REDIP

Revista Digital de Investigación y Postgrado

Volume 6 number 12 (July–December ), 2025

Redip

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REDIP, Digital Journal of Research and Postgraduate Studies, a biannual publication, Vol. 6 No. 12 July–December

2025. Responsible Editor: Omar Escalona Vivas. Publication Address: Institute of Higher Studies in Research and

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Objective and Scope of REDIP

Institute of Higher Sudies in Research

and Postgraduate Studies

CEO

Dra. Danny Soledad Méndez Márquez

Email: danny.mendez@iesip.edu.ve

General Academic Coordinator

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General Secretary

Dr. Oscar Enrique Cárdenas Duarte

Email: oscar.duarte@iesip.edu.ve

Revista Digital de Investigación y Postgrado, 6(12)

Electronic ISSN: 2665-038X

Revista de Investigación y Postgrado

Volume 6, Number 12 (July–December), 2025

Editorial Committee

Editor-in-Chief

Omar Escalona Vivas. PhD in Educational Sciences. Institute of Higher Studies in Research and

Postgraduate: San Cristóbal, Venezuela. Email: omar.escalona@iesip.edu.ve

International Coordinators

Ronald Humberto Ordoñez Silva. PhD in Educational Sciences. International Corporation for

Knowledge Management Corpcigec, Quito, Ecuador. Email: ronald.cigec@gmail.com

Yan Carlos Ureña Villamizar. PhD in Sciences, with a Mention in Management. Dr. Rafael Be-

lloso Chacín Private University. PhD in Technology and Innovation Management. Postdoctoral

in Human Sciences, University of Zulia. Technological Institute of Antioquia, Antioquia – Colom-

bia. Email: yan.ureña@tdea.edu.co

Wit Jay Vanegas. PhD in MSc Research and Development Project Management. National Open

and Distance University. Barranquilla, Colombia. Email: wittjayvanegas001@gmail.com

Advisory Board

David Gerardo Colina Gómez. PhD in Managerial Sciences. Institute of Higher Studies in Re-

search and Postgraduate, San Cristóbal, Venezuela. Email: dagercol@gmail.com

Jonathan de Jesús Pernía Pérez. PhD in Social Sciences. Simón Rodríguez National Experi-

mental University, Venezuela, La Grita, Venezuela. Email: perniaperezjonathanjesus@gmail.com

Editorial Commitee

Revista Digital de Investigación y Postgrado, 6(12), 9-11

Electronic ISSN: 2665-038X

Dilka Consuelo Chacón Hernández. PhD in Educational Sciences. Institute of Higher Studies

in Research and Postgraduate, San Cristóbal, Venezuela. Email: chacondilka113@gmail.com

Marco José Roa Méndez. PhD in Environment and Development. Institute of Higher Studies in

Research and Postgraduate, Venezuela. Email: mendezmarcosjose@gmail.com

Lidiz Thamaira Pérez Meneses. PhD in Educational Sciences. Institute of Higher Studies in Re-

search and Postgraduate, San Cristóbal, Venezuela. Email: tamyperezmeneses@hotmail.com

Iraima Zoraida Pérez Meneses. PhD in Educational Sciences. Pedagogical Experimental Uni-

versity Libertador, Rubio, Venezuela. Email: iraimaperez@hotmail.com

Lesbia Ferrer Cayama. PhD in Educational Sciences. National Experimental University of the

Western Plains Ezequiel Zamora, Santa Bárbara, Barinas, Venezuela. Email:

lesbiaferrer68@gmail.com

Álvaro Sánchez Romero. MSc in Educational Technology Management. Carlos Vicente Rey

School, Piedecuesta, Colombia. Email: grupo.investigacion.cavirey@gmail.com

Damian Islas Mondragón. PhD in Philosophy of Science. Institute of Social Sciences, Juárez

University of the State of Durango, Mexico. Email: damianislas@ujed.mx

International Reviewers Board

Diego Fernando Coral Coral. PhD in Physics, Postdoctorate in Nanotechnology. University of

Cauca, Popayán, Cauca, Colombia. Email: dfcoral@unicauca.edu.co

Fermín Aceves de la Cruz. PhD in Physical Sciences. University of Guadalajara, Guadalajara,

Mexico. Email: fermin.adelacruz@academicos.udg.mx

Mauricio Gerardo Duque Villalba. PhD in Educational Sciences. Nicolás Buenaventura District

Educational Institution, Santa Marta, Colombia. Email: mageduvi@hotmail.com

Cristóbal E. Vega G. PhD in Statistics and Operations Research. University of Carabobo, Valencia,

Carabobo, Venezuela. Email: cvega@uc.edu.ve

Gerardo Fabian Goya. PhD in Physics. University of Zaragoza, Institute of Nanoscience of Ara-

gon, Zaragoza, Spain. Email: goya@unizar.es

Gerson José Márquez. PhD in Condensed Matter Physics. Technological University of Peru,

Arequipa, Peru. Email: gmarquez@utp.edu.pe

José Rafael Prado Pérez. PhD in Education with a Mention in Curriculum. University of Los

Editorial Commitee

Andes, Mérida, Venezuela. Email: jrpp@ula.ve

Otilio Arturo Acevedo Sandoval. PhD in Biological Sciences and PhD in Chemical Sciences.

Autonomous University of the State of Hidalgo: Pachuca de Soto, Hidalgo, Mexico. Email: ace-

vedo@uaeh.edu.mx

Rosmary Guillén Guillén. Master in Physics and Physical Technologies. Technological University

of Peru, Arequipa, Peru. Email: c21372@utp.edu.pe

José Armando Santiago Rivera. PhD in Educational Sciences. University of Los Andes, San Cris-

tóbal, Táchira, Venezuela. Email: asantia@ula.ve

Juan José Milón Guzman. PhD in Mechanical Engineering. Technological University of Peru,

Arequipa, Peru. Email: jmilon@utp.edu.pe

Jesús Tanori Quintana. PhD in Social Sciences. Sonora Institute of Technology, Obregón, Sonora,

Mexico. Email: jesus.tanori@itson.edu.mx

Publisher Institutional Unity

Coordination

Oscar Enrique Cárdenas Duarte. PhD in Educational Sciences. Institute of Higher Studies in

Research and Postgraduate, Venezuela. Email: oscarduarte@iesip.edu.ve

Technical Council

Marcos José Roa Méndez. PhD in Environment and Development. Institute of Higher Studies

in Research and Postgraduate, Venezuela. Email: mendezmarcosjose@gmail.com

Lira Soledad Roa Méndez. PhD in Social Sciences. Institute of Higher Studies in Research and

Postgraduate, Venezuela. Email: lyrasoledad@gmail.com

Translator

Ronald Humberto Ordoñez Silva. PhD in Educational Sciences. International Corporation for

Knowledge Management (Corpcigec), Quito, Ecuador. Email: ronald.cigec@gmail.com

Technical Management

Yossella Valdez. Systems Engineer. Email: yosella.valdez@iesip.edu.ve

Ysabel Sánchez. Systems Engineer. Email: ysabel.sanchez@iesip.edu.ve

Editorial Commitee

Revista Digital de Investigación y Postgrado, 6(12), 9-11

Electronic ISSN: 2665-038X

Indexations

Revista Digital de Investigación y Postgrado, 6(12), 13-17

Electronic ISSN: 2665-038X

Indexations

Our journal is indexed in the following Databases and scientific information systems:

Selective International Databases

Journal Evaluation Platforms

Open Access Index

Selective Directories

Selective Periodical Libraries

Publishers Copyright Policies and Self-Archiving

International Library Catalogs

Indexations

Revista Digital de Investigación y Postgrado, 6(12), 13-17

Electronic ISSN: 2665-038X

16 Indexations

Firmantes de

Indexations

Revista Digital de Investigación y Postgrado, 6(12), 13-17

Electronic ISSN: 2665-038X

Editorial

Revista Digital de Investigación y Postgrado, 6(12), 19-21

Electronic ISSN: 2665-038X

Editorial

The object of study: Epistemological core of all scientific research

At the heart of every research endeavor lies an essential element that determines its direction,

depth, and relevance: the object of study. Defining it is no trivial act; on the contrary, it represents

a decisive epistemological operation, as it constitutes the delimitation of the fragment of reality

one seeks to understand (Tamayo y Tamayo, 2006). This element articulates the questions, ob-

jectives, theoretical categories, and methods of research, and its proper formulation directly im-

pacts the validity of the knowledge produced.

From classical thought to contemporary epistemologies, the object of study has been conceived

in multiple ways. According to Bunge (2000), all scientific research must begin with the precise

identification of the problem or phenomenon to be studied, based on a rigorous and coherent

conceptual framework. This precision requires distinguishing between the empirical-observable

and the theoretical-explicable, demanding a critical attitude that avoids taking objects as given.

In current scientific practice, particularly in the social sciences and humanities, the object of

study is not only constructed but constantly reinterpreted within dynamic contexts. Morin (1990)

argues that every object of knowledge is inherently complex, entangled with multiple dimensions

of reality, and irreducible to a single variable or cause. This complex vision requires researchers

to transcend reductionist views and adopt transdisciplinary logic.

De Sousa Santos (2009) proposes that science must relearn to listen to objects from a plural

perspective, recognizing the multiple forms of knowledge that interact with social realities. Thus,

the object of study is not merely a phenomenon to be investigated but a theoretical construction

with ethical, political, and cultural implications.

Hermeneutic and critical perspectives complement this view. Gadamer (1997) emphasizes the

interpretive nature of knowledge, anchored in the historical and linguistic horizons of both the

researcher and the reality being studied. Similarly, Habermas (1987) warns of the need to situate

objects of study within contexts of communicative action, acknowledging the power dynamics,

domination, and consensus that permeate all scientific practice.

Methodologically, Hernández, Fernández, and Baptista (2014) recommend that the object of

study be clearly defined by delimiting specific variables or dimensions that can be observed,

measured, or interpreted, depending on the adopted approach. This clarity does not imply ri-

gidity but must coexist with the interpretive flexibility required by any authentic research process.

Guba and Lincoln (1994) argue that objects of study in the social sciences are intersubjectively

constructed, and their understanding demands dialogue and negotiation among the actors in-

volved in the research.

Finally, Lakatos (1978) and Kuhn (1962) agree that science progresses through redefinitions of

objects of study, conditioned by paradigmatic shifts, research programs, and social contexts. In

this sense, scientific journals, as spaces for knowledge circulation, play a fundamental role in

promoting updated reflections on research objects, understood as dynamic constructions that

encode not only the "what" but also the "why" and "how" of science. Dussel (1994) cautions that

20 Editorial

the object of study also reflects society's ethical-political priorities, while Popper (1972) reminds

us that all objects are revisable and perfectible in light of new evidence.

This purpose becomes particularly relevant in the contemporary context, characterized by te-

chnological acceleration, the complexity of social phenomena, and growing global interdepen-

dence. Scientific journals not only document and disseminate produced knowledge but also

help build epistemic communities that engage with current grand challenges. Interdisciplinary

journals especially bear the responsibility of making visible the diversity of approaches, methods,

and objects of study, creating spaces where different perspectives can complement and enrich

debate. The training of critical and committed researchers depends significantly on access to

publications offering updated conceptual frameworks and case studies illustrating the tensions

and potentials of research processes.

Accordingly, this issue of our journal aims to contribute to this collective task by showcasing re-

search that demonstrates the richness and complexity of objects of study addressed by educa-

tors, researchers, and professionals across various fields. Each contribution reflects a

commitment to rethinking formative, scientific, and social processes through interdisciplinary,

contextualized, and critical lenses.

The topics featured in this edition include:

Student Scientific and Investigative Competencies from an Interdisciplinary Perspective in •

General Secondary Education, by Carmen Eloísa Sánchez Molina.

Sayings and Doings: Comprehensibility of Knowledge Significance Among Teachers Re-•

garding Reading and Writing in Colombian Rural Education, by Adrián Filiberto Contreras

Colmenares and Alba Lucía Barajas Lizcano.

Material and Normative Dimension of the International System and Law (SI-DI), by Iván •

Agustín Cevallos Zambrano.

Educommunication: Dialogic Approach to Innovate Teaching Practice, by Delmy Janeth •

Andrade Oviedo, Lisset Márquez Martínez and Jorge Miguel Quevedo Borrero.

Distance Education: Digital Platforms and Autonomy of 21st Century Students, by Custódio •

Cazenga Francisco.

ICT Integration in Transdisciplinary Teaching in University Education, by Juan Acacio Ro-•

sales Vivas.

Influence of Information and Communication Technologies in University Professional Trai-•

ning Processes, by Ezequiel Landinez Blanco.

Curriculum Revision in Higher Education and Its Implications for Teaching Quality: Cha-•

llenges for University Education, by Mário Adelino Miranda Guedes.

Artificial Intelligence Implementation: A Strategy for Learning Planning and Assessment, •

by Sergio Alberto Mejía Rivera.

Editorial

Revista Digital de Investigación y Postgrado, 6(12), 21-21

Electronic ISSN: 2665-038X

School Dropout, Access and Retention Strategies in Official Educational Institutions of Tunja, •

by Jorge Fernando Vargas Cruz.

Quality Indicator System: Evaluation of Investigative Training in Nicaraguan Higher Edu-•

cation, 2021-2023, by Jossarys Gazo Robles.

Teaching Challenges When Guiding Competitive Learning in Fields Beyond One's Specialty, •

by Mayra Daniella Escobar Rivas.

Each of these works reminds us that the object of study is not a static entity, but a construct

that must be problematized and redefined according to the social, technological and educa-

tional transformations of our time. We invite our readers to peruse these pages with a critical

and reflective perspective, confident they will find valuable contributions for the collective cons-

truction of relevant, rigorous and committed knowledge.

References

Bunge, M. (2000). La investigación científica: su estrategia y su filosofía. Siglo XXI Editores.

De Sousa Santos, B. (2009). Una epistemología del sur. CLACSO.

Dussel, E. (1994). El encubrimiento del Otro: hacia el origen del mito de la modernidad. Nueva

Visión.

Gadamer, H.-G. (1997). Verdad y método. Sígueme.

Guba, E., & Lincoln, Y. (1994). Competing paradigms in qualitative research. Sage.

Habermas, J. (1987). Teoría de la acción comunicativa. Taurus.

Hernández, R., Fernández, C., y Baptista, P. (2014). Metodología de la investigación (6.ª ed.).

McGraw-Hill.

Kuhn, T. (1962). La estructura de las revoluciones científicas. Fondo de Cultura Económica.

Lakatos, I. (1978). La metodología de los programas de investigación científica. Alianza Editorial.

Morin, E. (1990). Introducción al pensamiento complejo. Gedisa.

Popper, K. (1972). La lógica del descubrimiento científico. Tecnos.

Tamayo y Tamayo, M. (2006). El proceso de la investigación científica. Limusa.

Dr. Omar Escalona Vivas

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2560-0339

Content

Editorial committee....................................................................................................................................9-11

Indexations..................................................................................................................................................13-17

Editorial........................................................................................................................................................19-21

Reseach articles........................................................................................................ 27-183

Scientific and research competencies of students from an interdisciplinary perspective

in general secondary education..............................................................................................................................27-47

Competencias científicas e investigativas estudiantiles desde una perspectiva interdisciplinaria

en la educación media general

Carmen Eloísa Sánchez Molina

Sayings and chores: understandability of the significance of teachers' knowledge regarding

reading and writing in Colombian rural education...........................................................................49-64

Decires y quehaceres: comprensibilidad de la significación de los saberes en los docentes

respecto de la lectura y la escritura en la educación rural colombiana

Adrián Filiberto Contreras Colmenares and Alba Lucía Barajas Lizcano

Material and regulatory dimension of the system and international law (SI-DI).............65-83

Dimensión material y normativa del sistema y el derecho internacional (SI-DI)

Iván Agustín Cevallos Zambrano

Educommunication: A dialogic approach to innovate teaching practice..........................85-103

Educomunicación: enfoque dialógico para innovar la práctica docente

Delmy Janeth Andadre Oviedo, Lisset Márquez Martínez and Jorge Miguel Quevedo Borrero

Distance education: digital platforms and student autonomy of the 21st century....105-112

Educación a distancia: plataformas digitales y autonomía del alumnado del siglo XXI

Custódio Cazenga Francisco

Integration of ICT in transdisciplinary teaching in university education..............................113-123

Integración de TIC en la enseñanza transdisciplinaria en Educación universitaria

Juan Acacio Rosales Vivas

Influence of information and communication technologies on the university

professional training process ..........................................................................................................125-134

Influencia de las tecnologías de información y comunicación en el proceso de

formación profesional universitaria

Ezequiel Landinez Blanco

Curriculum review in higher education and its implications for teaching quality: Challenges

Content

Revista Digital de Investigación y Postgrado, 6(12), 23-24

Electronic ISSN: 2665-038X

for university education.......................................................................................................................133-141

Revisión curricular en la Educación Superior y sus implicaciones en la calidad docente:

Desafíos para la enseñanza universitaria

Mário Adelino Miranda Guedes

Implementation of artificial intelligence: A strategy for learning planning

and evaluation......................................................................................................................................143-154

Implementación de la Inteligencia Artificial: Una estrategia para la planificación y

evaluación del aprendizaje

Sergio Alberto Mejía Rivera

School desertion, access and permanence strategies in the official educational

institutions of Tunja..............................................................................................................................155-171

Deserción escolar, estrategias de acceso y permanencia en las Instituciones Educativas

Oficiales de Tunja

Jorge Fernando Vargas Cruz

Quality qndicators system: Evaluation of research training in higher education in

Nicaragua, 2021–2023......................................................................................................................173-183

Sistema de Indicadores de Calidad: Evaluación de la Formación Investigativa en

la Educación Superior de Nicaragua, 2021-2023

Jossarys Gazo Robles

Essays.......................................................................................................187-195

Challenges faced by teachers when guiding competitive learning in areas

outside their field of expertise......................................................................................................187-195

Retos del profesorado al guiar aprendizajes competitivos en saberes distintos a

su especialidad

Mayra Daniella Escobar Rivas

Journal's editorial policy........................................................................197-198

Procedure for the reception, selection and evaluation of manuscripts..................199-200

24 Content

Research articles

Artículos de investigación

Revista Digital de Investigación y Postgrado, 6(11), 27-183

Electronic ISSN: 2665-038X

Revista Digital de Investigación y Postgrado, 6(12), 27-47.

Electronic ISSN: 2665-038X

Scientific and research competencies of

students from an interdisciplinary

perspective in general

secondary education

Competencias científicas e investigativas

estudiantiles desde una perspectiva

interdisciplinaria en la educación

media general

Carmen Eloísa Sánchez Molina

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9564-2768

Santa Bárbara, Barinas state / Venezuela

How to citer: Sánchez, M. C. E. (2025). Scientific and research competencies of students from an inter-

disciplinary perspective in general secondary education. Revista Digital de Investigación y Postgrado,

6(12), 27-47. https://doi.org/10.59654/tgpqg354

* Doctor of Education, Master in University Teaching with a mention in Education, Universidad Nacional Experimental

de los Llanos Occidentales Ezequiel Zamora. Barinas, Barinas – Venezuela. Tenured Lecturer, assistant category.

Universidad Nacional Experimental de los Llanos Occidentales Ezequiel Zamora. Santa Bárbara de Barinas – Vene-

zuela. Email: carmenisajose@gmail.com

Received: may / 5 / 2025 Accepted: may / 20 / 2025

https://doi.org/10.59654/tgpqg354

Abstract

This paper analyzes the development of scientific and research competencies in General Secon-

dary Education students from an interdisciplinary perspective, aiming to construct a theoretical

approach focused on students’ integral development. The study follows a qualitative methodology,

using the hermeneutic method and grounded theory, and is based on in-depth interviews with

natural science teachers from institutions in Santa Bárbara de Barinas. Findings reveal that inter-

disciplinary approaches foster critical thinking skills in students. Data analysis produced 44 emer-

ging codes and two axial categories, enabling the construction of new theoretical concepts. The

conclusions emphasize the need to strengthen these competencies within the Venezuelan edu-

cational context, aligned with national policies. This study presents an innovative contribution to

educational and scientific advancement, seeking to improve teaching quality and promote the

country's scientific and technological independence.

Keywords: Scientific competencies, Secondary Education, Natural Sciences, Venezuela.

Resumen

El documento analiza el desarrollo de competencias científicas e investigativas en estudiantes de

Educación Media General desde un enfoque interdisciplinario, con el propósito de construir una

aproximación teórica orientada al desarrollo integral del estudiante. La investigación es cualitativa,

basada en el método hermenéutico y la teoría fundamentada, y se apoya en entrevistas en pro-

fundidad a docentes de ciencias naturales en instituciones de Santa Bárbara de Barinas. Los ha-

llazgos evidencian que la interdisciplinariedad impulsa habilidades críticas en los estudiantes. El

análisis generó 44 códigos emergentes y dos categorías axiales, lo cual permitió formular nuevos

conceptos teóricos. Las conclusiones destacan la necesidad de fortalecer estas competencias

dentro del contexto educativo venezolano, en consonancia con las políticas nacionales. Este es-

tudio representa un aporte innovador al avance educativo y científico, con miras a mejorar la ca-

lidad de la enseñanza y promover la independencia científica y tecnológica del país.

Palabras clave: Competencias científicas, Educación Media General, Ciencias Naturales, Venezuela.

Introduction

In the contemporary educational landscape, marked by rapid scientific, technological, and social

transformations, it has become imperative to rethink teaching-learning models in the natural

sciences area. Science education faces the historical challenge of training citizens capable of

understanding the complexity of today's world and actively participating in solving relevant

socio-scientific problems (Pozo & Gómez, 2010). This challenge acquires special relevance at

the General Secondary Education level, where the foundations for the development of scientific

thinking are laid and fundamental attitudes toward science and its method are shaped (Minis-

terio del Poder Popular para la Educación, MPPE 2017).

Carmen Eloísa Sánchez Molina

The concept of scientific and investigative competencies has emerged as a central axis in this

educational debate. According to Gamboa et al. (2020), these competencies represent an in-

tegrated set of knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values that enable students to address scientific

problems with methodological rigor, creativity, and critical thinking. However, as demonstrated

by Arias' (2017) studies in the Venezuelan context, there is a marked gap between this educa-

tional ideal and the predominant pedagogical practices in classrooms, which frequently reduce

science teaching to the transmission of decontextualized conceptual content.

The described situation reflects what Freire (2012) called "banking education," a model that con-

ceives students as mere passive recipients of information rather than active protagonists of their

learning process. This criticism becomes particularly relevant when analyzing, as Sánchez and

Herrera (2019) have done, the actual conditions under which science teaching develops in many

Venezuelan institutions: insufficiently equipped laboratories, teachers with limited opportunities

for pedagogical updating, and assessments that prioritize rote memorization over deep un-

derstanding and knowledge application.

The Venezuelan Natural Sciences curriculum for Secondary Education (MPPE, 2017) formally

establishes the need for an interdisciplinary approach integrating perspectives from Biology,

Chemistry, Physics, and Earth Sciences. Nevertheless, as revealed by Arias' (2017) research, this

interdisciplinarity rarely materializes in classroom practices, where fragmented knowledge or-

ganization and scarce articulation between different scientific areas persist. This curricular dis-

sociation has significant consequences for student training, limiting their ability to address

complex problems that, by their nature, require integrative approaches from multiple discipli-

nes.

In this context, developing scientific and investigative competencies from an interdisciplinary

perspective emerges as a promising pedagogical alternative. As Gamboa et al. (2020) argue,

this approach allows overcoming the artificial division between scientific disciplines and con-

necting school learning with real problems from social and environmental contexts. Along these

lines, Herrera's (2016) work in Spain has demonstrated how didactic strategies based on scientific

inquiry can significantly transform educational practices, fostering students' critical thinking skills,

collaborative work, and creative problem-solving.

International experience offers valuable lessons for the Venezuelan context. Figueroa's (2017)

studies in Peru have evidenced the positive impact of active methodologies on developing in-

vestigative competencies, while Lupión and Martín's (2016) research highlights the importance

of linking scientific learning with global challenges like climate change or environmental sustai-

nability. These contributions agree on the need to transcend traditional teaching models, pro-

moting instead pedagogies that stimulate scientific curiosity, grounded questioning, and

collaborative knowledge construction.

At the regional level, research such as that by in Colombia and Barón (2019) in Panama has

provided significant evidence about factors that either favor or hinder the development of scien-

Scientific and research competencies of students from an interdisciplinary

perspective in general secondary education

Revista Digital de Investigación y Postgrado, 6(12), 27-47.

Electronic ISSN: 2665-038X

tific competencies in secondary education students. These studies coincide in highlighting the

crucial role of teacher training, availability of adequate resources, and implementation of eva-

luation strategies consistent with the objectives of contemporary science education.

In this line of thought, the present study aims to contribute to this educational debate from a

theoretical-practical perspective, articulating conceptual foundations about scientific competen-

cies (Gamboa et al., 2020; Pozo & Gómez, 2010) with critical analysis of relevant pedagogical ex-

periences in the Ibero-American context (Herrera, 2016; Figueroa, 2017; Sánchez & Herrera, 2019).

Methodologically, the research combines: (a) A comprehensive documentary analysis of Vene-

zuelan curricular frameworks (MPPE, 2017) in dialogue with the most advanced theoretical pro-

posals in science didactics. (b) Systematic review of innovative pedagogical experiences developed

in contexts similar to Venezuela's. (c) A field study in educational institutions of the Ezequiel Zamora

municipality that allows contrasting theoretical references with classroom realities.

The results of this research seek to provide concrete elements to overcome the limitations iden-

tified by Arias (2017) and Sánchez and Herrera (2019). The relevance of this study transcends

the academic sphere, since as Freire (2012) points out, quality science education is a fundamental

right and a necessary condition for the full development of citizenship in democratic societies

Theoretical foundations

The development of scientific and research competencies in General Secondary Education re-

quires a solid theoretical framework that integrates psychological, pedagogical, and sociocultural

perspectives. The authors cited in this article provide essential foundations for understanding

how these competencies are constructed and how they can be fostered through an interdisci-

plinary approach. Below are the main theoretical references organized into three key axes:

Conceptual foundations of competencies

The concept of competency is polysemic and has been approached from various disciplines.

From the perspective of cultural psychology, Vygotsky (1985) emphasizes that competencies

are situated actions, mediated by social interaction and context. This view highlights the social

nature of learning, where knowledge is collectively constructed. Complementarily, Chomsky

(1970) introduces the notion of linguistic competence as an innate mental structure, while Hymes

(1996) expands this perspective by incorporating communicative competence, which considers

language use in specific social contexts.

In the educational field, authors such as Tobón (2006a, 2006b) and Perrenoud (1999) have con-

tributed to defining competencies as integrated capacities that combine knowledge, skills, and

attitudes to solve problems in real contexts. These ideas have influenced curricular reforms in

Latin America, such as in Colombia (Law 30 of 1992) and Peru (National Curriculum of Basic

Education), where competencies have been incorporated as the central axis of student training.

Carmen Eloísa Sánchez Molina

Teaching-learning models in natural sciences

Science didactics has evolved from traditional models toward more active and constructivist approa-

ches. Freire (2012) criticizes the "banking" model, where the student is a mere passive recipient of

knowledge, and advocates for a liberating education that fosters critical thinking. In contrast, the dis-

covery model (Bruner, 1968) and the inquiry model (Gil, 1993) promote students' construction of know-

ledge through exploration and authentic problem-solving.

Ausubel (1983) highlights the importance of meaningful learning, where new knowledge

integrates with prior knowledge, while Piaget (1968a, 1968b) and Vygotsky (2009) provide

key insights from constructivism. Piaget emphasizes cognitive development through stages

(particularly formal operations in adolescents), whereas Vygotsky introduces the Zone of

Proximal Development (ZPD), where the teacher acts as a mediator to enhance emerging

skills.

Interdisciplinary perspective and scientific competencies

Interdisciplinarity emerges as a key approach to developing scientific and investigative compe-

tencies. Gamboa et al. (2020) define these competencies as the ability to observe, question,

design experiments, and communicate findings, linking scientific knowledge to relevant socio-

environmental problems. This vision aligns with successful experiences documented by Herrera

(2016) in Spain and Figueroa (2017) in Peru, where strategies such as project-based learning and

guided inquiry proved effective.

The Venezuelan curriculum (MPPE, 2017) theoretically promotes this approach, though its im-

plementation faces challenges, such as passive methodologies and a lack of resources (Arias,

2017; Sánchez & Herrera, 2019). To overcome these limitations, integrating the following didactic

strategies is proposed: (a) Pre-instructional: Activation of prior knowledge (Díaz & Hernández,

2004). (b) Co-instructional: Cooperative learning and problem-solving (Frola & Velásquez, 2011).

Methodology

The study adopted a qualitative approach (also referred to as phenomenological, interpretive,

or naturalistic), focused on understanding the perspectives and experiences of secondary edu-

cation teachers in the Natural Sciences field (Rojas de Escalona, 2010; Galeano, 2020). This ap-

proach allowed for the analysis of the participants' subjective and intersubjective realities,

emphasizing the description and interpretation of the phenomenon within its natural context.

The hermeneutic method was employed, facilitating an in-depth interpretation of teachers' dis-

courses through the hermeneutic circle (Martínez, 2012; Gadamer, 1984). This process involves

constant dialogue between the parts (interviews) and the whole (educational context), enabling

a holistic understanding of scientific and investigative competencies.

Scientific and research competencies of students from an interdisciplinary

perspective in general secondary education

Revista Digital de Investigación y Postgrado, 6(12), 27-47.

Electronic ISSN: 2665-038X

Additionally, grounded theory (Charmaz, 2013) was integrated to analyze actions and mea-

nings through: (a) Open coding: Identification of emerging categories from the data. (b) Axial

coding: Establishing relationships between categories to build an interpretive framework. (c)

Theoretical sampling: Iterative selection of participants until theoretical saturation was re-

ached.

Regarding the setting and participants, the research was conducted in five educational institu-

tions in Santa Bárbara de Barinas (Venezuela), selected for accessibility and diversity (public/pri-

vate). The key informants were five Natural Science teachers with: (a) Training in Biology,

Chemistry, or related fields. (b) A minimum of five years of teaching experience. (c) Specialization

or master's degrees.

The data collection technique used was in-depth interviews (Hurtado de Barrera, 2012) as the

primary method, following a flexible thematic guide that addressed: (a) Perceptions of scientific

competencies. (b) Applied didactic strategies. (c) Challenges in interdisciplinary teaching. The

interviews recorded not only verbal responses but also nonverbal elements (tone, gestures),

enriching the analysis.

It is worth noting that regarding data analysis techniques, the guidelines of Martínez (2007) and

Strauss and Corbin (2002) were taken into consideration. The following were implemented: (a)

Categorization: Coding of speech acts into themes. (b) Structuring: Organization of data through

tables and semantic networks. (c) Contrasting: Comparison of findings with theoretical frame-

works. (d) Theorization: Construction of an interpretative model on scientific competencies from

an interdisciplinary perspective.

To ensure methodological rigor and guarantee validity and reliability, the following was applied:

(a) Triangulation, comparing interview data with scientific literature. (b) Theoretical saturation,

verifying that new data did not generate additional categories. (c) Reflexivity, with explicit ack-

nowledgment by the researcher regarding their interpretive role to minimize biases. It should

also be noted that the following ethical considerations were taken into account: (a) Informed

consent from participants. (b) Anonymity in the use of data.

