Strategic Framework for Teacher Development

The National Institute of Educational Technology and Teacher Education (INTEF) has identified three areas of work that will structure the new Strategic Framework for Teacher Development, in line with EU policies on education and training which have resulted the "program Education and Training 2020 "and the proposals announced in the new strategy" Rethinking Education ".

Strategic Framework for Teacher Development

The main objectives are:

• guide the initial and continuing teacher education to a new competency model for the teaching profession in the twenty-first century,
• explore new forms of training to facilitate professional collaboration (learning in communities of practice, massive open courses ...)
• establish a common regulatory framework that allows the accreditation of skills for the practice of the profession and recognition of activities that show verifiable evidence of effective professional development pathways that encourage educational leadership.

With these objectives, it is currently working on three projects in collaboration with the Autonomous Communities and groups of experts and teachers:

1. Professional Skills Teachers

To meet the needs of teacher education that society demands we need to redefine the profession. And for this it is necessary to establish a framework of professional teaching skills to help a methodological change in the school and enable teachers to develop and evaluate the core competencies of the students. The new competency model as a basis for training plans and other policies in the entire education system, which requires the cooperation of educators at all levels and is a reflection of the current social demands and the latest educational developments and technology.

2. New Methods of Training

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) and social learning activities in virtual communities of practice are new forms of network formation that have emerged in recent years and are spreading to various proposals. The Ministry can join this innovative movement within a strategic plan defining the objectives and means of these new modalities, offering new opportunities for training, collaboration and professional development related to the sharing of experiences and educational resources through the use of digital platforms that facilitate this.

3. Regulation of Training

This project focuses on the study of a new regulatory framework for recognition and accreditation of teacher education, which is oriented to the accreditation of skills and includes new training methods.

The guidelines of the Strategic Framework for Teacher Development orient new plans for teacher training of INTEF for next school year, including a series of training activities aimed at developing teaching skills and an experimental pilot massive open online course (MOOC ), which will have as its main objective the improvement of the digital competence of teachers.

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European survey of schools: ICT in Education

The National Institute of Educational Technology and Teacher Education (INTEF) presents an analysis, the results and conclusions of large-scale survey entitled " Survey of Schools: ICT in education "promoted by the European Union and integrated into a set of data collection activities that compare national progress and objectives of the i2010 and EU2020 initiatives.

The results of this large survey configure a report to be published on 18 April 2013. This is the first Europe-wide survey on ICT in schools since the reports "eEurope 2002" will be held and " eEurope 2005 ". It also is the first online survey on information technology and communication in schools and the first to include the students directly.

With this initiative the European Commission intends to establish indicators that can be used to measure the progress of ICT integration in schools with a view to 2020 and thus to compare the performance of each country in relation to these indicators or targets, identify strengths and weaknesses of these developments and provide information that can serve as a reference in national and European policies.

The study was conducted in 31 countries (27 EU, Iceland, Norway, Croatia and Turkey), by surveying some 190,000 people, including students, principals and teachers of primary, secondary, high school and junior vocational training centers randomly selected, representing a sample of a total of 1,200 schools by country.

European survey of schools: ICT in Education

The main fields of research are the digital competence of students and their attitudes towards ICT, the use of these by students inside and outside the classroom, professional use by teachers, also inside and outside the classroom, teacher attitudes toward educational use of these technologies, infrastructure facilities, connectivity and access to them, and the role of management teams regarding these and instructional use.

From the results of the survey showed that the levels of use of ICT and digital skills are still unequal, although faculty and European students willing to "convert to digital world", there are twice as computers in schools since 2006 and most centers are now "connected". In addition, teachers need more training and technical support.

Some of the conclusions drawn regarding the situation in Spain are:

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• Spanish schools have good levels of ICT equipment compared to the European average, especially for portable computers are concerned.
• Both the levels of provision of broadband connectivity as the centers are above the European average. The primary school students are relatively well equipped compared to European rates. It is noteworthy that a small number of students at centers equipped to very low level.
• The frequency of use of ICT in the classroom is slightly lower than the European average.
• Spain is in the first position on ICT training in the last 2 years. The professional development c o n this technology is widespread in education at all levels analyzed, and the use of online communities, and really few students are in centers teachers have received little training.
• Confidence levels of both the faculty and the students, in their ICT skills are lower than the European average in most of the levels tested.
• At all levels analyzed, a percentage higher than the European average students are in schools with the presence of ICT coordinators.

In general, Spanish students enjoy high levels of equipment and connectivity, and tend to be digitally centers and equipped teachers trained in ICT. However, it is curious that this teacher training does not result in high levels of trust in technology or greater use of these in the classroom.

The main findings of the survey at European level:

• Only one in four students in nine years is on centers digitally equipped to high standards, that is, with upgraded appliances, high-speed broadband (over 10Mbps) and high connectivity (web center, e-mail to faculty and students, local area network and virtual learning environment).
• Only half of pupils aged 16 digitally equipped centers is at high level.
• 20% of pupils in secondary education has never or rarely used a computer in the classroom.
• The frequency with which students complete activities based on ICT in the classroom is higher in schools that have adopted formal policies regarding the use of these technologies.
• There are significant differences between countries in terms of technological equipment. Schools in the Nordic and Scandinavian countries are the ones with better equipment (Sweden, Finland, Denmark), while Poland, Romania, Italy, Greece, Hungary and Slovakia the worst.
• Laptops, tablets and netbooks are replacing desktop computers in many schools.
• The lack of ICT equipment does not translate into a lack of interest in information technology and communication. In fact, some countries, such as Bulgaria, Slovakia, Cyprus and Hungary, have low rates of provision of this equipment but high levels of use.
• It is essential that students have access to ICT at home and at school.
• Most teachers believe that radical change is needed in the centers policies regarding educational technologies.
• Teachers usually have confidence in the use of ICT for learning, what is even more important than technological equipment itself.
• However, the training of teachers on this topic is rarely mandatory and therefore most teachers spend their leisure time in acquiring these skills.
• Teachers use computers to prepare lessons rather than the classroom itself.

Download Report: Survey of schools: ICT in education in Europe

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