Digital tolerance of continuing education teachers as a condition for developing digital literacy

This article addresses the pressing issue of preparing teachers in the continuing education system for work in the context of digital transformation. The purpose of the study is to substantiate and empirically test the importance of digital tolerance as a key condition for developing digital literacy in teachers. An analysis of the scientifi c literature on this topic revealed that digital technologies are a key catalyst for the transformation of continuing professional education, enabling its transition to a fl exible, personalized, and accessible model. The study’s methodological basis was a synthesis of approaches to assessing professional pedagogical tolerance, tolerance of uncertainty, and attitudes toward technology. Based on this, a digital tolerance questionnaire for teachers was developed, consisting of 20 items rated on a 5-point Likert scale. The empirical sample included 100 continuing education teachers in the Chelyabinsk region. The results of the questionnaire revealed a low level of digital tolerance among respondents, indicating a predominance of technophobia, rigidity, and resistance to innovation. An optimal (average) level, implying a balanced and critical attitude toward technology, was found in a third of the teachers. Only a tenth of the respondents demonstrated a high (excessive) level, which risks substituting technological goals for pedagogical ones. The fi ndings demonstrate that a lack of digital tolerance is a systemic barrier to the digitalization of supplementary education. The article concludes by substantiating the need to transition from highly technical continuing education courses to comprehensive psychological and pedagogical support programs aimed at developing teachers’ tolerance of uncertainty, critical thinking, and refl ective practice.