March 9th, 2023.- More than 250 teachers and 17 vocational training centers participated in a diagnostic report on the level of digital competencies of technical and vocational education (TVE) teachers in Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru, prepared by the OEI.
At the end of November, the diagnostic report of the project “Teacher Training in Digital Competencies in Technical Vocational Education (TVE) in the Pacific Alliance countries (Colombia, Chile, Mexico, and Peru)” -the second phase of the Strengthening of TVE Public Policies in the Pacific Alliance project-, financed by the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation ( AECID), was completed, with the ultimate goal of supporting the design of a competency-based training program to improve the quality of teaching practice in these countries.
The project involved 265 teachers from 17 middle and high level vocational training centers in the countries that are part of this bloc.
In this diagnostic phase, the focus was placed both on the infrastructures of the educational centers and on the training and development of the digital competencies of the trainers. Different instruments were used for this purpose. First of all, the publications and products of phase 1 of the project and the inputs identifying the main training needs in the field of digital skills, carried out by the countries at the national level, were analyzed. In this regard, the roadmap document on digital transformation, developed by the IEO in 2021, helped to identify indicators for the diagnosis.
Afterwards, information was collected from 265 teachers through an online questionnaire with questions on the six areas on which the DigComEdu framework is based on the identification of teachers’ digital competence (professional engagement, digital resources, digital pedagogy, digital assessment, empowering students, and facilitating students’ digital competence). Finally, virtual interviews were held with the leaders of 14 of the 17 participating schools. With these interviews it was possible to triangulate the information gathered through the inputs of the previous project and that collected through the questionnaires answered by the teachers.
Some results obtained
The analysis of the information collected identified the level of competence of teachers in the six areas mentioned for each country. Thus, at the global level, it can be deduced that there are no teachers at the lowest level (A1), while 12% are at level A2; most of the sample is at level B1 with 53%, leaving 27% for level B2 and only 8% for advanced level C1.
The diagnosis indicates that for the four countries, it is important to standardize a common framework of digital competencies for teachers that will facilitate to help them to level up and thus define and program the continuous training that will be provided.
Regarding literacy, digital culture and the incorporation of digital competencies into the educational offer, the report highlights that the promotion of digital culture in institutions is an ongoing process in the Pacific Alliance, but that it is advancing slowly, while at the same time it points out a greater effort in digital training in secondary education than in higher education. Teachers in the four countries assume training in digital transformation as part of their professional practice, although it is from the administration or management of the centers where they are assigned.
Other conclusions warn that collaboration and exchange of good practices are still unresolved issues in practically all countries; likewise, the most repeated slogan indicates that it is not a matter of having knowledge of digitization and digital tools, but of knowing how to apply it to teaching practice. Finally, it is highlighted the need to promote partnerships with the private sector to obtain advantageous conditions for equipment, software, and connectivity, as well as to acquire other devices in addition to computers and tablets in educational centers.
These results will serve as a basis for the development of a virtual training offer to be delivered from the Virtual Classroom of the Ibero-American Institute for Training and Learning for Cooperation of the OEI during the year 2023.
Review the Diagnostic Report on Training Needs in Professional Technical Education on Digital Competencies in the Pacific Alliance countries.
Source: OEI
