The Profile of Teachers of Foreign Language Degree Programs in Colombia in Coherence With the Training Proposals of Higher Education Institutions

Abstract

Faced with the growing challenges of higher education in Colombia, it is necessary to recognize the profile of foreign language teachers in degree programs and their training needs in order to contribute to the training of new professionals according to the training objectives set by the institutions. This doctoral thesis is the result of several years of research on teacher training in foreign language teaching. The study focused on investigating the coherence between the profile of teacher trainers and the teacher training profile proposed by the degree programs in foreign languages in Colombia in the light of the curricular reforms that the degree programs in foreign languages have undergone according to the guidelines of resolution 18583 of 2017 issued by the Ministry of Education in Colombia. The research carries out an analysis of the academic offerings of the Bachelor's degree programs in foreign languages, the proposed profiles and the profile of the teacher trainer of the same programs, making a relationship between the competences aligned with the substantive functions of higher education. This research is of a mixed type with an exploratory-descriptive study approach with a random sample of 160 teachers belonging to 20 bachelor's degree programs in the country, it was identified that there is no direct correlation between the profile of the teacher trainer and the profile of the graduate proposed by the institution, which leads to carry out analyses and initiate permanent training plans, especially in the training of competences related to the substantive function of research and social projection. So far, higher education institutions have focused their efforts mainly on strengthening undergraduate programs while neglecting the continuing in-service teachers training.