The Role and Challenges of Teacher Educators in the Digital Era in India : A Comprehensive Analysis

Abstract This comprehensive research paper looks into the different roles of teacher trainers and challenges faced by teacher trainers in the context of teaching in India’s digital age. Teacher trainers work in a socio-technical ecosystem and need to shift from being ‘traditional’ trainers to becoming ‘advanced’ trainers, and working as designers of learning experiences, analysts of data, and facilitators of learning in digitally supported, learner-centered environments. Equally important will be the growth of Artificial Intelligence (AI), digital literacy, and critical ethical awareness surrounding technology-enhanced learning. The implementation of NEP 2020 along with the Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) such as DIKSHA and SWAYAM provides concrete opportunities to develop equitable access to digital learning, while also being hampered by systemic constraints. This research paper identifies some of the barriers that exist on a systemic level including structural inequities, especially the large subnational digital divide and the impact of this on rural populations and those from socio-economically marginalized backgrounds. Additionally, this paper looks critically at the psychological occupational hazards that come with digital transformation; such as increasing rates of techno-stress, techno-invasion, and professional burnout among school teachers. In addition to those three types of psychological occupational hazards, institutional and socio-administrative bottlenecks (e.g., inadequate CPD, misaligned policy implementation, and resistance to change) also make it harder for educational technology (EdTech) to be integrated into the classroom. The research paper makes use of two theoretical constructs; the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) Model and the Synchronized Technology Adoption Framework to synthesize empirical evidence into useful recommendations for creating a sustainable process of digital transformation in Indian teacher education.