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This study explores the prerequisites in Swedish teacher education (TE) policy for teacher educators to fulfil their dual didactical task. That is, to use digital technology in a way that ensures student teachers graduate from teacher education with the professional digital competence (PDC) needed for their future working lives in a digitalised school. TE seems often to be high on the political agenda and according to, for example, Jackson and Burch (2019) this can be due to teacher quality being strongly associated to a nation’s economic status. Hanell (2018) in his turn suggests another recent reason for the political interest in TE - the large introduction and use of digital technology in K-12 schools.

Building on challenges reported in Lindfors et al (2021), we will conduct a content analysis (Zhang & Wildemuth’s, 2009) of policy documents that govern Swedish TE. Data were collected from 20 primary TE institutions for grades 4-6 spread out in Sweden. Data includes: (a) National guidelines and curriculum regulations for TE in Sweden (e.g., the Swedish Higher Education Ordinance), (b) Program syllabuses at the selected TE institutions, and (c) Course plans (in all 240 higher education credits, 4-year full-time studies) (including Subject courses: Swedish, English & mathematics – 90 credits; Subject courses by choice – 30 credits (e.g., social subjects, natural science subjects & practical or artistic subjects); Educational science courses – 60 credits; Practicum placement courses – 30 credits; Student thesis course(s) – 30 credits). The outcome will be problematized due to the role of teacher educators as a second-order teacher and the fulfilment of their dual didactical task in TE and thereafter related to a framework on teachers’/teacher educators’ PDC.

Hanell, F. (2018). What is the ‘problem’ that digital competence in Swedish teacher education is meant to solve? Nordic Journal of Digital Literacy, 13(3), 137–151.

Jackson, A., & Burch, J. (2019) New directions for teacher education: investigating school/ university partnership in an increasingly school-based context. Professional Development in Education, 45(1), 138-150.

Lindfors, M., Pettersson, F., & Olofsson A.D. (2021, online first). Conditions for professional digital competence: the teacher educators’ view. Education Inquiry. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/20004508.2021.1890936

Zhang, Y., & Wildemuth, B. M. (2009). Qualitative analysis of content. In B.M., Wildemuth, (Ed), Applications of social research methods to questions in information and library science (pp. 308-319). Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited.