Mendive. Journal on Education, july-september 2022; 20(3): 906-916

Translated from the original in Spanish

Original article

Techno-pedagogical and disciplinary knowledge of primary school teachers and demographic factors

Conocimientos tecnopedagógicos y disciplinares en los docentes de primaria y los factores demográficos

Conhecimento técnico-pedagógico e disciplinar em professores do ensino fundamental e fatores demográficos

Miguel Angel Paidican Soto¹https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0696-054X
Pamela Alejandra Arredondo Herrera²https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4888-4584

¹University of Barcelona. Spain. mpaidiso7@alumnes.ub.edu
² University of Granada. Spain. pamfergab2506@gmail.com

Received: March 6^th, 2022.
Accepted: June 6^th, 2022.

ABSTRACT

The integration of modern technologies is a challenge for society, and schools are no stranger to this reality, where the role of teachers is key to their adequate development. The aim is to present the results obtained from the analysis of the knowledge presented by teachers in relation to the context and components of Technology, Pedagogy and Content Knowledge. The method was based on quantitative, non-experimental and transactional aspects. Descriptive, comparative and correlational analyzes were carried out using SPSS version 26. The non-probabilistic sample consisted of 355 basic education teachers from the province of Valparaíso. The Technology, Pedagogy and Content Knowledge questionnaire adapted to the Chilean reality was used as an instrument. The results show that teachers had higher levels of pedagogical and disciplinary knowledge compared to technology teachers. Female teachers showed higher levels of knowledge in most of the Technology, Pedagogy and Content Knowledge dimensions. On the other hand, teachers from private subsidized schools and those with master's degrees showed better results in all dimensions of the Technology, Pedagogy and Content Knowledge. In addition, the existence of positive correlations between the variables studied was confirmed, highlighting those related to technological knowledge.

Keywords: knowledge of teachers; educational technology; Technology, Pedagogy and Content Knowledge; primary school teachers; teacher training; integration of technology.

RESUMEN

La integración de las nuevas tecnologías representa un reto para la sociedad y la escuela no es ajena a esta realidad, donde el rol del profesorado es clave para un desarrollo adecuado. El objetivo del presente artículo es exponer los resultados obtenidos del análisis de los conocimientos presentados por docentes, con relación al contexto y los componentes del Conocimiento Tecnológico Pedagógico del Contenido. La metodología estuvo basada en aspectos cuantitativos, no experimentales y transaccionales. Se realizaron análisis descriptivos, comparativos y correlacionales por medio SPSS, versión 26. La muestra no probabilística estuvo compuesta por 355 docentes de educación primaria de la provincia de Valparaíso. Se utilizó como instrumento el cuestionario del Conocimiento Tecnológico Pedagógico del Contenido adaptado a la realidad chilena. Los resultados dejan de manifiesto que los docentes presentaron mayores conocimientos pedagógicos y disciplinares en comparación con los tecnológicos. Las docentes mujeres exhibieron mayores niveles de conocimientos en la mayoría de las dimensiones del Conocimiento Tecnológico Pedagógico del Contenido. Por su parte, los docentes de colegios particulares subvencionados y con formación de magister, mostraron mejores resultados en todas las dimensiones del Conocimiento Tecnológico Pedagógico del Contenido. Además, se confirmó la existencia de correlaciones positivas entre las variables estudiadas, destacando las relacionadas con el conocimiento tecnológico.

Palabras clave: conocimiento de los profesores; tecnología educativa; Conocimiento Tecnológico Pedagógico del Contenido; docentes de primaria; formación del profesorado; integración de la tecnología.

RESUMO

A integração das novas tecnologias representa um desafio para a sociedade e a escola não está alheia a esta realidade, onde o papel do professor é fundamental para um desenvolvimento adequado. O objetivo deste artigo é expor os resultados obtidos a partir da análise do conhecimento apresentado pelos professores, em relação ao contexto e aos componentes do Conhecimento Tecnológico Pedagógico do Conteúdo. A metodologia foi baseada em aspectos quantitativos, não experimentais e transacionais. As análises descritivas, comparativas e correlacionais foram realizadas no SPSS, versão 26. A amostra não probabilística foi composta por 355 professores primários da província de Valparaíso. Utilizou-se como instrumento o questionário de Conhecimento Tecnológico Pedagógico de Conteúdo adaptado à realidade chilena. Os resultados mostram que os professores apresentaram maior conhecimento pedagógico e disciplinar em relação aos tecnológicos. As professoras apresentaram níveis mais elevados de conhecimento na maioria das dimensões do Conhecimento Pedagógico Tecnológico do Conteúdo. Por sua vez, professores de escolas particulares subsidiadas com mestrado apresentaram melhores resultados em todas as dimensões do Conhecimento Tecnológico Pedagógico do Conteúdo. Além disso, confirmou-se a existência de correlações positivas entre as variáveis estudadas, com destaque para aquelas relacionadas ao conhecimento tecnológico.

