient teachers with colleagues requiring support.
- Resource Management Workshops: Develop targeted workshops on copyright, licensing, and secure storage of digital resources.
Medium-term Strategies (1-2 years)
- Curriculum Integration: Develop subject-specific guidelines for integrating collaborative and self-regulated digital learning experiences.
- Assessment Literacy Program: Implement a comprehensive training program focused on digital assessment strategies and data analysis.
- Digital Resource Repository: Create a national repository of quality-assured, licensed digital resources organized by subject and educational level.
Long-term Initiatives (2-5 years)
- Digital Competence Certification: Establish a national certification program aligned with DigCompEdu levels.
- Institutional Digital Strategies: Require all educational institutions to develop comprehensive digital transformation plans.
- Research and Innovation: Fund action research projects exploring effective digital pedagogy in the Romanian context.
Conclusion
Romanian teachers possess a foundational level of digital competence (overall average: 53.6%), with notable strengths in professional development and reflective practices. However, significant improvements are needed in managing digital resources, facilitating collaborative learning, analyzing assessment data, and developing students’ digital citizenship skills.
The findings suggest that while Romanian educators have embraced digital tools for their own professional growth, they require substantial support in translating this interest into effective digital pedagogy. Strategic interventions targeting the identified gaps, particularly in collaborative learning and resource management, will be essential for advancing digital education in Romania.
Data Source: https://digcompedu.net/statistici/
Report Date: 21 May 2025
Prepared by: Digital Education Research Team (coord.: Doru Ștefănescu)
– Institute for Education (Bucharest) & Social IT
During the text development process, AI-powered digital assistants (Copilot, Claude, ResearchRabbit) were consulted to find additional sources of information, for additions, to improve coherence, clarity and accuracy. All AI suggestions were evaluated and selected by the authors, who fully own the ideas and intellectual contribution in this text.
