Abstract:

After the World Health Organization published on March 11th, 2020, its recommendations to the educational sector, approximately two million teachers in Mexico faced an educational emergency. The present article explores the digital capital Mexican teachers had to carry out their courses. The study is guided by the concept of digital capital because is essential to understand the obstacles and inequalities teachers faced. According to Ragnedda [1], the sum of technological capacity plus digital skills is what makes up digital capital. Technological capacity refers to the installed infrastructure users have, such as the quality of connectivity. Digital Capital also encompasses the appropriation of technology by teachers for educational purposes. The term is influenced by Bourdieu's definition of cultural capital as forms of knowledge and skills, that a person might have in a certain field valued by society.

Digital capital is specifically expressed here, in the devices, applications, and pedagogical activities, teachers reported using during the pandemic. With a self-administered online questionnaire, a sample of n = 52,860 educators from all over the country, responded to our survey [2] Data analyses contrast differences by gender (male or female), school type (public or private), and educational level (primary, middle and high school). Results give us precise evidence about how teachers faced Emergency Remote Teaching (ERT) a term used by scholars like Hodges, et.al.[3] to emphasize the specific circumstances of the pandemic, as a temporary shift of instructional delivery to an alternate delivery mode that was not planned due to crisis circumstances.

Results show that teachers are facing a situation where digital capital is scarce among all schools, both public and private. Nevertheless, they have been very flexible and creative with the tools to hand and their limited internet access. As a by-product, a sense of survival was identified. It is observed that geographical regions, school types, and educational levels are associated with a digital divide. In general, results show that the Mexican educational system had an inadequate digital capital to meet the challenges of the Emergency Remote Teaching situation (ERT). There are deficiencies in connectivity and a lack of training for teachers in need to use ICTs with innovative pedagogies. How do we compensate for disparities and inequalities in the near future? This is a matter for public policy which will need to address issues ranging from efficient connectivity for all, to establish clear guidelines on the digital skills teachers will need, to confront the new challenges for education.

References:
[1] Ragnedda, M. “Conceptualizing digital capital”. Telematics and Informatics, 35, no.8 (2018): 2366-2375.
[2] Research conducted with assistance from the 2020-1 CONACyT funding program: “Support for scientific research, technological development and health innovations in the face of the COVID-19 contingency” (Project number 312825) and #IberoFrendealCOVID19. For more information on the research project visit the website https://educarencontingencia.net
[3] Hodges, C., Moore, S., Lockee, B., Trust, T. & Bond, A. “The Difference Between Emergency Remote Teaching and Online Learning”. EDUCASE Review, 2020. Retrieved from: https://er.educause.edu/articles/2020/3/the-difference-between-emergency-remote-teaching-and-online-learning

Keywords:

Digital Capital, Mexican teachers, COVID-19, Digital Divide.