Research report: What are digital skills?

In a context where digital technology is a key component of modern life, a new research report sheds light on the perceptions and barriers teachers face in developing digital skills in students.

Entitled “What are digital skills? Analysis of teachers’ representations of what they argue are digital skills in the context of an aRPa Initiative professional development workshop,” the study was conducted by researchers Fernando Bolaños Zarate, Erika Abarca Millán and Arturo García Bobadilla.

The report, funded by the Fondecyt-Postdoc 2022 program, was carried out in the framework of the aRPa Initiative (Activating Problem Solving in the Classroom). This program seeks to improve the integration of digital technologies in the classroom through the professional development of teachers.

Summary of Findings

The researchers highlight that, despite significant investments and efforts to integrate digital technologies into education, students often only acquire basic and operational skills. This phenomenon is due to a variety of factors, including lack of interest and motivation of both teachers and students, logistical and infrastructure problems, and limited understanding of what actually constitutes digital skills.

One of the main barriers identified is the tendency to equate digital skills with the simple use of digital technologies. The data collected suggest that teachers often confuse technical skills, such as the handling of hardware and software, with the more complex and cognitive digital skills that are essential in a knowledge society.

Material available for download below (Spanish):

¿Qué son las habilidades digitales?(2024) Bolanos, Abarca y Garcia