Teachers' digital competence and inclusive education at school: An analysis of teacher attitudes

Abstract

Inclusive education and the implementation of Information and Communication Technologies in the 21st century classroom are priority objectives in global agendas. However, few studies focus on and combine the following areas of study: Inclusive education and Digital Competence (IE and DC). This research gathers the opinion of 221 active teachers on these two variables through a sample composed of participants from Spain and 10 Latin American countries. These educational professionals responded to a questionnaire created ad hoc, tested by a group of experts, and based on instruments previously validated by the scientific community. There were 30 items scored on a scale of 1-7 for the areas of study. The results indicate that the participating teachers attach high importance to the study variables, although they lack the training and competence necessary for their performance. Furthermore, basic and advanced levels of perception regarding the importance of inclusive education and digital competence are identified, which are similar in the basic levels and increasingly disparate at the advanced levels due to specialization.

Keywords: Compulsory Education; Digital Competences; Inclusive Education; Technology; Teachers.