Abstract

Teacher digital competencies (TDC) of teachers in training, are key to the use of digital technologies to design and moderate learning environments. The purpose of this research was to describe the levels of digital teaching competence in chilean pedagogic students, through an instrument of evaluation of theoretical knowledge of the TDC and analyzing differences in the variables sex, type of Initial Teaching Training (ITT) programme and participation in professional teaching practice. This differs from the application of self-improvement instruments. In this study, 239 teachers in training at seven Chilean universities took a theoretical test of TDC. The results showed significant differences in the dimension of “Didactic, curricular and methodological aspects,” tilted in favour of women. Likewise, the indicator for “Design teaching-learning activities that include the use of digital technology” revealed significant differences across the variables: gender (principally women) programme type (higher for primary school student teachers) and participation in a teaching practicum, with higher scores for those who had completed one. Finally, the indicator “Uses digital technologies to communicate and share knowledge” displayed significant differences when it came to the programme type variable (higher for secondary school student teachers). This study offers novel insight into the TDC measurement process, enabling identification of critical areas in ITT.