Self-Assessment of Soft Skills of University Teachers from Countries with a Low Level of Digital Competence

Abstract

The lockdown of March and April 2020 as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic has forced relevant changes in the educational environment in a very short period of time, making it necessary to suspend in-person instruction and generating the need to implement virtual learning mechanisms. In a future post-COVID-19 hybrid educational model, it will be necessary for university teachers to acquire an optimal degree of digital competence, as a combination of different competencies, namely, (i) technical, (ii) digital, and (iii) soft. Soft skills have been shown to have a decisive influence on the development of digital competence. The aim of this study was to analyze the degree of acquisition of soft skills in Latin American university teachers whose countries are less digitally developed. For this purpose, the countries with the lowest Global Innovation Index (GII) were selected: (i) Panama; (ii) Peru; (iii) Argentina; (iv) El Salvador; (v) Ecuador; (vi) Paraguay; (vii) Honduras; and (viii) Bolivia. To achieve this objective, it was necessary to develop a questionnaire on the self-concept of soft skills, based on the soft skills included in the Bochum Inventory of Personality and Competences (BIP). Results obtained from statistical analysis of the data collected from a sample of 219 participants show that university teachers are sufficiently prepared, in terms of their soft skills, for the increase in digital competence required as a result of the COVID-19 crisis, despite the low level of digital development in their respective countries.

Digital Content Creation Tools: American University Teachers’ Perception

“…This result is common to other studies [3,6,10,[12][13][14]25,26]. In general, university teachers feel prepared for the irruption of the digital era in higher education in terms of their own digital and digital-teaching competencies [16], but also as trainers of students who have to develop professional digital competencies in the different fields of working life [27,28]. However, some studies highlight certain problems of adaptability to the pace of incorporation of DCC tools in university classrooms, mainly derived from the COVID-19 crisis [29].…”

“…At the base of this imbalance, the development of self-efficacy in the use of DCC tools by teachers is revealed as a key to overcome these difficulties [15]. So is the development of the competencies that teachers should acquire for their adaptability to be effective, such as soft skills [16] or professional digital competence [17,18]. With respect to all these dimensions, there are factors that limit the process of digitalization of the teaching activity, such as the high cost that some authors attribute to its implementation.…”

“…Regarding the geographical location of the study participants, there are studies that address the use of DCC tools and ICT with didactic applications in Latin America [19,20], although none of them explore the perspective of university teachers. Finally, the identification of gender gaps in the opinion of university teachers is a new topic in the specialized literature, only addressed, to our knowledge, in [16]. However, in this work, the object of interest is specified to be the use of DCC tools, and the geographical horizon and the academic and sociological profile of the participants are expanded with respect to [16].…”

“…Finally, the identification of gender gaps in the opinion of university teachers is a new topic in the specialized literature, only addressed, to our knowledge, in [16]. However, in this work, the object of interest is specified to be the use of DCC tools, and the geographical horizon and the academic and sociological profile of the participants are expanded with respect to [16]. Consequently, this study introduces a new perspective in the line of work in which it is framed.…”

Integrating Education for Sustainable Development Competencies in Teacher Education

“…It is worth mentioning that the literature abounds with discussions about these core life skills for teachers in different contexts; they might be referred to as soft skills, which focus on the personal traits of teachers and learners and can influence their quality of teaching and student achievement [72]. Some scholars linked soft skills to the development of digital competence [73], which is fundamental to promoting lifelong learning and facilitating innovation in educational practices [74]. In summary, this systematic literature review on ESD competences in teacher education provides increased attention to develop a set of ESD competences particularly for teachers; however, it also shows the intricacy of agreeing on a unified framework for teacher competencies for ESD [10].…”