Palavras-chave: saberes docentes; Tecnologia educativa; Conhecimento Tecnológico Pedagógico do Conteúdo; professores primários; treinamento de professor; integração de tecnologia.

INTRODUCTION

The current educational processes require structural changes, an example of which is represented by the incorporation of new educational models. The model of Pedagogical Technological Knowledge of Contents or Technology, Pedagogy and Content Knowledge (TPACK), emerged in 2006. Mishra and Koehler's proposal states that teachers must acquire different knowledge related to content, pedagogy and new technologies. It is worth mentioning that the interaction of the three central dimensions allows us to identify four other dimensions (see Figure 1).

Fig. 1 - Illustration of the Technological Knowledge of Pedagogical Contents (TPACK)
Note: Illustration from (TPACK) (Source: http://tpack.org)

The sub dimensions that make up TPACK can be identified and defined as follows:

1) Technological Knowledge (TK): these are the skills required to use Information and Communications Technology (ICT) tools such as: computers, projectors, cameras, digital videos, blackboards, the Internet and the skills to use different software programs ( Koehler et al., 2014; Munyengabe et al., 2017).

2) Content Knowledge (CK): These are skills related to the content to be taught. It should be noted that the teaching and learning processes are favored to the extent that teachers present knowledge in meaningful contexts (Mishra and Koehler, 2006; Munyengabe et al., 2017).

3) Pedagogical Knowledge (PC): teachers need to have knowledge about teaching-learning processes, which should include classroom management, planning and evaluation of teaching-learning processes ( Munyengabeet al., 2017; Schmidt et al., 2009).

4) Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK): occurs at the intersection of CK and PK; this is how the PCK prepares the CK in the teaching process (Munyengabe et al., 2017; Koelher et al., 2014).

5) Technological Content Knowledge (TCK): the result of the combination of the TK and CK; the TCK relates how technology displays specific content (Koelher et al. , 2014 ; Munyengabe et al. , 2017 ; Schmidt et al. , 2009).

6) Technological Pedagogical Knowledge (TPK): the result of the combination of the TK and PK refers to the TPK; this knowledge refers to how the various technologies can be used and the way in which teachers deliver the content (Mishra & Koehler, 2006; Munyengabe et al., 2017; Schmidt et al., 2009).

7) Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK): corresponds to the result of the intersection of the CK, PK and TK, which represents the knowledge that teachers must possess to integrate ICT in the teaching and learning process (Koehler et al., 2014; Munyengabe et al., 2017; Schmidt et al., 2009).

The greatest development of TPACK is in Anglo-Saxon, Asian, Australian and some European countries (Lee, H. et al., 2022). In the Paidicán (2022) literature review, whose objective was to analyze the scientific literature related to TPACK in primary education, only 19 articles were identified, representing 3.05% of the total documents. It should be noted that none of the studies is carried out in Chile.

Added to the above is the lack of studies that indicate the relationship between the dimensions of the TPACK with demographic factors, such as gender, the administrative dependencies of schools and teacher training.

This article aims to present the results of the analysis of the knowledge presented by teachers in relation to the context and the components of the TPACK. For this it is necessary to describe, compare and relate the results with the research variables.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The research was carried out through a quantitative, non-experimental, descriptive, comparative and correlational design. The sample was selected for convenience or intentional. The sample consisted of 355 primary school teachers from the province of Valparaíso, in the communes of Viña del Mar, Quilpué, Villa Alemana and Algarrobo. Teachers who work in Municipalized Schools (EM) and Subsidized Private Schools (CPS) were considered. Regarding the teaching staff, it is made up of 248 women (69.9%) and 107 men (30.1%). Regarding the administrative dependency of teachers, 182 (51.2%) correspond to EM and 173 (48.8%) to CPS. When referring to the academic degree of the teaching staff, 313 have a bachelor's degree (88.2%) and 42 have a master's degree (11.8%).