Results and discussion

In this context, the hermeneutic unit corresponding to the data consisted of five (5) documents

containing the analysis information. The data were distributed across a total of 41 codes, assigned

as follows: (a) 27 Codes in primary document 1. (b) 29 Codes in primary document 2. (c) 32 Codes

in primary document 3. (d) 27 Codes in primary document 4. (e) 29 Codes in primary document

The dynamic analysis categories emerged as the interview analysis progressed, allowing each

code to be carefully examined, leading to the creation of two axial categories (see following figu-

res).

Carmen Eloísa Sánchez Molina

Figure 1

Semantic network of teaching models or approaches.

Source: Sánchez (2025). Prepared based on the analysis of interview results.

Figure 2

Semantic network of scientific and research competencies

Source: Sánchez (2025). Prepared based on the analysis of interview results.

Scientific and research competencies of students from an interdisciplinary

perspective in general secondary education

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Revista Digital de Investigación y Postgrado, 6(12), 27-47.

Electronic ISSN: 2665-038X

The methodological triangulation applied in this study integrated three key dimensions to validate

the findings: (a) Empirical data (teacher interviews). (b) Theoretical framework (specialized authors).

categories, illustrated with the most relevant open codes. In the original research, this aspect spans

nearly a hundred pages:

1. Problem-Based Learning (PBL)

Teachers: "Problem-based projects let us see real-world applications of science" (Inf. •

1). "Students solve community issues, like water pollution" (Inf. 2).

Theory: "Active methodology focused on authentic problems that integrates disci-•

plines" (Marra et al., 2014, p. 221). "Develops competencies such as argumentation

and teamwork" (Rivera de Parada, 2007, p. 105).

Researcher: PBL demonstrates high effectiveness by linking learning to relevant so-•

cial problems, though it requires additional resources and teacher training for full

implementation.

2. Collaborative Learning

•Teachers: "Group activities are essential for scientific projects" (Inf. 1). "Teamwork im-

proves research skills" (Inf. 4).

•Theory: Collective process with positive interdependence (Johnson et al., 1994). "Ge-

nerates mechanisms for meaningful learning" (Vaillant y Manso, 2019, p.23).

• Researcher: Collaboration replicates real scientific work, but requires teacher gui-

dance to prevent unequal contributions.

3. Experiential Learning

• Teachers: "Educational games create memorable learning" (Inf. 3). "Field practices

are irreplaceable" (Inf. 4).

• Theory: Knowledge is created through transformation of experiences (Instituto Tec-

nológico de Monterrey, 2010b). Links real contexts with learning (Samper y Ramírez,

2014).

• Researcher: Although costly, experiential learning yields the most lasting results in

scientific competencies.

4. Meaningful Learning

•Teachers: "We connect theory with everyday phenomena" (Inf. 1). "We start from

the known to explore the new" (Inf. 3).

• Theory: "Requires relating new knowledge to existing cognitive structure" (Moreira,

2017, p.2). Process of meaning attribution (Latorre, 2017).

• Researcher: The connection with personal experiences is the most effective bridge

for scientific learning.

5. Constructivism

• Teachers: “Students construct knowledge through projects" (Inf.1, 2, 3).

Carmen Eloísa Sánchez Molina

• Theory: "Active reconstruction of meanings" (Coll et al., 1999, p.9). "Process of perso-

nal elaboration" (Porlán, 2002, p.19).

•Researcher: Constructivism requires highly trained teachers to properly guide the process.

6. Deep Understanding

•Teachers: "We aim for them to apply concepts in new contexts" (Inf. 1). "Practical

demonstrations improve understanding" (Inf. 2).

•Theory: "Ability to use knowledge creatively" (Otálora, 2009, p.123). "Knowledge

transferability" (Gardner, 2000).

• Researcher: True understanding is evidenced in innovative application of concepts.

7. Developing Curiosity and Critical Thinking

•Teachers: "Researchable questions are our starting point" (Inf. 1). "The laboratory

fosters questioning" (Inf. 2).

• Theory: Curiosity as learning engine (United Nations). Critical thinking as antidote

to misinformation (Thrive Teaching, 2024).

• Researcher: These competencies form the foundation for training authentic scien-

tists and informed citizens.

8. Learning Assessment

• Teachers: "We evaluate processes, not just results" (Inf. 3). "Continuous feedback is

key" (Inf. 5).

• Theory: "Regulatory approach to learning" (Amengual, 1989, p.31). Integrated into

the educational process (Alves y Acevedo, 1999, p.23).

•Researcher: Formative assessment democratizes learning but requires more teacher time.

9. Experimentation

•Teachers: "The laboratory is our best classroom" (Inf.1). "Experiments develop analy-

tical skills" (Inf. 2).

• Theory: Foundation of the scientific method (Canizales et al., 2004, p.26). Goes be-

yond mere observation (Carvajal, 2011, p.46).

• Researcher: The lack of well-equipped laboratories is the main limitation for deve-

loping research competencies.

10. Hypothesis Formulation

• Teachers: "We teach how to propose testable predictions" (Inf. 3). "Projects include

hypothesis verification" (Inf. 4).

• Theory: Tentative explanations (Vélez, 2001, p.18). Verifiable predictions (Espinoza,

2018, p.126).

• Researcher: This competency distinguishes scientific thinking from common sense.

11. Critical Data Interpretation

•Teachers: "We analyze data from school research" (Inf. 3). "We use basic statistics in

Scientific and research competencies of students from an interdisciplinary

perspective in general secondary education

Revista Digital de Investigación y Postgrado, 6(12), 27-47.

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projects" (Inf. 5).

• Theory: Information evaluation with criteria (Paul y Elder, 2003, p.4). Practical appli-

cation of knowledge (Educación Gratuita, 2024).

• Researcher: Essential skill in the era of infodemics and big data.

12. Interdisciplinarity

• Teachers: "We integrate biology, physics, and chemistry" (Inf. 1). "Projects address

problems from multiple disciplines" (Inf. 5).

• Theory: Integrative vision of knowledge (Morin, 1995). "Necessary for complex pro-

blems" (Araya et al., 2006, p.407).

•Researcher: Breaking disciplinary barriers is the greatest current curricular challenge.

13. Research and Use of Evidence

•Teachers: "Students collect and analyze data" (Inf. 2). "We use technology for re-

search" (Inf. 5).

•Theory: Foundation of scientific work (Ministerio de Educación, 2019a). Requires

methodological rigor (Secretaría de Educación Pública, s.f).

• Researcher: This competency needs further development in the Venezuelan curri-

culum.

14. Prior Knowledge

• Teachers: "We start from students' prior ideas" (Inf. 3). "We connect with everyday

experiences" (Inf. 3).

•Theory: Starting cognitive structure (Sulmont, 2022). "Anchor for new learning"

(López, 2009, p.5).

•Researcher: Ignoring prior knowledge is the most common mistake in traditional

teaching.

15. Critical thinking

•Teachers: "We promote evidence-based questioning" (Inf.1). "Evidence-based de-

bates" (Inf. 5).

•Theory: "Strategies and mental representations people use to solve problems, make

decisions, and learn new concepts" (Shaw, 2014, p.66). "Essential citizen competency"

(Benzanilla et al., 2018, p.90).

• Researcher: Key skill to face 21st-century challenges.

16. Learning Assessment

• Teachers: "We combine formative and summative assessments" (Inf. 4). "We value

processes, not just products" (Inf. 3).

•Theory: "Comprehensive curriculum approach" (Amengual, 1989, p.31). "Oriented

toward improvement" (González, 1999, p.36).

• Researcher: Traditional assessment does not measure authentic scientific compe-

tencies.

Carmen Eloísa Sánchez Molina

After analyzing the aforementioned categories, the study reached a theorization phase which

proposed that developing scientific and research competencies in General Secondary Education

requires an educational praxis grounded in active pedagogical models that transcend traditional

transmission-based approaches (Flórez, 1999).

In this regard, natural science teachers employ PBL (Problem-Based Learning) as a central stra-

tegy to develop scientific and research competencies. This approach, characterized by working

with real-world problems, fosters student participation, critical thinking development, and team-

work collaboration (Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, 2010). Accor-

ding to Marra et al. (2014), PBL enables students to apply scientific knowledge to authentic

situations, reinforcing their motivation and ability to transfer learning to everyday contexts.

Additionally, it is complemented with playful activities such as educational games, which create

a dynamic learning environment and promote cognitive, emotional, and social development

(Mazabuel, 2016). However, for a deeper understanding of competencies, scientific argumen-

tation techniques are incorporated - essential for critical reasoning and collaborative knowledge

construction (Ribera de Parada, 2007; Eggen & Kauchak, 2015).

Teachers implement collaborative learning to develop scientific competencies, based on "face-

to-face" interactions (Johnson et al., 1994). This methodology promotes knowledge exchange,

social skills, and teamwork - all essential for science as a collective practice (Bunge, 2014). Ac-

cording to Roselli (2016), collaboration encourages shared responsibility and joint solution-buil-

ding. Collaborative projects prepare students to solve real problems (Rivera de Parada, 2004),

developing critical thinking and research competencies through interdisciplinary work (Vaillant

& Manso, 2019).

Experiential learning promotes scientific competencies through practical activities like laboratory

dissections, where students "directly observe brain anatomy" (Inf. 2). According to Universidad

del Desarrollo (2021), this approach involves applying knowledge in real contexts, strengthening

critical thinking and autonomy. Kolb (1984) highlights its observation-reflection-experimentation

cycle, which facilitates deep understanding and practical application of scientific concepts. Tea-

chers report higher student motivation and development of research skills when students be-

come active protagonists of their learning (Inf. 5).

Meaningful learning is based on connecting prior knowledge with new concepts (Tekman, 2021),

enabling students to understand and apply scientific concepts in real contexts. Teachers use stra-

tegies like projects and debates to foster critical thinking (Inf. 2). This approach develops research

competencies and socio-environmental awareness (Inf. 4). Complementarily, constructivism (Le

Moigne in Perraudeau, 2001) promotes active learning through PBL and interdisciplinary projects

(Inf. 5), where students collaboratively construct knowledge (Rosillo, 2018; Mamani, 2017).

Some teachers employ playful strategies from the sociocultural approach (Vygotsky, 2009), fos-

tering interaction and collaborative learning in natural sciences (Inf. 4). However, a traditional

Scientific and research competencies of students from an interdisciplinary

perspective in general secondary education

Revista Digital de Investigación y Postgrado, 6(12), 27-47.

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transmission-based model persists, focused on the teacher and content (Flórez, 1999). Other

teachers, lacking training in the area, prioritize quantitative assessments, neglecting didactic as-

pects. Competency-based models seek to develop investigative skills through exploration and

practice (Inf. 2), while constructivism promotes direct experimentation to stimulate curiosity and

autonomy (Inf. 3).

On the other hand, teachers must assume a "mediator role" (Vygotsky, 2009; Tebar, 2009), fos-

tering autonomy and meaningful learning through practical activities (Inf. 3). While some adopt

a traditional approach based on memorization and behavioral assessment (Flórez, 1999; Novak

& Gowin, 1988), others promote constructivism by facilitating investigative experiences (labs,

projects) that develop scientific skills (Dewey, 1960). Discovery learning requires students to ac-

tively select and analyze information (Novak & Gowin, 1988), while teachers guide through for-

mative assessment and key questions for meaningful learning.

The use of innovative pedagogical strategies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), fosters scientific

and investigative skills through active and personalized learning (Inf. 4). AI enables simulations

and data analysis, promoting critical thinking and interdisciplinarity. Other techniques include:

(a) Brainstorming (Cirigliano & Villaverde, 1981; Pimienta, 2008), which stimulates creativity

through free and structured ideas. (b) Oral presentations (Castro, 2017), where students organize

and communicate scientific knowledge. (c) Group discussions (Cirigliano & Villaverde, 1981), fa-

cilitating idea exchange in a collaborative environment. (d) Question formulation (Inf. 6), key to

developing critical thinking and scientific inquiry. (e) Problem-solving (Inf. 4), applying theoretical

knowledge in real contexts. (f) Conversational forums (Centro de Investigaciones y Servicios

Educativos, n.d.), promoting reflective dialogue. (g) Debates (Cirigliano & Villaverde, 1981; Pi-

mienta, 2008), encouraging argumentation and participation (Inf. 4, 5, and 6).

Regarding the axial category of learning assessment in natural sciences, this adopts a formative

and process-oriented character, allowing teachers to identify deviations and adjust pedagogical

strategies (Flórez, 1999; Amengual, 1989).

Formative assessment, highlighted in teacher testimonies (Inf. 5 and 6), provides real-time feed-

back, facilitating continuous improvement. Stefflebeam (1987) emphasizes its role as a guide

for decision-making, while summative assessment (Camilloni, 1998) certifies learning achieve-

ments and scientific competencies, integrating hypothesis formulation, experimentation, and

analysis (Inf. 5).

Process-oriented assessment (Alves y Acevedo, 1999) evaluates performance, attitude, and

achievement (Estévez, 2000), transcending final results. Techniques such as observation (anec-

dotal records, rating scales) allow assessment of practical and collaborative skills (Inf. 2, 4 and

6), though they require careful implementation to avoid subjective biases. Instruments like des-

criptive journals (Inf. 5) and checklists optimize objectivity.

On the other hand, from an integrative framework and by way of synthesis, it is proposed that

Carmen Eloísa Sánchez Molina

scientific and research competencies constitute a fundamental pillar in contemporary educational

formation, integrating cognitive, procedural, and attitudinal dimensions. From a constructivist

perspective (Vygotsky, 1978; Piaget, 1968), these competencies transcend mere knowledge ac-

quisition, promoting essential skills for critical analysis and complex problem-solving. Cognitive

competencies involve the ability to analyze, understand, interpret, and explain scientific concepts

or phenomena. These include:

Scientific argumentation: The ability to structure evidence-based reasoning, fundamental •

for communicating findings and refuting ideas. "When an argument is proposed, a re-

ason is given to think its conclusion is true" (Iacona, 2018, p.65). "The ability to formulate

questions, experiment, and effectively communicate findings" (Inf.5) is a core competency

in the scientific process, as it promotes structured communication supporting conclusions

with solid evidence.

Understanding scientific concepts: An essential skill for developing research competencies, •

involving not just memorization but the ability to understand and interrelate concepts.

According to Pérez (2008, p.76), it is a "theoretical construction aimed at predicting ex-

perimental outcomes and explaining established facts."

Explaining phenomena scientifically: "The fact exists or is available to the researcher before •

constructing the theory meant to explain it" (Díaz et al., 2005, p.101), implying observable

reality must be interpreted through integrating diverse approaches and theories.

Hypothesis formulation: The ability to make grounded predictions based on scientific •

knowledge and pattern observation - learning to plan "problems emerging from analy-

zing theoretical-empirical knowledge relationships" (Díaz et al., 2005, p.100).

Critical thinking: The capacity to respond to environmental problems (Guzmán et al., •

2019).

Critical interpretation of data/evidence: Involves evaluating obtained information to draw •

valid, well-founded conclusions.

On the other hand, there are procedural competencies that integrate essential practical skills

for scientific research such as inquiry. These competencies foster the application of the scientific

method in real-world contexts, developing observation, critical analysis, and problem-solving

skills (Inf. 2). Active experimentation - such as studying reflex arcs in amphibians (Inf. 6) - rein-

forces meaningful learning by linking theory and practice (Inf. 2), preparing students for con-

temporary scientific challenges.

These competencies consist of: (a) Building and evaluating designs/prototypes: Involves applying

scientific knowledge to create and improve experimental models or devices. Through these ac-

tivities, students are given the opportunity to "design creative and effective solutions" (Inf. 4)

that address contemporary problems. (b) Inquiry: A fundamental pillar in science education, as

it drives students to explore, question, and discover the world around them.

Regarding attitudinal competencies, this group includes competencies that foster essential at-

titudes for scientific work. Among these stand out: (a) Developing curiosity and critical thinking:

Scientific and research competencies of students from an interdisciplinary

perspective in general secondary education

Revista Digital de Investigación y Postgrado, 6(12), 27-47.

Electronic ISSN: 2665-038X

"Fostering curiosity and critical thinking is key to helping students understand and internalize

scientific and research competencies" (Inf. 2). (b) Researching, evaluating, and using scientific in-

formation: Involves the attitude of constant knowledge-seeking and the ability to discern bet-

ween valid and invalid information sources. "It requires identifying and solving problems in real

contexts to address actual issues" (Inf. 3).

It should be noted that developing scientific competencies transcends mere knowledge acqui-

sition, integrating cognitive, procedural, and attitudinal dimensions. From a constructivist ap-

proach, it promotes critical thinking (analysis, evaluation, and synthesis of information), scientific

argumentation (structuring evidence-based ideas), and inquiry (hypothesis formulation and ex-

perimental design). These competencies enhance metacognitive skills and complex problem-

solving through an interdisciplinary framework. Additionally, attitudes like curiosity, ethical

commitment, and creativity are essential for applying scientific knowledge in real contexts,

strengthening the theory-practice connection. Effective communication (oral, written, and di-

gital) completes this profile, ensuring knowledge transferability.

Conclusions

At the conclusion of this article, it is determined that the analyzed theoretical frameworks emp-

hasize the need to transition from a traditional educational model to an interdisciplinary one

focused on developing scientific and research competencies. Constructivist theories (Piaget,

Vygotsky, Ausubel) and active models (investigation, discovery) provide tools for designing pe-

dagogical practices that foster curiosity, critical thinking, and knowledge application in real con-

texts. Integrating these perspectives with innovative teaching strategies can transform

classrooms into spaces where students not only learn science but think and act like scientists.

Similarly, it is concluded that educational praxis in scientific and research competencies is groun-

ded in active pedagogical models, such as problem-based and project-based learning, which

promote knowledge application in real-world contexts. These methodologies, combined with

strategies like debates and group discussions, encourage critical thinking and collaborative know-

ledge construction. Formative assessment, with continuous feedback and clear criteria, ensures

meaningful and adaptive learning. Integrating these student-centered approaches enriches the

educational process, preparing students for academic and professional challenges with analy-

tical, creative, and collaborative tools.

Finally, it is concluded that scientific and research competencies are articulated through three

key dimensions: (a) Cognitive (critical thinking, evidence-based argumentation, and interdisci-

plinary understanding of phenomena, grounded in theories like those of Piaget and Vygotsky).

(b) Procedural (inquiry, data interpretation, and prototype construction, following Bruner and

Dewey's "learning by doing" approach). (c) Attitudinal (curiosity as a learning driver and scientific

ethics). These competencies, integrated into General Secondary Education, shape citizens ca-

pable of solving complex problems, innovating, and assuming responsibilities in an intercon-

nected world, combining scientific rigor with creativity and social awareness.

Carmen Eloísa Sánchez Molina

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Sayings and chores: understandability of

the significance of teachers' knowledge

regarding reading and writing in

Colombian rural education*

Decires y quehaceres: comprensibilidad de la

significación de los saberes en los docentes

respecto de la lectura y la escritura en la

educación rural colombiana múltiples

Alba Lucía Barajas Lizcano***

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1157-2907

Bucaramanga, Santander / Colombia

How to cite: Contreras, C. A. F. y Barajas, L. A. L. (2025). Sayings and chores: understandability of the

significance of teachers' knowledge regarding reading and writing in Colombian rural education. Revista

Digital de Investigación y Postgrado, 6(12), 49-64. https://doi.org/10.59654/2ptecf78

* Article presented as a preliminary report of the research: "Didactic Strategies for Reading and Writing: An Inter-

pretative Study of Teaching Practices among Primary School Teachers in Rural Educational Institutions of the

Municipality of Rionegro (Santander, Colombia)." This research is part of a doctoral dissertation.

** Emeritus Professor at Universidad de Los Andes-Táchira. Full Professor (Titular), retired. Specialist in Public Mana-

gement, with a mention in Decentralization of Educational Services. Specialist in Planning for Rural Development.

Specialist in Administrative Law. Master in Education, with a mention in Educational Administration. Doctor in Edu-

cation. Lawyer. PEI Researcher, ULA. Researcher Promotion Program (PPI) No. 6263. Guest professor in Master's

and Doctoral programs at several universities. Former Legal Advisory Coordinator at the Directorate of Culture of

the State of Táchira. Email: adrianfilidi@gmail.com and adriancontreras@ula.ve

*** Bachelor in Early Childhood Education with an emphasis on Art and Play. Specialist in Mathematics Education.

Master in Education from Universidad Industrial de Santander. Doctor in Education from Universidad Nacional del

Rosario (Argentina). Currently a primary school teacher at Institución Aguada de Ceferino, municipality of Girón

(Santander). Email: albalucia0369@yahoo.es

Received: may / 7 / 2025 Accepted: may / 21 / 2025

Adrián Filiberto Contreras Colmenares**

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6711-3649

San Cristóbal, Táchira state / Venezuela

https://doi.org/10.59654/2ptecf78

Abstract

To discuss about the sayings and doings seeks to establish the relationship between what peo-

ple do and say. In this writing act, from the theoretical point of view, it is based on Goffman's

(1959) social action. Herrera and Soriano (2004: 71) indicate: “The world of face-to-face rela-

tionships is also governed by an articulated and persistent system of rules, norms and rituals”.

The comprehensibility of teachers' knowledge connects doing and saying, with respect to re-

ading and writing. The interpretative paradigm made it possible to understand reality through

ethnography. Three teachers with their own training and four with MEN Excellence Scholarship

training were interviewed. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with both groups; as

well as analysis of the learning guides, curricular guidelines and Spanish Language Standards.

All of this made it possible to determine the importance of promoting continuous training for

teachers.

Keywords: Career guidance, aptitude, ability, career choice, intelligence.

Resumen

Discurrir sobre los decires y haceres busca establecer la relación entre lo que las personas hacen

y dicen. En este acto escritural, desde lo teorético, se fundamenta en la acción social de Goffman

(1959). Herrera y Soriano (2004: 71) indican: “El mundo de las relaciones cara a cara también se

rige por un sistema articulado y persistente de reglas, normas y rituales”. La comprensibilidad

de los saberes en los docentes conexiona el hacer y el decir, respecto de la lectura y la escritura.

El paradigma interpretativo permitió comprender la realidad, mediante la etnografía. Se tomó

a 3 docentes con formación propia y 4 con formación de Becas de la Excelencia del MEN. Se

realizaron entrevistas semi-estructuradas a ambos grupos; así como análisis de las guías de

aprendizaje, lineamientos curriculares y Estándares de Lengua Castellana. Todo permitió de-

terminar la importancia de promover una formación continua para los docentes.

Palabras clave: decires, quehaceres, acción social, lectura, escritura, saberes, docentes.

Introduction

A central aspect, developed throughout this written discourse, relates to understanding the

level of knowledge demonstrated by teachers regarding the learning and development of re-

ading and writing skills among students in rural education in Colombia. Thus, in examining tea-

chers' practices, the traces of their professional training become evident - both in their

preconceptions and in the procedural knowledge they apply and utilize during teaching-lear-

ning processes. It should be noted that contradictions frequently arise between their knowledge,

beliefs, statements, and pedagogical practices. Furthermore, it is relevant to consider that tea-

chers assigned to rural areas are sent to educate with limited understanding of the didactic re-

quirements for teaching multigrade classrooms. Universities do not include literacy training

Adrián Filiberto Contreras Colmenares and Alba Lucía Barajas Lizcano

Revista Digital de Investigación y Postgrado, 6(12), 49-64

Electronic ISSN: 2665-038X

about this methodology in their curricula or formative processes.

Consequently, to address these challenges, teachers must be creative and innovative in their

didactic transposition, adapting their theoretical knowledge to the new realities of rural contexts.

As García (2012:1) states, "...theoretical knowledge is a type of understanding based on concepts

and theories to comprehend reality."

Under this premise, first, it was necessary to identify students' deficiencies to plan strategies adap-

table to diverse environments. Second, a didactic approach was proposed that not only focused

on traditional literacy but also integrated cultural and social reading, understanding literacy as a

broader process extending beyond alphabet knowledge. Additionally, different learning paces

were considered, allowing time and active experiences that fostered knowledge development.

Therefore, implementing change through innovative didactic actions based on contemporary pe-

dagogical approaches in teaching practice can become a positive influence on students' learning.

However, this is only possible if the teaching processes take into account the diversity of situations

present in rural environments, particularly the existence of multi-grade classrooms. Additionally, the

learning materials or booklets from the Escuela Nueva (New School) model are often used by tea-

chers without a proper understanding of the methodology. In this regard, teachers could be trained

to implement these materials effectively in the classroom. Furthermore, it is necessary to provide

knowledge—both in its conceptual and procedural domains—through a process of updating the

booklets into a dynamic and contextually coherent language.

Despite the above, it must be acknowledged that rural teachers receive inadequate preparation

for teaching reading and writing in multigrade classrooms. Consequently, this work specifically

examines, on one hand, the practices and statements of teachers who participated in the Ex-

cellence Scholarship program offered by the Ministry of National Education (MEN) in 2018 and

2022; and on the other hand, contrasts these with self-trained teachers' practices and state-

ments. Additionally, it's pertinent to recognize that rural teachers are sent to educate with mi-

nimal training in multigrade classroom didactics. It's well known that universities don't include -

let alone emphasize - literacy training about this multidisciplinary, multi-level educational met-

hodology in their curricula.

Facing this situation, teachers - often without formal teacher training, even less pedagogical

preparation, as they come from other professions like law, economics, or engineering - take

on the challenge of seeking and finding strategies to develop the curricular guidelines es-

tablished by the Ministerio de Educación Nacional (MEN, 1998), specifically those concerning

the language field (reading and writing areas), which are the focal points of this dissertation.

Here, teachers could be trained for proper development of these skills in the classroom.

Given the above, it could be said there is inadequate preparation for rural teachers. There-

fore, this work specifically examines the practices of some teachers who participated in the

Excellence Scholarship program offered by the National Ministry of Education and self-trai-

ned teachers.

Sayings and chores: understandability of the significance of teachers' knowledge

regarding reading and writing in Colombian rural education

Theoretical foundation

In teaching reading and writing, teachers must understand how children construct literacy from their

prior knowledge. In response to this inquiry, we observe that when children arrive at school,

they already possess prior knowledge of reading and writing. Therefore, this prior knowledge

forms the foundation for creating new knowledge. As Piaget (2017: 840) states: "...learning is

the construction that the subject makes in developing new contents that they assimilate and

accommodate." Thus, students with extensive reading culture will have diverse meanings that

allow them to expand communication. Regarding this communicative aspect, Jan Servaes, Everet

Rogers, Daniel Lerner, Mattelart, Paulo Freire, among others (cited by Callou, 2005: 13) affirm:

...they demonstrate the importance of applying communication to develop community

aspects like health, technology, culture, communication problems, difficulties in relations-

hips with immigrants, lack of employment, etc. And projects, as they are implemented,

should provide the community with necessary knowledge so that after intervention, they

can 'walk alone'; that is, that they find solutions to their problems through communication

for development, and can continue developing progressively.

As can be observed, communication, regardless of context, has the potential to strengthen dif-

ferent areas and aspects of a community. In rural education contexts, communication will en-

hance students' meaningful learning with teacher support, through incorporating strategies

that strengthen engagement with reading and writing.

Teaching should foster learning environments with accessible language and diverse strategies

that enhance student development. In this regard, it's pertinent to note that many educators

still practice with conventional paradigms; such as divided words, writing repetition, and mea-

ningless task activism - all of which demotivate learners. In such cases, transforming lesson plan-

ning with didactic guidelines focused on actions that motivate the formation of critically

competent students is essential.

That is, developing a literacy environment guides student interaction with meaningful

reading/writing materials and acts, putting into play their prior knowledge as well as new pro-

blematizations and understandings they formulate about reading and writing. It involves the

process of constructing and reconstructing written language. We understand that students for-

mulate hypotheses expressing interpretive modes and knowledge, procedures that evolve toward

mastery of conventional writing. In this process, students receive guidance inviting them to reason

about their productions and interpretations, and likewise review and evaluate their own work.

This raises the question: how does progress in reading and writing occur? Ferreiro (1982) pro-

poses that the reading and writing process should be guided by two premises: first, that children

think about writing and attempt to reconstruct its alphabetic nature through their writings, com-

paring them with conventional writing, provided they have opportunities to participate in mea-

ningful reading and writing acts. Thus, they try to understand their literate environment by

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developing their own hypotheses that they reformulate until achieving conventional mastery

of the writing system. In agreement with this, Fusca (2016:1):

One of the first ideas that children develop when they begin their inquiry about what

written text can say is that "letters represent the names of objects" (Ferreiro, 1987). [And]

This has been called the "name hypothesis" (Ferreiro and Teberosky).

Secondly, their schemas gradually change and confront conventional written language as they are

given opportunities to interact with a variety of texts. From this perspective, in Ferreiro's words (2011:31):

..."knowing how" means understanding the construction processes of hypotheses deve-

loped by children to approach writing; it means recognizing that children move to syllabic

writing representation in their search to approach letters; it means understanding that

the syllable is part of a whole that forms the word.

In summary, understanding how students construct writing helps teachers provide models that

contribute to reading and writing development. However, in implementing educational strate-

gies, rural schools face critical challenges with popular education. On one hand, teachers, per-

haps in their eagerness to comply with the curriculum, end up teaching according to cultural

heritage, making it difficult to deepen quality education. As a result, they resort to a largely un-

changing pedagogy. On the other hand, educational communities resist transforming teaching

into a knowledge-construction process that could help students understand the purposes of

reading and writing. Often, teachers who use mechanical exercises (copying) and word-gene-

rator booklets (Nacho's primer) are considered good educators.

In teaching reading and writing, it is necessary to review the three approaches proposed by

Vernon (2013:1), because: "...the three refer to quite different explanatory theories about what

reading and writing are." These approaches are: (a) direct instruction; (b) whole language; (c)

constructivist approach. Regarding direct instruction, as Vernon notes (2013:1): "...it is perhaps

the most widespread worldwide; it has derived from a series of studies grouped under the name

'phonological awareness'."

Meanwhile, in the whole language approach, Vernon (2013:1) states that writing: "Is a 'natural'

learning, since the child is surrounded by people; therefore, they learn to communicate. The

teacher is a guide, reading comprehension is a transaction between reader and text." From this

perspective, learning occurs "naturally," as communicative skills develop.

This whole language approach was proposed by Goodman (2003:77), who states: "Any child

learns to speak without being explicitly taught to do so, because they are surrounded by peo-

ple who use language to communicate." Likewise, the child who lives in a social environment

that uses writing as a means of communication will learn to read and write because they want

and need to participate in their environment's conventions, because they need to communi-

cate.

Sayings and chores: understandability of the significance of teachers' knowledge

regarding reading and writing in Colombian rural education

Similarly, Vernon (2013:3), regarding the foundational approach to reading and writing learning

from an integral perspective, also states:

...the constructivist approach shares some points with whole language, particularly the

idea of reading and writing as communicative activities, and that children should be ex-

posed to different types of texts from the beginning. Both [approaches] share the notion

that reading is not decoding but seeking meaning.

In synthesis, teaching the constructive act of reading and writing requires teachers to know

much more than the writing system. It involves understanding the nature of written language

that permeates social practices of reading and writing among learners.

