Date of Award

Fall 12-2025

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

STEM Education & Professional Studies

Program/Concentration

Instructional Design and Technology

Committee Director

Tian Luo

Committee Member

Brandon M. Butler

Committee Member

Brett Cook-Snell

Abstract

Amid growing calls for equity in teacher education, this dissertation investigates how digital competence and epistemological beliefs interact within the lived experiences of marginalized pre-service teachers (mPSTs), also referenced as teacher candidates, whose racial and ethnic identities often position them at the periphery of dominant educational narratives. Anchored in critical narrative inquiry (Pino Gavidia & Adu, 2022) and framed by the DigCompEdu digital competence model (Redecker & Punie, 2017), the study employs a multimethod approach, integrating quantitative data from the SELFIEforTEACHERS self-assessment tool (Economou, 2023) with qualitative insights drawn from in-depth narrative interviews. The participant cohort consists of 50 marginalized pre-service teachers enrolled at a Historically Black College or University (HBCU) teacher preparation program. Three research questions guide this study: (1) What are the levels of marginalized pre-service teachers according to the DigCompEdu framework? (2) What are marginalized pre-service teachers’ epistemic beliefs about digital competence? and (3) What lived experiences influence marginalized pre-service teachers’ epistemic beliefs about digital competence?

Quantitative findings indicate that most participants exhibit “Explorer”-level digital competence, with notable variations across domains such as assessment, empowering learners, and facilitating digital literacy (Seyferth-Zapf, 2024; Mizova et al., 2025). The qualitative analysis, guided by critical narrative methods (Pino Gavidia & Adu, 2022), reveals recurring themes of self-taught digital learning, evolving emotional dispositions toward technology, and the formative influence of early access gaps and sociocultural misrecognition on teacher identity and epistemic development (Leonardo, 2013; Heath & Segal, 2021).

By situating mPSTs’ epistemic beliefs within sociocultural and institutional contexts (Hofer, 2001; Bandura, 1989), this study challenges dominant paradigms in teacher education that often neglect the nuanced digital realities of marginalized communities. The findings underscore the need for culturally sustaining pedagogies and equity-oriented frameworks in teacher training, professional development (Fraser, 2008; Jackson et al., 2024), and technology integration, offering evidence-based recommendations to address the digital divide not only as a matter of access but as a multifaceted issue of recognition, redistribution, and epistemic agency.

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DOI

10.25777/xt0d-7421

ISBN

9798276041391

ORCID

0009-0009-1505-6086

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