The instrument used is the TPACK questionnaire, adapted and validated for the Chilean reality by Paidican (2019), whose reliability according to Cronbach `s Alpha coefficient is 0.948. The questionnaire is made up of 40 items on a five-point Likert scale: Strongly disagree (1), Disagree (2), Neither disagree nor agree (3), Agree (4) and Strongly agree (5); they are related to the central dimensions and the respective interactions that make up the TPACK model.

1. Technological Knowledge (TK): 7 items

2. Content Knowledge (CK): 7 items.

3. Pedagogical Knowledge (PK): 8 items.

4. Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK): 3 items

5. Technological Content Knowledge (TCK): 3 items

6. Technological Pedagogical Knowledge (TPK): 5 items

7. Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK): 7 items

The questionnaire distribution procedure was carried out in printed and electronic format through Google Forms , between the months of November 2019 and March 2020.

Regarding the statistical analysis, first, a descriptive analysis of the data was performed. Second, the predominance of gender in the TPACK subdimensions was analyzed through the t-means contrast test for independent samples. Third, to establish the relationship between the different variables, Pearson's linear coefficient was used. The preparation, organization and analysis of the data was developed using the statistical package Statistical Package from Social Sciences (SPPS Statistics), version 26 for Windows.

RESULTS

Internal consistency analysis was performed using Cronbach's alpha test, obtaining high reliability, similar to that obtained by Paidican (2019).

Descriptive analysis of the TPACK model

The study of the subdimensions that make up TPACK was carried out and the arithmetic mean, standard deviation and ranking statistics were considered (see Table 1). In addition, all the items that make up the TPACK, expressed in Table 2, were analyzed.

Table 1- Means, standard deviation and ranking of TPACK knowledge.

Table 1 shows that the global average of the TPACK questionnaire is (M Total=3.98; SD=0.643). The highest values were obtained in PK (M total=4.28 & SD= 0.71), followed by CK (M total=4.11; SD=0.72). For its part, TK presented the lowest arithmetic mean (total M=3.57 & SD=0.79).

Table 2- Means and standard deviation of all TPACK items.

In relation to the results of table 2, it was observed that the means are between 3.35 (item 1.4) and 4.61 (item 3.8), values that are higher than the mean of the instrument (M total =2.5). In addition, the items that presented the highest scores mostly correspond to the PK sub dimension : (item 3.8; M total=4.61) "I am aware that I must learn and reflect continuously"; (item 3.2; M total=4.38) "I am prepared to promote the personal and social development of my students"; (item 3.4; M total=4.34) "I am prepared to manage the class and create an appropriate environment for learning according to its context"; (item 2.3; M total=4.32) "I have the ability to design, plan and implement learning experiences in my own discipline"; (item 3.1; M total=4.26) "I know my students and how they learn" and (item 3.3: M total= 4.26) "I know how to design and implement learning strategies, appropriate to the learning objectives and according to the context.

Regarding the items with the lowest averages, all were from the TK sub dimension : (item 1.4; M total=3.35) "I often play and do tests with the use of ICT"; (item 1.5; M total=3.40) "I know many different ICT resources and tools"; (item 1.7; M total 3.36) "I have had enough opportunities to work with the different ICT resources and tools"; (item 1.6; M total=3.55) "I have the technical knowledge I need to use ICT" and (item 1.3; M total=3.63) "I keep up to date on the most important ICTs" .

Comparative analysis according to gender, administrative dependency and academic degree

Descriptive analyzes of the arithmetic means of the TPACK subdimensions were carried out, in such a way that the possible differences according to variables (gender, administrative dependency and academic degree) could be studied. In addition, t-tests for independent samples were performed.

The t-test for our independents was performed to compare the TPACK subdimensions in women and men. Statistically significant differences appeared in Content Knowledge (CK) between women (M= 4.16; SD= 0.709) and women (M= 3.97; SD= 0.72); t (353) = 2.429, p= 0.016. The results indicated that the women presented a greater knowledge of their own discipline than the men. In the rest of the TPACK subdimensions, they did not present significant statistical differences.

