This proposal presents a part of a broader project, whose aim is to identify, analyze and interpret the perceptions of pre-service teachers and teacher educators about the knowledge being built in a degree in primary teacher education. Our research also focuses on how this knowledge contributes to professional identity (financed by Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness during 2012-2015). The aim will be on the analysis of the knowledge that is implicated in the so-called basic, generic, or cross-sectional competences, as they were established by the European Commission (EC) (2006) or the European Higher Education Area (EHEA).

At the moment, in Spain, we are in a transition to new undergraduate degree curriculum in the EHEA frame. This program tries to deal competently with the ever increasingly complex social demands placed upon the teaching profession at all levels. We are talking about the knowledge economy and the knowledge society in education because "the schools have to create these qualities; otherwise, their people and their nations will be left behind" (Hargreaves, 2003, p.1). In this context, we wonder what professional knowledge is built by pre-service teachers.

The construction of professional knowledge is an issue of continuing interest for research on teacher education, approached from different theoretical and methodological perspectives. And it is of great value due to the dynamics of what it means to be a teacher in each historical moment. The multidimensionality of professional knowledge, as well as the changing interests of policies on research and teacher education(Darling-Hammond & Bransford, 2005; Feiman-Nemser, 2008; Shulman, 1986). This paper focuses on the issues related with the Digital Competence (DC) on the construction of professional knowledge in the initial teacher education. Living in the new social reality implies learning knowledge, skills and attitudes about DC (Prenksy, 2010). An unavoidable knowledge for work conditions of future primary teachers, like many organizations state it.

Gutiérrez (2008) points out the need for a “digital re-literacy” of teachers at all levels as a crucial condition for education in the Society of Information. In the same vein, UNESCO (2008) wrote a document “ICT Competency Standards for Teachers”, whose main goal is to provide a framework for making curricular proposals for teacher training institutions. The EC (2006) established eight key competences for lifelong learning, one of them is the DC. Besides, recently, EC (2010) has highlighted the importance of DC like a priority for Europe. And OECD (Ananiadou & Claro, 2009) published a paper about the relevance of 21st century skills and competences, related with digital technologies, digital environments and cultures, digital information and digital citizenship.

Therefore, due to the relevance of the DC in the digital era, it is a key in the new Initial Teacher Education, because this stage is essential in the construction of professional knowledge. In this sense, Spanish policymakers reflect this situation, and theytake DIGCOM Project as a framework for DC in teacher education.

DIGCOM Project (Ferrari, 2013) defines DC as a set of knowledge, skills and attitudes that are needed by citizens today for full digital inclusion. They are distributed in five areas of competence: Information, Communication, Content creation, Safety and Problem solving. Instead of the narrow idea of believing that DC refers only to the use of technologies which in this project is understood in a broad sense. DC refers to different modes of communication, semiotic resources and practices; including critical, reflexive and thinking competences.  

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