Marginalized Pre-Service Teachers’ Digital Competence: An Exploration of Epistemic Beliefs and Lived Experiences

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.