Education challenges in developing digital competence and critical thinking skills in a post-information age / Desafíos educativos en el desarrollo de la competencia digital y el pensamiento crítico en la era de la posinformación

Abstract

Today’s post-information world dictates the necessity of investigating the limits and objectives of compulsory teacher education. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of digital competency formation in teachers with different pedagogical experience through critical thinking skill assessment. The investigation relied on the TRACK-21 self-assessment tool and Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal (W-GCTA). The tests were administered to fifth-year pedagogy students and teachers with various years of experience (five, 10 and 15 years). The survey was conducted in three higher education institutions in the People’s Republic of China: Sichuan University of Arts and Sciences (Dazhou, China), Sichuan University (SCU), and Chengdu University of Technology. Time frame: September 2021. The study group included 103 students and 302 faculty members (401 people). The analysis of respondents’ techno-pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK-21) showed the strong leading position of fifth-year students (Group A) in digital competence distribution among all the respondents. Teachers with 15 years of professional experience (Group D) generally demonstrated lower digital competence. This study can be useful for specialists and managers of higher pedagogical institutions, graduate students, teachers and centres of professional development. The paper describes the distribution of critical thinking skills between teachers with different years of experience by assessing their digital skills.