Assessment of digital competencies in basic education teachers: A descriptive study

Abstract

Introduction: Digital competencies are essential for primary education teachers, as they enable them to leverage technological tools to enhance teaching, adapt to the needs of digital students, and prepare them for an increasingly technological world. Objective: To assess the digital competencies of Peruvian basic education teacher. Methods: quantitative, non-experimental, cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted. The sample consisted of 125 teachers who were administered the Teacher Digital Competence Questionnaire, an instrument with adequate metric properties. Results: It was found that 44 % of basic education teachers had a medium level of digital competency, 36,8 % had a high level, and 19,2 % had a low level. Similarly, it was determined that certain sociodemographic variables such as gender and age group were significantly associated with the level of development of teachers’ digital competencies (p<0,05). Conclusions: The predominant level of development of digital competencies among basic education teachers is at a medium level. Therefore, it is recommended that educational authorities promote the implementation of workshops on the effective use of digital tools in the classroom, foster the exchange of best practices among teachers, and provide accessible digital resources and tutorials for autonomous learning.