Digital competence in engineering: gap between institutional-policy and teaching practice

Abstract

Abstract– Purpose: This study addresses the digital competence of engineering education teachers, evaluating the relationships between the institutional framework and teaching practices in the field of Peruvian higher education. It is a quantitative, descriptive-analytical, non-experimental, and cross-sectional design applied to a sample of 212 engineering program teachers. The results highlight a structural gap between teachers' measured recognition of the institutional framework for this competency (M=4.019) and the viability of available resources (M=2.736). At the end of the teaching practices referred to, the averages awarded to the dimensions of training and updating (M=4.409), methodological use (M=4.291), and collaboration (M=4.216) indicated favorable levels. Statistically significant, albeit moderate, correlations (ρ=0.144 to 0.214, p<.05) were found between the context and the dimensions. No differences were found between years of experience. It is established that the institutional framework is a facilitating factor, but not a determining one, in teaching competence. There is also evidence of a disconnect between declarative regulatory structures and the material conditions of implementation, with impacts on SDG 4 and SDG 9.