Teachers’ professional digital competence and sustainability: understanding the human and environmental costs of digital technology consumption

This chapter explores the broader implications of digital competence, emphasizing the need for teachers to understand the human and environmental costs associated with digital technology consumption. It highlights the ethical issues in the sourcing, manufacturing, usage and disposal of digital devices, revealing the exploitative labour practices and significant environmental degradation they contribute to. The chapter argues that digital competence should encompass an awareness of these impacts and the socio-political and economic context that sustains the ever-expanding digital technology sector. It critiques the consumerist culture driven by planned obsolescence and aggressive marketing, which fuels continuous consumption and advocates for a critical examination of the global inequalities perpetuated by digital technologies. The chapter also highlights the importance of integrating this knowledge into teacher education to foster a more ethically aware and proactive approach to digital technology use by teachers.