Thus, regarding the writing act, Ferreiro (2006:5) indicates: "Writing is an interactive construction

process that children develop to represent their language experiences." Likewise, writing should

be conceived as a complex, multi-referential, and multi-processual skill that integrates various

sub-processes. Its achievement similarly requires writers to elaborate content and organize it

appropriately in terms of presentation. This way, they can establish true harmony between what

to write and how to write it.

This implies that children develop their process progressively, which gradually consolidates as

they increasingly engage with these processes and gain greater mastery over them. However,

while recognizing emergence from within, it requires support from mediating adults or peers

so that daily contact with attractive, interesting, and meaningful texts generates children's interest

in understanding the texts they encounter.

Therefore, reading and writing instruction is founded on this literacy process, being a human

and social action that becomes support for learners, fostered by teachers who act as significant

mediators in the learning process. Consequently, teaching reading and writing is complex due

to the multiplicity of elements integrated into the process itself.

This is why, as Sobrino (2016:4) states:

..."being literate," while implying a continuum of reading and writing skills, calculation

and numeracy applied to social contexts that require them - including health and justice,

work and education - under current conditions of change could not be considered a fi-

nished state but rather a constantly self-renewing process...

As can be interpreted, the teaching process is multifactorial; it is not only linked to reading and

writing. It goes much further, integrating various domains of knowledge, both conceptual and

procedural. Now, the aspect related to reading and writing, regarding teachers' statements and

practices, is just one perspective, which becomes the focal point of this written dissertation,

based on the research approach to this subject. Therefore, this elaboration addresses what con-

cerns the development of this skill in learners, particularly first-grade students in rural settings.

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Regarding task organization, the constructivist perspective proposes that teaching reading and wri-

ting, in Piaget's vision (cited by Arias et al., 2017:837): "...human beings learn internally to construct,

organize their mental schemas depending on the different developmental stages they go through,

from childhood to adulthood." Therefore, guiding reading and writing is based on how students

organize schemas (understand, construct, and communicate). Hence, Piaget (in Arias Arroyo et al.

2017) proposes active discovery learning. Thus, the question arises: how to teach reading and wri-

ting? The answer begins by considering the integrated processes that must be reflected upon.

Likewise, the Ministerio de Educación Nacional (1998) in the Curricular Guidelines for Spanish

Language, drawing from proposals by Ferreiro, Teberosky, Rincón, and Villegas, advocates for

reading and writing instruction that considers students' cognitive schemas, allowing them to

investigate each construction process of reading and writing, with the alphabet being the end-

point. Thus, promoting reflective education where subjects construct knowledge autonomously.

This perspective of teacher intentionality, to propose strategies that stimulate students' internal

motivation toward learning, aligns with Contreras' (2004:18) conception of teaching as: "An in-

tentional process facilitated by the teacher to achieve an object of knowledge by the learner

within a mediation context"...; thereby helping the novice to enhance their approach to reading

and writing development through their own abilities and learning interests. This intentionality

incorporates literacy instruction with the vision of:

..."involving children in the reading process, committing them to communicative acts

through reading and writing. In emergent literacy, reading and writing are strongly inte-

rrelated, making it difficult for children to separate and differentiate them." (Sulzby, 1989,

in Navarro, 2000:120).

As can be seen, there is interdependence between processes crucial for understanding human

realities - reading and writing - requiring organized options and opportunities through which

teachers support emergent development in learners.

In this regard, Litwin (2012:32) states: "...the teaching profession is endowed with theoretical

knowledge." Therefore, reading and writing instruction is conceived from theoretical knowledge

to analyze, plan, and propose actions with epistemological meaning that grounds knowledge

transformation. Regarding theoretical knowledge, Aristotle (as cited by Navarro and Pardo,

2009:1) indicates: "Theoretical knowledge refers to the mode of being of things themselves (and

not to the agent who manufactures something with them or undertakes some action from

them)." Accordingly, Ferreiro (2006) notes that reading and writing education must consider

conscious schemas proposed by children, as these are viewed as creative processes.

Hence, these are interpreted through teacher-student communication. For this, classroom ins-

tructions are structured with elements where: the teacher/emitter provides guidance; the chan-

nel/content is articulated in the curriculum; and the learner/receiver accomplishes learning.

Thus, interactions converge in the educational situation, organized to coincide with it. As inte-

Sayings and chores: understandability of the significance of teachers' knowledge

regarding reading and writing in Colombian rural education

ractive acts, for this teaching process, interaction relates to Shannon and Weaver's (1949) com-

munication theory.

Therefore, responsible conscious teaching guides cognitive processes. Literacy is recognized as

a practice integrating language with written culture. Regarding this, Sanjurjo and Foresi (2016:20)

provide guidelines for teaching processes: "...theoretical, conceptual, philosophical, cultural, and

political formation." Thus, teachers draw on their training to make decisions about knowledge

transformation for students. They will also create spaces for writing creation and peer exchange,

value each creation as input for new content preparation, and harmonize pedagogical practice

with theoretical knowledge for effective learning construction.

Literacy in Colombia's Dispersed Populations

To address reading and writing instruction in multigrade education, we must understand what

rural education needs to strengthen. In this regard, Parra (1990:26) states: "...educational for-

mation must be transformed for one inclusive of community work processes." This requires

analyzing the reality addressed in this research. While the Ministerio de Educacion Nacional

(2011) implemented reading and writing programs for rural areas (National Reading and Writing

Plan), students still face difficulties developing these competencies.

In this sense: "It must be emphasized that these programs are implemented without considering

rural schools' social and cultural development" (Parra, 1990:96). This aligns with Ferreiro's ob-

servation (cited by Causa, 1967:1): "In reality, despite program claims, Rural School objectives

were identical to Urban Schools'. Naturally, failure lay in objective selection, not achievement."

Thus, there is evident lack of dynamic control in rural educational processes, yielding unimpres-

sive results. Ferreiro (cited in Causa, 1977:1) asks:

But what happens to rural school children? [Her assertion is clear] After leaving school,

they don't read anymore, nor show interest. We return to today's situation. They may

continue reading if there's desire, not environmental imposition. The reality is that func-

tional illiterates in our countryside are numerous - people who could read, learned to

read, and now cannot.

Therefore, transforming teaching intentionality requires critical reflection on contributing to re-

ading and writing development. This demands assuming commitments imposed by the National

Ministry of Education through education secretaries, principals, and teachers themselves, who

are responsible for promoting, supporting, and strengthening these processes for rural students.

Theory of social action: Emphatic point of sayings and doings

Goffman Erving's theory, developed in 1955, was called the theory of social action, fundamentally

based on social interaction. His initial work was On face-work: an analysis of ritual elements in

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social interaction. Thus, it emerges in social situations where human beings interact. It explains

the individual as an actor who, at different moments in life through their representations, cons-

tructs an image of themselves—their identity—based on the same elements that others use to

form their own identity. In line with this, Capuano et al. (2004: 128) state:

For Goffman, the identity of the self is, first and foremost, a subjective, reflexive matter

that must be experienced by the individual, and it is evident that this individual constructs

an image of themselves from the same elements with which others construct their per-

sonal and social identification.

In this sense, the teacher, as an actor in the realm of reading and writing instruction, has their

own identity, but it is intertwined with the identities of the learners. Therefore, they must carry

out their role from two perspectives: first, they are a subject who educates in accordance with

the students' culture, aligning with their identity. Second, the teacher possesses mastery of the

discipline, which they enact through various actions that guide the learning of the subject matter.

They only need to incorporate meaningful strategies that support reading and writing learning

in a multidimensional context, such as the multigrade classroom.

In this regard, Herrera and Soriano (2004: 61) state that:

It is precisely this double normative differentiation that we fail to notice when taking for

granted our way of acting in social relations and overlooking the complexity of such be-

havior. [Therefore] Goffman's effort [regarding the interaction order] has been to attempt

to lift the veil of appearances to shed light on the rules and mechanisms.

This process of social interaction allows for the strengthening of various processes that develop

in the classroom. Thus, in the reading and writing process, grounded in this interaction, teachers

must incorporate diverse resources that are attractive, readable, and meaningful for learners.

Resources that must also be linked to the context. Therefore, at the beginning of literacy ins-

truction, the teacher maintains proper performance in their practice; meaning the teacher's ac-

tions are fully aligned with their discourse. It is worth arguing that the teacher, in their role as

facilitator, creates a correlation in practice to optimize the learning process.

Thus, in teaching reading and writing for rural sector literacy, based on Goffman's proposal (in

Ribes, 2019: 285):

[In which] we find a central space - the habitual situations of daily life - and four related

spaces that connect to this main space and to each other: lax social situations, situations

of extreme monitoring, fringe situations, and total social situations.

These diverse situations, both habitual and others, significantly influence the reading and writing

learning process. Therefore, the teacher must be fully aware of what occurs in their surroundings

and in the social environment where learners develop. The teacher must understand how stu-

Sayings and chores: understandability of the significance of teachers' knowledge

regarding reading and writing in Colombian rural education

dents interact with different knowledge domains, their learning preferences, parental support,

and significant adults. Likewise, they must consider the lack of texts, low-literacy families, and

other aspects related to reading and writing instruction. Consequently, the teacher researches

their practice and pedagogical actions. Hence, in literacy instruction, importance is given to the

meaning students construct through their writing with books brought from their own environ-

ment. In conclusion, teachers must provide students with engaging materials that enable active

and meaningful learning.

Methodology

The investigative process followed a qualitative orientation with a dynamic perspective to un-

derstand social and cultural reality in its natural context and daily life. As well as to comprehend

what teachers say and do regarding reading and writing. That is, the context was examined to

understand opinions, emotions, and experiences through the meaning assigned by information

providers to these two language processes. All this was achieved through description or cha-

racterization and the emergence of categories via words.

Qualitative analysis was used so that, ontologically, the approach sought to understand what

characterizes the existence of the object of study, based on clear ideas and theories. In this re-

gard, Hernández Sampieri et al. (2014: 40) maintain: "...qualitative research is a dynamic process

with continuous analysis around a given question at three moments: before, during, and after."

Likewise, Denzin and Lincoln (2011: 47) state: "...qualitative research constitutes a field that in-

tersects disciplines, areas, and objects." Thus, the qualitative orientation facilitated the description

of qualities and characteristics of a current reality phenomenon, with constant relevance and

concern for both educational authorities and teachers themselves.

Through approaching reality, information was collected using methods containing effective pro-

cesses in relation to the investigated subject; therefore, reliable and solid information was sought.

Based on this, deeper exploration was conducted with activated questions directed toward ob-

jectives proposing strategies; this implied a theory with affinity to the study topic (the two groups

of teachers).

Regarding the epistemological foundation, it was assumed from the interpretive paradigm.

Through this paradigm, according to Ricoy (2006: 17):

"[It] Attempts to understand reality, [since] it considers that knowledge is not neutral. It

is relative to the meanings of subjects in mutual interaction and makes full sense within

the culture and peculiarities of educational phenomena in everyday life."

Linked to this vision, as Weber (cited in Burgardt, 2004: 5) expresses with the interpretive para-

digm "...the environment and context are understood in their different expressions." Thus, in

the educational context of Rionegro municipality (Santander). The research was conducted in

El Pórtico and Honduras villages with the differences or similarities between two groups of tea-

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chers with different training backgrounds, regarding their pedagogical practice related to re-

ading and writing literacy instruction. That is, with a holistic stance to examine the characteristics

of teachers' discourse and practices reflected in each of their lesson plans.

Methodologically, ethnography was chosen. As Peralta (2009: 37) states: "...it is considered a

branch of anthropology dedicated to observing and describing different aspects of a specific

culture, community or people, such as language, population, customs and ways of life." There-

fore, through ethnography, aligned with the interpretive paradigm, on one hand, it was possible

to describe the characteristics of reading and writing instruction in knowledge processes with

both teacher groups. On the other hand, it sought to understand discourse particularities. That

is, techniques were implemented such as reviewing quality references from the National Ministry

of Education: curricular guidelines and Language Quality Standards. Likewise, interviews were

conducted to understand teachers' discourse about reading and writing instruction and com-

prehend the dynamics in learning guide development.

Finally, a narrative approach was used as an interpretive action of what was expressed by inter-

locutors; all this is associated with knowledge and knowing, elaborated from experience. And

this interpretation leads to better understanding the phenomenon ascribed to a phenomenal

reality, where participating teachers in the research intervene and act. To this is added the re-

searcher's own vision, who translates, so to speak, through the narrative process, all information

that has been revealed, with its nuances and accuracies

Findings and their interpretation

The study of the discourse and practices of the two groups of multigrade teachers reveals con-

tradictions and inconsistencies between their "sayings" and "doings" that participants have failed

to thematize. In didactic situations, they show no consideration for the knowledge and ideas

children might possess, while persisting in reducing writing to a mere transcription code of oral

language. Regarding teachers' discourse, it demonstrates a disconnect from both the learning

guides and students' actual needs, highlighting a teaching approach detached from rural con-

texts.

Consequently, as Ferreiro (2018:12) states about these sayings and doings: "We must acknow-

ledge two unavoidable difficulties: admitting that children think and that this thinking concerns

us because, far from being random, it shows regularities." In both groups of rural teachers, tra-

ditional strategies predominated in teaching practices. This prompts reflection on reading/wri-

ting instruction mediation in rural multigrade classrooms. For this analysis, we examine three

singular aspects: self-interpretation, idea production/manifestation emerging from teachers'

discourse and connected to their practices.

Self-interpreting one's practice gives meaning to pedagogical actions, requiring teachers to en-

gage in: self-reflective action, representation processes, formative processes, and transforma-

tional processes - all structural elements for achieving meaning beyond conventional canons.

Sayings and chores: understandability of the significance of teachers' knowledge

regarding reading and writing in Colombian rural education

These become particularly crucial when teaching aims to promote reading/writing skills among

rural students.

As Gámez (n.d.:331) notes: "...the awakening of the soul is intimately connected not only with

truth experiences but with self-transformation." Multigrade teachers must integrate reading/wri-

ting competencies across all subjects through interdisciplinary approaches for different grade

levels. Self-interpreting practice means granting students learning autonomy, fostering critical

thinking and innovative strategies.

In relation to this, in dialogue with the teacher GO.1 S, the following is revealed: “There, I realized

that he has his opinion and it is valid, it is valid. Because he gives his opinion”; she related this

factum to the student’s actions and, based on reflection, understood the importance of the stu-

dent’s actions. Thus, she considered the need to allow space for changes in the teaching of re-

ading and writing. That is to say, she self-interprets her work with the information from her

teaching practice. Hence, in her internal dialogue, she carried out a self-criticism of her actions

in mediating reading and writing. She indicated that, in some way, reflection allowed her to un-

derstand how the student learns.

On the other hand, the dialogue fragments from teachers MV.2 S and MJ.3 S regarding self-in-

terpretation made it possible to question what it means to teach reading and writing; what mo-

tivates them to teach. All of this leads them to recognize which strategies help to teach this

competence —as the teacher says— it is “...to leave aside those routine methodologies” (MV.2

S), and another aspect is to bring to the classroom “...a passion, that love for reading and writing”

(MJ.3 S); of course, these are just some segments of the extensive information concerning what

they express about the teaching and learning processes of reading and writing. These are new

considerations, different visions that lead to new positions regarding their own practice, toward

their practice [it is an interpretation from how learners learn].

Thus, the self-interpretation of their actions, to be expressed in their words, is positive and ge-

nerates a transformative commitment. In this way, these actions need to be known and assimi-

lated by rural education teachers. Only then will they be able to understand the imperative

requirements for carrying out an appropriate, effective, and meaningful teaching process, lea-

ding to trauma-free learning as a result of satisfying experiences for the students.

The production of that different meaning will be substantiated by a conscious action or act of

self-reflection that will allow the development of a representation process which involves the

development of learning guides. Guides that contain logical, simple strategies, adapted and

adaptable to the learners’ interests. In this way, it will be possible to promote the teaching of

reading and writing in a different way that surpasses the conventional methods: alphabetic-

syllabic or syllabic-alphabetic, which are the constant in these practices.

From the foregoing, it can be interpreted that in teaching regarding "sayings and doings," one

must consider that: "To teach well, it is essential to be clear about what we are going to teach,

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that is, what our teaching object is" (Kaufman, 2007: 17). Thus, it was observed that teacher

GO1S, when incorporating strategies, sought guidance from the MEN's PTA program for pro-

ducing [learning guides]. Furthermore, she relates these guides to planning. With this guiding

criterion, she incorporates: "...texts that are attractive and aid learning. [However, she comments]

...that she searches here and there" (GO1S). All this with the aim of finding the best options to

support reading and writing learning. That is, she demonstrates some knowledge of the gui-

dance provided by didactics, to offer a variety of strategies with language appropriate to the

rural sector, even though she remains distant from truly effective pedagogical practice in this

regard, despite her intention to support the promotion of learners' reading and writing proces-

ses. The aspiration is to incorporate meaningful didactic strategies, based on new theories of

reading and writing learning that benefit new learners. In this way, the teacher can present stu-

dents with varied and interesting options, appropriate to their age, their interest in these two

processes, and linked to each learner's individual progress in constructing conventional reading

and writing.

The manifestation of ideas involves recognizing the child's presence in the construction of

reading and writing. In this regard, teacher MJ.3S establishes the connection with her didactic

training; therefore, she does not only think about the learning guide; on the contrary, she pro-

posed explanatory videos and calls learners to maintain permanent contact. In line with this,

Perrenoud (1920: 3) proposes that teachers must have "...personal mastery of the culture they

teach and assess, and it also means that teachers owe this both to their general schooling and

to their pedagogical training." Hence, in congruence with this, it was perceived that the edu-

cator has developed competencies derived from her training, which was evident when she

presented ideas with cohesive vocabulary in relation to practices that have been valued as ap-

propriate. From this perspective, then, she proposed teaching situations keeping in mind the

learner's need to approach knowledge; therefore, she uses (symbolisms) such as explanatory

videos, which support the processes of reading and writing learning. Undoubtedly, the teacher

prepares her work in relation to sayings and actions so that the learner can achieve their com-

petencies.

Provisional truths

Regarding sayings and doings - an expressive symbiosis - it can be said that educators convey

knowledge related to reading and writing to learners through didactic situations thoughtfully

considered and reflected upon in terms of academic literacy; thus, in self-trained teachers and

in some teachers who are scholarship recipients for excellence, a certain distance between sa-

ying and doing could be observed. That is: One thing is what is said and another what is done.

This situation could be analyzed as follows: they carry out their practice without the reflection

required to link it to theory, to promote reading and writing. On the contrary, some MEN scho-

larship teachers provide access to knowledge through a variety of active strategies aligned with

learners' interests.

From this perspective on training, rural teachers need to know how to propose reading and

Sayings and chores: understandability of the significance of teachers' knowledge

regarding reading and writing in Colombian rural education

writing strategies with texts from their own environment. And also how to accompany with a

pedagogy that invites students to problematize their schemas. For this reason, rural teacher

training should emphasize the development of didactic interventions linked to the environment

and mediated by peers in the classroom. This is because the support they receive from their

caregivers (guardians) is minimal. And sometimes significant adults have little exposure to lite-

racy. They are people with low literacy levels.

For this reason, rural education teachers need training in a pedagogy that transforms didactics

in teaching. On one hand, in the words of Freire and Faúndez (2018:49), they must "...know how

to teach from everyday life in rural settings. On the other hand, in the classroom, [value] how

to make didactic interventions with reflective dialogue" among peers that helps confront sche-

mas and, consequently, construct knowledge.

Regarding the theory of social action, it can be noted that it grounds and explains situations

emerging from social reality itself. Based on it, work and development occur through human

interactions, which take place within activities with some independence or autonomy. This pers-

pective relates to social interactionism. Thus, when teachers converge in their information re-

garding their practice - understood as pedagogical practice - linked to what they say they do,

there will always be a point of interaction stemming from the connection that occurs in a reality.

This is the classroom where learners and teachers interact. And likewise, aim for congruence

between the teacher's sayings and doings.

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ciencias sociales. VI Jornadas de Sociología. Facultad de Ciencias Sociales, Universidad de

Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, 2004. https://www.aacademica.org/000-045/506

Callou, M. (2005). Comunicar para el desarrollo: una comunicación más participativa y con es-

trategias adecuadas a realidad sociocultural de la comunidad. Universidad Autónoma de

Barcelona.

Capuano, A., Lucilli, P. and Szwarc, L. (2004). Apuntes para la reflexión sobre el concepto de

identidad. En Oficios terrestres. (pp. 124-133). https://acortar.link/CSocA4

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Adrián Filiberto Contreras Colmenares and Alba Lucía Barajas Lizcano

Revista Digital de Investigación y Postgrado, 6(12), 65-83

Electronic ISSN: 2665-038X

Material and regulatory dimension of the

system and international law (SI-DI)

Dimensión material y normativa del sistema y el

derecho internacional (SI-DI)

Iván Agustín Cevallos Zambrano

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6647-0257

Quito, Ecuador

How to cite: Cevallos, Z. I. A. (2025). Material and regulatory dimension of the system and international

law (SI-DI). Revista Digital de Investigación y Postgrado, 6(12), 65-83. https://doi.org/10.59654/yxsmas32

* Doctor in Jurisprudence. PhD candidate in Economic and Business Law. Specialist and Master in Constitutional and

Procedural Law. Specialist in Tax Law. Lawyer of the Courts of the Republic. District Judge of Tax Litigation, Quito of-

fice, since 2013. Tax Legislation / Financial Law, Universidad Regional Autónoma de Los Andes: Ambato, Sierra Cen-

tro, Ecuador. Contact email: ivancevallosz@hotmail.com

Received: June / 3 / 2025 Accepted: june / 19 / 2025

https://doi.org/10.59654/yxsmas32

Abstract

This study analyzes the material and normative dimensions of the International System, Inter-

national Law, and International Organizations through bibliographic and documentary research.

The objective focuses on identifying the origin and evolution, characteristics, elements, sources,

concepts, and basic principles of international law. It also addresses international law from its

beginnings, with the regulation of borders and peace treaties. It also examines the role of States

with their sovereignty, consent, and will. It also examines international organizations, their ele-

ments, sources, and principles that govern them. It also arrives at a description of various geo-

political problems, such as the tensions of cultural diversity, war conflict, displacement and

migration, and the role of legal organizations.

Keywords: International System, Public International Law, Private International Law, International Organizations.

Resumen

Este estudio tiene por objeto un análisis sobre la dimensión material y normativa del Sistema In-

ternacional, el Derecho Internacional y las Organizaciones Internacionales, a través de la investi-

gación bibliográfica-documental. El objetivo se centra en identificar el origen y evolución, sus

características, elementos, fuentes, conceptos y principios básicos del derecho internacional. Tam-

bién aborda el derecho internacional, desde sus inicios, con la regulación de fronteras, los tratados

de paz. El papel de los Estado con su soberanía, consentimiento y voluntad. Las organizaciones

internacionales, elementos, fuentes y principios que les rigen, y arriba a la descripción de los di-

ferentes problemas geopolíticos, como las tensiones de la diversidad cultural, conflicto de guerra,

desplazamiento y migración, y el papel de los organismos en el ámbito jurídico.

Palabras clave: Sistema Internacional, Derecho Internacional Público, Derecho Internacional Pri-

vado, Organizaciones internacionales.

Introducción

Regarding the International System (IS), its material and normative dimensions are analyzed,

including a socio-historical examination of the system based on globalization, highlighting so-

cietal fragmentation due to economic and political inequalities and the hegemony of major po-

wers within organizations.

Concerning International Law, its origins are traced from border regulation, peace treaties, and

the emergence of the sovereign state—distinct from Hobbes’ social contract state—along with

pivotal moments driven by social changes, cultural diversity tensions, and the pillars of peace,

contrasted with state sovereignty and the structure of various international organizations. The

study also explores the purpose of interstate cooperation across different fields.

It further examines state sovereignty as the basis for consent or voluntarism in the creation and

application of international norms, including ius cogens, and the restriction of competences

under the principle of incompetence. This allows for the identification of neutrality and non-in-

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tervention as defining features, alongside the absence of normative hierarchy, their specificity,

and validity across time.

The study distinguishes the influence of International Law on human rights protection through

various Declarations, particularly the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man and

the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, ratified by member states.

On normative development, it outlines the foundational principles of International Law, such

as: The primacy of international law, whose precepts are incorporated into domestic law. The

creation of supranational or community law, which has imposed limitations on state sovereignty.

International Human Rights Law, whose norms hold higher authority through constitutional pro-

visions and are interpreted in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and

ratified treaties.

Regarding norm creation, the study investigates the development of norms under Public and

Private International Law, including substantive sources (content and factors to be considered).

As for formal sources, it examines the methods and processes of norm creation based on the

Statute of the International Court of Justice, observing their application through conventions,

international custom, general principles, judicial decisions, and scholarly works—without preju-

dice to ex aequo et bono (fair and equitable) rulings. Jurisprudence is treated as a means of in-

terpretation and norm determination but not creation, inherently embodying erga omnes

obligations and ius cogens as norms superior to conventional ones.

A comparative analysis of international and domestic law is also conducted, addressing norm

creation, structure, rights holders, beneficiaries, and scope of application. This considers volun-

tarist and objectivist doctrines, illustrating the role of factual circumstances and the coexistence

of states with diverse legal systems under principles of equality, territoriality, personality of laws,

vested rights, and public order.

Finally, the interpretation of International Law is analyzed through its historical background,

from natural law problem-solving to the modern state’s governance of legal rights and duties,

culminating in today’s legal framework of principles and rules. This system is characterized by

the absence of a legislative body, compulsory jurisdiction, and a punitive organ, depending ins-

tead on the types of International Law organizations.

The legal perspective of international organizations is also reviewed, based on their foundational

elements (treaties, custom, and doctrine); international judicial bodies such as the International

Court of Justice, which resolves disputes among UN member states and issues advisory opi-

nions; and the International Criminal Court, which adjudicates war crimes, despite difficulties in

enforcing its judgments. The study also examines the establishment, components, and bodies

of the UN and OAS as the most significant organizations, serving as forums for debate among

nations and resolving disputes through diplomacy to prevent war. These organizations include

specialized agencies such as the ILO in labor matters; the World Bank and IMF in economic fi-

nancing; UNESCO in education; WHO in health control and disease prevention; and the WTO

in promoting fair and equitable international trade. The OAS is included as a regional organi-

zation with diplomatic and financial capabilities, committed to human rights and democratic

Material and regulatory dimension of the system andinternational law (SI-DI)

principles. The CAN, a regional body within the Andean Community, is addressed regarding its

role in common tariff regulation.

The analysis concludes with an examination of the geopolitical situation, particularly war conflicts

that endanger nations, causing displacement, large-scale suffering, and military and civilian ca-

sualties. Consequently, the International System (IS) and International Law (IL) compile data to

develop archetypal models that enhance understanding of this reality, based on principles of

coexistence and cooperation within a universal system. This approach is reinforced by the pro-

visions of the ICJ Statute and the Court's jurisprudence, which adopts a consensus-based inter-

pretation by recognizing the rules of International Law.

I. The International System

The International System is defined as a set of relationships among a specific number of actors

- namely States, International Organizations (IOs), and transnational forces - which develop,

organize, and submit to certain regulations. Consequently, Public International Law (PIL) cons-

titutes the regulatory framework proper to this international system (Merle, 1991). Therefore,

the relationship between this system and its environment or material context must not be over-

looked.

Structure of the international system: Its material dimension

Thus, the structure of the international system in its material dimension, according to Jiménez

(2010), is constituted by Public International Law (PIL), which forms part of the global or universal

international system. Therefore, its study should not be limited to the formal or normative aspect,

but must also include the material and socio-historical dimension of the system, thereby ena-

bling the understanding of its legal institutions based on the social reality of each historical

stage.

Nor should we forget that law is both a product of social life and a regulatory factor of that

same social life. Consequently, the study of any legal system - including international law as a

social product that regulates the international system - implies examining the combination of

norms with existing social reality (Jiménez, 2010).

In the contemporary international system, it is important to differentiate between the socio-

historical or material dimension and the formal or normative dimension, considered as two

sides of the same coin, yet they must be understood as a unified whole.

In this context, the elements of the material dimension of International Society, at its most re-

presentative level, operate on a planetary scale, grounded in globalization and the economic

interdependence created by the worldwide integration of markets. This phenomenon results in

trade liberalization and increased commercial transactions, capital flows, and global communi-

cations, including the worldwide dissemination of information. In essence, contemporary Inter-

national Society (IS) is planetary in scope, complex, heterogeneous, fragmented, poorly

integrated, and interdependent.

The planetary and universal nature of International Society is further evidenced by its principal

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material elements: the major common problems that afflict it on a global scale. These include

organized crime, international terrorism, environmental degradation, economic crises, wides-

pread poverty in many countries, mass migration, and armed conflicts. Similarly, the globaliza-

tion of communications, technological advancements such as interconnected stock markets,

and the rapid growth of social media and internet platforms have played a significant role in

triggering and multiplying large-scale uprisings and popular revolts, as seen in the Arab world

in 2011, leading to the collapse of autocratic regimes.

This complexity of International Society (IS) stems from the array of unresolved diverse problems.

On the political front, there was the disintegration of the Socialist Bloc of the Union of Soviet

Socialist Republics (USSR), which broke apart into twelve independent republics, formally mar-

king the dissolution of the Soviet Union (Barbe, 2007).

Other aspects include the fragmentation of International Society due to economic and political

inequalities, nationalist movements, and the diminishing role of the State within the system cau-

sed by globalization and the participation of other transnational actors or forces. This persists

despite the increasing number of universal and regional international organizations fostering

interstate cooperation in economic, social, and technical fields, while simultaneously facing the

imposition of economic, political, and cultural differences within the system's framework.

Structure of the international system: Its normative dimension

From a legal perspective, the hegemony of major powers is evident in their prominent role in

the norm-creating and norm-changing processes, particularly in specialized domains such as

Space Law, encompassing both customary and conventional norms, as well as in the privileged

position they hold within International Organizations (IOs).

At the normative level, the concept of "interested States" participating in the creation or modi-

fication of rules - contributing to the formation of specific practices influenced by geographical,

economic or technological factors - determines normative processes. Conversely, the require-

ment of sufficient practice as the material element of international custom applies only to these

interested States (Sorensen, 1960-III).

In this context, conventional normative hegemony becomes apparent through the failure of

former socialist States and developing countries to incorporate into the Law of Treaties (speci-

fically Article 52) provisions prohibiting and invalidating treaties obtained through threat or use

of force, or through any other form of political, economic or military pressure exerted by more

powerful States or groups of States (Barile, 1978).

Within IOs, this hegemony manifests through the privileged position of major powers. For ins-

tance, in the UN system, the veto power (UN Charter, 1948, Art. 27.3) granted to the five per-

manent Security Council members (United States, France, United Kingdom, China and Russia)

prevents the adoption of any resolution opposed by any of these members, along with veto

rights over any amendments to the UN Charter (Arts. 108 and 109.2) in the General Assembly.

By contrast, in the European Union (EU), hegemony appears through the allocation of repre-

sentatives in the European Parliament (EP) per Member State, and through the system of weigh-

Material and regulatory dimension of the system andinternational law (SI-DI)

ted voting when the Council adopts decisions by qualified majority - where larger States hold

more representatives and votes than medium-sized and smaller States.

