This study focused on the topic of competences and challenges faced by university teachers in Ecuadorian higher education. The objective of this study was to identify the essential competences that university teachers must possess to confront the current challenges in the Ecuadorian educational field. A mixed research methodology was utilized. A concurrent triangulation design (DITRIAC) was applied. The data collection technique was through documentary study and focus groups. Eight experts in Ecuadorian higher education participated as key informants. Among the findings, there was a consensus on 7 key competences (disciplinary mastery, pedagogical competences, technological skills, research and continuous updating, critical thinking development, ethical and social commitment, flexibility and adaptability to change). It was concluded that Ecuadorian higher education requires teaching professionals who not only master their disciplines and possess advanced pedagogical and technological skills, but who are also leaders in research, promoters of critical thinking, and exemplify ethical commitment and adaptability.

This study investigates the impact of various educational and social factors on the digital skills of vocational education and training (VET) students, emphasizing the significance of continuous skill development in the digital age. Utilizing structural equation modeling (SEM), the paper analyzes data from 382 adult VET students in Greece, examining the effects of Erasmus program participation, daily computer use, educational platforms, and social network engagement on digital competencies. The findings reveal that participation in Erasmus programs and the use of educational platforms significantly enhance students’ digital skills, highlighting the value of international experiences and digital learning tools in VET. Conversely, daily computer use alone does not significantly impact digital skills, suggesting that structured and purposeful digital tool integration is essential for skill development. The study also underscores the positive role of social networks in improving content management skills, advocating for their strategic use in educational settings. These results demonstrate the need for targeted digital literacy initiatives within VET programs to prepare students for modern labor market demands. The research contributes to the theoretical understanding of digital skill acquisition and offers practical insights for educators and policymakers to enhance VET curricula, fostering economic and social progress through improved digital literacy.

What personal competences of successful project managers are determined by their former career as an elite athlete? To answer the question, comprehensive research is carried out, implemented as part of the EEIG-EU/P-Kr/06.12/23 project. The primary aim is to establish conclusively which particular personality traits, identified and analysed using the Big Five Inventory-2 and supplemented by structured interviews, directly contribute to the success of former elite athletes transitioning into roles as effective project managers. We found that successful project managers who were also elite athletes possess personality traits that can be identified as positive determinants of success in either sport or professional careers. Among these personality traits, we can include a low level of neuroticism and a high level of conscientiousness, then extraversion and agreeableness. This paper contributes to a nuanced understanding of how the realms of sports and management intersect and overlap. The presented paper can serve as a basis for further research in the field of personality psychology and management studies.

The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic led to the need to move educational processes to virtual environments and increase the use of digital tools for different teaching uses. This led to a change in the habits of using information and communication technologies (ICT), especially in higher education. This work analyzes the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the frequency of use of different ICT tools in a sample of 950 Latin American university professors while focusing on the area of knowledge of the participating professors. To this end, a validated questionnaire has been used, the responses of which have been statistically analyzed. As a result, it has been proven that participants give high ratings to ICT but show insufficient digital competences for its use. The use of ICT tools has increased in all areas after the pandemic but in a diverse way. Differences have been identified in the areas of knowledge regarding the use of ICT for different uses before the pandemic. In this sense, the results suggest that Humanities professors are the ones who least use ICT for didactic purposes. On the other hand, after the pandemic, the use of ICT for communication purposes has been homogenized among the different knowledge areas.

In this time of ambiguity, change, and conflict, integrating teacher leadership into initial teacher education (ITE) programs is crucial. However, complexities exist regarding ITE quality globally and in Vietnam specifically. This study explores the perceptions of different ITE stakeholders in Vietnam towards teacher leadership and factors that impact prospective teachers’ preparedness for teacher leadership based on the Teacher Leadership Model Standards. Using mixed methods, data were collected from surveys with pre-service teachers, in-service teachers, and teacher educators in various universities that offer ITE programs in Vietnam. Statistical analysis was deployed to identify similarities and differences in the perceptions of the three groups of participants, highlighting that while pre-service and in-service teachers share similar viewpoints toward teacher leadership, those of teacher educators are significantly different in some key areas. Furthermore, thematic analysis of qualitative responses from in-service and pre-service teachers was employed to shed light on their beliefs about the importance of teacher leadership and explore how the ITE programs support or hinder pre-service teachers’ preparedness in developing and validating their leadership skills. The findings of this study will have ramifications for the potential to restructure the ITE programs in Vietnam to better prepare the nation’s future leaders for the education system and society as a whole.

Use of technologies and online presence is now almost inevitable in language learning. The practice of virtual exchanges (VEs) has been receiving a lot of attention among educators at all levels over the past years. This research paper sheds light on 13 VEs carried out in pre-service teacher education in the last six years and proposes its own VE design based on recommendations from the literature with the future perspective of designing a specific VE for the research. The aim of the systematic review was at first to determine the exchange and interaction set-ups and the potential gains in the terms of pre-service teachers’ skills development. Afterwards, we identified areas for improvement and proposed our design of a VE between pre-service teachers of English in Slovakia and Turkey. Some of the expected contributions of the proposed VE design are development of a linguistic and intercultural communicative competence, digital literacy, and other competences relevant for development of VEs.