Abstract:

The aim of the paper is to analyse the links between ICT (Information and Communication Technology) competences and the approaches of undergraduate teacher training students to learning. The 21st century is called the “digital era”. It places increased demands on individuals in terms of ICT literacy as well as orientation and knowledge of digital technologies. These are modern and socially supported competences that are (and probably will be) part of pedagogical thinking and pedagogical skills. Future teachers of the 21st century will be expected to pass on these competences to their students through the integration of ICT in all teaching subjects. Learning approaches then represent the students’ individual ways of learning and differ in their focus, motivation, structure and flexibility. In this context, the authors focused on exploring the links between ICT competences and learning approaches in relation to selected characteristics of undergraduate teacher training students (gender, form of study).

The research sample comprised 624 undergraduate students from faculties of education aged 19–55 years (M = 23±6); 528 women (84.7%) and 96 men (15.3%). The research method included the application of two questionnaires. The Revised Two-Factor Study Process Questionnaire is a 20-item questionnaire which uses a 5-point Likert scale to map students’ attitudes and approaches to study. The questionnaire covers two factors: a deep approach and a surface approach. The reliability of the questionnaire achieves good values of α = .73 (deep approach) and α = .64 (surface approach). The Information and communication technology competence is a 14-item questionnaire with a 4-point Likert scale which uses three factors (core, application and ethics competences) to examine students’ qualification in ICT. The inventory has very good psychometric parameters reaching α = .87. The data were analysed in SPSS 21 using descriptive statistics calculation and Pearson correlation analysis. The study was conducted in compliance with applicable ethical principles.

The results suggested that the degree of ICT competences increased especially with the application of the deep approach to study (r = 0.27, .29 and .14 for core, application and ethics competences, respectively). This distribution is essentially identical for the deep motives and strategies. The surface approach was not related to the level of ICT competences except for ethics competences where a slightly negative association was observed (r = -0.12). Significant gender differences were observed; in women the association between ICT competences and the deep approach had a small effect size (r = 0.10 to 0.28), while in men a very significant relationship between ICT competences and the deep approach (r = 0.29 to 0.88) as well as the surface approach (r = -0.48 and -0.74 for ethics and core competences, respectively), the former being positive, the latter negative. In the context of the form of study, a surprising association was observed between learning approaches and the degree of ICT competences especially in terms of the full-time study (r = 0.17 to 0.30), for both the deep motives and strategies. In the case of the surface approach, a negative association was observed only in terms of ethics ICT competences (r = -0.16). In the case of part-time students, only one positive association was observed between the surface approach and application ICT competences (r = 0.28).

Keywords:

Information and Communication Technology, learning approaches, student, teacher, university.