Birth, evolution and functions of the international legal order

International Law (IL), also known as Law of Nations (ius gentium), traces its origins to the bor-

der regulation treaty between Mesopotamia and Umma (3100 BC), with another antecedent

being the 1648 Peace of Westphalia that ended the Thirty Years' War. However, some scholars

argue it truly emerged during the 16th and 17th centuries in Modern Age Europe, with the rise

of the sovereign modern state, which became a state of nature among nations (Hobbesian

theory), contrary to the social contract concept underlying such community (Del Arecal, 1994)

Thus, during the 19th and 20th centuries, international law emerged through three defining pe-

riods: the post-Second World War era, the post-Cold War era, and the Postcolonial era, each

characterized by the pursuit of social, political, and cultural transformations along with their di-

verse phenomena and consequences. This process generated tensions including the weakening

of state sovereignty, cultural diversity challenges, and situational risks, while being grounded in

the foundational pillars of peace, the development of human rights frameworks and interven-

tions - ultimately shaping international law as a liberal-pluralist welfare-oriented legal system

(Tourme, 2013).

Beginning in the 19th century, international treaties became primary sources of international

law through codification efforts, leading to the proliferation of treaties and legal manuals that

standardized and harmonized this body of law.

Among its core formal characteristics, International Law remains fundamentally inter-state in

nature, anchored in the principle of sovereignty and the individual distribution of political power

among nations. This persists despite the development of institutional frameworks and organi-

zational structures through numerous International Organizations (IOs) designed to facilitate

and manage multilateral cooperation across diverse domains. When examined against the

socio-historical realities of the contemporary world, this creates one of the central tensions in

today's international legal order - the inherent contradiction between preserving state sove-

reignty/independence and the imperative for peaceful interstate cooperation (Chaumont, 1970

cited in Jiménez 2010).

Functions of the international legal order

In this context, state sovereignty as a constitutional principle of International Law exhibits two

fundamental characteristics of this legal system: its voluntarism and relativism. This means the

extraordinary relevance of sovereign state consent in both the creation and application of in-

ternational norms within an eminently decentralized legal framework (Carrillo, 1996). These

norms are interpreted by the International Court of Justice through a voluntarist conception of

the norm-creation process, where states' declarations accepting compulsory jurisdiction under

International Law so severely restrict their competence that it nearly converts into a principle of

their own incompetence, as established in the Judgment of December 4, 1998, in the Fisheries

Jurisdiction Case (Spain v. Canada).

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In this case, the Court had to determine whether to prioritize the applicable law allegedly vio-

lated - considering Canada's acceptance of compulsory jurisdiction - or to base its decision on

the declaration's terms and the dispute's scope under Canada's reservation, ultimately choosing

to respect the voluntary nature of the Court's jurisdiction and adhere to the consent expressed

in the state's declaration.

Within this framework, the Court exercised its power under Article 36.6 of its Statute regarding

the acceptance of reservations that exclude certain disputes from its consideration, whereby

the state itself defines and limits the Court's jurisdiction. The Court must then apply International

Law principles and norms, but only regarding matters not excluded from its competence.

Consequently, this voluntarism and relativism stem partly from International Law's distinction

between general customary norms and the persistent objector doctrine, which in principle sa-

feguards the position of states that expressly, unequivocally and consistently object to an emer-

ging custom before its formal crystallization.

In the sphere of norm application, the State's protagonism manifests through self-help measures

including retorsion, reprisals or countermeasures, whereby the State itself determines the legal

assessment in a specific situation - a State that exists within an institutionalization process due

to pressure from International Organizations (IOs), which impose limits on sovereign States' uni-

lateral and discretionary actions regarding both norms and the scope of their obligations, as

well as the condition of using decentralized norm application procedures at States' discretion

(Jiménez, 2010).

In this context, the aforementioned precedents formed the basis for upholding justice and res-

pecting the obligations arising from the sources of international law for better coexistence

among nations.

Characteristics of International Law

International law is characterized by the principle of neutrality or tolerance, authorizing and

guaranteeing pluralism among political regimes. This is why sovereignty is grounded in the

principle of non-intervention in the internal affairs of states.

At this point, it is essential to define: "The State is a politically and legally organized society, with

sufficient authority to impose a legal order within its own territory and to assert its legal personality

in the international arena" (Younes, 2014).

It can be concluded that international law, as understood today, did not exist in antiquity or the

Middle Ages but rather emerged as a product of Christian civilization during the latter stages

of the medieval period, as noted by Oppenheim (Monroy, 1995).

Here, it is worth recalling Hart (2012, p. 124), who defines "international law as a set of separate

primary rules of obligation, not unified in such a manner" referring to customary rules governed

by certain principles that create mutual obligations among states.

As a legal system, international law is not a random compilation of norms. Rather, norms may

differ in hierarchy, formulation (ranging from general to specific), and temporal validity (applying

Material and regulatory dimension of the system andinternational law (SI-DI)

to earlier or later periods) (Jiménez, 2010).

Regarding the relationship between international law and domestic law, after World War II, a

movement emerged to extend the protection of human rights to the international legal sphere.

This began with the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man, signed in Bogotá in

May 1948, followed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted in Paris on Decem-

ber 10, 1948 (Fix, 1992).

The emergence of these two foundational instruments gave rise to numerous international

human rights conventions and treaties, including: the United Nations Covenants on Civil and

Political Rights and on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (December 1966), and the American

Convention on Human Rights signed in San José, Costa Rica (November 1969). These instru-

ments entered into force following ratification by signatory states, particularly Latin American

nations that had overcome military dictatorships and restored democratic constitutional order.

This normative development of international law has progressed along three principal axes: (a)

Recognition of the primacy of general international law. (b) Creation of community or suprana-

tional law. (c) International human rights law.

Regarding the primacy of international law, it must be acknowledged that recent decades have

seen the incorporation of treaty norms into domestic legal systems, generating conflicts between

international provisions and constitutional-level domestic norms - demonstrating states' increa-

sing recognition of the supremacy of certain international legal standards.

Concerning community or supranational norms, which have imposed limitations on state so-

vereignty, these are most clearly evidenced in supranational legal frameworks known as "com-

munity law" that occupy an intermediate position between domestic and international law. As

for human rights law, while its recognition as higher-ranking norms is relatively recent, it has

expanded significantly in recent years through explicit constitutional provisions mandating that

the interpretation of human rights norms must conform to both the 1948 Universal Declaration

of Human Rights and other ratified treaties and agreements (Fix, 1992).

II. Sources of International Law

International law is generally defined as the body of norms regulating relations between states

in both conflict and cooperation, aiming to safeguard peaceful coexistence, according to Korovin

in (Monroy, 1995).

For various scholars, the sources of international law determine the origin or potential origin of

legal norms, divided into material and formal sources. Material sources encompass the subs-

tantive content of legal norms, examining how norms are developed by considering sociological,

economic, psychological, and cultural factors, which are then formalized as sources of interna-

tional law. Formal sources, on the other hand, refer to the methods and processes of norm

creation as outlined in Article 38 of the Statute of the International Court of Justice.

Within private international law, two groups of sources can be identified: national sources, which

pertain to the legal system of a single nation, including its domestic laws, jurisprudence, and

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customs; and international sources, which derive from the international community, such as

treaties and conventions. However, a hybrid application of national and international norms

may occur.

Regarding their characteristics: private international law is inherently national in character, as

each country establishes its own norms and approaches to international law; it is positive in na-

ture, as it is codified in the legal texts of individual nations and in bilateral agreements between

states.

In contrast, public international law is founded on the principle that relations between nations

should be mutually beneficial rather than conflict-driven, governed by voluntary treaties to

which signatory states must adhere regardless of their governing authorities.

Hierarchy of Sources in International Law

In this regard, the Court, whose function is to decide in accordance with international law such

disputes as are submitted to it, shall apply: (a) international conventions, whether general or

particular, establishing rules expressly recognized by the contesting states; (b) international cus-

tom, as evidence of a general practice accepted as law; (c) the general principles of law recog-

nized by civilized nations; (d) judicial decisions and the teachings of the most highly qualified

publicists of the various nations, as subsidiary means for the determination of rules of law, subject

to the provisions of Article 59. This provision shall not prejudice the power of the Court to decide

a case ex aequo et bono, if the parties agree thereto (ICJ Statute of the International Court of

Justice).

For better understanding, it should be noted that the sources of international law do not esta-

blish a hierarchy among them, which include: Jurisprudence as a form of legal interpretation by

courts when determining a norm, though it does not create binding norms but rather serves

as a subsidiary means; the doctrine of publicists, experts in public law, whose interpretations

may also be considered auxiliary means; analogy and equity - the former arising from the ab-

sence of legal norms for a specific case, aiming to produce fairer decisions in conflicts, while

equity applies when no legal standard adequately covers the particular case; erga omnes obli-

gations, which apply to all states with the purpose of preserving fundamental international

values regardless of their acceptance; and ius cogens, a set of peremptory norms that override

the autonomy of will, constituting superior norms that prevail over conventional ones (Homa -

Institute for Human Rights and Business, 2020).

Validity Scope of Legal Norms

Pursuant to Article 24(1) of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (VCLT), international

treaties enter into force when the contracting states have agreed upon it; otherwise, they be-

come effective when all states have ratified them. In free trade agreements, the treaty may enter

into force on different successive dates. Thus, once in force, the treaty binds states and must

be performed in good faith - according to the principle of pacta sunt servanda - with no con-

tracting state being permitted to invoke provisions of its internal law as justification for its failure

to comply with the treaty.

Material and regulatory dimension of the system andinternational law (SI-DI)

Furthermore, regarding the spatial validity of treaties under Article 29 of the VCLT, their scope

extends to the entire territory of the state, including maritime, terrestrial, and aerial spaces where

the signatory states exercise their sovereign power. Consequently, any alteration of a state's

boundaries automatically modifies the territorial scope of the treaty's application.

Notwithstanding the above, contracting states may restrict the treaty's application to specific

parts of their territory, as seen in treaties establishing free trade zones. Additionally, the temporal

validity may be determined under Article 28 of the VCLT, whereby treaties generally apply pros-

pectively from their entry into force, unless the parties agree otherwise (Córdova, 2008).

III. What are and what are the fundamental concepts of International Law

International law doctrine has established several core principles: State Sovereignty, as states

are sovereign entities that cannot be subjected to external conditions; Equality of States, mea-

ning all states possess equal rights and obligations; Good Faith, requiring states to act honestly

and sincerely in mutual relations; Pacta Sunt Servanda, the principle mandating compliance

with international treaties and agreements; Non-Intervention, prohibiting states from interfering

in another state's internal affairs; Peaceful Dispute Resolution, obligating states to settle disputes

through peaceful means; and Prohibition of Threat or Use of Force, banning the threat or use of

force in international relations.

The historical foundations of public international law trace back to Ancient Greece and the

Roman Empire, where many legal provisions originated. However, this legal field truly developed

in 13th-century France with the introduction of the principle of state extraterritoriality.

In Latin America, codification has been a continuous legal endeavor undertaken by states

through various forms, primarily via specialized conferences. The Inter-American Specialized

Conferences on Private International Law (CIDIP) have been instrumental in this process, leading

to landmark treaties such as the 1889 Montevideo Treaty and the 1928 Bustamante Code, which

established the foundation for private international law in the hemisphere.

Hence, for the consolidation of Latin American public international law, two criteria were adop-

ted: (a) With a global approach, consisting of a body of norms to cover all the regulations of

this discipline. (b) It envisaged a gradual and progressive process for the formulation of inter-

national instruments on particular legal issues, which sought to establish a single code of private

international law, which was not approved by the States, so the treatment mechanisms were

regulated by the CIDIP, which we know today as the Charter of the OAS (Organization of Ame-

rican States 1940), in which it describes the Specialized Conferences as intergovernmental mee-

tings to deal with special technical matters or to develop certain aspects of international

cooperation.

In other words, it can be said that international law deals with the resolution of international ju-

risdictional conflicts, conflicts of international laws, international procedural cooperation, and

the legal status of foreigners, that is, it acts in the sphere where there are private interests bet-

ween private parties, which is called International Civil Law. However, its intervention, far from

resolving the dispute between private parties, rather determines which legal order between the

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two involved countries prevails, so its role is more normativist. Nevertheless, due to globalization,

new studies of these relations are generated, thus adopting a substantialist position.

Principles of Private International Law

Among the principles of private international law, we find: “Locus regit actum" (The place governs

the act): This means that actions will be legal or not depending on where they are performed.

"Lex loci rei sitae" (The law of the place where the thing is situated): This indicates that property

transfers will be governed by the law of the location where the assets are physically located.

"Mobilia sequuntur personam" (Movables follow the person): This implies that movable property

owned by a person is subject to the law governing that person. "Lex fori" (The law of the forum):

This means that, in case of conflict, the law of the judge's jurisdiction (the applicable state) will

be applied.

I. Branches of International Law and Universal International Law

International law is divided into two main branches: public international law, which comprises

the set of principles governing legal relations between states; and private international law,

which regulates relations between individuals in the international context.

Public international law has been defined in various ways by legal scholars. As Monroy (1995,

p. 13) states, "Public international law is the branch of public law that examines relations between

states and between these and other subjects of international law, as well as the organization

and functioning of the international community." In other words, the law of nations or public

international law primarily concerns itself with "regulating relations between states, or more ac-

curately, relations between subjects of international law" (Rousseau, 1966, p. 1).

It should be noted that in public international law, international legal norms are created by states

through treaties or conventions. These norms are addressed to states and other subjects of in-

ternational law and govern their conduct.

Private international law, on the other hand, is the branch of law that deals with international

legal matters distinct from inter-state relations. It can be described as the instrument that regu-

lates relations between societies, facilitating the movement of people and the exchange of

goods and services, while promoting integration and combating illicit activities.

Classification comparison: international vs. domestic law and their regulation

To address the distinction between domestic law and international law, the following must be

identified: (a) Who creates the norms and how, including the structure of international law; (b)

The subjects who benefit from or are bound by these legal provisions; and (c) The scope of ap-

plication of these rights (domestic and public international). Thus, it can be stated that:

1) On the Creation of Norms in Domestic Law and International Law. In domestic law, norms are

created by a central legislative body empowered to enact laws, which apply within the bor-

ders and territory of each State - meaning they originate from the will of a single State. In

contrast, international law is created through the collaboration of two or more States, with

norms that transcend borders as they regulate mutual relations between these States.

Material and regulatory dimension of the system andinternational law (SI-DI)

2) Regarding rights-holders and obligated subjects. In domestic law, the legal system consists

of a body of legal norms governing national territory and applying to individuals (natural

and/or legal persons) whether nationals or foreigners, with mandatory compliance including

state-owned enterprises - meaning each State has its own legal system. Conversely, in in-

ternational law, legal norms regulate relations between States and serve the international

community/society, where subjects include not only States but other entities like organiza-

tions. It represents a system of subordination (domestic) versus coordination (international

law).

3) Regarding the subjects of public international law, these include: Sovereign States: Those re-

cognized by their peers and the international community. International Organizations, in-

cluding mediation and treaty-based bodies such as: The United Nations (UN), The

International Labour Organization (ILO), The Organization of American States (OAS). The

European Union (EU). Belligerent Communities: Such as national liberation movements, pro-

vided they are recognized as political actors rather than criminal entities. Individuals (Natural

Persons): Recognized as subjects of international law with specific rights and obligations.

In this context regarding the origin of domestic and international law, it is grounded in two doc-

trines: the voluntarist doctrine and the objectivist doctrine. The first holds that in domestic law

(legal rules), norms are products of human will, while international law originates from state

consent. The objectivist doctrine maintains that the origin of norms or the legal system is go-

verned by a fundamental norm from which all legal rules derive, according to Kelsen as cited in

(Rousseau, 1966).

Table 1

Classification of Public and Private International Law

Note: Self-prepared.

Public International Law Private International Law

Universal y regional: Universal se aplica en todo el

mundo ONU y Regional en la región OEA.

By approach

National: regulates international private relations of a

specific country.

Uniform: harmonizes the rules of private international

law among different countries.

Natural and Positive Law: Based on the nature of

norms and legal research.

By Sector: Applicable Law, International Judicial Juris-

diction, Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judg-

ments.

Theoretical and Practical Law: Classified according

to the nature of legal norms and research.

By Source: Law, Custom, General Principles of Law, Ju-

risprudence, Doctrine.

General and Particular Law: Classified according to

the binding nature of legal norms.

Autonomous Private International Law, Conventional

Private International Law, Institutional Private Interna-

tional Law and Transnational Private International Law.

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Table 2

Divisions of international law and domestic law

Note: Self-prepared.

Domestic Public Law governs the relations between the State and its citizens, while Private Law

regulates the interests of citizens in private matters. These legal domains operate under the

axiom: "In public law, only what is expressly authorized is permitted; in private law, whatever is

not expressly prohibited is allowed.

II. The relationship between international law and domestic legal systems

Regarding international law and domestic law, we can state that in Ecuador, as in all countries,

there does not exist a single body of positive law to resolve conflicts of laws. Meanwhile, to find

the norms of private law, one must refer to the Ecuadorian Constitution, codes and laws, and

the treaties and conventions signed and ratified by Ecuador, such as the 1928 Pan-American

Convention that approved the Sánchez de Bustamante Code, which we have previously refe-

renced.

Among the fundamental concepts, it should be noted that there exists a de facto factor that

determines the existence of Private International Law, which is the coexistence of the State with

diverse legislations. Its legal foundation is the community of nations, and its degree of deve-

lopment will determine the progress of PIL. Therefore, (Larrea, 2009) identifies the following as

principles:

Equality, enshrined in the Ecuadorian Constitution, equalizes rights between Ecuadorians and

foreigners in civil rights, labor activities, and commerce. Reciprocity, which arises from a sove-

reign act of the State, is unconditional and independent of the conduct of other States toward

Ecuadorians.

Territoriality of laws is contemplated in the Ecuadorian Civil Code, in the provision that "the law

Public International Law Division Private International Law Division

International Criminal Law

International Administrative Law

International Constitutional Law

International Human Rights Law

International Humanitarian Law

International Economic Law

International Environmental Law

International Tax Law

Transnational Tax Law

Applicable Law and Enforcement

Procedural Law

Family Law

Commercial Law

Domestic Law (Objective and Subjective)

1.1 Public Law: Constitutional Law, Administrative Law,

Criminal Law, Financial Law, Public International Law, Tax

Law, Procedural Law, Labor Law, Immigration Law, Envi-

ronmental Law.

1.2 Private Law: Civil Law, Commercial Law, Corpo-

rate Law, Bankruptcy Law, Private International Law.

1.3 Social Law: Social Law (Social Security) and Eco-

nomic Law (Financial Law, Popular and Solidarity Eco-

nomy).

Material and regulatory dimension of the system andinternational law (SI-DI)

binds all inhabitants of the Republic, including foreigners, and ignorance thereof excuses no

one."

Personality of norms affecting the status and capacity of persons determines which personal

law should govern civil status and individual capacity, an issue not fully resolved in the Sánchez

de Bustamante Code, but addressed through the preferential nationality rule established in the

Ecuadorian Civil Code.

Respect for acquired rights, a principle enshrined in the 1967 Constitution, stipulates that natio-

nality once acquired cannot be lost due to subsequent laws with different requirements. Even

with potential constitutional amendments, respect for acquired rights is also guaranteed in the

Ecuadorian Civil Code.

Public order constitutes a fundamental principle of domestic law, governed by constitutional

provisions and secondary legislation regulating public law (Larrea, 2009).

III. Application and Interpretation of International Law

Later, in the 18th century, international law sought to interpret and understand the international

problems of the time, leading to the development of International Society and International

Law or natural law (Rodríguez, 2019), with a global interpretation of international relations. This

marked the beginning of a political, economic, and social transformation, consolidating the mo-

dern State in Europe, whose purpose was to govern the legal rights and duties of States, con-

sidered the subjects of international law, turning the State into a political community of absolute

power that undermined the International Community.

Today, international law (IL) is a legal system of principles and rules that take effect in relation

to other principles and rules and must be interpreted as a whole. Thus, IL is not a mere com-

pilation of norms, but rather there are relationships between them, where norms of superior

and inferior rank or general and specific norms coexist within a unitary and sufficiently coherent

framework (ILC Report, 2006).

Hence the concept "International law is a legal system." Its rules and principles (its norms) take

effect in relation to other norms and principles and must be interpreted within their context

(Hart, 2012).

Organization in Public International Law (PIL)

The entities of Public International Law (PIL) are decentralized, dynamic, and minimally coercive

bodies, with relative international legal obligations that may be negotiated. According to Novak

& García (2001), they are characterized by: (a) The absence of a centralized legislative body for

creating legal norms, as rules are established through treaties. (b) The absence of a compulsory

judicial organ, meaning there is no tribunal to which States are inherently subject, as submission

to jurisdiction is voluntary in case of disputes; and, (c) The absence of an enforcement body,

that is, there is no organ empowered to impose sanctions for non-compliance with treaties.

Among the functions of Public International Law (Franciskovic, 2019), the following are identified:

(a) Determining the competences of States, given that each State has a limited sphere of action,

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beyond which it lacks legitimacy to act, except in exceptional cases. (b) Establishing the negative

and positive obligations of States—that is, regarding the former, duties of abstention, and re-

garding the latter, duties of cooperation, mutual assistance, and others imposed on States when

exercising their competences. In other words, discretionary authority is replaced by a limited

one. (c) Regulating the competences of international organizations.

International Organizations from a legal perspective

Prior to identifying international organizations, it is necessary to cite the elements of international

law, which include: International conventions, International custom accepted as general practice,

Definitive judicial decisions, and Doctrines that help determine the application of laws in a dispute.

Among international judicial bodies, the following are identified: The International Court of Jus-

tice (ICJ), the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, end the European Court of Human Rights.

Other international justice institutions include: The Court of Justice of the European Union, the

International Criminal Court, the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights. Transnational

judicial bodies comprise: The Court of Justice of the European Union, the Court of Justice Car-

tagena Agreement, the body that resolves preliminary rulings for natural or legal persons who

are members of the Andean Community (CAN) regarding commercial activities and tariffs, and

the Central American Court of Justice

The Central American Court of Justice. The Hague, Netherlands. Principal judicial organ of the

United Nations, often referred to as the "World Court", resolves disputes between UN member

states, composition: 15 judges elected for 9-year terms, with staggered elections every 3 years.

Authorized to issue advisory opinions on legal questions at the request of: The General As-

sembly, the Security Council and other UN organs.

The International Criminal Court, judicial body that adjudicates war crimes committed in the

former Yugoslavia and lacks direct enforcement mechanisms for its decisions

Establishment of institutions such as: United Nations (UN), OAS, European Com-

munity and others

International organizations were established to promote cooperation among nations in main-

taining peace, security, trade, economic development, and humanitarian assistance. Their primary

objectives included: preserving peace and security among nations, fostering economic growth,

strengthening international relations, providing member states with financing and technical as-

sistance, creating global public goods, enhancing national efficiency, and regulating state power.

These international organizations feature permanent institutional structures, operate under

founding agreements or treaties with their own legal frameworks and principles, respect the

domestic laws of member states, yet extend their influence beyond national borders. Their pur-

poses may be political, informational, humanitarian, or of other nature.

Classification of International Organizations

International organizations can be classified according to various criteria: By Duration: Perma-

nent and Non-permanent. By Capacity for Action (based on the authority granted by member

Material and regulatory dimension of the system andinternational law (SI-DI)

states): Full-fledged organizations, semi-autonomous organizations and consultative organiza-

tions. It should be noted that there are international organizations in which states do not par-

ticipate (such as NGOs). However, all organizations composed of states are subject to Public

International Law, though many possess their own legal personality, while others have autono-

mous decision-making capacity.

Most Significant International Organizations

United Nations (UN). Established at the end of World War II, it replaced the League of Nations.

Its purpose is to serve as a forum for debate among nations, resolving disputes through diplo-

macy to prevent war. It maintains specialized agencies to promote culture, equality, education,

health, etc.

International Labour Organization (ILO). A UN-affiliated agency founded in 1919 that seeks to

improve global working conditions by promoting decent workplaces, establishing minimum

labor standards, and prohibiting child labor, forced labor, and other abuses.

World Bank (WB). It fosters country development through: Strategic policy advisory services,

educational advancement programs, development project loans and financing end targeted

development initiatives.

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), a UN specialized

agency founded in 1945 to promote the democratization of knowledge, preserve humanity's

heritage, and advance scientific learning.

World Health Organization (WHO), another UN-affiliated global body responsible for combating

diseases, improving national health conditions, and promoting preventive healthcare.

World Trade Organization (WTO), an international organization that upholds global trade rules,

ensuring fair and equitable commercial relations among producers, consumers, and exporters

of goods and services.

International Monetary Fund (IMF), a financial institution providing economic guardianship to

developing nations through monetary loans and public policy recommendations.

Organization of American States (OAS), a regional organization with diplomatic and financial

capacity to address member states' compliance with human rights and democratic principles.

In Community Law systems: European Union (EU), Andean Community of Nations (CAN).

Other notable international organizations include: International Telecommunication Union (ITU),

Universal Postal Union (UPU) and Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)

Global Conflicts

Currently, the world faces wars, insurgencies, ethnic conflicts, mass migration, and transnational

organized crime.

Major Ongoing Conflicts: Russia-Ukraine War – Threatens European security. Sudan Crisis – Mas-

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sive refugee displacement. Gaza Conflict – Arab-Israeli tensions. Prolonged Conflicts – Ethiopia,

Afghanistan, Syria. Insurgencies – Pakistan, Myanmar. Ethnic Conflicts – Great Lakes region of

Africa. Other Critical Conflicts: Israel-Palestine, Iran vs. U.S. and Israel, Haiti crisis, U.S.-Mexico

border tensions, Korean Peninsula (North-S Korea), Democratic Republic of Congo and Colom-

bia. These conflicts result in mass displacement, widespread suffering, and death.

Within this framework, the notions of the contemporary International System (IS) and Interna-

tional Law (IL) constitute two ideal types or conceptual organizers of complex international re-

ality. They compile and correlate vast amounts of specific data to construct two models or

archetypes that help us better understand certain aspects of this reality (Farinas, 1989). Thus,

the contemporary IS represents a logical ideal type defined primarily by material traits, while

contemporary IL serves as a normative ideal type characterized by relations of coexistence and

cooperation within a universal system.

However, the current global landscape cannot ignore the challenges posed by the trade war

initiated by the United States of America and its restrictive immigration policies. This includes

the imposition of increased tariffs on all nations—subject to potential revision through bilateral

trade agreements—which has triggered retaliatory tariff hikes worldwide. These measures have

also influenced migrant deportations, effectively establishing dual border controls: one for im-

ports and another for migrants. This reflects an attempt to impose order under the prevailing

policies of the U.S. government.

Along these same lines, it should be noted that both the Statute of the ICJ and the body of ju-

risprudence from this institution adhere to the same consensual spirit that reflects the notion of

international practice. This approach assumes a consensus-based interpretation when recogni-

zing the applicable rules of international law (IL) relevant to the subject matter of a dispute and

determining their normative content.

Conclusions

At this point, it should be noted that international law represents an essential normative frame-

work that regulates relations between States and other international actors on the global stage.

Through a set of rules agreed upon by States, incorporating principles and procedures, these

conventions address diverse issues such as human rights, international trade regulation, and

environmental preservation.

International law is consensual in nature, responding to the need for cooperation and dialogue

among nations to address challenges and conflicts while maintaining peace. It requires States

to respect established norms and principles, as enshrined in international law, with the aim of

promoting peace, security, and societal development.

Both in the International System and in International Law, guiding principles include consent or

voluntariness in the creation and application of norms. This does not preclude the imposition

of jurisdictional limits, such as the principles of neutrality and non-intervention, as well as the

absence of normative hierarchy. Nevertheless, the primacy of international law is evident when

incorporated into domestic law through constitutional provisions, which also dictate the rigor

Material and regulatory dimension of the system andinternational law (SI-DI)

of its interpretation.

From the interpretation of norms in this field, it is concluded that this approach traces back to

the understanding of problems in natural law. Later, in the modern State, interpretation was

based on the governance of the legal rights and duties of States. Today, it is grounded in a legal

system of principles and rules, characterized by the absence of a legislative body, compulsory

jurisdiction, and an enforcement mechanism.

Ultimately, the existence of international organizations has not guaranteed the objectives of

peace or cooperation among States. On the contrary, there is clear evidence of the influence

of the most powerful States over those with lesser or no power. Nor have judicial tribunals suc-

ceeded in ensuring that their decisions are enforced in accordance with the purpose of the

system.

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Material and regulatory dimension of the system andinternational law (SI-DI)

Educommunication: A dialogic

approach to innovate

teaching practice

Educomunicación: enfoque dialógico

para innovar la práctica docente

Lisset Márquez Martínez

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8667-8354

Plato, Magdalena / Colombia

Revista Digital de Investigación y Postgrado, 6(12), 85-103

Electronic ISSN: 2665-038X

How to cite: Andrade, O. D. J., Márquez, M. L. y Quevedo, B. J. M. (2025). Educommunication: A dialogic

approach to innovate teaching practice. Revista Digital de Investigación y Postgrado, 6(12), 85-103.

https://doi.org/10.59654/8pgbxs47

Received: april / 87 / 2025 Accepted: april / 26 / 2025

https://doi.org/10.59654/8pgbxs47

Delmy Janeth Andadre Oviedo

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6264-749X

Plato, Magdalena / Colombia

Jorge Miguel Quevedo Borrero

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8130-701X

Plato, Magdalena / Colombia

* M. Sc. in Education. Researcher at Universidad Autónoma del Caribe, assigned to the Programa Todos a Aprender

of the Ministerio de Educación Nacional de Colombia. Quality Area of the Departamento del Magdalena. Univer-

sidad Autónoma del Caribe. Email: delmyjanethandrade@gmail.com

** M. Sc. in Education, Universidad Autónoma del Caribe, Barranquilla - Colombia. Universidad Autónoma del Caribe,

Barranquilla - Colombia. Researcher at Universidad Autónoma del Caribe, Teacher assigned to the Institución Luis

Carlos Galán Sarmiento, Plato, Departamento del Magdalena - Colombia. Email: lissetmarquez@hotmail.com

*** M. Sc. in Education, Universidad Autónoma del Caribe, Barranquilla - Colombia. Researcher at Universidad Au-

tónoma del Caribe, Teacher assigned to the Management Area of the Institución Luis Carlos Galán Sarmiento, Plato,

Departamento del Magdalena - Colombia. Email: quevedoborreroj@gmail.com

Abstract

The objective of this study was to establish the importance of Educommunication as a dialogic

approach to innovate teaching practices. It was addressed from five theoretical perspectives:

educational, communicative, media-related, social, and technological. The methodology invol-

ved a documentary review of previous theories and approaches. For this purpose, 42 documents

were selected, focusing on topics such as educommunication, educational innovation, and the

integration of technologies in the classroom. Inclusion criteria were applied, such as open access,

publication between 2010 and 2024, and availability in English and Spanish. Content analysis

and theoretical synthesis were employed. The results showed that educommunication fosters

participatory and critical learning, promotes teaching for empowerment, and cultivates citizens

capable of analyzing, questioning, and producing ethical content. In conclusion, the study high-

lighted the need for teachers to redesign their practices using an educommunicative approach,

incorporating dynamic and inclusive learning experiences that contribute to the development

of collective knowledge.

