IMPORTANCE OF DIGITAL COMPETENCES AND ATTITUDES TOWARD RESEARCH IN MEXICAN TEACHERS

Abstract

The aim in our study was to determine the importance of digital competences and attitudes regarding research to teachers, according to various variables such as gender, age, and level of studies. A questionnaire was used to gather information from 28 teachers at the Escuela Normal de Educacion Primaria “Rodolfo Menéndez de la Peña”, in México. The questionnaire was developed based on Aldana y Joya (2011), and the GIDU-EDUTIC/IN research group from the Universidad de Alicante. The questionnaire comprises 48 questions on the importance of digital skills and 50 questions on attitudes towards research. All questions use a Likert scale with 5 answer options. Cronbach's Alpha was used to determine the reliability of the instrument. It was found that the questions related to the importance of digital competence an alpha equal to 0.912 and for the questions of attitudes towards research an alpha equal to 0.854. It was found that teachers considered important the five digital competences dimensions. It also was found that they considered that creativity and innovation as the most important dimension and the use and access of information as the less important. The participant teachers’ attitudes towards research were more neutral. It was found that the cognitive dimension was the one with the highest score, while the behavioral dimension the one with the lowest score. It is concluded that training needs are detected to improve their digital skills and their attitude towards research, the need for further research on the effect is perceived that could have for the development of research groups in this institution.