Table 3- Means, standard deviation and t-test for independent samples according to gender.

The TPACK sub dimensions and the administrative dependency where the teachers work were compared. Statistically significant differences were exhibited in Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) by CPS teachers (M= 4.17; SD= 0.67); t(355) = -3.480, p= 0.001. The result proposes that the CPS teachers presented a higher PCK, therefore, they tend to favor the learning of the students' content, compared to the EM teachers. The rest of the TPACK sub dimensions did not present significant statistical differences.

Table 4- Means, standard deviation and t-test for independent samples according to administrative dependency

The TPACK sub dimensions and the academic degree of the teachers were compared. There were statistically significant differences in Technological Knowledge (TK) in teachers with a master's degree (M= 3.82; SD= 0.82); t (355) = 2.199, p= 0.029. The result suggests that teachers with a master's degree presented greater TK knowledge, which tends to favor the development of ICT-mediated teaching and learning activities, compared to teachers with a bachelor's degree. In the rest of the TPACK subdimensions, no significant statistical differences were found.

Table 5- Means, standard deviation and t-test for independent samples according to academic degree

Relationship between the different variables

Pearson's linear correlation coefficient r was analyzed to study the existence of relationships between the dimensions that make up the TPACK (see Table 6).

The existence of a strong positive correlation was observed between the variables TPK and TPACK (r=0.838), between CK and PK (r=0.744) and between TCK and TPACK (r=0.731).

In addition, the existence of strong positive correlations between TK and the following three variables was observed: TK and TPK (r=0.736), between TK and TPACK (r=0.711) and between TK and TCK (r=0.617).

The increase in TK correlates with the increase in TPACK, TPACK and TCK knowledge. In contrast, the central dimensions that make up TPACK present positive correlations, but weaker, between TK and CK (r 0.369) and between TK and PK (r=0.480).

Table 6- Correlations between the sub dimensions of the TPACK model.

Note: ** Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (bilateral)

DISCUSSION

The results show that primary school teachers have greater pedagogical and disciplinary knowledge than technological knowledge, which is consistent with previous studies Paidican (2019), Roig et al. (2015), Roussinos & Jimoyiannis (2019), Schmidt et al. (2009).

Regarding Technological Knowledge (TK), women present better results than men in this knowledge and the interaction with the other dimensions: TK, TCK, TPK and TPACK, which is consistent with the investigations of Beltrán et al. (2019), Roig-Vila et al. (2015) and Schmidt et al. (2009). It should be noted that caution should be maintained regarding the results related to the gender of teachers, since there are investigations where men present better results in Technological Knowledge (TK) than women ( Luiket al. , 2018; Ortiz-Colon et al. , 2020 and Schereret al. ,2017). On the other hand, women present statistically significant differences in Content Knowledge (CK) compared to men.

Regarding the administrative dependency, the teaching staff of subsidized private schools obtain better results in most of the dimensions that make up TPACK, with the exception of Content Knowledge (CK). In addition, statistically significant differences were observed in Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK).

Regarding the academic degree, teachers with a master's degree present higher results in all the dimensions that make up the TPACK. It is also observed that teachers with a master's degree obtain statistically significant differences in Content Knowledge (CK). From the results obtained in the correlation analysis, it can be concluded that there are interrelationships between the dimensions that make up the TPACK, with the strongest correlations being between Technological Pedagogical Knowledge (TPK) and Technological Pedagogical Knowledge of Content (TPACK), between Knowledge of the Content (CK) and Pedagogical Knowledge (PK) and between Technological Content Knowledge (TCK) and Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK). In addition, in line with what Roig-Vila et al.(2015) , the weakest correlations are found in Technological Knowledge (TK), interrelated with Content Knowledge (CK) and Pedagogical Knowledge (PK).

Regarding the limitations and prospective, it is required in future investigations of probabilistic samples and with the participation of teachers from different regions of Chile, in such a way that the results obtained can be generalized.

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Conflict of interests

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Authors contribution

All authors managed the information, reviewed the writing of the manuscript and approved the version finally submitted.

This work is under a licencia de Creative Commons Reconocimiento-NoComercial 4.0 Internacional
Copyright (c) Miguel Angel Paidican Soto, Pamela Alejandra Arredondo Herrera