The professional development and enhancement of teachers' skills for the successful integration of digital technologies in education has become increasingly important, particularly in the post-pandemic era. This period has underscored the crucial role of such technologies in education, guiding society towards a new, more global, inclusive, and interconnected reality. In this regard, promoting the updating and improvement of teachers’ digital competence (TDC) is especially relevant. TDC refers to the ability of teachers to have a set of specific digital skills for their profession, in order to harness the potential of technology to boost innovation in education. Both at the European and national levels, frameworks have been published for the assessment of TDC, aiming to measure the extent of its acquisition among teachers, with the objective of identifying teachers’ training needs and providing them with continuous preparation to ensure their constant development and updating. At the regional level, the Department of Education of the Valencian Community, in accordance with European and national strategic guidelines, has also outlined an Educational Digital Plan, which includes the improvement of TDC through training, enhancement, and updating of teachers' digital skills.

The aim of this study is to identify, based on this context in the Valencian Community, which mechanisms drive digitally competent secondary school teachers to continue training and updating themselves, using the analytical framework of learning ecologies. This involves analysing how teachers navigate a range of contexts, including activities, resources, and relationships—both formal and informal—and how this process creates learning opportunities related to their digital competence.

The study will be conducted in several phases, following a mixed methodology. A systematic review of the current literature on secondary teachers’ digital competence and their professional development within the framework of learning ecologies is being conducted as the first step. The findings will be used as a theoretical framework for a qualitative study that will involve interviewing several in-service secondary school teachers in the Valencian Community, acknowledged for their expertise in TDC development. Building on the results, a quantitative study involving a questionnaire will be administered to all in-service secondary school teachers in the Valencian Community, creating a broad overview of the community's learning approaches concerning the enhancement and renewal of their digital competence. By triangulating the results of each phase, a range of guidelines, recommendations, and strategies will be outlined to support the planning and promotion of professional development opportunities, aimed at enhancing and updating digital competence among secondary teachers, ultimately boosting educational quality.

Keywords: Learning ecologies, teachers' digital competence, professional development, secondary school teachers.