Keywords: Educommunication, dialogic approach, innovation, teaching practice.

Resumen

Este estudio tuvo como objetivo establecer la importancia de la Educomunicación como enfoque

dialógico para innovar la práctica docente, se abordó desde cinco halos teóricos: educativo, co-

municativo, mediático, social y tecnológico. La metodología correspondió a revisión documental

de teorías y enfoques previos. Para este fin, se seleccionaron 42 documentos, sobre temas de

educomunicación, innovación educativa y la integración de tecnologías en el aula; se utilizaron

criterios de inclusión como: acceso abierto, publicados entre los años: 2010 y 2024, en inglés y

español. Se empleó análisis de contenido y síntesis teórica. Los resultados mostraron que la edu-

comunicación fomenta un aprendizaje participativo y crítico, promueve la enseñanza para el em-

poderamiento y la formación de ciudadanos capaces de analizar, cuestionar y producir contenido

ético. En conclusión, se resaltó la necesidad de que los docentes rediseñen sus prácticas desde el

enfoque educomunicativo, con experiencias de aprendizaje dinámicas e incluyentes que contri-

buyan desarrollar conocimiento colectivo.

Palabras clave: Educomunicación, enfoque dialógico, innovación, práctica docente.

Introduction

Currently, significant weaknesses are observed in educational processes, with one of these pro-

blems being resistance to change in school culture and the educational community at large. In

this regard, Gozálvez and Contreras (2014) point out that innovation in teaching frequently en-

counters traditions and attitudes that favor conventional methods, which limits the implemen-

tation of more participatory and collaborative practices. Meanwhile, Álvarez and Suárez (2023)

maintain that classroom diversity poses the challenge of adapting innovation to be inclusive

Delmy Janeth Andadre Oviedo, Lisset Márquez Martínez and Jorge Miguel Quevedo Borrero

Revista Digital de Investigación y Postgrado, 6(12), 85-103

Electronic ISSN: 2665-038X

and responsive to students' different social and cultural realities. Hence, the lack of a teamwork

culture also hinders the adoption of methodologies that promote collaboration and social in-

teraction, such as project-based learning or collaborative learning.

Within this framework, Aguaded and Martín (2013) highlight that one of the major problems

facing educational systems today is the unidirectional communication that still prevails in many

educational contexts. This creates a barrier that prevents dialogue between teachers and stu-

dents, limiting the development of critical thinking and personal expression skills in learners.

For Barbas et al. (2013), some teachers' lack of communication skills to manage diverse opinions

and perspectives in the classroom can also hinder an environment of openness and respect,

which is necessary for innovation in teaching practices to thrive. Additionally, there is the cha-

llenge of fostering authentic communication in virtual environments, which are sometimes per-

ceived as impersonal and distant.

According to Lara (2016), education today faces problems rooted in the inadequate integration of

media into the teaching-learning process. As a result, many teachers use digital media superficially,

without taking advantage of their potential to develop students' critical thinking and media literacy.

From Caballero's (2022) perspective, overexposure to digital content and the lack of strategies

to filter and critically analyze information make it difficult for students to develop a deep and

responsible understanding of media. This underscores the need to train both teachers and stu-

dents in information analysis skills and in the ethical and conscious use of media.

It is worth noting that according to Hergueta (2017), in the educational field, one of the most

common problems faced is the rigidity in traditional teaching approaches and methods, since

innovation requires flexibility in content and pedagogical methods, but curricular limitations

and standardized assessments may restrict teachers' ability to experiment with new strategies.

For their part, Gil and Marzal (2023) emphasize that the lack of continuous training and professional

development in innovative pedagogical approaches leaves some teachers without the necessary

tools or knowledge to effectively transform their practices. This limits the possibility of creating truly

adaptive learning environments that are student-centered and aligned with their interests.

Nevertheless, Aguaded and Martín (2013) point out that the main problem affecting educational

processes in this era is the digital divide, which impacts both teachers and students and their

families, due to the fact that not all teachers have access to technology or the digital skills re-

quired to effectively integrate it into their practices. Similarly, the technological infrastructure in

some institutions is insufficient or inaccessible, which restricts the implementation of technolo-

gical tools that could enrich learning.

According to Guzmán and Castillo (2022), there is also the risk of decontextualized technology

use, where devices and applications are employed without a clear pedagogical purpose, po-

Educommunication: A dialogic approach to innovate teaching practice

tentially creating distractions rather than enhancing learning. All this reveals that current edu-

cation remains marked by unresolved challenges (Bonilla del Río et al., 2018).

Following this line of thought, Koffermann (2023) considers one of the problems to be the lack

of student engagement in the educational process, as traditional methods tend to focus on

unidirectional knowledge transmission, limiting the development of students' critical and com-

municative skills, who need more spaces to express their ideas, question, and reflect.

For Feltrero et al. (2023), there are difficulties related to the limited incorporation of information

and communication technologies (ICT) in teaching in ways that leverage their potential to foster

interaction and dialogue. In many cases, ICTs are used only as support tools without promoting

genuine collaborative learning experiences, which reduces their effectiveness in developing di-

gital and communication competencies.

In this regard, Downer et al. (2015) explain that some teachers struggle to adapt their practices

to meet the needs of today's students, who require more dynamic, participatory, and meaningful

education. Therefore, López et al. (2023) argue that the lack of training in innovative approaches,

such as educommunication, limits teachers' ability to transform their classrooms into spaces for

dialogue and knowledge co-creation, adapted to students' interests and contexts.

According to González et al. (2024), communication problems between teachers and students

persist, affecting the construction of relationships based on trust and mutual respect. This makes

it difficult for students to feel heard and valued in the classroom, which is fundamental for in-

clusive and democratic education. Finally, the lack of pedagogical innovation affects students'

motivation and interest, who may perceive education as something distant from their reality

(Arranz et al., 2024). For all these reasons, this study is considered to provide an opportunity to

explore how a dialogic educommunication approach could transform teaching practices, making

learning more relevant and accessible, and promoting an education where students feel like

protagonists of their own learning process.

In this regard, Aguaded and Pena (2013) propose that educommunication is becoming increa-

singly important today due to its ability to address the needs of more participatory, inclusive

education focused on students' holistic development. This approach integrates communication

into education, promoting pedagogical practices that foster dialogue, critical thinking, and co-

llective knowledge construction - key aspects in a world where students are exposed to a cons-

tant flow of information through multiple media and platforms.

It should be noted that Colombian educational institutions exhibit low student motivation and

participation in the learning process. In many cases, traditional teaching methods focused on

unidirectional knowledge transmission generate disinterest and limited capacity for reflection

and opinion-sharing, restricting participation and critical thinking development. At the social

level, it is common to observe that some students experience difficulties collaborating and wor-

king in teams, which may be related to the lack of methodologies promoting classroom inte-

Delmy Janeth Andadre Oviedo, Lisset Márquez Martínez and Jorge Miguel Quevedo Borrero

Revista Digital de Investigación y Postgrado, 6(12), 85-103

Electronic ISSN: 2665-038X

raction and coexistence. This creates a learning environment where individual competition pre-

dominates and, in some cases, conflicts arise among students, hindering a culture of respect

and cooperation.

Similarly, one recurring symptom is the limited communication between teachers and students,

along with teachers' tendency to monopolize classroom discourse. This creates a barrier pre-

venting the establishment of an environment of trust and mutual respect where students feel

safe expressing their ideas and experiences.

Likewise, some teachers show limitations in managing bidirectional communication dynamics,

which can lead to students feeling misunderstood or demotivated, affecting their relationship. It

is also observed that many teachers and students lack skills to critically analyze and use digital

media and information. The lack of adequate media literacy hinders students' ability to discern

between truthful information and misinformation, and many teachers fail to integrate these topics

into their classes, missing the potential of media as tools for critical and contextual learning.

Furthermore, there is little adaptation to students' needs and an absence of methodologies

responsive to their interests and realities. This results in students who find no meaning or re-

levance in what they learn and consequently do not engage significantly in their learning pro-

cess. Additionally, there is scarce ongoing teacher training in innovative pedagogical

approaches, limiting institutions' capacity to meet the demands of modern education adapted

to current times.

Finally, in the technological sphere, a significant digital divide persists. Consequently, many stu-

dents and teachers lack access to technological devices or necessary connectivity, hindering

the use of digital resources in learning. In cases where technological resources exist, they are

often used superficially or as basic support for traditional teaching, without fully leveraging their

pedagogical potential. This situation limits the possibility for both teachers and students to de-

velop digital competencies and practical skills to face the challenges of an increasingly digitalized

world. For all these reasons, this study proposed establishing the importance of Educommuni-

cation as a dialogic approach to innovate teaching practices based on five fundamental theo-

retical dimensions: educational, communicative, media-related, social, and technological.

Methodology

The present study followed the procedures of a documentary review, which involves collecting,

reviewing, and analyzing existing documents such as books, scientific articles, master's and doc-

toral theses, among others (Arias, 2016). This approach is useful for consolidating information

on a specific topic without the need for primary research. Through the review of previous do-

cuments, the study aims to establish a solid theoretical foundation, identify trends, patterns,

and gaps in existing knowledge. In this case, 42 relevant documents were selected on topics

such as educational innovation, educommunication, pedagogical strategies, and the integration

of technology in the classroom, all produced by recognized academic sources.

Educommunication: A dialogic approach to innovate teaching practice

In this regard, the documents were selected based on specific inclusion criteria. Only academic

books, peer-reviewed scientific articles, and theses that directly addressed topics related to tea-

ching innovation, educommunication, and technological teaching strategies were included. The

documents had to be published between 2010 and 2024 to ensure the timeliness of the infor-

mation. Additionally, only documents in Spanish or English were considered to facilitate com-

prehension and accessibility.

To search for the documents, keywords such as "pedagogical innovation," "educommunication,"

"innovative teaching practices," "educational technology," and "teaching strategies," among ot-

hers, were used and entered into various academic databases, including Google Scholar, Scopus,

ERIC, and JSTOR. This selection of keywords enabled the identification of relevant documents

that comprehensively covered the central themes of the research, ensuring that the articles,

books, and theses were pertinent to the study's objectives.

The analysis of the information obtained from the documents was conducted using various te-

chniques. The primary method was content analysis, which allowed for a detailed review of the

texts, identifying recurring themes, approaches, and trends related to pedagogical innovation

and educommunication. Relevant information was categorized, and the different approaches

found were compared, enabling the identification of key similarities and differences. Additionally,

a theoretical synthesis technique was employed, grouping the main ideas from the reviewed

documents to construct a coherent narrative summarizing the most significant findings.

Results and discussion

Below is an analysis of the documentary review based on the five fundamental

theoretical dimensions

Table 1

Analysis of the Educational Dimension

Theoretical di-

mension Authors Theory Contributions to dialogic

educommunication

Impact on teaching

innovation

Educational Martini

(2020).

It points to potential in-

tegration between edu-

communication and

other fields—such as

technology and peda-

gogy—opening dialo-

gue about how

communication and

education interconnect

within broader con-

texts.

The study critiques tradi-

tional approaches and

opens dialogue about

educommunication's in-

tersection with other

fields like technology and

pedagogy.

Their approach con-

tributes to integra-

ting multiple

perspectives into the

educational process,

promoting flexibility

and adaptation to

new realities.

Delmy Janeth Andadre Oviedo, Lisset Márquez Martínez and Jorge Miguel Quevedo Borrero

Revista Digital de Investigación y Postgrado, 6(12), 85-103

Electronic ISSN: 2665-038X

Table 1 (cont.)

Note: Own elaboration (2025).

Theoretical

dimension Authors Theory Contributions to dialogic

educommunication

Impact on teaching

innovation

Educational

Medina

(2024)

It alludes to the trans-

formation of interaction

and communication

forms, promoting an

inclusive paradigm

contextualized within

Latin American realities.

Humanistic education

connects emotions to

mobilize learning.

Allows for innovation

to be approached

from the perspective

of student diversity.

García et al.

(2024)

It explores the signifi-

cance of emotions in

educational processes,

specifically in teaching,

while also addressing

how educommunica-

tion extends beyond in-

formational content.

It suggests that emotional

bonds in the classroom

facilitate meaningful con-

nections with content.

This approach values the

emotional dimension,

fostering a more human

and comprehensive edu-

cational experience.

It suggests that emo-

tional bonds in the

classroom facilitate

meaningful connec-

tions with content.

This approach values

the emotional di-

mension, fostering a

more human and

comprehensive edu-

cational experience.

Miranda &

Sandoval

(2024).

They propose expan-

ding education beyond

traditional classroom

settings, encompassing

both formal and infor-

mal learning contexts.

They propose expanding

education beyond tradi-

tional classroom settings,

encompassing both for-

mal and informal learning

contexts.

Educational barriers

could be overcome

by combining formal

and informal con-

texts and introducing

innovations in inte-

raction spaces.

Anaguano

(2024)

It addresses the cha-

llenges and opportuni-

ties of its integration

into curricula and how

it influences teaching

and learning.

This dialogic approach

helps teachers organize

their teaching methods

flexibly and contextually,

enabling adaptation to

changes and fostering

educational innovation

according to social needs.

Curricular integration

reconfigures and op-

timizes teaching

while improving inte-

raction.

Pac (2024

It offers a philosophical

reflection on educom-

munication in a posthu-

man context, where

technology and new

communication forms

redefine the educatio-

nal process.

It emphasizes reflection

as a means to redefine

teaching practices.

The increasing use of

technologies across

all dimensions of

modern life necessi-

tates migration to

new systems of par-

ticipation and com-

munication.

Educommunication: A dialogic approach to innovate teaching practice

Table 1 presents the educational perspective from the approach of various authors. In this re-

gard, Martini (2020) considers educommunication as a critique of traditional approaches,

highlighting its potential to integrate and dialogue with other fields such as technology and

pedagogy. This intersection opens a space for educommunication to drive more flexible and

adaptive teaching practices, responding to the changing demands of contemporary society.

Its dialogic approach allows for a greater variety of perspectives, fostering teaching that not

only adapts to change but also challenges educators to constantly question and renew their

methods.

For his part, Medina (2024) contributes to the dialogic approach by promoting an inclusive

pedagogy that addresses cultural and social diversities in the classroom, particularly within

Latin American contexts. By fostering teachers' sensitivity to the local realities of their students,

Medina helps build an innovation framework in which pedagogical practices are contextua-

lized and adapted to the specific needs of each community, making learning more relevant

and meaningful for students.

Similarly, the perspective of García et al. (2024) emphasizes the importance of emotions in

educational processes. This approach not only highlights the value of informational content

but also the emotional connections that can be established in the classroom through Edu-

communication. By integrating the emotional component into teaching, educators can inno-

vate in their practices by creating a learning environment that recognizes the emotional

dimension, facilitating a more human and participatory educational experience.

Likewise, Miranda and Sandoval (2024) propose expanding education beyond the traditional

classroom, exploring both formal and informal contexts. This dialogic approach drives teaching

innovation by enabling continuous and extended education supported by digital platforms

and other interaction spaces. By challenging the physical barriers of the school, this approach

ensures that learning remains active and accessible beyond the classroom, fostering an edu-

cational model in which communication adapts to the needs and contexts of each student.

According to Anaguano (2024), educommunication presents challenges and opportunities

within school curricula, promoting a pedagogical structure that adapts to current demands.

Their dialogic approach provides educators with tools to shape their practices in ways that

make learning contextualized and open to diverse experiences and needs. This approach be-

comes a driver of teaching innovation, as it allows teaching methods to evolve in response

to social and educational changes.

Finally, Pac (2024) offers a philosophical reflection on educommunication in a posthuman

context, exploring how technology redefines the educational process. This approach challen-

ges educators to consider technology not only as a tool but as a new form of interaction and

communication. This dialogic approach promotes innovation that integrates critical and ethical

analysis of technology, preparing students for an increasingly complex digital environment

that demands a reflective stance on the use of technological tools and media in learning.

Delmy Janeth Andadre Oviedo, Lisset Márquez Martínez and Jorge Miguel Quevedo Borrero

Revista Digital de Investigación y Postgrado, 6(12), 85-103

Electronic ISSN: 2665-038X

Table 2

Analysis of the communicative dimension

Note: Own elaboration (2025).

Theoretical

dimension Authors Theory Contributions to dialogic

educommunication

Impact on teaching in-

novation

Communicative

Leite, (2013)

Examine the influence

of Paulo Freire’s

thought on educom-

munication, where

dialogue and partici-

pation are foundatio-

nal to educational

communication.

Incorporate the princi-

ples of Paulo Freire's

thought, which empha-

size dialogue and partici-

pation.

Mutual recognition

between teacher-stu-

dent as co-knowers.

Díaz et al.

(2024)

Explores the role of

educommunication in

promoting civic enga-

gement among ado-

lescents in

marginalized commu-

nities.

Supports dialogic edu-

communication through

communicative methods

promoting student be-

longing and social res-

ponsibility.

Moving toward edu-

cator roles that foster

learning and citizens-

hip.

Palacios et

al. (2024)

Educommunication as

a mechanism for fos-

tering social connec-

tedness and civic

engagement in at-risk

youth populations.

Educommunication as a

tool for enhancing social

bonds and civic commit-

ment among at-risk ado-

lescent populations.

Develops classroom

dynamics highlighting

values and social res-

ponsibility in learning.

Morales et al

(2024)

Educommunication

serves as a mecha-

nism for teacher

transformation, provi-

ding strategies to ad-

dress classroom

diversity and promote

inclusive environ-

ments in primary

education.

Dialogic educommunica-

tion can enhance tea-

chers' inclusive practice

by equipping them with

strategies to address

classroom diversity.

Dialogic educommu-

nication can enhance

teachers' inclusive

practice by equipping

them with strategies

to address classroom

diversity.

Cerna (2024)

This paper reviews the

relevance of educom-

munication as a con-

temporary practice in

the field of social com-

munication, exami-

ning its current validity

as a conceptual and

applied framework.

This work positions edu-

communication as both a

relevant and necessary

praxis in the digital age,

emphasizing critical dia-

logic communication for

fostering responsible di-

gital citizenship.

This approach emer-

ges as an innovation

factor, challenging

educators to update

their practices by in-

corporating critical

media and techno-

logy analysis.

Educommunication: A dialogic approach to innovate teaching practice

Table 2 presents information regarding the communicative dimension, demonstrating how edu-

communication establishes itself as a fundamental dialogic approach for innovating teaching

practices, enabling education to evolve into a more collaborative and critical process. By exa-

mining authors working in educommunication theory and practice, we can identify five key ap-

proaches - communicative, civic, inclusive, belonging, and digital transformation - which offer

unique and complementary perspectives on how educommunication can revolutionize both

teaching roles and classroom learning.

Building on Paulo Freire's foundational principles, Leite (2013) emphasizes dialogue and parti-

cipation as core elements of the communicative approach in educommunication. Freire viewed

education as a process of liberation and empowerment where teachers and students mutually

recognize each other as knowledge subjects, transforming educational relationships into colla-

borative and meaningful spaces. This approach fosters teaching innovation by creating envi-

ronments where continuous dialogue and collective knowledge construction become essential

learning pillars.

From the civic perspective, Díaz et al. (2024) highlight how educommunication can cultivate

civic engagement among youth in disadvantaged contexts, strengthening social belonging and

responsibility. In teaching practice, this translates to educators becoming facilitators who inte-

grate socially relevant themes into classrooms, promoting community participation and deve-

loping students' civic awareness and social commitment.

Palacios et al. (2024) expand this approach by framing educommunication as a tool for social

cohesion and civic engagement. Their classroom methodology emphasizes values and social

commitment, enabling students to develop critical participatory awareness. This transforms tea-

ching practices by focusing not just on academic content but on nurturing critically engaged

citizenship.

Morales et al. (2024) examine educommunication's role in teacher professional development,

particularly regarding educational inclusion. Their work equips educators with dialogic tools to

address classroom diversity, creating inclusive learning environments in primary education. This

drives teaching innovation by helping educators adapt practices to incorporate multiple pers-

pectives, benefiting all learners.

Finally, Cerna (2024) explores educommunication's relevance in our digitalized world, particularly

for developing responsible digital citizenship. This approach advocates not just for technology

use but for critical reflection about it, encouraging ethical engagement with digital media. For

educators, this means updating methods to include media literacy and technology analysis,

helping students develop both technical skills and ethical understanding of their digital society

participation.

Delmy Janeth Andadre Oviedo, Lisset Márquez Martínez and Jorge Miguel Quevedo Borrero

Revista Digital de Investigación y Postgrado, 6(12), 85-103

Electronic ISSN: 2665-038X

Table 3

Analysis of the media dimension

Theoretical

dimension Authors Theory

Contributions to dia-

logic educommuni-

cation

Impact on teaching

innovation

Santos et al. (2023)

It examines edu-

communication in

the hyperconnecti-

vity era, proposing

an education

oriented toward

freedom and criti-

cal citizenship. In-

formation overload

necessitates capa-

bilities to question

and analyze mes-

sage content.

Their approach

highlights edu-

communication's

potential to empo-

wer individuals,

particularly within

information-satu-

rated media envi-

ronments. In this

regard, educom-

munication beco-

mes a means to

develop critical

and reflective citi-

zens capable of

analyzing and

questioning their

media landscape..

This approach has

a significant im-

pact on teaching

innovation by pro-

moting the crea-

tion of educational

spaces that foster

critical reflection

and student parti-

cipation. Educators

are called to trans-

form their practi-

ces to integrate

critical thinking

processes into

their classrooms.

Coslado (2012)

It examines the de-

velopment and

theoretical approa-

ches of educom-

munication, as well

as the challenges it

faces in an increa-

singly interconnec-

ted world. The

study underscores

the need to adapt

educommunica-

tion principles to a

digital and globali-

zed context

It emphasizes the

importance of stu-

dents developing

the ability to un-

derstand, analyze,

and produce mes-

sages across di-

verse formats and

platforms. This

highlights edu-

communication's

role in cultivating

media competen-

cies within an inter-

connected world.

Innovation com-

pels educators to

adapt their practi-

ces, focusing on

developing stu-

dents' capacity to

interpret and pro-

duce information

within digital envi-

ronments.

Cárdenas et al.

(2024)

It focuses on the in-

tersection between

educommunication

and digital skills,

where technology

plays a central role

in learning.

Educators who in-

tegrate communi-

cation technologies

and tools foster in-

teractive and te-

chnology-enhance

d learning.

Innovation fosters

an environment

where educators

teach not only con-

tent but also digital

skills.

Educommunication: A dialogic approach to innovate teaching practice

Tabla 3 (cont.)

Note: Own elaboration (2025)

Table 3 presents information regarding the media dimension. Santos et al. (2023) explore how

educommunication can empower students in the era of hyperconnectivity. In an information-

saturated environment, educommunication has the potential to form critical and reflective citi-

zens capable of analyzing and questioning their media environment. In this sense, they propose

creating educational spaces where students feel motivated to actively participate in their lear-

ning, fostering more dynamic education connected to social reality. Thus, the impact on teaching

innovation lies in educators transforming their practices to integrate critical thinking processes,

facilitating media analysis and promoting participatory education.

For his part, Coslado (2012) emphasizes the need to adapt educommunication principles to a

Theoretical

dimension Authors Theory

Contributions to dia-

logic educommuni-

cation

Impact on teaching

innovation

Mediatic

Crovi (2024)

The study examines

factors influencing

educational com-

munication in the

post-pandemic era,

highlighting the im-

portance of effec-

tive digital training

in higher educa-

tion.

It emphasizes the

importance of stu-

dents not merely

accessing online in-

formation but en-

gaging with it

critically and ethi-

cally.

Teaching innova-

tion lies in educa-

tors' ability to

effectively integrate

digital tools, ensu-

ring that students

not only receive in-

formation but also

analyze and use it

ethically.

Paz (2024)

Educommunication

is addressed as a

fundamental stra-

tegy for developing

transversal compe-

tencies in university

students.

Students develop

skills that transcend

specific subjects,

such as critical thin-

king and teamwork

abilities, which are

essential for their

success in both edu-

cational and profes-

sional contexts.

Educators must in-

corporate edu-

communicative

strategies that fos-

ter the develop-

ment of these

transversal compe-

tencies.

Romero et al.

(2024)

They highlight the

role of Media and

Information Lite-

racy (MIL), a key

component of

educommunica-

tion for promoting

critical analysis.

Students must de-

velop the ability to

critically analyze,

interpret, and

create content,

thereby acquiring

key competencies

to become infor-

med and active ci-

tizens.

Students must de-

velop the ability to

critically analyze,

interpret, and

create content,

thereby acquiring

key competencies

to become infor-

med and active ci-

tizens.

Delmy Janeth Andadre Oviedo, Lisset Márquez Martínez and Jorge Miguel Quevedo Borrero

Revista Digital de Investigación y Postgrado, 6(12), 85-103

Electronic ISSN: 2665-038X

digital and globalized context, where students must be able to understand, analyze, and pro-

duce messages across different formats and platforms. This approach reflects the importance

of developing media competencies in an interconnected world where digital skills are essential.

Consequently, teaching innovation requires educators to adjust their methods to favor learning

that focuses not only on traditional content but also on critical media interpretation and infor-

mation production in digital platforms.

Cárdenas et al. (2024) focus on the relationship between educommunication and digital competencies.

They suggest it is fundamental for improving students' digital skills development, particularly relevant

in an educational context where technology plays a central role in learning. In this case, teaching in-

novation implies educators adapting their methodologies to include communication technologies

and tools, promoting more interactive learning centered on developing critical digital skills.

Similarly, Crovi (2024) analyzes factors affecting educational communication in the post-pan-

demic era, highlighting the need for effective digital training. That is, students should not only

access online information but also interact with it critically and ethically. Therefore, this approach

promotes teaching innovation involving effective integration of digital tools, ensuring students

not only receive information but can also analyze and use it ethically and reflectively.

Likewise, Paz (2024) presents educommunication as a fundamental strategy for developing

transversal competencies such as critical thinking, creativity, and teamwork. These skills are es-

sential for academic and professional success in the current context, where labor and academic

demands require competencies beyond specific knowledge. Consequently, teachers must in-

corporate educommunicative strategies that not only teach content but also develop life skills

and teamwork abilities, essential for students' comprehensive education.

Finally, Romero et al. (2024) emphasize Media and Information Literacy (MIL), a key component of edu-

communication that focuses on the ability to interpret and analyze information in media environments.

Table 4

Analysis of the technological dimension

Theoretical

dimension Authors Theory Contributions to dialogic

educommunication

Impact on teaching in-

novation

Tecnologic

Prieto

et al.

(2024)

They explore how educommu-

nication can empower students

in the hyperconnectivity era.

Within information-saturated

environments, educommunica-

tion holds the potential to cul-

tivate critical and reflective

citizens capable cape of analy-

zing and questioning their

media landscape.

This approach promotes

the creation of educatio-

nal spaces where stu-

dents feel motivated to

actively participate in

their learning, fostering

more dynamic education

that is connected to so-

cial reality.

The impact on tea-

ching innovation lies in

educators' need to

transform their practi-

ces by integrating criti-

cal thinking processes,

facilitating media

analysis, and promo-

ting participatory edu-

cation.

Educommunication: A dialogic approach to innovate teaching practice

Table 4 (cont.)

Note: Own elaboration (2025).

Table 4 presents a technological perspective. Prieto et al. (2024) discuss how educommunication,

in a hyperconnected context, can empower students by helping them become critical and re-

flective citizens who actively analyze and question their media environment. This approach not

only emphasizes the importance of critical reflection but also active participation in the learning

process, serving as a strategy to connect education with contemporary social reality. In this con-

text, teachers must transform their educational practices to integrate critical thinking and media

analysis, which not only facilitates learning but promotes the development of individuals more

engaged with their environment.

Rodríguez et al. (2024) emphasize the need to adapt educommunication principles to a digital

context, where students must learn to navigate information-saturated environments by unders-

tanding and producing messages across various platforms. This technological aspect highlights

the relevance of developing media competencies, including essential digital skills for analyzing,

interpreting, and producing information - all formatted to help students operate in an inter-

connected world. Consequently, teaching innovation becomes necessary for educators to adjust

traditional methodologies and favor education that's not only based on academic content but

also on students' critical capacity regarding media and digital platforms.

Conclusions

After reviewing multiple documents, we conclude that from an educational perspective, educommu-

nication promotes participatory learning where students are not just information recipients but active

protagonists in knowledge construction. This methodology fosters environments prioritizing reflection

Theoretical

dimension Authors Theory Contributions to dialogic

educommunication

Impact on teaching

innovation

Tecnologic

Prieto et

al. (2024)

reflective citizens capa-

ble of analyzing and

questioning their media

landscape.

Rodríguez

et al.

(2024)

It highlights the need to

adapt educommunica-

tion principles to a digi-

tal and globalized

context, where students

must be capable of un-

derstanding, analyzing,

and producing messa-

ges across different for-

mats and platforms.

It reflects the importance

of developing media lite-

racy competencies in an

interconnected world

where digital skills are es-

sential.

Educators are required

to adapt their teaching

methods to promote

learning that aligns with

the digital age.

Delmy Janeth Andadre Oviedo, Lisset Márquez Martínez and Jorge Miguel Quevedo Borrero

Revista Digital de Investigación y Postgrado, 6(12), 85-103

Electronic ISSN: 2665-038X

and critique, enabling students to develop cognitive and emotional skills that prepare them for modern

world demands. Interactivity and critical thinking become fundamental components of the educational

process, fostering more meaningful and relevant learning.

In the communicative dimension, educommunication strengthens teacher-student relationships

through constant dialogue. This approach emphasizes the importance of bidirectional communication

that favors expression and idea exchange. By integrating different communication forms, students

can express thoughts, reflect on content, and share diverse perspectives, creating more inclusive and

participatory learning environments. This dialogic classroom relationship also allows educators to ad-

just pedagogical practices according to student needs and interests.

From the media perspective, educommunication stands out for its ability to develop students' critical

awareness of media. In an information-saturated era, the ability to analyze, question, and create media

content is essential. Through this approach, students learn not only to consume information reflectively

but also to produce content ethically and responsibly. This process transforms them into more infor-

med and active citizens capable of making well-founded decisions in a global media context.

In the social dimension, educommunication focuses on inclusion, favoring collective knowledge

construction that values students' diverse social and cultural realities. Here, education becomes

a tool for social transformation, enabling students to participate in creating solutions to pro-

blems they face. Dialogic interaction also facilitates creating inclusive learning communities that

promote equity and respect for differences.

Finally, from the technological perspective, educommunication adapts to the digital tools cha-

racterizing our contemporary era. Technology integration in classrooms allows students not

only to access information more efficiently but also to develop essential digital competencies.

This approach fosters more interactive and collaborative learning while preparing students to

actively participate in a digitalized world.

Conflict of Interest: The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Contributions: Delmy Janeth Andadre Oviedo identified and theoretically contextualized the

problem, Lisset Márquez Martínez designed the methodology and reviewed literature, and

Jorge Miguel Quevedo Borrero established the conclusions, highlighting this as teamwork.

Informed Consent: Not applicable.

