Teachers have been identified as key facilitators for developing students’ knowledge and skill in 21^st century education (Schibeci, Lake, Phillips, Lowe, Cummings, & Miller, 2008). Consequently, teachers’ integration of technology in their classroom practices has been widely studied. Researchers have highlighted teachers’ computer self-efficacy (CSE) as one of the most important determinants for implementing information and communication technology (ICT) in classroom activities (Sang, Valcke, van Braak, & Tondeur, 2010). Moreover, in this context, teachers’ ICT use served as a proxy for their integration of ICT in teaching and learning. Eventually, a focus on more fine-grained conceptualizations of ICT usage that extends teachers’ bare use of ICT, especially by linking it to the development of students’ digital skills, has been provided (Siddiq, Scherer, & Tondeur, 2016). Teachers’ emphasis on developing students’ digital information and communication skills (TEDDICS) is an example of such a construct. TEDDICS was introduced as a qualitative measure which combines teachers’ use of ICT and teaching practices with their beliefs about which digital skills are considered important (Fraillon, Ainley, Schulz, Friedman, & Gebhardt, 2014). The relations between teachers’ CSE and TEDDICS have been investigated in a recent study showing positive correlations between the two constructs (Siddiq & Scherer, 2015), indicating that teachers who believe in own competences of using ICT also emphasize developing their students’ digital skills more and vice versa. Nevertheless, these relations may be affected by a number of factors, such as teachers’ age and gender.

Previous studies revealed that teachers’ age matters in this context and older teachers tend to express lower CSE, perceived usefulness of ICT, and perceived ease of use compared to their younger colleagues (O’Bannon & Thomas, 2014). Older teachers also tend to emphasize problems and obstacles created by the use of ICT for teaching and learning purposes more (Scherer, Siddiq, & Teo, 2015) and show higher ICT anxiety (Mac Callum, Jeffrey, & Kinshuk, 2014).

Differences between male and female teachers in the context of ICT integration have also gained considerable attention. However, opposing findings related to the significance and direction of gender effects in ICT-related constructs have made it inconclusive whether male and female teachers differ in attitudes toward and integration of ICT in teaching and learning. Significant gender differences were reported in studies specifically focusing on teachers’ perceived usefulness of ICT, ICT usage, and CSE (e.g., Scherer & Siddiq, 2015; Volman & van Eck, 2001). Other studies contradicted these findings and revealed insignificant or non-existing differences between male and female teachers in these constructs (Antonietti & Grigorietti, 2006).

Using the findings related to (1) the importance of teachers’ CSE for implementing ICT in classroom practice; (2) teachers’ emphasis on developing students’ digital skills; (3) differences in teachers’ age and ICT-related constructs, and (4) gender differences in teachers’ attitudes toward and use of ICT, this study aims to investigate the relations between three factors of CSE and TEDDICS accounting for the potential effects of age and gender. Hence, a detailed view on these relations may provide profound information on how the TEDDICS—CSE relation operates in different age groups and across gender, and may contribute to the identification of potential needs for strengthening teachers’ CSE and TEDDICS.

In particular, the present study addresses following research questions:

1) How does teachers’ emphasis on developing students’ digital information and communication skills relate to teachers’ computer self-efficacy?

2) To what extent do age, gender, and their interaction (age × gender) moderate the relation between TEDDICS and CSE?

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