The importance of teachers’ digital competences in the implementation of curricular guidelines for ICT in Primary Education

Abstract

At a time when digital technologies play a vital role in education, it´s important to understand to what extent teachers’ digital competences may impact on how curricular guidelines for ICT are implemented in primary education. For that purpose, an exploratory study was carried out involving primary teachers belonging to a teachers’ training centre located in the district of Aveiro. Based on the analysis of the results obtained by means of a questionnaire, it was possible to identify self-reported practices in the use of digital technologies in the classroom and assess the self-perceived digital competence level of teachers involved in the study. This allowed to describe how curricular guidelines for ICT were implemented in primary education and identify training needs in digital competences. The results suggest that curricular guidelines for ICT are at an early stage of implementation, with teachers using digital technologies occasionally. At the same time, the teachers’ self-perceived level of digital competence falls into level A1 - Newcomer, by reference to the Digital Competence Framework for Educators (DigCompEdu), revealing the need for adequate training in digital competences.