Data Availability Statement: Not applicable.Contributions: Delmy Janeth Andadre Oviedo

identified and theoretically contextualized the problem, Lisset Márquez Martínez designed the

methodology and reviewed literature, and Jorge Miguel Quevedo Borrero established the con-

clusions, highlighting this as teamwork.

Informed Consent: Not applicable.

Educommunication: A dialogic approach to innovate teaching practice

100

Data Availability Statement: Not applicable.

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Distance education: digital platforms and

student autonomy of the 21st century

Educación a distancia: plataformas digitales y

autonomía del alumnado del siglo XXI

Custódio Cazenga Francisco

https://orcid.org/0000-0001- 9889-1128

Luanda / Angola

How to cite: Francisco, C. C. (2025). Distance education: digital platforms and student autonomy of the

21st century. Revista Digital de Investigación y Postgrado, 6(12), 105-112. https://doi.org/10.59654/exkthg32

* PhD in Educational Sciences from ACU (Absolute Christian University). Master's in Biomedical Sciences (Occupational

Safety) from UNIXAVIER. Postgraduate (Lato Sensu) in Hospital Administration from Universidade Nova Lisboa. Me-

dical degree from Universidade Jean Piaget de Angola. Contact email: custodiofrancisco29.8@hotmail.com

Received: april / 1 / 2025 Accepted: april / 26/ 2025

https://doi.org/10.59654/exkthg32

106

Abstract

This article aims to reflect on distance education: digital platforms and student autonomy in

the 21st century. The present text consists of a narrative literature review, using scientific data-

bases to encompass proposed authors. The intention was to bring relevant content to the

theme, focusing on various theories. An analytical and bibliographical qualitative approach was

conducted on the subject through books, articles, and video classes from databases such as

Pepsic, Scielo, and Google Scholar. Subsequently, an inclusion of the most relevant materials

was performed, excluding content that did not pertain to the theme. It is concluded that digital

platforms have great potential to transform 21st-century distance education, promoting student

autonomy and transforming the role of teachers to maximize the benefits of the teaching-lear-

ning process.

Keywords: Distance education, digital platforms, student autonomy.

Resumen

Este artículo tiene como objetivo reflexionar sobre la educación a distancia: plataformas digitales

y autonomía discente en el siglo XXI. El presente texto consiste en una revisión narrativa de la li-

teratura, utilizando bases de datos científicas para abarcar autores clave. El propósito fue recopilar

contenidos relevantes sobre el tema, con enfoque en diversas teorías. Se realizó una investigación

analítica y bibliográfica de enfoque cualitativo, consultando libros, artículos y videoclases de bases

de datos como Pepsic, Scielo y Google Académico. Posteriormente, se seleccionaron los materiales

más pertinentes, descartando aquellos no relacionados con la temática. Se concluye que las pla-

taformas digitales tienen un gran potencial para transformar la educación a distancia del siglo

XXI, fomentando la autonomía de los estudiantes y redefiniendo el rol del docente para maximizar

los beneficios del proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje.

Palavras-chave: Educación a distancia, plataformas digitales, autonomía del estudiante.

Introduction

Digital platforms have become fundamental technological resources for online distance education,

providing essential tools for planning, delivering, and managing teaching-learning processes while

engaging teachers, content developers, tutors, and other professionals.

Given that Distance Education: Digital Platforms and Student Autonomy in the 21st Century (Educa-

ção a distância: Plataformas digitais e autonomia discente do século XXI) presents significant cha-

llenges for educational policies—particularly in developing countries where published data remains

scarce—the author was motivated to investigate this topic to advance knowledge in the field.

This study aims to: (1) generate new knowledge, (2) collect previously unavailable data to address

Custódio Cazenga Francisco

Revista Digital de Investigación y Postgrado, 6(12), 105-112

Electronic ISSN: 2665-038X

107

Distance education: digital platforms and student autonomy of the 21st century

existing gaps, (3) enhance educational practices, and (4) contribute to scientific progress. The research

holds particular significance as it examines core teaching-learning processes in education. Conse-

quently, this investigation seeks to answer: “What is the impact of digital platforms and student au-

tonomy on 21st-century distance education?” The study's primary objective is to analyze the role of

digital platforms and learner autonomy in contemporary distance education.

Theoretical foundation

Digital platforms as tools for active and collaborative learning

Digital platforms play a significant role in promoting active pedagogical practices, such as pro-

blem-based learning (PBL) and gamification—tools that encourage student engagement and

active participation in the educational process. Problem-based learning, for example, is cha-

racterized by solving real-world issues that stimulate students' critical thinking and analysis. In

this context, digital platforms are used to provide resources that facilitate interaction and colla-

boration among students, creating a dynamic and interactive learning environment. As França

(2021, p. 2021) highlights, "the use of digital platforms in higher education environments has

proven effective for promoting learner autonomy, especially when combined with active met-

hodologies like problem-based learning." This quotation demonstrates how well-integrated di-

gital platforms can transform educational settings, empowering students to become

protagonists of their learning.

Moreover, gamification—a pedagogical approach that uses game elements to engage stu-

dents—also benefits from digital platforms. According to Santos et al. (2020, p. 88), "digital

platforms offer a range of tools that enable gamification implementation, enhancing student

motivation and fostering immersive learning." This statement reflects how digital platforms can

be configured to integrate gamification, stimulating students through challenges, rewards, and

progression systems, thereby making learning engaging and interactive.

Digital platforms are equally essential for promoting collaboration among students, a corners-

tone of modern pedagogical practices. As Portes et al. (2024, p. 112) note, "educational social

networks and discussion forums within digital platforms function as interaction spaces, allowing

students to share ideas, debate concepts, and collaboratively solve problems." These collabo-

rative tools have proven vital for creating inclusive, participatory learning environments where

peer-to-peer knowledge exchange is encouraged.

França and Freitas (2022, p. 145) assert that "Digital Information and Communication Techno-

logies (DICT) have the power to redefine student interactions, providing not only content access

but also opportunities for collaborative knowledge construction." This observation underscores

the importance of DICT, including digital platforms, in collaborative knowledge-building, illus-

trating how networked learning can be facilitated by these tools as students work together,

share information, and develop competencies.

108 Custódio Cazenga Francisco

Thus, digital platforms demonstrably serve a fundamental role in creating active, collaborative

learning environments. They not only provide resources for problem-based learning and ga-

mification but also offer spaces for peer collaboration—ultimately fostering essential 21st-century

learning competencies.

Technology and accessibility in the teaching process

Digital platforms have proven essential in promoting accessibility in education, enabling students

with diverse educational needs to access personalized resources tailored to their specific requi-

rements. As França (2021, p. 105) states, "digital technologies, when properly utilized, facilitate

the personalization of teaching, allowing each student to access content according to their in-

dividual needs and learning paces." This quotation emphasizes digital platforms' capacity to

adapt instruction to each student's unique characteristics, ensuring inclusive and accessible edu-

cation that respects individual differences and enhances learning.

Furthermore, digital inclusion plays a fundamental role in fostering learner autonomy, enabling

students to become independent in their learning process. As Portes et al. (2024, p. 115) high-

light, "the use of digital platforms contributes to the development of learner autonomy by pro-

viding students the freedom to explore content and complete activities independently, without

requiring constant supervision." This statement demonstrates how digital platforms can empo-

wer students by giving them tools to take control of their learning, thereby promoting self-re-

gulation skills.

The importance of digital inclusion is further evident in Santos et al.'s (2020, p. 90) assertion:

"digital technologies enable students with diverse educational needs to access customized con-

tent, which is essential for promoting equal opportunities in the educational process." This quo-

tation reinforces the concept that digital platforms play a significant role in creating an equitable

educational environment where all students, regardless of limitations, can access knowledge

and develop their skills.

The use of digital platforms in education has proven to be not just a resource for adapting ins-

truction to individual student needs, but also a pathway toward building inclusive education.

Thus, by enabling teaching personalization and promoting learner autonomy, digital platforms

become essential tools for creating an accessible, inclusive, and equitable educational environ-

ment.

Challenges and potentialities of online and hybrid teaching

The use of digital platforms in remote and hybrid teaching has become an established trend in

recent decades, particularly following the COVID-19 pandemic. Digital platforms offer numerous

benefits, including time and space flexibility, allowing students to access educational content

anytime and anywhere. However, they also present significant challenges. According to Mattos

and Reis (2021, p. 65), "remote and hybrid teaching, while presenting opportunities for expan-

Revista Digital de Investigación y Postgrado, 6(12), 105-112

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Distance education: digital platforms and student autonomy of the 21st century

ding educational access, also requires changes in pedagogical practices, institutional structures,

and the profiles of both students and teachers." This statement highlights the complexity of

transitioning to digital teaching, which, despite bringing innovations, also demands significant

adaptations across various aspects of the educational process.

Moreover, digital platforms have the potential to transform teaching by enabling active metho-

dologies like problem-based learning and gamification. However, as noted by Oliveira (2023,

p. 122), "implementing hybrid learning environments requires integrating multiple technologies,

necessitating not only adequate infrastructure but also changes in how teachers interact with

students and content." This observation underscores the need for a comprehensive, well-plan-

ned approach to ensure the success of digital platforms in hybrid teaching, emphasizing that

merely adopting technologies doesn't guarantee positive outcomes.

Teacher training represents a fundamental factor for successful remote and hybrid teaching. As

Portes et al. (2024, p. 119) assert, "teachers play a central role in mediating digital instruction,

and their ongoing training is essential for effective platform use to ensure teaching practices

remain aligned with student needs and demands." This statement emphasizes that beyond te-

chnological infrastructure, teachers must be properly prepared to use these platforms, requiring

specific and continuous professional development.

Additionally, adequate technological infrastructure is crucial for effective digital teaching. França

and Freitas (2022, p. 147) state, "inadequate infrastructure and lack of technical support in edu-

cational institutions can compromise online learning experiences, limiting student access to te-

chnologies and hindering implementation of active methodologies." This reinforces that

successful remote and hybrid teaching requires investments not only in digital platforms but

also in technological resources and technical support to ensure all students can equally benefit

from these tools.

Methodology

This text constitutes a narrative literature review utilizing scientific databases to cover the pro-

posed authors. The objective was to compile relevant content on Distance Education: 21st Cen-

tury Digital Platforms and Learner Autonomy, focusing on various theories. An analytical,

bibliographic qualitative study was conducted through books, articles, and video lectures from

databases including PePSIC, SciELO, and Google Scholar. The most relevant materials were sub-

sequently included, while non-pertinent content was excluded.

Discussion

The use of digital platforms has proven to be an effective tool for promoting learner autonomy,

as it enables students to take control of their own learning process. França (2021, p. 110) empha-

sizes that "digital platforms provide resources that allow students to learn at their own pace,

choose content that interests them, and complete activities independently." This statement de-

110

Custódio Cazenga Francisco

monstrates how digital platforms can create flexible learning environments that encourage stu-

dents to become autonomous, developing self-regulation skills and independence in their edu-

cational journey.

Furthermore, Portes et al. (2024, p. 120) highlight that "using digital platforms in teaching facili-

tates the creation of environments that stimulate learner autonomy, offering not only access to

content but also tools that enable students to manage their own learning with freedom and res-

ponsibility." From this quote, we can understand that digital platforms provide a structure that

goes beyond simple knowledge access, encouraging students to manage their time, set learning

goals, and find solutions to challenges - essential elements for developing autonomy.

Oliveira (2023, p. 125) states that "pedagogical practices mediated by digital platforms promote

student autonomy, particularly when combined with methodologies that encourage research

and problem-solving, such as problem-based learning (PBL)." The integration of digital platforms

with active methodologies like PBL clearly demonstrates how digital tools can foster autonomy

by engaging students in learning situations that require critical thinking and practical knowledge

application.

Examples of best practices in using digital platforms can be observed in various educational ini-

tiatives that strategically implement these tools. Santos et al. (2020, p. 95) note that 'some plat-

forms, by promoting student interaction and offering personalized resources, successfully create

learning environments that simultaneously stimulate autonomy and collaboration.' This practice

is evident in platforms incorporating discussion forums and collaborative activities, where students

assume active roles in knowledge construction while developing independent learning skills.

The teacher's role in 21st century education has been transformed by the increasing integration

of digital platforms in the teaching-learning process. According to Santos et al. (2020, p. 92),

"when mediating digital platform use, the teacher's role extends beyond knowledge transmission

to becoming a facilitator guiding students in their autonomous learning journey." This shift reflects

the need to adapt to new pedagogical models where teaching is student-centered rather than

teacher-centered, focusing on student-technology interactions.

Moreover, this transformation requires balancing mediation and student autonomy. França (2021,

p. 112) emphasizes that "while digital platforms provide student resources, teachers must guide

strategic tool use to ensure students maintain autonomy without losing necessary pedagogical

direction." This balance is crucial for developing student autonomy while preserving the teacher's

essential role as a learning guide. Teacher mediation proves key to successful platform imple-

mentation by providing necessary support for student exploration while encouraging learning

responsibility.

Oliveira (2023, p. 128) further highlights this balance, stating: "digital platform use requires tea-

chers to continually adjust their approach, alternating between active mediation phases and

Revista Digital de Investigación y Postgrado, 6(12), 105-112

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111

Distance education: digital platforms and student autonomy of the 21st century

greater student autonomy periods, demanding constant flexibility and adaptation." This demons-

trates that teachers must not only adapt their practices to new technological contexts but also

be prepared to shift teaching styles according to student needs. Teacher flexibility in mediation

therefore constitutes a central factor for successful educational technology implementation.

The implementation of digital platforms in education faces numerous challenges, including in-

frastructure requirements and teacher/student training needs. Technological infrastructure - or

lack thereof - represents a major obstacle. As Mattos and Reis (2021, p. 67) state, "digital platform

adoption requires robust infrastructure ensuring continuous, uninterrupted access to learning

tools, which many schools - particularly in underprivileged areas - cannot guarantee." This high-

lights how access quality determines digital platform implementation success, with inadequate

equipment, unstable internet connections, and technical support shortages consistently hindering

full technology integration.

Teacher training presents another significant challenge. According to Portes et al. (2024, p. 123),

"teachers require ongoing training for digital platform use, as simply introducing new technolo-

gies doesn't guarantee teaching quality improvement." This emphasizes the importance of com-

prehensive teacher development encompassing both technical platform use and necessary

pedagogical adaptations for meaningful tool integration into teaching-learning processes.

Resistance to change constitutes another major challenge. França (2021, p. 115) observes that

"many teachers struggle to adopt new technologies due to natural resistance to change, parti-

cularly when these technologies require shifting traditional teaching models." This resistance may

reflect educator insecurity regarding new tools and limited prior experience with digital teaching,

demanding institutional support through training and psychological/pedagogical guidance du-

ring the digital transition. Finally, student adaptation presents another relevant challenge.

According to Oliveira (2023, p. 130), “students, even though they are familiar with the use of te-

chnology in their daily lives, do not always know how to use it productively in the educational

context, which requires specific guidance from teachers.” This quote highlights that, although

students are digital natives, being accustomed to technology in everyday life does not necessarily

mean they know how to use it for educational purposes. Adapting to the use of digital platforms

requires both teachers and students to engage in a continuous learning process.

Final considerations

By systematically compiling a comprehensive body of information on essential topics related to

Distance Education: Digital Platforms and 21st Century Learner Autonomy, this research ena-

bles scholars to redirect time previously spent on foundational literature searches toward deeper

reflective analysis.

In research of this scope, determining the threshold of sufficient information to elucidate edu-

cational realities and substantiate pedagogical practices proves challenging. Therefore, main-

112

taining balanced criteria, the research team adopted methodical systematization to facilitate

access to diverse conceptual and methodological approaches representative of various didac-

tic-pedagogical schools of thought.

The study concludes that digital platforms hold transformative potential for 21st century distance

education by: Fostering learner autonomy, and redefining the teacher's role to maximize tea-

ching-learning process benefits

This research is expected to provide educators in related fields with: A deeper understanding

of the subject matter and a more comprehensive technical-scientific perspective. However, furt-

her studies remain necessary to expand upon and deepen the findings presented herein.

Reference

França, S. C. C. and Freitas, L. G. de (2022). Revisão sistemática: avaliando as contribuições das Tec-

nologias Digitais da Informação e Comunicação (TDICs) para o desenvolvimento das funções

psicológicas superiores. Revista de Estudos em Educação, 17(2), 1246-1262. https://dialnet.uni-

rioja.es/servlet/articulo?codigo=8583246

França, S. C. C. (2021). Tecnologias digitais da informação e comunicação na educação superior: con-

tribuições para o desenvolvimento da autonomia discente. Dissertação (Mestrado) – Universidade

Católica de Brasília, Brasília. https://bdtd.ucb.br:8443/jspui/handle/tede/2889

Mattos, N. P. O. and Reis, H. M. M. S. (2021). Como a pandemia do Covid-19 influencia (ou) a edu-

cação no século XXI. Revista Educação Científica, 73-86. https://downloads.editoracientifica.

com.br/articles/210805632.pdf

Oliveira, V. B. de. (2023). Discussões das práticas avaliativas em turmas do nono ano do ensino fun-

damental de uma escola pública estadual de Goiânia e os depoimentos dos docentes sob o olhar

das concepções de cunho histórico-cultural. Dissertação (Mestrado em Educação). Pontifícia Uni-

versidade Católica de Goiás, Goiânia. https://tede2.pucgoias.edu.br/handle/tede/4960.

Portes, C. S. V., Vaz, F. da C., Cazeli, G. G., Ferreira, H. G., Mota, M. F. A. Maciel, R. C. A., Freitas, T. S. and

Silva, W. L. da. (2024). O papel das tecnologias digitais na formação de professores: oportunidades

e desafios dos ambientes virtuais de aprendizagem. In: Santos, S. M. A. V. e Franqueira, A. da S.

(orgs.). Inovação na educação: metodologias ativas, inteligência artificial e tecnologias na educação

infantil e integral. Capítulo 04, 101-126. https://doi.org/10.51891/rease.978-656054-111-5-4.

Santos, L. N. dos., Lemos, A. S. R., Santos, T. F. dos. and Vieira. K. V. R. G. (2020). As tecnologias

digitais da informação e comunicação (TDIC) aplicadas nas metodologias de ensino híbrido e

gamificação. In: Anais do Congresso Internacional de Educação e Tecnologia (CIET).

https://ciet.ufscar.br/submissao/index.php/ciet/article/view/499

Custódio Cazenga Francisco

Revista Digital de Investigación y Postgrado, 6(12), 113-123

Electronic ISSN: 2665-038X

113

https://doi.org/10.59654/h1kdh186

Integration of ICT in transdisciplinary

teaching in university education

Integración de TIC en la enseñanza

transdisciplinaria en Educación

universitaria

How to cite: Rosales, V. J. A (2025). Integration of ICT in transdisciplinary teaching in university education.

Revista Digital de Investigación y Postgrado, 6(12), 113-123. https://doi.org/10.59654/h1kdh186

* This work has been carried out within the framework of the doctoral program in education at the Universidad Na-

cional Experimental de los Llanos Occidentales Ezequiel Zamora (Unellez).

**Master’s Degree in Educational Management, Universidad Nacional Experimental del Táchira, Barinas –

Venezuela.Bachelor’s Degree in Education, Major in Mathematics, Universidad Nacional Experimental de los Llanos

Occidentales Ezequiel Zamora, Barinas – Venezuela.Higher University Technician in Computer Science, Universidad

Politécnica Territorial Agro Industrial del Estado Táchira (UPTAIET, San Cristóbal – Venezuela).Contact email:

aparte17@gmail.com

Received: april / 4 / 2025 Accepted: april / 22 / 2025

114

Abstract

This article examines how Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) are integrated

into transdisciplinary teaching in university education. The objective is to analyze the role of

ICT in promoting transdisciplinarity. To this end, the researcher conducted a literature review in

databases such as Scopus, Redalyc, and Scielo, using terms like "ICT," "transdisciplinary teaching,"

and "university education." The results reveal that platforms like Zoom and Moodle enable glo-

bal connectivity and resource sharing, enhancing learning and collaboration across disciplines.

The conclusions indicate that ICT serve as mediators in transdisciplinary teaching in university

education and as an integrative tool, though evidence of digital gaps persists. Universities con-

tinue training their faculty to improve digital competencies.

Keywords: Transdisciplinarity, university education, Information and Communication Technolo-

gies, integration.

Resumen

En el presente artículo se plantea como las Tecnologías de la Información y la Comunicación

(TIC) se integran en la enseñanza transdisciplinaria en la educación universitaria. En tal sentido

el objetivo es analizar el rol de las TIC en la promoción de la transdisciplinariedad. A tal efecto

el investigador ha realizado una revisión bibliográfica en bases como Scopus, Redalyc y Scielo,

usando términos como "TIC", "enseñanza transdisciplinaria" y “educación universitaria”. Los re-

sultados revelan que plataformas como Zoom y Moodle permiten la conectividad global y el in-

tercambio de recursos, enriqueciendo el aprendizaje y la colaboración entre disciplinas. Entre

las conclusiones se tienen que las TIC son mediadores en la enseñanza transdisciplinaria en edu-

cación universitaria pero también un medio integrador, aunque todavía hay evidencia de brechas

digitales las universidades siguen formando a su profesorado para mejorar sus competencias

digitales.

Palabras clave: Transdisciplinariedad, educación universitaria, Tecnologías de la Información y la

Comunicación, integración.

Introduction

Universities today face the challenge of engaging with an interconnected, complex world that

never stops evolving. One fundamental pathway to achieve this is through ICTs by fostering

transdisciplinarity. As Asunción (2018) states:

University education and transdisciplinarity are undoubtedly intertwined due to their im-

portance in specialist training and discipline design. Moreover, transdisciplinary know-

ledge isn't automatically acquired as the sole result of scientific and technological

progress, but rather requires deliberate, conscious efforts oriented toward this goal. (2.1.

Transdisciplinarity in University Education Context, para. 1).

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Thus, transdisciplinarity enables integrating diverse disciplines to solve complex problems, as

knowledge remains fragmented in disciplinary silos incapable of intercommunication, let alone

holistic problem-solving. This is where ICTs facilitate a paradigm shift, since as Morin (2011) ar-

gues: "Hyperspecialization fragments reality's complex fabric, while quantification's dominance

obscures human affective dimensions" (p. 141). Transdisciplinarity confronts these knowledge

partitions, dethroning them from their modernist pedestal.

Martínez (2013) asserts that transdisciplinarity "overcomes disciplinary boundaries to generate

more complete, integrated - and thus truer - representations of reality" (p. 86). This transdisci-

plinary worldview offers alternative lenses for examining realities beyond disciplinary reach, cen-

tering on humanity through integrative vision. However, achieving transdisciplinary attitudes

requires, per Nicolescu (1996): rigorous argumentative language, openness to the unknown,

and tolerance for contradictory truths. Artidiello et al. (2017) attribute these characteristics to

transdisciplinary teaching: transgressive, knowledge-integrating, inclusive, critical, comprehen-

sive, and ethical.

Notably, transdisciplinary education transcends individual disciplinary frameworks. Conversely,

it transgresses disciplines (transversally) by blending concepts, approaches, and notions to cons-

truct new, specific knowledge complementing, enriching, integrating, and transcending source

disciplines while surpassing expert domains. It embraces diverse wisdom forms, fostering sen-

sitivity to multiple cultural, social, and scientific perspectives through holistic, interconnected

understanding.

Zarzuelo et al. (2024) posit that in transdisciplinarity, "diverse stakeholders (students and inte-

rested parties) collaborate by contributing methods transcending individual disciplinary pers-

pectives. Similarly, they exchange experiences, knowledge, ideas, values, and expectations.

Academics, professionals, and researchers develop shared frameworks when addressing pro-

blems through this approach."

According to Wall & Shankar (2008), transdisciplinary collaboration is being promoted in aca-

demic and professional spheres as a key strategy for exploring new research approaches and

generating knowledge directly applicable to solving real-world problems. Martin (2017) notes

that transdisciplinarity is grounded in the principle that reality is too complex, interconnected,

and multidimensional to be analyzed without multiple disciplines - though specific problems

can be solved (in collaboration with affected non-academic stakeholders).

Nicolescu (2010) views transdisciplinarity as an approach integrating knowledge, methodologies,

and perspectives from diverse disciplines to address problems unsolvable within single know-

ledge domains. However, as Nicolescu (2014) asserts, integrating diverse knowledge systems

to solve contemporary complex problems requires "the unity of knowledge" (p. 201) rather than

reliance on singular knowledge sources.

This integrative approach enables students to develop skills for tackling complex, multidimen-

Integration of ICT in transdisciplinary teaching

in university education

116

sional problems. Thus, transdisciplinarity not only enriches learning but also cultivates teamwork

and adaptability in dynamic environments. Nevertheless, implementing transdisciplinary tea-

ching in higher education faces challenges including resistance to change, insufficient teacher

training, and difficulties integrating cross-disciplinary knowledge.

Notably, as Kubisch et al. (2021) emphasize, transdisciplinarity acknowledges the responsibility

to address socially relevant problems and the crucial role of those affected (or potentially affec-

ted) by these challenges. This raises the pivotal question of resource roles - particularly ICTs as

integration mechanisms in this article's context. The study therefore investigates: How are ICTs

integrated into transdisciplinary teaching in university education?

Methodology

This study includes a review of Scopus, Redalyc, and Scielo databases, with searches conducted

in English and Spanish. Studies not addressing the research topic were excluded. The exploration

employed meta-search engines (Google, Google Scholar, Ask, Bing), books, and Venezuelan

university repositories. The canonical search equation was: ("ICT" OR "information and com-

munication technologies") AND ("transdisciplinary teaching" OR "transdisciplinary education")

AND ("university education" OR "higher education") AND ("integration" OR "implementation")

Results

ICTs and the promotion of transdisciplinarity

Virtual platforms are digital applications or environments that enable interaction among parti-

cipants while facilitating learning processes, collaboration, and resource management via the

internet. These platforms depend directly on ICTs for their development and operation.

In the digital era, virtual platforms have become essential tools for communication, learning,

and collaboration. Their potential to foster interdisciplinary interaction is particularly relevant in

a world where complex problems require cross-disciplinary solutions. Virtual platforms facilitate

interdisciplinarity by overcoming geographical barriers, promoting cognitive diversity, and op-

timizing knowledge exchange - all contributing to innovation and comprehensive solution de-

velopment.

Various tools enable such collaboration. As Tomalá De la Cruz et al. (2020) note: "WikiSpaces,

Moodle, and Edmodo represent excellent options for diverse educational purposes" (p. 202).

However, other technological resources like email, forums, and chats also promote collaborative

learning. Thus, ICTs allow professionals, academics, and multidisciplinary experts to connect

and collaborate regardless of geographical location.

Within this framework, ICTs play a fundamental role in promoting transdisciplinarity through

virtual platforms. As previously discussed, transdisciplinarity enables knowledge integration

Juan Acacio Rosales Vivas

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across disciplines, providing comprehensive problem analysis through multiple lenses. Global

connectivity and access constitute key enablers of this process.

Connectivity and global access

Platforms like Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Meet allow professionals and experts from

diverse disciplines to connect and collaborate irrespective of geographical location - a prere-

quisite for transdisciplinarity. For instance, a botanist in Congo, physicist in Australia, biologist

in Canada, and mathematician in London can collaboratively work on renewable energy projects

with university students worldwide.

As Zuña et al. (2020) maintain, these platforms "increase student motivation, create knowledge,

manage and share resources, and foster teamwork" (p. 352). Furthermore, Irigoyen et al. (2018)

highlight ICTs' role in enhancing engagement, comprehension, creativity, communication, critical

thinking, and multicultural awareness. Sagenmüller (2016) identifies how ICTs optimize time, re-

duce costs, improve student communication, enrich data, enable exploration, and provide lear-

ning flexibility - all vital for transdisciplinary education.

This perspective led UNESCO to establish an ICT competency program for educators, as the

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco, 2015) affirms ICTs can

facilitate acquisition of skills needed for contemporary challenges, including: information crea-

tion and selection, autonomy and decision-making, problem-solving flexibility, teamwork and

communication skills.

ICTs also enhance teachers' roles. Unesco (2008) emphasizes that educators must design lear-

ning opportunities and classroom environments facilitating student ICT use for learning and

communication. Teachers bear responsibility for utilizing ICTs and designing related activities,

recognizing students as the educational focus while serving as facilitators and learning resource

managers. This approach helps students develop knowledge-construction skills and compe-

tencies for workforce integration - a crucial function of higher education as career preparation.

However, Unesco (2008) stresses that "all teachers must be prepared to provide these oppor-

tunities." Makrakis (2005) notes that new technologies demand novel teacher roles, pedagogies,

and training approaches. Consequently, Santaella and Ruiz (2023) explain UNESCO advocates

transitioning from specialized disciplinary models toward transdisciplinary education enabling

students to address an increasingly complex globalized world's challenges.

Knowledge and resource exchange

It is worth noting that tools like Google Drive, Dropbox, and Moodle facilitate document sharing,

data exchange, research dissemination, and educational material distribution within virtual plat-

forms. From a transdisciplinary perspective, this proves fundamental in higher education as stu-

dents can access specialized knowledge from other disciplines and integrate it into their own

Integration of ICT in transdisciplinary teaching

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118

knowledge construction. For instance, in public health projects, doctors, epidemiologists, and

economists can share data and analyses to design comprehensive strategies. Having these re-

sources available on a platform enhances collaboration and ensures all virtual classroom stu-

dents have equal information access.

In this context, ICTs enable simple and rapid access to information in diverse formats. The most

significant ICT characteristics are presented in Figure 1.

Figure 1

Characteristics of ICTs

Note: Author's own elaboration.

Knowledge and resource exchange in higher education

In higher education, knowledge and resource exchange represents a fundamental pillar for fos-

tering transdisciplinarity. ICTs have revolutionized this process by providing virtual platforms

that facilitate the sharing, integration, and application of knowledge from multiple disciplines.

This approach not only enriches learning but also prepares students to address complex pro-

blems requiring comprehensive solutions. Below, we expand on this point with examples and

reflections about its impact on higher education.

ICTs in university education

In recent years, universities have undergone changes toward digitalization, interconnected en-

vironments, and the development of research and scientific publications related to educational

technologies. As Area et al. (2020) state, there is "a clear and focused interest in studying the

impacts of digital technologies on alternative teaching modalities beyond face-to-face instruc-

tion" (p. 2). This has created a need for changing teaching paradigms, as evidenced by recent

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experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Area and Adel (2021) argue that the pandemic generated "the unexpected boost of digital tea-

ching, the pedagogical and organizational integration of ICTs in schools, and the metamorphosis

of teaching materials" (p. 83). Therefore, universities and educational institutions cannot remain

indifferent to these developments, as the alert affected both. The call is to reinvent themselves

if they wish to respond to the demands of a digital society where information access and global

collaboration prevail. ICTs are precisely the protagonists of this paradigm shift and the promotion

of educational innovation - whether desired or not, the response to the pandemic experience

was possible thanks to technology. Social networks became the engine of change and the cen-

tral core.

