Digitalisation of Professional Education: Prospects and Invisible Barriers

Introduction . Nowadays, digital education is one of the priorities of state policy in modern Russia. The Federal Institute for the Development of Education has developed a draft didactic concept of digital education to maximise the potential of digital technology (DT) in vocational training. Nevertheless, while policymakers and education managers are aware of the need to move to a new level of digital technology implementation, there are challenges to this process. The technological resources of educational environment have been increasing intensively in the past decade, and their intensive scientific and pedagogical development is observed. However, little attention is given to the willingness of teachers to work with continuously evolving technological tools. The aim of the research is to identify the barriers, which hinder the professional development of teachers in mastering information and communications technologies (ICT) and digital technologies, as well as some mental attitudes circulating in the society and slowing down the process of digitalisation of vocational education. Methodology and research methods . The present research is based on personal-context and personal-development approaches. In the course of experimental research and two pilot studies, teachers and specialists of professional educational organisations were interviewed (n = 187 people). The methods of questionnaire-based survey, sociological analysis, statistical data-processing tools and Google Forms tools were used. Results and scientific novelty . On the basis of the outcomes of the conducted surveys, the following aspects were analysed: the degree of teachers’ skills formation declared in the professional standard; willingness to implement e-learning, expand the range of ICT and GT included in teaching practice; respondents’ attitudes towards the digitalisation of education and their self-recognition in this process. Clear and invisible obstacles to the process under discussion are identified and sistematised. The found barriers are classified into risk, image and didactic barriers. The recommendations to overcome the barriers are proposed. According to the authors of the present article, it is advisable to introduce a new specialty “digital engineer-teacher” due to the obvious integration of pedagogical and engineering functions into the activities of teachers. Working in one team consisted of a specialist, who designs an effective teaching environment, and a teacher-didactist, will reduce a part of unjustified functional workload of the latter. Practical significance . The materials of the undertaken research have significant implications for further development of perceptions of the essence and content of digital didactics; justification and formation of optimal conditions for digitalisation of vocational education, including psychological and pedagogical adjustment of the system of training and retraining of pedagogical and managerial personnel for the digital economy.