A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW: THE IMPACT OF DIGITAL PROFICIENCY ON TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Abstract

In the rapidly evolving digital education landscape, teachers require digital proficiency not merely as a technical skill but as a foundational competency for effective professional development and classroom innovation. This systematic review examines how teacher digital proficiency influences professional development outcomes and identifies mediating pedagogical, psychological, and institutional factors across varied educational settings. Following PRISMA guidelines, a document based analysis was conducted on fifteen peer reviewed studies published between 2021 and 2025 across databases such as Scopus, Google Scholar, SINTA, Garuda, and Semantic Scholar. Thematic content analysis synthesized the findings by mapping them against the DigCompEdu and UNESCO ICT Competency Framework for Teachers. The findings reveal that digital proficiency consistently predicts enhanced teacher performance, teaching creativity, and professional identity development, particularly through professional engagement and pedagogical applications. However, challenges like infrastructure gaps, time constraints, and motivation heavily mediate these outcomes, while organization and learner empowerment competencies remain underrepresented. In conclusion, teacher digital proficiency emerges as a vital catalyst for modern professional development. Therefore, professional development providers must prioritize sustained and framework guided training. Such programs are essential to actively remove systemic barriers and ensure equitable digital competence across educational contexts.