As Area (2017) states, we have now transitioned from analog to digital or online-distributed

media - a metamorphosis of teaching materials. Printed books are becoming obsolete, replaced

by disruptive technologies, marking a shift from educational culture to digital culture in teaching

materials. The author of this article believes the teaching model is becoming exhausted, along

with teaching strategies and didactic resources. The possible path is to open up to new pers-

pectives. It is from this point that disciplines become enriched through contributions from pro-

fessionals and experts in other fields, making transdisciplinary knowledge manifest in more

expressive formats, alternative narratives, and cognitive experiences.

However, we must not forget the warning from Castañeda et al. (2018): "the potential of ICTs in

education remains to be fully developed and demonstrated" (p. 2). An example of this challenge

can be seen at the Universidad Nacional Experimental de los Llanos Occidentales Ezequiel Za-

mora, which despite having faculty trained for distance education, continues to develop ongoing

teaching diplomas for its professors.

Following this line of thought, other universities worldwide have incorporated virtual platforms

for their undergraduate and graduate programs. Regarding this, Hidalgo et al. (2023) mention

that in Peru, faculty have been trained in digital competencies, implementing virtual platforms

as learning environments. Meanwhile, Varela (2024) notes that in Mexico, "teacher training in

digital technologies has become a necessity in contemporary education" (p. 1967).

Indeed, ICTs facilitate this training in transdisciplinary skills. Various online learning platforms

offer open-access courses and resources spanning different disciplines. Hernández (2023) high-

lights platforms such as: (a) Coursera, providing quality interactive learning courses (some free,

some paid with certification); (b) edX, founded by Harvard University and MIT with optional

certification; and (c) Khan Academy, offering courses in mathematics, science, computing, eco-

nomics, and finance. Additionally, there are collaboration software and digital resources enabling

transdisciplinary work.

Based on the above, teachers can acquire knowledge and skills beyond their core disciplines -

a key factor for transdisciplinary collaboration. According to experts like Zawacki & Jung (2023),

Integration of ICT in transdisciplinary teaching

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120

ICTs are digital media and tools that facilitate teaching-learning processes through communi-

cation, interaction, collaboration, assessment, and feedback. With the global COVID-19 pande-

mic, ICTs have become fundamental components across all educational levels, enabling

interdisciplinary collaboration by providing virtual spaces to share knowledge, resources, and

experiences.

Another relevant aspect of ICTs in university education is their ability to personalize learning

according to each student's needs and pace. As Gómez and Cano (2020) mention, ICTs also

offer various options, including access to academic and professional information sources, course

materials, databases, reference management tools, and participation in online conferences and

congresses.

Conclusions

It is concluded that ICTs serve as important mediators of transdisciplinarity through virtual plat-

forms. These technologies enable connectivity, collaborative tools, as well as access to data and

resources. Furthermore, they provide spaces for communication. ICTs act as bridges facilitating

effective collaboration among professionals and academics from different disciplines. This en-

riches research and development processes while allowing comprehensive solutions to complex

problems.

The study concludes that virtual platforms not only overcome geographical barriers but also

enable cognitive plurality and knowledge exchange. However, universities still need to continue

training faculty in digital competencies to ensure ICT and virtual platform usage doesn't become

a digital divide, but rather maximizes teaching potential.

Similarly, it is believed necessary for universities to continue adopting ICT integration in trans-

disciplinary teaching as an essential process within the emerging educational paradigm they

are called to join, as revealed by Unesco documents and education ministry plans. Nevertheless,

further research promoting transdisciplinarity development through ICT use is deemed neces-

sary.

ICTs drive a transdisciplinary educational model, moving away from disciplinary approaches to-

ward a global knowledge vision. Platforms like edX or Khan Academy democratize access to

interdisciplinary courses, preparing students for a complex world. This paradigm shift, empo-

wered by technology, responds to educational innovation needs.

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Integration of ICT in transdisciplinary teaching

in university education

Influence of information and

communication technologies on

the university professional

training process

Influencia de las tecnologías de información y

comunicación en el proceso de formación

profesional universitaria

125

Ezequiel Landinez Blanco*

https://orcid.org/0009-0002-2360-984X

El Piñal, Táchira state / Venezuela

How to cite: Landinez, B. E. (2025). Influence of information and communication technologies on the

university professional training process. Revista Digital de Investigación y Postgrado, 6(12), 125-134.

https://doi.org/10.59654/7nzg9f69

* This work has been carried out within the framework of the doctoral program in education at the Universidad Na-

cional Experimental de los Llanos Occidentales Ezequiel Zamora (Unellez).

**PhD Candidate in Education, Unellez, Barinas – Venezuela. Magister Scientiarum in Education Sciences Specialization:

University Teaching. Tenured Professor Universidad Nacional Experimental de Los Llanos Occidentales "Ezequiel

Zamora" El Piñal – Venezuela. Email: landinez2014@gmail.com

Received: april / 22 / 2025 Accepted: may / 13 / 2025

https://doi.org/10.59654/7nzg9f69

Revista Digital de Investigación y Postgrado, 6(12), 125-134

Electronic ISSN: 2665-038X

126

Abstract

This study examines the influence of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs)

on higher education professional training, highlighting their potential to enable flexible,

personalized, and interactive teaching-learning methods. Through systematic literature re-

view, the research analyzes the reconfiguration of university educational environments, re-

vealing: (a) faculty efforts to implement technology-based teaching models, (b) persistent

gaps in teachers' digital-pedagogical competencies for effective strategy design, and (c)

the urgent need to update teaching profiles to meet student expectations. The findings de-

monstrate a contrast between technological adoption and actual pedagogical integration.

From a pragmatic perspective, the study concludes universities must: Critically incorporate

emerging technologies. Redesign ICT-based teaching strategies. Ensure continuous teacher

training aligned with current trends. The research emphasizes the ongoing challenge of

balancing technological innovation with educational quality, proposing targeted faculty de-

velopment as key to bridging the gap between technology access and meaningful peda-

gogical application

Keywords: process, training, update, information and communication technologies.

Resumen

Este estudio analiza el impacto de las TIC en la formación universitaria, destacando su potencial

para favorecer métodos flexibles y enseñanza personalizada. Mediante revisión sistemática de

literatura, se examina la reconfiguración del entorno educativo, identificando la necesidad de

adaptación docente-estudiantil en contextos tecnológicos. Los hallazgos revelan: (a) esfuerzos

docentes por implementar modelos tecnopedagógicos, (b) brechas en competencias digitales

y didácticas para diseñar estrategias efectivas, y (c) la urgencia de actualizar el perfil docente

ante demandas estudiantiles. Concluye pragmáticamente que las universidades deben: Integrar

críticamente tecnologías emergentes. Rediseñar estrategias pedagógicas con TIC, Garantizar

formación continua alineada a tendencias actuales. El estudio subraya el desafío permanente

de equilibrar innovación tecnológica con calidad educativa, proponiendo como eje central la

capacitación docente para cerrar brechas entre adopción tecnológica y su aplicación pedagó-

gica significativa

Palabras clave: proceso, formación, actualización, tecnologías de información y comunica-

ción.

Introduction

In recent decades, ICT advancements have become increasingly evident due to their widespread

use across various contexts. The continuous technological changes characterizing the 21st cen-

tury demand ongoing technological training processes in different domains, including educa-

tion. Here, university teaching praxis necessitates reevaluating the didactic, pedagogical, and

Ezequiel Landinez Blanco

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methodological knowledge guiding instructional practices.

Consequently, it becomes imperative to assess how emerging technologies are reshaping higher

education and how such innovations influence learning. This study therefore aims to analyze

ICT's influence on university education while identifying opportunities and challenges in techno-

logical competencies amid these innovations.

Equally important is educational technology's role in training human talent for professional per-

formance and its implications for 21st century knowledge societies. "An estimated 80% of higher

education institutions worldwide have implemented some form of emerging technology in their

academic programs" (Espinoza et al., 2024, p. 3).

Contextually, university education adopts emerging technologies as strategic alternatives to

overcome temporal and spatial limitations. Institutions are implementing online learning plat-

forms, advanced learning management systems, and collaborative tools, among others, facili-

tating autonomous learning. Artificial intelligence advancements also generate expectations for

reshaping educational methodologies. "These forthcoming transformations will drive paradig-

matic changes in science's structure" (Arbeláez et al., 2021, p. 6).

This educational approach draws from constructivist learning theories, which demonstrate know-

ledge construction through technological resource interaction in social and pedagogical pro-

cesses. Vygotsky's social learning theory proves particularly relevant, where constructive

interaction through educational technologies becomes increasingly common. "This theory main-

tains that learning results from individual-environment interaction" (Ortiz, 2015, p. 8).

Key findings reveal how technological innovations enhance educational quality, though success

depends on implemented pedagogical models. Neuroscience contributions highlight motiva-

tion's substantive influence in training processes, while gamification strategies (video games,

etc.) enable transversal competency development.

These developments lead to a crucial conclusion: the progressive ICT integration into pedago-

gical processes requires adaptation time due to existing gaps between technological advance-

ments and educators' immediate technical capacity for implementation. Epistemologically,

constructivist and connectivist paradigms manifest through educational technology applications.

Finally, COVID-19 exposed pedagogical weaknesses while accelerating ICT adoption in profes-

sional university training.

Methodology

La investigación aplica el enfoque cualitativo, se utiliza el método analítico sintético, con la in-

tención de escudriñar, desentrañar y comprender el impacto de las TIC en el This research em-

ploys a qualitative approach, utilizing the analytical-synthetic method to thoroughly examine,

investigate, and understand the impact of ICTs on the pedagogical process of professional trai-

Influence of information and communication technologies on the

university professional training process

128

ning in contemporary university institutions. For this purpose, a comprehensive literature review

and analysis was conducted to: identify research areas with demands in the context of educa-

tional technology, reveal weaknesses in technology use or application, highlight gaps in peda-

gogical processes, examine existing trends and expectations in techno-educational contexts.

In the course of the research, a careful review of academic literature and relevant theories was

conducted to substantiate the study. In this process, works were selected considering specific

criteria such as: application of the study methodology, relevance, timeliness, and perspectives.

On the contrary, studies showing limitations or inconsistencies in the applied methodology,

those with weak relevance, and those presenting high bias were not considered. From this re-

view, a set of contributions, challenges, and reflections that integrate the research topic are va-

lued.

Results and discussion

Technological advancements have immersed educators, prompting significant changes in their

roles, academic management, and communication. Consequently, teachers are assuming new func-

tions as guides, mediators, facilitators, and motivators in meaningful and relevant learning processes

through educational technologies. This perspective highlights how the teacher's profile becomes a

crucial factor in training processes, necessitating its continuous evolution.

From a historical viewpoint, the conservative teacher profile regarding ICT use is gradually disap-

pearing due to these technologies' requirements in educational praxis (Pagés, 1994), along with

their rapid expansion and application across multiple social spheres. Consequently, educational te-

chnologies have evolved to the point of adopting new paradigms, requiring teachers to perma-

nently integrate these technologies into their pedagogical practice through various strategies (Ferrés

et al., 2013).

Additionally, the study reveals an existing perception that overestimates young people's attraction

to screens and exaggerates their influence, while simultaneously perceiving students as having low

learning interest. However, the emotional impact generated during screen and mobile device in-

teractions in learning processes is rarely considered, despite belonging to students' emotional di-

mension that significantly affects pedagogical processes. Therefore, teachers must incorporate

emotionally constructive strategies in their planning.

Some studies reveal the importance of implementing classroom didactic experiences through te-

chnological resources and collaborative strategies, successfully demonstrating how students awaken

interest, make their work visible, and project their knowledge (Jiménez et al., 2018). This process

becomes possible through innovative and effective pedagogical strategies across curriculum areas,

along with ongoing teacher training programs that must timely incorporate each technological

advancement with educational relevance.

This situation reflects the growing importance of teachers' digital competence - their ability to ef-

Ezequiel Landinez Blanco

Revista Digital de Investigación y Postgrado, 6(12), 125-134

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fectively integrate digital technologies into pedagogical practice. However, educational praxis still

shows limitations preventing optimal training processes, such as deficiencies in teachers' digital

skills training and the rapid evolution of these technologies.

A training gap exists among university faculty regarding digital competencies, as their current te-

chnological skills often don't meet classroom requirements... Concerning digital competencies (Ba-

rragán et al., 2021, p.12).

Consequently, ICTs' evolution and expansion have significantly impacted various social areas,

including education, demanding teachers incorporate these technologies into their practice.

These contribute to better academic performance and provide skills for active participation

in different contexts (social, professional, academic, cultural). Therefore, technological trai-

ning represents both an educational requirement and opportunity, considering human po-

tential, trends, expectations, and opportunities across professional contexts.

Other researchers highlight the importance of emotions and motivation as determining factors in

technology use, while cautioning that success will always depend on the pedagogical strategies

applied (López et al., 2021). In this scenario, once again the teacher becomes the protagonist in

the training process, as they must guide, motivate, articulate, and coordinate the development of

pedagogical activities, including strategies that in educational practice manage to stimulate each

student's motivation levels. Furthermore, this planning must be consistent with the motivation stra-

tegy but alternate in the activities to be developed to prevent repetition from becoming a factor

with the opposite effect on motivation.

It is pertinent to note that motivation becomes more demanding at the university level, as it co-

rresponds to andragogical approaches. This level requires teachers with high creativity, imagination,

and innovation capacity to create and recreate highly effective strategies through the use of edu-

cational technology. For this reason, university teaching becomes a highly dynamic and interactive

process, with implications that involve all social actors participating in the training process.

Another important factor to consider in the educational field is the impact of COVID-19, as it sig-

nificantly boosted the use of ICTs following the implementation of global isolation measures. This

phenomenon practically conditioned educational practice to the use of technological resources in

educational processes. Additionally, it revealed vulnerable aspects in teachers' profiles regarding

the use of educational technologies, thus showing the need for training and opportunities for im-

provement.

In a world where the COVID-19 pandemic has revolutionized numerous aspects of daily life, higher

education has been no exception. The redefinition of post-pandemic professional training is one

of the most critical aspects, highlighting the need to adapt educational approaches to the new re-

alities of the labor market and social demands (Ramones et al., 2024, p. 2).

The COVID-19 pandemic changed the current educational system and career perspectives,

Influence of information and communication technologies on the

university professional training process

130

as well as the education of future generations, implying the creation of new educational

policies, as well as new training plans and strategies (Niño et al., 2021). Essentially, the use

and application of these tools should be a daily practice in teacher training and perfor-

mance, not just as an option in times of contingency.

Now, in a constantly innovating technological context, university teachers must strategically and

permanently foster students' critical and creative thinking as a consequence of technology's impact

on the reconfiguration of various fields of knowledge. This implies that new professionals will face

unforeseen challenges but with better conditions and expectations for their performance. In light

of these scenarios, teachers face the challenge of connecting with digital native students (González

et al., 2022).

The cited study reveals the need and importance of effectively responding to the demands of digital

native students. For this reason, each teacher must manage and develop training and updating

strategies in the technological context, as it is not only a necessity but also a requirement. Respon-

ding effectively to these demands makes the progress and consolidation of the educational process

more effective.

Consequently, this scenario also demands the design and implementation of educational policies

that contribute to strengthening communication and interaction processes through adaptation in

virtual environments, technological resources, devices, connectivity, logistical services, and infras-

tructure, facilitating professional training processes to achieve objectives.

In another contribution, the cited study shows how, through video game strategies, students ma-

nage to put transversal competencies into practice. They also recognize the importance of deci-

sion-making, their capacity for criticism and self-evaluation, teamwork coordination, interpersonal

and communication skills, as well as the ability to recognize limits, apply norms, and theories in

practice within the educational framework.

This advancement in technologies requires a review of educational policies, as it demands the adap-

tation of curricula, programs, and audiovisual media that can foster the pedagogical process

through interactive strategies in virtual environments. Although it seems more suitable for preschool,

primary, and secondary levels, recent studies also demonstrate the usefulness of gamification at

the university education level.

On the other hand, the level of ICT knowledge applied in academic activities, as well as the intensity

of use post-pandemic, reveal the importance of technological resources at the university level (Del-

gado et al., 2023). Thus, students' perceptions show variability in technological competency know-

ledge, with 84% citing social networks as the component where they have the highest level of

knowledge, while 16% do not consider this component as the main one in their technological re-

source knowledge. In tools such as email, video conferencing, and chat, the knowledge level is

81%, while 19% are unfamiliar with these tools. Therefore, "the effective integration of ICTs in edu-

cational processes is a topic that has gained increasing relevance in recent years, given the profound

Ezequiel Landinez Blanco

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131

changes and social transformations derived from the digital revolution" (Ruiz, 2024, p. 1).

It is worth noting that instant messaging and social media interaction are permanently used tools

in social, academic, and professional contexts. For this reason, the management and application of

these tools has become a requirement in nearly all fields of human activity. Consequently, effective

use of these technologies guarantees successful training processes and provides excellent advan-

tages in professional practice.

Similarly, 80% of students acknowledge that search engines rank third in their knowledge of te-

chnological resources, while 20% do not recognize them. It is pertinent to highlight the impor-

tance and usefulness of recognizing and utilizing search engines on the web, as they represent

an extraordinary advantage in information retrieval and access. On the other hand, knowledge

of teaching platforms stands at 79%, while 21% confirm unfamiliarity. Therefore, "universities

must transition toward more collaborative and student-centered models" (Pérez et al., 2021, p.

1).

When considering professional software and specialized packages, only 35% demonstrate know-

ledge, while 65% lack familiarity. Regarding the creation of virtual materials and online resources,

32% are aware of them, whereas 68% do not know these tools. As for image, audio, and video

editing software, 31% possess knowledge, while 69% show no familiarity and thus do not use these

tools. Finally, in data analysis software, 19% have knowledge, and 81% report no experience. In this

regard, some studies indicate that "students from families with lower educational levels have fewer

opportunities to use digital technologies" (Pérez et al., 2021).

The assessment reveals that knowledge of general-use tools reaches 81%, which can be considered

high but improvable. However, in professional software, specialized packages, online resources,

and multimedia editing, it drops to 33%, indicating a clear weakness and a loss of opportunities in

human talent development within the technological component. In this sense, ICT competency

becomes essential, comparable to traditional literacy. "Technological literacy has become a funda-

mental element; the lack of digital skills leads to a new form of illiteracy: digital illiteracy" (Murillo et

al., 2024, p. 3).

After the pandemic, university students' frequency of ICT use shows 88% engagement with basic

office tools (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), while 12% do not use them. Similarly, researchers highlight

that 79% utilize ICTs primarily for social media (Facebook, Instagram), including communication

tools, apps, web search engines, and online learning platforms for remote academic work. Resear-

chers argue that the COVID-19 pandemic forced more frequent use of these technologies in aca-

demic activities (Núñez et al., 2021).

These advancements demonstrate the need to strengthen technological training processes in edu-

cation, particularly in professional software, specialized packages, online resources, and multimedia

editing, as this can significantly enhance educational praxis and make professional training more

efficient. Additionally, it provides an opportunity to develop human talent potential.

Influence of information and communication technologies on the

university professional training process

132

Conclusions

The rise of technologies and their influence in the educational field is undeniable, becoming

even more notable after their boost and utility during the pandemic period. At the university

level, the acceptance of ICTs is evident, given their multiple benefits in the pedagogical pro-

cess. However, weaknesses persist in teachers' didactic competencies for their use and appli-

cation, revealing gaps between teaching competence and the rapid innovation and

advancements of these technologies. This calls for strategies aimed at training university tea-

chers in virtual environments, as well as in the use and application of educational technology

resources.

Additionally, it can be noted that the rapid technological evolution demands that educational

institutions update and adapt their policies, programs, and infrastructure. This is because te-

chnological literacy in university education goes beyond the mere incorporation of digital tools

into the educational process—it requires rethinking traditional teaching and learning metho-

dologies to effectively address demands, leverage the opportunities offered by the digital en-

vironment, and harness the potential of human talent. Therefore, effective integration and

application of ICTs in university teaching are necessary to ensure transitions toward new com-

petency-based models or approaches grounded in ICT innovation, elements that must remain

a permanent fixture in the context of higher education.

Finally, it is crucial to develop a didactic framework based on ICTs as a catalyst for transforming

university education. This will enable institutions to embrace changes and challenges, as well

as respond to demands and requirements, in line with the opportunities and expectations of

the knowledge society in an increasingly interconnected world.

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Curriculum review in higher education and

its implications for teaching quality:

Challenges for university education

Revisión curricular en la Educación Superior y sus

implicaciones en la calidad docente:

Desafíos para la enseñanza universitaria

Mário Adelino Miranda Guedes*

https://orcid.org/:0009–0002-1836 –9773

Luanda / Angola

How to cite: Francisco, C. C. (2025). Curriculum review in higher education and its implications for tea-

ching quality: Challenges for university education. Revista Digital de Investigación y Postgrado, 6(12), 135-

141. https://doi.org/10.59654/r2gev478

* Ph.D. in Educational Sciences from ACU – Absolute Christian University. Master's in Educational Sciences from Uni-

xavier-Tiradentes. Bachelor's Degree in Medicine from Universidade Jean Piaget of Angola. Professor of General

Pathology at Instituto Superior Politécnico Alvorecer da Juventude – ISPAJ, Luanda. E-mail: marioguedes1973@hot-

mail.

Received: april / 3 / 2025 Accepted: april / 22 / 2025

https://doi.org/10.59654/r2gev478

136

Abstract

Curriculum review is a dynamic, ongoing process grounded in human rights and contextual re-

levance, aimed at enhancing educational quality. This qualitative, descriptive study—based on

documentary analysis—identified three key pillars: (1) transparency and coherence (from design

to pedagogical/social impact), (2) self-directed learning (learner-defined goals), and (3) demo-

cratic values ( justice, equity, and diversity). Findings reveal that curriculum review transcends

academic discourse: it fosters meaningful learning, addresses contemporary educational needs,

and promotes socio-political integration, advancing societal democratization. However, further

research is needed to compare outcomes and generate new scientific contributions.

Keywords: Curriculum review in higher education: quality assurance and contemporary cha-

llenges.

Resumen

La revisión curricular es un proceso dinámico y continuo que, fundamentado en los derechos hu-

manos y el contexto social, busca mejorar la calidad educativa. Este estudio descriptivo y cualitativo

—basado en análisis documental— identificó tres ejes clave: (1) transparencia y coherencia (desde

su diseño hasta su impacto pedagógico y social), (2) autogestión del aprendizaje (metas definidas

por los actores educativos), y (3) democraticidad (valores como justicia y respeto a la diversidad).

Los resultados demuestran que la revisión curricular trasciende lo académico: promueve apren-

dizajes significativos, atiende necesidades educativas actuales y fomenta la integración política-

social, contribuyendo a la democratización. Sin embargo, se requiere profundizar la investigación

para comparar resultados y generar nuevas aportaciones científicas..

Palabras-clave: Revisión curricular en educación superior, calidad educativa y desafíos contem-

poráneos.

Introduction

In recent decades, higher education has been marked by significant changes that have had a

particular impact on the relationship between the University and society. That is, higher educa-

tion institutions have moved from being alienated from social dynamics to increasingly partici-

pating in the social, cultural, political, and economic contexts in which they are embedded

(Martins et al., 2016).

Fernanda (2020, p. 49) references the factors that contributed to the changes that occurred,

focusing on: The change in student profiles,research on teaching and learning, the expansion

of spaces for reflection regarding teaching contexts and practices, and the organization of higher

education institutions, which has become increasingly complex and with an increasingly diver-

sified educational offering. However, the idea of university education has become pluralized

and is diversifying, differentiating, and segmenting.

Mário Adelino Miranda Guedes

Revista Digital de Investigación y Postgrado, 6(12), 135-141

ISSN electrónico: 2665-038X

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The real curriculum is what actually happens in the classroom, resulting from a pedagogical

project and teaching plans. It is a theory based on sociological and psychological assumptions,

grouping contents, objectives, and strategies that are put into practice through a curricular plan.

It revolves around curriculum development, a continuous and dynamic process developed in

different phases and levels, with the subject in their context and the completeness of their rights

as its pillars. However, curriculum development consists of three stages: conception, implemen-

tation or operationalization, and evaluation (Leite & Fernandes, 2019).

According to Perez (2018, p. 41), in his reflection on higher education and the need for a quality

pedagogical culture, he emphasizes eight principles that revolve around transformative and

emancipatory University Pedagogy, namely:

Transparency, coherence, relevance, reflexivity of pedagogical action, semocratization,

with an emphasis on values of democratic citizenship, sense of justice, respect for diffe-

rences, freedom of thought and expression, communication and debate of ideas, ne-

gotiation of decisions, collaboration, and mutual aid, self-detection, personal creativity,

and innovation, a pluri-interdisciplinary vision of knowledge and reality.

Este estudo pretendeu demonstrar a importância da concepção e implementação de um cu-

rrículo que incentive a aquisição de conhecimentos no Ensino Superior, habilidades, desenvol-

tura nas habilidades em sala de aulas, além de valores e crenças positivas, uma vez que o

currículo constitui o melhor meio para que seja possível atribuir forma ao desenvolvimento

global dos valores, torna-se uma ferramenta indispensável para o docente deste subsistema

de ensino, desafiando-o na construção de um ensino desafiador e inovador.

This study aimed to demonstrate the importance of designing and implementing a curriculum

that encourages: The acquisition of knowledge in higher education, the development of clas-

sroom skills, and positive values and beliefs. The curriculum constitutes the best means to shape

the global development of values, becoming an indispensable tool for educators in this subs-

ystem of education, challenging them to build innovative and transformative teaching.

Methodology

This is a descriptive, bibliographic, and documentary research with a qualitative approach, which

sought to analyze the implications of curriculum review on the quality of higher education. This

study derived from a documentary review whose objective is to highlight the importance of curri-

culum review in higher education, emphasizing the principles that underpin University Pedagogy.

According to Severino (2017, p. 124), bibliographic research is that which is carried out based

on available records, products of previous research, in printed documents such as books, articles,

theses, among others.

The works that constituted the technical-scientific foundation of this study were read in their

Curriculum review in higher education and its implications for teaching quality:

Challenges for university education

entirety, subsequently selecting those whose themes demonstrated greater relevance to the re-

search purposes. All works—"scientific articles, periodicals, journals, reports, and reviews that

addressed the topic in question"—were included in the analysis.

Excluded were all works that, after a thorough and comprehensive reading, lacked contextua-

lization, were outdated, or whose approach presented no relevance to the study's objectives.

A qualitative analysis and interpretation of the results was conducted, which were discussed

through the comparison of perspectives from various authors and descriptors that examined

this phenomenon from multiple approaches.

Regarding ethical considerations, this study complied with scientific and didactic requirements

at all stages of development, from its initial conception, problem identification, methodological

selection, to data collection.

Results and discussion

The concept of curriculum in education has undergone transformations over time, with various

pedagogical approaches addressing its dynamics and functions. The curriculum represents more

than just a list of contents and guidelines for classroom instruction across different stages of

students' academic lives - it constitutes a historical and cultural construct that evolves in its de-

finitions over time.

Through comprehensive analysis of selected works, we established that curriculum review as a

crucial tool for improving teaching quality is fundamentally supported by the paradigms un-

derlying curriculum development. As Campani et al. (2022) emphasize, curricular innovation

should challenge higher education institutions while serving as an instrument for didactic-pe-

dagogical and social transformation.

According to Slomski et al. (2020), the development of the curriculum review process must be

based on the analysis of curriculum theories, serving as guiding frameworks for curricular reform

construction, such as: the traditional or technical theories promoted in the first half of the 20th

century by John Franklin, which associated curriculum disciplines to a permanent mechanical

matter, where the educational system would be conceptually linked to the industrial system,

grounded in the paradigms of Taylorist scientific management; the critical curriculum theory

based on Marxist conceptions and also on the ideas connected to authors of the Frankfurt

School, notably Theodor Adorno, and of the New Sociology of Education like Pierre Bourdieu.

According to Pérez (2018, p. 41) in his reflection on higher education and the need for quality pe-

dagogical culture, he emphasizes eight principles that revolve around transformative and eman-

cipatory University Pedagogy: Coherence, based on the guiding training, as well as the nature of

disciplinary contents and evaluation methods; Relevance, with emphasis on knowledge mobiliza-

tion and promotion, safeguarding socio-professional reality, and viewing the curriculum in an ar-

ticulated manner; Reflexivity, which states that pedagogical action promotes divergent thinking.

Mário Adelino Miranda Guedes

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ISSN electrónico: 2665-038X

Pérez's perspective on higher education and the need for pedagogical culture was corroborated

by Vallejo (2016), taking as reference the democratization of higher education by affirming that

pedagogical action is grounded in values of democratic citizenship, sense of justice, respect for

differences, freedom of thought and expression, communication and debate of ideas, decision-

making negotiation, collaboration and mutual aid..

According to Sabia et al. (2023), citing Pérez, self-direction as well as creativity and innovation

create foundations not only for implementing pedagogical actions linked to attitudes and ca-

pacities for self-regulated learning, but also develop spaces for socio-professional intervention

based on: knowledge of reality, problem identification and relevance analysis.

This creates conditions for developing social intervention projects based on the pillars that sus-

tain university life.

This study aimed to demonstrate the importance of designing and implementing a curriculum

that encourages the acquisition of knowledge, skills, classroom proficiency, as well as positive

values and beliefs, since the curriculum constitutes the best means to shape the comprehensive

development of values, becoming an indispensable tool.

The results of this research allow us to propose new perspectives in addressing the subject mat-

ter related to the phenomenon under analysis, due to its relevance in promoting quality higher

education that integrates: the explicit formulation of its guiding educational principles and ob-

jectives, the nature of its methodological approach, its teaching-learning processes and path-

ways, its adopted evaluation parameters.

Final considerations

The curriculum is the inspirational basis for planning the daily practices of higher education ins-

titutions and teachers, as well as the commitment to students, since they need and must be

heard - only then can learning be considered democratic.

This article aimed to deepen discussions and highlight the debate around curricular changes

and their implications for higher education quality, in order to identify curricular models and

practices capable of guiding educational work toward enabling meaningful learning while ad-

dressing contemporary educational needs.

After conducting the study, it was observed that several considerations can be made, such

as: Developing a professional training curriculum to further enhance student thinking and

classroom learning. It is necessary to design the teacher training curriculum to enable analysis

of its effectiveness. In this study, it became evident that throughout the various reflections

made by authors, there is a clear concern to establish concepts about the role of the curri-

culum as an extremely important tool in addressing the phenomenon of education and tea-

ching.

Curriculum review in higher education and its implications for teaching quality:

Challenges for university education

140

It was also expressed here that teachers must not only be knowledgeable about curriculum to-

pics within their areas of expertise, but also understand the explicit purpose behind their curri-

cular orientation. In the context of higher education, addressing the issue of curriculum review

is a process that cannot be limited to mere academic discussion, but must be directed toward

political and social integration within the context of the role it plays in the process of citizenship

and democratization of society.

The study also emphasized that faculty must not only understand curriculum content within their

disciplines but also grasp the explicit purpose behind curricular orientations. In higher education,

addressing curricular revision transcends mere academic discourse—it requires political and social

integration within the context of its role in citizenship development and societal democratiza-

tion.

Any curricular review process that can positively contribute to higher education quality must

be endowed with: intentionality that is grounded in the assumptions and purposes related to

formal education from scientific, cultural, technical-professional, personal and social perspecti-

ves. Transparency based on the explicit formulation of training purposes and assumptions, gui-

dance, methodological nature of learning processes, and adopted evaluation parameters;

coherence based on the training possibilities to be guided, the nature of disciplinary contents,

and evaluation methods.

