In Norway, digital competence has become a fundamental skill in primary and secondary education, reflecting its growing importance in today's educational landscape. The concept of Professional Digital Competence (PDC) mirrors this trend, particularly since digital skills became one of the key competencies in the 2006 National Curriculum (Kunnskapsdepartementet, 2006). 

A specific framework for PDC, established in 2017 and revised in 2024 (Kelentric et al., 2024; Kelentrić et al., 2017), provides educators with a structured approach for its development in educational settings. 

PDC is increasingly understood as a multifaceted and dynamic skill set essential for teachers. And  Skantz-Åberg et al. (2022) highlights the complexity of PDC and its critical role in integrating technology effectively into educational practices.

Despite this emphasis, many schools struggle with inadequate digital competence among their staff. Fjørtoft et al.  (2019) emphasize the significant need for enhanced digital competence and systematic training for teachers in Norwegian schools. Short individual courses alone do not foster the organizational development necessary for sustainable digital transformation. This highlights a critical gap in ensuring that digital tools are used meaningful to enhance learning outcomes rather than hinder them.

Addressing this gap requires comprehensive professional development initiatives that equip teachers with the necessary competence to integrate technology into their teaching practices meaningfully. To achieve this collective responsibility, and a shared commitment to educational innovation requires involving the entire organization, schools must function as Professional Learning Communities (PLCs), fostering collaboration, shared goals, and continuous professional development (Kruse et al., 1994; Newmann, 1994; Robinson & Timperley, 2007; Wilson, 2023).

School leadership plays a crucial role in fostering professional development and creating the organizational structures necessary for sustained learning initiatives. Borg and Finne (2024) highlights how leadership practices in Lesson Study contexts foster collaboration, shared learning, and a culture of reflection and professional dialogue. These findings align with the goals of the LeadDig (Leadership and Learning for the Development og Teachers’ Professional Digital Competence)-project, which emphasizes the importance of leadership in developing PDC through collective efforts and structured professional learning communities.

The LeadDig research project (Leadership and Learning for the Development of Teachers' Professional Digital Competence) exemplifies a structured and collaborative approach to enhancing teachers’ PDC in six schools within a municipality in central Norway. These schools represent grades 1–10 in the Norwegian primary and lower secondary education system. 

The overarching research question for the LeadDig project is: How can collaboration between teacher educators, student teachers, and schools, with a focus on leaders’ learning for developing teachers’ PDC, contribute to improvements in both teacher education and schools? 

With this project we seek to embed PDC across educational settings through systematic and collective reflection, analysis, and redesign of work practices. By focusing on the professional learning of school leaders, including principals and middle leaders, LeadDig aims to develop teachers’ digital competence through a cohesive and collaborative framework. 

The LeadDig project is grounded in Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) and uses theoretical concepts and models Engeström (2007) to foster systemic and collective reflection in schools and research on these processes.

Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) (Engeström, 1986) provides a systemic framework for analyzing how social interactions and collective reflection shape educational practices. This presentation refines the LeadDig project's overarching question to focus on leadership practices, guided by the following research question: "How do school leaders’ leadership styles and collaboration with resource teams, consisting of ICT teachers and assistant principals, influence the development of teachers’ professional digital competence, viewed through tensions and interactions within the activity system?" This specific focus explores leadership practices by examining how resource teams mediate between organizational goals and teaching staff, navigating tensions and facilitating interactions to foster professional digital competence development. CHAT provides a systemic framework for analyzing how social interactions and collective learning processes shape educational practices. The development processes emphasizes collective reflection, enabling participants to collaboratively develop strategies for integrating digital tools meaningfully into teaching practices. This approach highlights the transformative role of resource teams in fostering professional growth and enhancing students' learning experiences. Drawing on two years of LeadDig data, the sample includes a grade 1–7 core school from year one and two schools added in year two: a grade 1–10 school and a grade 8–10 school. Empirical data were gathered using multiple strategies, including interviews with three principals and three ICT teachers, systematic observations of twelve teaching sessions in classrooms, detailed documentation in eight research field logs, and twelve reflection conversations conducted with the teacher who taught the lesson, two teacher colleagues from the team, two researchers, and the principal. The interviews, conducted both in-person and online, were recorded, transcribed, and anonymized to ensure confidentiality and accuracy. These complementary strategies provided a rich dataset, capturing diverse perspectives and practices related to the development of PDC, with a particular focus on the role of school leadership in shaping and supporting these processes. Thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006) was used to identify patterns in the data, focusing on the roles, strategies, and challenges of resource teams. To deepen the analysis, Senge’s Five Disciplines (2006) and the TPACK framework (Koehler & Mishra, 2009) were applied to explore how leadership and resource teams balance personal, interpersonal, and organizational capacities in fostering PLCs. These frameworks also highlight how digital tools are meaningfully integrated into teaching practices. Ethical considerations were rigorously addressed, ensuring informed consent, anonymization, and secure data handling. The study received ethical approval from SIKT, affirming adherence to Norwegian educational research standards.

