Mapping teachers’ digital competence (TDC): a bibliometric analysis and systematic review

Abstract

With the rapid digital transformation of education, teachers’ digital competence (TDC) has emerged as a key driver of educational modernisation. However, existing reviews remain fragmented and lack large-scale systematic syntheses. This study combined bibliometric analysis with a targeted systematic synthesis to examine 1,496 publications (2001–2026), with 28 influential and core studies were selected for synthesis. Co-citation analysis identified four knowledge bases, keyword co-occurrence revealed five thematic domains, and bibliographic coupling highlighted five research frontiers. The targeted synthesis further synthesised the conceptual boundaries, theoretical foundations, and key influencing factors of TDC. The findings indicate that the field has evolved from theoretical exploration towards preservice teacher training, with emerging expansion into AI literacy and digital ethics. These results offer implications for teacher education reform, policy development, and future research.