Ukraine launches research into teachers' digital competences using SELFIE for Teachers

The Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, together with the European Training Foundation (ETF) and in partnership with the European Commission's Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture (EC-DG EAC) and the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, has launched a national study to assess the digital competences of primary and secondary school teachers in Ukraine using SELFIE for Teachers.

With Ukraine's gaining of EU candidate status, the state is faced with the task of harmonising the national education system with European standards. One of the key areas of this work is Ukraine's implementation of the EU Action Plan for Digital Education by 2027, in particular the analysis of the state of digital competences of teaching staff using modern online tools such as SELFIE for Teachers.

SELFIE for Teachers is a free and easy-to-use online tool from the European Commission, designed for self-reflection and self-assessment of the digital competences of teaching staff, developed on the basis of the EU Digital Competence Framework for Educators. The tool is not a test or assessment — it is a personal ‘snapshot’ (selfie) of digital competences that helps teachers understand how effectively they use digital technologies in the educational process.

Based on the survey results, each teacher will receive an automatically generated personal report and recommendations for further planning their professional development. Personal survey results are only available to a teacher participating in the survey.

The aggregated anonymous data obtained within the study will be analysed to determine the needs of primary and secondary school teachers. The findings will form the basis for evidence-based education policy and research, enabling government agencies to more effectively support teachers in developing their digital competencies by creating relevant professional development programmes at the regional and national levels.

In Ukraine, the study will run from November 2025 to February 2026 in selected schools, with data collection covering 422 educational institutions and over 7,000 teachers from all regions of the country.

The stages of the study include:

conducting the study through self-reflection and self-assessment using the SELFIE for Teachers tool (November-December);

processing and analysing aggregated data, reporting on the results of the study (January);

disseminating the tool, making it available to all teaching staff in the general education system in Ukraine (February).

The first phase of the study within the New Ukrainian School initiative and following the translation of the SELFIE for Teachers tool into Ukrainian officially began on 7 November 2025. The event brought together over 500 participants, including representatives of state and local authorities, education stakeholders and experts. The recording of the event has already garnered 9,000 views online, demonstrating the high level of interest and engagement of the educational community in the study.

After the study is completed among pilot institutions, the SELFIE for Teachers tool will be available to all teaching staff in Ukraine, who will be eligible to complete the self-assessment individually or in groups, receive individual reports, and use them for their own professional development or further training.

In the second phase of the study, planned for 2026, its scope will be expanded to include vocational (technical) education institutions in Ukraine, with the aim of identifying the specific needs of this sector.

Background information

The study is being implemented by the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine in cooperation with the European Training Foundation (ETF) and in partnership with the European Commission's Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture (EC-DG EAC), with information support from the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, and with the active involvement of the departments of education and science of regional state administrations, local authorities, regional institutes of postgraduate education, administrations of general secondary education institutions, and teachers.