The professional digital competence (PDC) of teachers is of growing importance in classrooms, now that digital resources and digital media are becoming important parts of teachers' everyday practice. This study explores how newly qualified teachers are prepared to use ICT in their initial teacher education (ITE).We present findings of a nationwide survey in Norway on 356 newly qualified teachers. It explores how these teachers' information and communication technology (ICT) self-efficacy is related to how they perceive the quality of, and contributions from, their ITE related to ICT and the development of their PDC. In general, newly qualified teachers report fairly poor quality and contribution of ICT training during their teacher education. We claim that it is necessary to look at ways to review the quality of ITE and contribute specifically to the development of PDC and developing ICT self-efficacy in ITE. [word count 142]Keywords: newly qualified teachers; professional digital competence; initial teacher education; information and communication technology (ICT); ICT self-efficacy [word count 7,735, excluding abstract and keywords]

Self-efficacy is an important concept for understanding learning and achievement. The concept covers students' self-confidence and their expectations for future performances. Students' learning experiences are crucial for the development of self-efficacy beliefs, which in the next round may affect students' achievements. The present study explores how self-efficacy can be contextualized with information and communication technology in initially 15 countries. A theoretical model is built and tested in each country based on data from the International Computer and Information Literacy Study 2013. The analyses show that students' self-regulation, experience with technology and socioeconomic background explain the variation in their ICT self-efficacy. Further, gender, selfefficacy and socioeconomic background play an important role for understanding students' computer and information literacy. This indicates that ICT self-efficacy is positively related to computer and information literacy when controlled for other student characteristics and background contextual variables. However, the results also reveal a clear distinction between measures of ICT self-efficacy one hand and computer and information literacy on the other. It is therefore necessary to continue elaborating on the differences between what students belief they can do when using ICT and their actual performance with ICT.

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Although the use of digital technologies in teacher education has reached advanced stages in the developed world, it is still in its infancy in many developing countries, including Uganda. In their struggle to advance the use of digital technologies in teaching, educators face various challenges that prevent the successful adoption of such technologies in the classroom. This study explores the motivation and material accessibility challenges that art and design (A&D) educators in Uganda encounter when teaching with digital technologies and examines how they cope with these challenges. To address the research question, the study adopts a descriptive case study design that seeks to document the participants' accounts. Semi-structured interviews and non-participant observations were employed to collect data from teacher educators (TEs) and administrators (ADs) in two teacher training institutions (TTIs) in Uganda. The findings indicate that A&D TEs face accessibility challenges relating to motivation and material access. The educators use various strategies to cope with the existing challenges including peer support, continual practice, improvisation, lobbying for technical and financial support, and advocating for Bring Your Own Device (BYOD).

The isiXhosa proverb above includes the essence of the African concept of Ubuntu and translates as "a person is a person through other persons". Needless to say, I would never have been able to finish this work without the support of many special persons. First of all, my grateful acknowledgements go to all the learners, teachers, principals, Khanya officials and other South Africans who welcomed me in their beautiful country. I humbly thank youdankieenkosi. In particular, I would like to extend my gratitude to my good friends and colleagues at the UWC: the dean of the Faculty of Education, Professor Zubeida Desai, the isiXhosa specialist Dr. Vyokazi Nomlomo and the helpful and eversmiling Rhona Wales and her family. Not to forget Keith, Monde and Rosetta. To my friend Lynette Saunders and her family for kindness and support, to the caring couple Fred and Edna Groener and to my fellow PhD candidates Cheryl Brown and Tony Carr at the UCT