Languages and ICT: teaching skills for the 21st century. A comparative analysis with other professions

Abstract

In response to new social demands, the current educational model has placed the mastery of languages and ICT as two of the most significant teaching skills. The aim of this study is to describe, from a comparative perspective with other occupational groups, the extent to which teachers have acquired these competencies and the ongoing training associated to them. We also analyse the relevance of these competencies for these professionals to access the labor market. An ex post-facto descriptive-comparative and cross-sectional study was carried out. We used data from the Labor Insertion Survey of University Graduates, EILU 2019, which collects data from a large sample of graduates from Spanish universities. The results show that, although the teachers present a higher level of both competences than the rest of the professionals of the social welfare system, the values are lower than those reported by STEM professionals. The high interest of teachers in permanent training, especially in the field of languages, is particularly noteworthy. The labor market of the Spanish education system points to language and ICT training as relevant recruitment factors, to a greater extent than the other labor sectors described. However, this market places more importance on other ‘traditional’ skills such as theoretical knowledge and practical skills. The university system, responsible for the pre-service teachers’ training, must improve its capacity, not only to provide them with a higher level in the skills described, but also for graduates to be able, in the future to incorporate them effectively into their teaching-learning processes.