The digital competence of teachers and students in secondary education schools

Abstract

The development of students’ and teachers’ digital competence is a key element in all educational stages. It is necessary to have a diagnosis of both competencies in order to detect possible gaps and inequalities and design appropriate training actions based on the actual needs. The objective of this study is to diagnose the level of students’ and teachers’ digital competence in 14 lower and upper-secondary schools in Catalonia. The results show that students assess themselves with a medium-high digital competence level, while teachers assess themselves with an expert teacher’s digital competence level. Moreover, significant differences were found in teachers’ digital competence level depending on gender and age, and among students’ digital competence depending on their year and year retention. Results suggest an evident need for training actions among teachers and students in order to improve these competencies and reduce inequalities in terms of gender, age, educational level, and academic achievement.