Teacher Training in Lifelong Learning—The Importance of Digital Competence in the Encouragement of Teaching Innovation

Abstract

The vertiginous advance of society in recent years has forced a modification of demands among citizens and educators. The arrival of information and communication technologies to the educational atmosphere has led to the development of the digital competence of teachers, which is one of the educational challenges teacher training has to face now. Based on this, this work intends to carry out an evaluation of the development of digital competence in teachers of the Lifelong Learning stage in the community of Andalusia (Spain). In order to do so, a quantitative and transversal work design was used, with a sample of 142 teachers from different schools in this area. The results showed a deficit of teachers in the five digital dimensions, especially in the creation of digital content. It was also clarified that there was a direct relationship between previous information and communication technology (ICT) training and the dimensions of communication and collaboration, and content creation. Finally, the work here showed that the teachers concerned with preservice ICT training were young and with less than 10 years of experience. In conclusion, the development of digital teaching competence continues to be a challenge for the education system which must therefore be addressed, and it shall continue to be a key issue in the training of current teachers, as it is indeed a fundamental pillar for promoting a new way of teaching, being the only way to develop an areal teaching innovation panorama.