Digital competencies for university teaching: diagnosis, ongoing training, and impact on teaching quality

Abstract

In a context of accelerated digital transformation, teachers’ digital competencies are key to ensuring educational quality. In this sense, the purpose of this article is to evaluate whether teachers are correctly applying digital competencies, aiming to provide a diagnosis, highlight the importance of professional training, and analyze the impact on quality teaching in Peruvian universities. To achieve this, a quantitative, descriptive-correlational design was applied, with a sample of 78 teachers from three Peruvian universities, using validated questionnaires as the main data collection instrument to ensure reliability. The findings revealed that teachers have an intermediate level of digital skills (M = 3.42, SD = 0.87). They are proficient in communicating online, but show areas for improvement in creating their own teaching materials and managing information security. It was observed that the more time teachers spent learning about digital tools, the better they handled them (r = 0.68, p < 0.01). Additionally, those with higher digital competencies felt that the quality of their teaching was also better (r = 0.72, p < 0.01). A multiple regression analysis showed that ongoing learning explained nearly half (47%) of the variance in teachers' digital competency levels. The main conclusion is that it is essential to implement well-designed training programs to strengthen teachers' digital capacities, with particular attention to how to teach using technology and how to design educational materials. This is fundamental to effectively meet the current demands of higher education in Peru.