This study is expected to reveal how school leaders, in collaboration with resource teams, actively shape the development of teachers’ PDC. By examining leadership strategies and practices, the research will provide insights into how school leaders work with and leverage resource teams to mediate between organizational goals and teachers’ pedagogical practices, fostering professional digital competence. The study anticipates identifying key themes, including how school leaders and resource teams: 1. Develop shared visions and values within the activity system to foster collective ownership and engagement with digital competence initiatives. 2. Navigate tensions between organizational goals and teachers' needs, leveraging collaboration within the activity system to align professional development with classroom practices 3. Facilitate team learning and collaboration within the activity system through structured reflection, observation, and ongoing professional dialogue. 4. Strengthen organizational capacity by leveraging leadership strategies to create supportive structures, allocate resources, and foster a culture that integrates digital tools meaningfully within the activity system. Using Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) and the TPACK framework, the findings are expected to highlight how school leaders' leadership styles and collaborative practices shape the interplay between personal, interpersonal, and organizational capacities within professional learning communities. These dynamics will likely demonstrate the importance of shared responsibility and collaboration in transforming teaching practices and embedding digital competence into schools. The study aims to illuminate specific strategies employed by school leaders in collaboration with resource teams, such as facilitating didactic discussions, providing practical training, and cultivating a culture of critical reflection. Leadership support is expected to emerge as a decisive factor in enabling resource teams to foster professional growth and technological transformation. Ultimately, the findings will inform how schools can develop cohesive and sustainable learning environments where PDC is embedded into both the organizational structure and teachers’ professional practices, advancing broader goals for school development and innovation.

Borg, E., & Finne, J. (2024). A scoping review of school leadership practices in Lesson Study. Cogent Education, 11(1), 2353470. https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2024.2353470 Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative research in psychology, 3(2), 77-101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa Engeström, Y. (2007). Putting Vygotsky to work: The change laboratory as an application of double stimulation. In The cambridge companion to Vygotsky. Cambridge University Press. Kelentric, M., Helland, K., & Arstorp, A.-T. (2024). Rammeverk for lærerens profesjonsfaglige digitale kompetanse (PfDK). Oslo Kelentrić, M., Helland, K., & Arstorp, A.-T. (2017). Rammeverk for lærerens profesjonsfaglige digitale kompetanse (PfDK). Koehler, M. J., & Mishra, P. (2009). What Is Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge? [60]. Charlottesville, VA :. Kruse, S., Louis, K. S., & Bryk, A. (1994). Building professional communities in schools. . In Issues in restructuring schools issue report no. 6. Kunnskapsdepartementet. (2006). Læreplan for den 13-årige grunnopplæringen oslo Newmann, F. (1994). School-wide professional community: Issues in restructuring schools (Issue Report No. 6). Madison, WI: Center on Organisation and Restructuring of Schools, University of Wisconsin. Robinson, V. M., & Timperley, H. S. (2007). The leadership of the improvement teaching and learning: Lessons from initiatives with positive outcomes for students. Australian journal of education, 51(3), 247-262. Senge, P. M. (2006). The fifth discipline : the art and practice of the learning organization ([Rev. and updated]. ed.). Currency/Doubleday. Skantz-Åberg, E., Lantz-Andersson, A., Lundin, M., & Williams, P. (2022). Teachers’ professional digital competence: an overview of conceptualisations in the literature. Cogent Education, 9(1), 2063224. https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2022.2063224 Wilson, C. N. (2023). Professional Learning Communities and Collective Teacher Efficacy Concordia University Irvine].