Relevance grounded in the integration of differentiated expectations, needs, rhythms and interests,

mobilizing and promoting relevant knowledge and experiences. Democratic values based on prin-

ciples of democratic citizenship, sense of justice, respect for differences, freedom of thought and

expression, debate of ideas, decision-making negotiation, collaboration and mutual support. It

can be concluded that the need for curricular review in higher education is not only an academic

imperative, but extends to the socio-professional sphere, so that the University can fulfill its social

role in the domains of teaching, learning, scientific research and university extension.

Suggestions

Given the importance that the subject matter inherent to curriculum review holds in the process

of pedagogical innovation, as well as its impact on school inclusion, democratization of educa-

tion, socio-professional integration, and societal development, it is suggested that further studies

be conducted in this area. These studies should utilize different theories, samples, and research

techniques, with the aim of establishing future comparisons as well as evaluating trends in the

phenomenon under analysis.

Refererences

Campani, A., Silva, R. M. G. and Silva, M. do S. S. (2022). inovação curricular no ensino superior: de-

safios e possibilidades. Revista on line de Política e Gestão Educacional, Araraquara, 23(1), 785–

797. https://periodicos.fclar.unesp.br/rpge/article/view/13015

Mário Adelino Miranda Guedes

Revista Digital de Investigación y Postgrado, 6(12), 135-141

Electronic ISSN: 2665-038X

141

Fernanda, M. (2020). Formação acadêmica no currículo.

Leite, C., y Fernandes, P. (Coords.). (2019). Currículo, avaliação, formação e tecnologias educativas

(CAFTe): Contributos teóricos e práticos. IIº Seminário internacional. Faculdade de Psicologia da

Universidade do Porto. https://repositorio-aberto.up.pt/bitstream/10216/132285/2/371138.pdf

Martins, R. R., Augusto, L. L. and Pinheiro, S. C. de L. (2016). O processo de reforma curricular do

curso de Pedagogia de uma Universidade do estado de Minas Gerais e seus efeitos em relação

ao estágio curricular. UEMG, 4(1), 27-49.

https://revistas.ufrj.br/index.php/pgpu/article/view/27992

Pérez, M. (2018). Didática e currículo: A Didática geral como campo de conhecimento. Universidade

Internacional Iberamericana.

Sabia, C. P. P., Varani, A., dos Anjos, T. D. and dos Anjos, N. D. (2023). Qualidade da educação

e avaliação: dimensões, tensões e perspectivas. Cad. CEDES, 43 (121), 124-133,

https://www.scielo.br/j/ccedes/a/YThtY89pCZccvS9K7xcMBsQ/

Severino, A. J. (2017). Metodologia do trabalho Cientifico. 24ª edição. Cortez Editora.

Slomski, V. G., Silva, A. C. R., Gomes, S. M. S. and Guimarães, I. P. (2020). Mudanças curriculares e

qualidade de ensino: Ensino com pesquisa como proposta metodológica para a formação de

contadores globalizada. Revista de Contabilidade e Organizações, 4(8), 160-188. https://www.re-

dalyc.org/journal/2352/235216395008/html/

Vallejo, A. (2016). Orientação educativa e tutoria: A classificação dos modelos na orientação educativa.

FUNIBER.

Curriculum review in higher education and its implications for teaching quality:

Challenges for university education

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Revista Digital de Investigación y Postgrado, 6(12), 143-154

Electronic ISSN: 2665-038X

Implementation of artificial intelligence:

A strategy for learning planning

and evaluation

Implementación de la Inteligencia Artificial:

Una estrategia para la planificación y

evaluación del aprendizaje

Sergio Alberto Mejía Rivera*

https://orcid.org/0009-0003-7617-8075

Sabana Grande, Managua / Nicaragua

How to cite: Mejía, R. S. A. (2025). Implementation of artificial intelligence: A strategy for learning plan-

ning and evaluation. Revista Digital de Investigación y Postgrado, 6(12), 143-154.

https://doi.org/10.59654/5b86nv09

* Master’s in University Teaching, Universidad de Tecnología y Comercio (UNITEC). Bachelor’s in Educational Sciences

with a focus on Educational Computing, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Nicaragua (UNAN). Bachelor’s in Elec-

tronics, UNAN. Professor of Mathematics, Physics, Computer Science, Electronics, and Digital Circuits, Universidad

de Tecnología y Comercio, Nicaragua.

Received: may / 6 / 2025 Accepted: may / 25 / 2025

https://doi.org/10.59654/5b86nv09

144

Abstract

This research is relevant because it analyzes how university professors in Nicaragua use emer-

ging technologies in learning planning and assessment. This study sought to identify the degree

of AI use by faculty, as well as the most commonly used tools. A descriptive qualitative approach

was used, utilizing surveys and interviews with a sample of 30 higher education professors. The

data were processed through statistical analysis and thematic categorization.The results revealed

that 62.5% of professors have basic knowledge of AI, and a similar percentage already use it in

planning and assessment. ChatGPT was the most commonly used tool. Benefits were identified

such as time savings, improved educational quality, and personalized learning. It is recommen-

ded to implement B-learning training courses to ensure broader and more responsible adoption

of AI in higher education.

Keywords: B-learning, Learning evaluation, Artificial intelligence, Educational planning, Emerging

technologies.

Resumen

Esta investigación es relevante por analizar cómo docentes universitarios en Nicaragua utilizan

tecnologías emergentes, en la planificación y la evaluación del aprendizaje. El presente estudio

buscaba identificar el grado de uso de la IA por parte del profesorado, así como las herramientas

más empleadas. Se utilizó un enfoque cualitativo de tipo descriptivo, utilizando encuestas y en-

trevistas a una muestra de 30 docentes de educación superior. Los datos fueron procesados me-

diante análisis estadístico y categorización temática. Los resultados revelaron que el 62.5 % de

los docentes posee conocimientos básicos sobre IA, y un porcentaje similar ya la utiliza en la pla-

nificación y evaluación. ChatGPT fue la herramienta más empleada. Se identificaron beneficios

como ahorro de tiempo, mejora en la calidad educativa y personalización del aprendizaje. Se re-

comienda implementar cursos de formación en modalidad B-learning, para garantizar una adop-

ción más amplia y responsable de la IA en la educación superior.

Palabras clave: B-learning, Evaluación de aprendizajes, Inteligencia artificial, Planificación edu-

cativa, Tecnologías emergentes.

Introduction

In the realm of university education, the adoption of technological tools, particularly ar-

tificial intelligence (AI), has become a growing trend that promises to revolutionize tea-

ching practices. However, it is essential to investigate how teachers are integrating AI into

their learning planning and assessment processes. This involves examining the degree of

knowledge, appropriation, and use of these technologies, as well as the concrete strate-

gies they employ to design didactic activities, personalize teaching, and evaluate student

progress.

Sergio Alberto Mejía Rivera

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Electronic ISSN: 2665-038X

145

AI can be defined as 'the study of agents that receive perceptions from the environment and

carry out actions to achieve objectives' (Poole et al., 2022, p. 3). In other words, AI seeks to

create programs and machines capable of exhibiting seemingly intelligent behavior similar to

humans (Rubio et al., 2021).

This research aligns with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4, which seeks to ensure inclu-

sive, equitable, and quality education, as well as promote lifelong learning opportunities for

all. It focuses on the use of artificial intelligence to improve educational quality in universities.

Additionally, it relates to national policies and programs in Nicaragua, such as the National

Human Development Plan (PNDH), which prioritizes the modernization and transformation of

the education system through the incorporation of innovative technologies to strengthen both

the quality and accessibility of education.

Thus, the use of technology has evolved over the years, leading to the development of AI, un-

derstood as the ability of machines to handle and adapt to emerging situations, solve problems,

answer questions, design plans, and perform various other functions that require a certain

level of intelligence inherent to humans (Rouhiainen, 2018). Other researchers define it as the

study of intelligent behavior in humans, animals, and machines that strives to convert such

behavior into an artifact, such as computers and computer-related technologies (Ponce et al.,

2014). Based on these definitions, AI represents the result of technological innovations that

enable computers to perform human-like functions. In education, AI has been integrated as a

key tool to optimize learning planning and assessment by facilitating more efficient and per-

sonalized processes.

At the international level, AI provides the necessary potential to address some of the greatest

challenges in education today. In this context, both public and private universities have pro-

moted various short courses on the use of emerging technologies like AI, but significant gaps

remain among teachers regarding how it can be incorporated into learning planning and as-

sessment.

This research is of great importance, as it will analyze how higher education teachers are using

emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence, for the process of planning and evaluating

learning.

In this scenario, educators face the need to adapt their pedagogical approaches to new digital

tools, which involves a process of training and adjustment in their methodologies. Despite the

potential benefits of AI, such as personalized learning and the optimization of educational ma-

nagement, its effective integration into the planning and evaluation of the educational process

depends on responsible and ethical implementation in particular.

All of the above is supported by Unesco, as AI can profoundly transform the education sec-

tor—from management to teaching methodologies—provided it is used responsibly and et-

hically. This is because AI is not just a tool but a comprehensive ally in the teaching-learning

Implementation of artificial intelligence: A strategy for

learning planning and evaluation

146

process, promoting digital competencies.

The context of this study is a moment when university teachers in Nicaragua, like many other

countries, are adapting to the use of AI. This process reflects significant changes driven by the

rapid development of digital tools that are transforming the way we teach. The integration of

artificial intelligence in university settings presents both a challenge and an opportunity for in-

novation in research planning and evaluation, promoting more effective and personalized

education tailored to the needs of the 21st century.

It is crucial to understand how teachers are adapting their pedagogical approaches to planning

and assessment by using AI in an ethical and effective manner, which has a direct impact on

educational quality.

The objective of this study is to conduct an analysis of the integration of new technologies,

such as AI, as a tool in the curriculum and assessment process used by Nicaraguan university

teachers. This study explores how teachers use artificial intelligence in their pedagogical prac-

tice, analyzing its impact on improving teaching and designing more effective assessments

within a university environment.

Thus, the incorporation of AI in planning and assessment processes by teachers will significantly

improve the teaching-learning process and its evaluation. However, this will only be achieved

if each teacher implements all designed activities ethically and responsibly, using existing te-

chnologies to be implemented in the classroom, in order to achieve meaningful learning for

each student.

At the international level, in 2024, Patricio Bustamante, Expert in Inteligencia Artificial en Eva-

luación Educativa: Cómo está transformando el aprendizaje (Implementation of online course

sales platforms and development of solutions based on automation and artificial intelligence),

in his paper “Artificial Intelligence in Educational Assessment: How It Is Transforming Learning”,

states that: The integration of artificial intelligence in education is reshaping traditional teaching

and assessment paradigms, paving the way for learning methodologies tailored to each stu-

dent's unique capabilities and pace. It is evident that the arrival of AI in the educational field is

not simply a technological trend, but a genuine transformation that touches the foundations

of the traditional educational system, promoting efficiency and fairness in tests and examina-

tions.

In 2023, Rómulo Hernán Banegas Ullauri, in his article Optimización de la inteligencia artificial

en la educación a través de estrategias docentes eficaces (Optimization of Artificial Intelligence

in Education Through Effective Teaching Strategies), states that effective teaching strategies

supported by artificial intelligence, such as learning personalization and the use of intelligent

tutoring systems, demonstrated improvements in academic performance and student moti-

vation. The use of AI in educational environments showed a positive impact on student lear-

ning. Students who participated in AI-supported environments evidenced greater engagement

Sergio Alberto Mejía Rivera

Revista Digital de Investigación y Postgrado, 6(12), 143-154

Electronic ISSN: 2665-038X

147

and better performance compared to those in traditional environments.

At the national level, studies on this subject are scarce. Among them, the research by Sambola

(2023), Ordoñez and Sambola (2023), Romero (2022), and Fletes (2021) stands out, all of which

agree that this is a complex issue in the educational field, posing a challenge for authorities,

teachers, and students regarding the ethical and responsible use of AI.

AI promises to improve the quality of education across all areas and levels by making learning

more personalized, adapting to the varied needs of students (Ocaña et al., 2019). To achieve

this, it is necessary to strike a balance between daily activities, interaction with others, and the

application of digital tools, while understanding each individual's differences and limitations.

Likewise, teachers use innovative tools in their professional lives, and we can say that experience

highlights the importance of using methods and techniques that align with the technological

era. Vera (2023) concludes that teachers value the efficiency, personalization, and feedback

achieved through AI; however, the importance of responsible use is emphasized to ensure

quality education.

This research was conducted to investigate how higher education teachers are integrating artificial

intelligence into their learning planning and assessment. Once all aspects related to its use are

examined, the goal is to create plans that strengthen the use of AI in teachers' teaching methods.

Methodology

This research employed a qualitative approach with a descriptive nature, aimed at understanding

how university professors in Nicaragua utilize AI for learning planning and assessment processes.

Information was collected through semi-structured interviews and surveys administered to uni-

versity professors from various disciplines. The objective of this research was to investigate how

professors are using AI for planning and assessing their students' learning within the educational

environment. Examples of pedagogical practices where efforts have been made to employ AI-

based tools were also gathered.

"In descriptive studies, the researcher must be able to define, or at least visualize, what will be

measured (concepts, variables, components, among others) and about what or whom data will

be collected (people, groups, communities, objects, events, etc.)" (Nieto, 2018, p. 2).

This study was conducted as follows: First, a survey was administered using the Google Forms

platform. The survey consisted of a total of 6 closed-ended questions that inquired about: Their

general knowledge of AI. How they were applying it in the classroom. Which applications they

had used. Whether they possessed technological tools at home to implement it. A general

question: How frequently did they use AI? The activities they most commonly performed with

the applications. Additionally, it included 3 open-ended questions where teachers could express

Implementation of artificial intelligence: A strategy for

learning planning and evaluation

148

in their own words: The key benefits of using AI for planning and assessing learning. How they

use these tools in the classroom. The results they were obtaining.

After validating the survey and interview, we proceeded to select a population of 70 univer-

sity-level professors. From this population, a sample of 30 professors was selected. As defined

by Mata et al. (1997, p. 19), sampling is the method used to select sample components from

the total population: 'It consists of a set of rules, procedures and criteria through which a group

of elements is chosen from a population to represent what occurs in the entire population.

The selection criteria included all professors who voluntarily participated in the survey, which

was shared through WhatsApp groups as well as personally.

Finally, the analysis was conducted using descriptive statistics. Through this method, response

frequencies were calculated based on the answers provided by the professors. The quantitative

data were processed using Microsoft Office Excel to obtain percentage analyses, tables, and

graphs.

For the qualitative analysis, responses were grouped into thematic categories according to the

informants' answers. The quantitative analysis helped summarize the interview responses from

the professors. This process facilitated the identification of patterns and trends, highlighting key

uses of AI in educational planning and assessment.

Once the data were processed, conclusions and recommendations were drawn regarding uni-

versity professors' knowledge and application of AI in learning planning and assessment.

Results

The analysis of results obtained from the administered survey allows identification of university

professors' level of knowledge about AI - a fundamental aspect for understanding their degree

of preparedness to face current technological challenges in higher education.

Graph1

Level of knowledge about artificial intelligence among professors

Note: Mejía (2025).

Sergio Alberto Mejía Rivera

Revista Digital de Investigación y Postgrado, 6(12), 143-154

Electronic ISSN: 2665-038X

149

Graph 1 shows the percentage distribution of AI knowledge levels among respondents, revealing

clear trends: 62.5% fall into the basic level, indicating limited familiarity with the subject. 25%

reach an intermediate level, demonstrating greater understanding and use of AI. Only 12.5%

possess advanced knowledge, reflecting deeper mastery of the technology. Notably, no parti-

cipants reported lacking knowledge (0% in "None"), suggesting widespread interest in AI.

Graph 2

Teachers who have received training on artificial intelligence applied to education

Note: Mejía (2025).

Graph 2 displays the percentage of faculty training received. The data reveals that: 62.5% of

teachers have received AI tool training. 37.5% have not received training. These results are en-

couraging as a significant proportion of faculty have been trained. However, there remains a

need to further promote training programs on AI applications for learning planning and asses-

sment.

Graph 3

Use of AI tools for learning planning and assessment in educational settings

Note: Mejía (2025).

Implementation of artificial intelligence: A strategy for

learning planning and evaluation

150

Graph 3 demonstrates the use of AI tools among higher education faculty, showing that: 62.5%

employ these tools for planning and assessing student learning. 37.5% do not currently utilize

them. This indicates a relatively high adoption rate of AI technologies in education. The data

suggests that many educators recognize AI's value for: Optimizing pedagogical processes, ena-

bling personalization, facilitating more efficient assessment and supporting precise planning.

While most faculty have incorporated AI tools into their teaching practice, a significant portion

(37.5%) remains non-adoptive. This underscores the need for continued promotion of AI inte-

gration and comprehension in educational settings.

Graph 4

AI tools used for learning planning and assessment

Note: Mejía (2025).

Graph 4 displays the AI tools employed by higher education faculty for learning planning and

assessment. The data reveals: 57% of faculty choose to use ChatGPT, indicating strong prefe-

rence for this particular tool. This reflects educators' trust in ChatGPT's effectiveness for: Content

development, doubt resolution and learning personalization.

A significant proportion of faculty also utilize other tools like Google and Genially to complement

their teaching practice. These tools are valued for enabling: Creation of interactive didactic ma-

terials and continuous assessment capabilities.

Table 1

Summary of the advantages of using ai in learning planning and assessment by educators

Note: Mejía (2025).

They are very helpful because they manage to generate learning alternatives.

They can serve as a guide for the application of strategies and methodologies.

Allows better planning and assessment of knowledge acquired by students.

They minimize time in some planning processes.

Better planning and evaluation of learning.

More didactic activities, exercises, and varied ones can be offered.

Sergio Alberto Mejía Rivera

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Table 1 presents a summary of the main advantages of using AI as reported by higher education

faculty participants in the interview. The respondents indicate that artificial intelligence tools are

useful for: Learning planning and assessment, generating learning alternatives, time optimization

and improving learning process quality. A key benefit is the reduction in planning and asses-

sment time, enabling faculty to focus more on: direct student interaction and implementing ef-

fective teaching strategies.

Discussion

With the development of AI, it is necessary to structure a teacher training program that fosters

critical thinking, enabling students to understand world events and avoid thoughtless approa-

ches that rely on resources limiting reason; as explained by (Chomsky, 2001). In this context,

while 62% of teachers have received AI tool training - representing significant progress - 38%

remain untrained. This gap highlights the urgent need to expand and intensify training programs

to promote more conscious, widespread, and effective use of AI in education.

According to Barrios et al. (2021), teachers can design assessments that promote critical and

creative thinking, skills that cannot be easily replicated by AI tools. However, despite this poten-

tial, the levels of AI knowledge among faculty remain limited: 62.5% of surveyed teachers report

having a basic level, while only 12.5% possess advanced knowledge. This situation highlights

the urgent need to strengthen teacher training in AI use, in order to expand their understanding

and effective utilization in the educational context.

On the other hand, the use of AI models has had a significant impact on education, including

improvements in efficiency, personalized and global learning, administrative enhancements,

and the generation of intelligent content (virtual reality, robotics, audiovisual files, or 3D techno-

logy) (Chen et al., 2020). In this context, it is observed that 62.5% of teachers already use artificial

intelligence tools for planning and evaluating learning, which reflects a positive adoption level

as it allows them to dedicate more time to student consultations and knowledge reinforcement.

However, 37.5% still do not incorporate these tools into their teaching practice, which unders-

cores the need to promote their effective inclusion, particularly in key areas such as educational

planning and assessment.

ChatGPT can assist educators in various tasks, including: Creation of educational materials, les-

son planning, student assessment and design of didactic activities. These capabilities not only

enable teachers to save time but also promote more personalized and student-centered lear-

ning (Vincent & van der Vlies, 2020; Martínez, Billelabeitia & Melero, 2023). Given this evidence,

it's unsurprising that ChatGPT is the preferred tool among university faculty for learning plan-

ning and assessment, with a 57% adoption rate. Other tools like Google and Genially show

only 14% preference, demonstrating ChatGPT's perceived utility in enhancing the educational

process.

Ayuso and Gutiérrez (2022) argue that AI in education has the potential to adapt teaching met-

Implementation of artificial intelligence: A strategy for

learning planning and evaluation

152

hods to students' individual needs, thereby enhancing learning effectiveness. Aligned with this

perspective, educators highlight several perceived advantages of AI-based tools, including:Time

optimization, improved quality in planning and assessment processes, and generation of more

personalized learning alternatives. Furthermore, AI is particularly valued for its capacity to: Pro-

vide guidance on methodological strategies and offer diverse didactic activities. These features

reinforce AI's utility in educational practice.

AI offers great potential to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the teaching-learning

process in education, by providing teachers with tools that will help them better plan and assess

their students' knowledge.

The implementation of AI in educational assessment offers significant benefits for both students

and teachers. Students benefit from instant and personalized feedback, as well as assessments

adapted to their competency level. For their part, teachers benefit from reduced workload and

access to valuable information for educational decision-making.

Conclusions

The results demonstrate that artificial intelligence (AI) represents a valuable resource for en-

hancing the efficiency and effectiveness of the teaching-learning process. Its implementation

enables educators to: Optimize time management, iImprove the quality of lesson planning and

assessment, design more personalized, student-centered learning experiences

Most teachers demonstrate greater familiarity with ChatGPT, which they use to develop lesson

plans and student assessments.

Regarding other AI tools, teachers only have a basic understanding of their use.

A significant percentage of educators have received training on implementing AI for lesson

planning and assessment, but 37.5% still require AI training.

Teachers highlight several advantages of using AI, such as: Time optimization, improved quality

in planning and assessment, and the creation of alternative learning methods.

A general course on the use of artificial intelligence should be implemented, enabling teachers

to familiarize themselves with and understand which tools to use for lesson planning and lear-

ning assessment, with the goal of achieving 100% AI-trained educators. This course should be

delivered in blended learning (B-learning) mode, as this educational model combines face-to-

face and virtual instruction, thereby enhancing participation among all teachers.

A balanced and critical approach to implementing AI in education is necessary to ensure that

both educators and students understand the benefits and limitations of this technology and

can use it effectively to enhance the teaching-learning process.

Sergio Alberto Mejía Rivera

Revista Digital de Investigación y Postgrado, 6(12), 143-154

Electronic ISSN: 2665-038X

153

Therefore, the following recommendations are made for higher education institutions: Develop

clear policies and strategies for the integration of AI in education, including the identification of

clear objectives and the assessment of benefits and risks. Provide educators with the necessary

training to use AI effectively and ethically in the classroom. Foster collaboration between edu-

cators and AI researchers to ensure: Technology alignment with educational system require-

ments and pedagogically sound implementation.

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Sergio Alberto Mejía Rivera

School desertion, access and permanence

strategies in the official educational

institutions of Tunja*

Deserción escolar, estrategias de acceso y

permanencia en las Instituciones

Educativas Oficiales de Tunja

155

Jorge Fernando Vargas Cruz**

https://orcid.org/0009-0000-9635-5399

Tunja, Boyaca / Colombia

Revista Digital de Investigación y Postgrado, 6(12), 155-171

Electronic ISSN: 2665-038X

How to cite: Vargas, C. J. F. (2025). School desertion, access and permanence strategies in the

official educational institutions of Tunja. Revista Digital de Investigación y Postgrado, 6(12), 155-171.

https://doi.org/10.59654/fbhdfj24

* This work has been carried out within the framework of the Doctoral Program in Humanities with a mention in Edu-

cation of theInstituto de Estudios Superiores de Investigación y Postgrado, San Cristóbal - Venezuela.

** Master of Science in Education with an emphasis on research. Full professor, Boyacá, Universidad Pedagógica y

Tecnológica de Colombia, Tunja, Colombia, Contact email:jorgefernando.vargas@uptc.edu.co

Received: may / 22 / 2025 Accepted: june / 12 / 2025

https://doi.org/10.59654/fbhdfj24

156

Abstract

Student retention constitutes a fundamental educational challenge, as no child should remain

outside the education system. This study critically examines the structural, contextual, and indi-

vidual causes of school dropout—manifested through abandonment, exclusion, and academic

failure—to understand its multiple consequences on social fabric and human development.

Framed within a critical paradigm, this qualitative research employs basic descriptive methodo-

logy with correlational scope, utilizing documentary analysis and information systems while in-

corporating enrollment data and interviews with staff from Official Educational Institutions in

Tunja. The analysis reflects on local strategies for educational access and retention, proposing

transformative approaches through initiatives like the Educational Trajectories Observatory.

These evidence-based strategies aim to enhance permanence and academic success for vul-

nerable student populations by addressing systemic barriers to continuous education, ultimately

contributing to more equitable educational outcomes.

Keywords: School dropout, academic failure, school attendance, educational inclusion.

Resumen

La permanencia de los estudiantes es un problema significativo porque ningún niño debe estar

por fuera del sistema educativo. El objetivo es analizar de manera crítica y profunda las causas

estructurales, contextuales e individuales que inciden en la deserción escolar —manifestada en

el abandono, la exclusión y el fracaso escolar— para comprender sus múltiples consecuencias en

el tejido social y en el desarrollo humano. La investigación se enmarcó en el paradigma crítico,

con enfoque cualitativo, de tipo básico, nivel descriptivo, alcance correlacional, metodología do-

cumental y análisis de sistemas de información, recopilando datos de matrícula y opiniones del

personal de las Instituciones Educativas Oficiales de Tunja. Se reflexionan las estrategias de acceso

y permanencia escolar a nivel local. Los resultados proponen estrategias transformadoras que

contribuyen a la permanencia y éxito educativo de los estudiantes en condiciones de vulnerabi-

lidad a través de iniciativas como el observatorio de Trayectorias Educativas.

Palabras clave: Deserción escolar, fracaso escolar, Asistencia escolar, Integración escolar.

Introduction

School dropout represents a significant challenge for the Instituciones Educativas Oficiales de

Tunja (Official Educational Institutions of Tunja), with profound impacts on students' social, in-

dividual, and academic development. This article examines the causes of school dropout and

evaluates implemented strategies to improve student access and retention within the Entidad

Territorial Certificada (Certified Territorial Entity) education system (Ministerio de Educación Na-

cional, 2022; Senado Colombia, 2001).

The primary objective is to identify barriers preventing students from continuing their education

and to propose solutions to reduce dropout rates. Additionally, the study analyzes national and

local strategies for educational access and retention, including school meal programs, tuition-

Jorge Fernando Vargas Cruz

157

free policies, and student transportation services (Ministerio de Educación Nacional, 2012).

This research is justified by the fundamental need to ensure all children and youth in Tunja have

access to quality education that enhances their academic development. The Ministerio de Edu-

cación Nacional (MEN) emphasizes education as both a basic right and a crucial tool for per-

sonal and social advancement. The study highlights the importance of strengthening dropout

monitoring through initiatives like the Observatorio de Trayectorias Educativas (Educational

Pathways Observatory) to improve municipal education policy decisions and optimize resource

allocation and teaching staff structures in Tunja (Turbay, 2000; Ministerio de Educación Nacional,

2023).

This research aims to design or reformulate access and retention strategies to reduce equity

gaps in Tunja's public schools, which will be thoroughly examined in subsequent sections.

Background

Studies conducted by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO,

2021) and ECLAC (2020) warn that educational disparities widened following the pandemic. In

Colombia, research by [author/institution] demonstrates that socioeconomic factors remain de-

cisive. This evidence is analyzed at international, national, and local levels to establish a broad

understanding before focusing on specific contexts.

School dropout is a complex phenomenon affecting millions of students across Latin America,

particularly in contexts marked by poverty, structural racism, and social exclusion. This unders-

cores why education, from both the UN and UNESCO perspectives, is considered a universal

right. As evidenced in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the UN General

Assembly in Paris on December 10, 1948: "Everyone has the right to education. Education shall

be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be com-

pulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available, and higher

education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit." (United Nations, 1948).

For the UNESCO, education is a fundamental human right that empowers both men and women

to rise out of poverty, overcome inequalities, and ensure sustainable development (UNESCO,

2024).

In summary, the UN and UNESCO emphasize education's critical role in: Life Transformation

Gender Equality, Sustainable Development and Universal Access (Maldonado, 2023; United Na-

tions, 1948; UNESCO, 2024).

Education in Colombia is a fundamental right and a public service with a social purpose, as es-

tablished in the Political Constitution. The Ministry of National Education (MEN) defines educa-

tion as a permanent process of cultural, social, and personal development based on a

comprehensive understanding of human beings, their rights, duties, and dignity. This approach

Revista Digital de Investigación y Postgrado, 6(12), 155-171

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School desertion, access and permanence strategies in the

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158

aims to guarantee not only access to and retention within the education system, but also lear-

ning quality by fostering students' moral, intellectual, and physical development. Furthermore,

the commitment to inclusive education reflects Colombia's determination to provide equitable

educational opportunities for all citizens (Congress of the Republic of Colombia, 2024; Zárate

& Moreno, 2023; Ministry of National Education, 2024).

Regarding Colombian education, as noted by Moisés Wasserman, the academic and research

community has examined several key perspectives: educational qualit, primary and secondary

basic education, education policies (Montes et al. 2013; Solórzano, 2024; Wasserman, 2021).

Generally, there are two ways to measure dropout, according to the National Dropout Survey

by the Ministry of National Education (Ministry of National Education, 2023).

This measures the proportion of students who abandon school each year, including: Those who

leave during the academic year (intra-annual). Those who leave between academic years (in-

terannual).

Age-specific dropout calculation. This refers to the cumulative dropout process for all children

and youth within a defined age cohort.

For this article, we adopted the first method of measuring school dropout, specifically focusing

on intra-annual dropout rates. In the specific case of the Certified Territorial Entity of Tunja, there

is no documented research corresponding to dropout rates across preschool, primary, and se-

condary education levels. To address this gap, it became necessary to collect data from: Edu-

cational institutions, the territorial education secretariat and the ministry of national education.

Methodology

This research was framed within the critical paradigm with a qualitative approach, of basic type,

descriptive level, and correlational scope. The methodology was documentary, emphasizing

the analysis of information systems by collecting data on enrollment trends from state informa-

tion systems and the perspectives of school administrators, guidance counselors, and student

representatives in the Instituciones Educativas Oficiales de Tunja. These data were subsequently

analyzed using Atlas TI 9.0 software, as the studied phenomenon represents a complex process

that required detailed interpretation of various situations including meetings and teamwork with

administrators and students. A quantitative instrument was employed to gain a more compre-

hensive understanding of the studied situation, particularly during the diagnostic phase (Her-

nández & Mendoza, 2018).

The study was conducted in official educational institutions in the municipality of Tunja, which

regional reports indicate have representative school dropout rates. The research began with a

documentary review of official and academic sources to contextualize the phenomenon in the

region and define the scope of the study. Based on this preliminary assessment, schools with

Jorge Fernando Vargas Cruz

159

critical social conditions—aligning with records of students experiencing interrupted educational

trajectories—were identified.

Fieldwork focused on understanding the phenomenon through the firsthand experiences of

educational stakeholders. This involved engagement sessions with: students who had dropped

out or were at risk of doing so. Teachers, administrators, parents, and officials from the Territorial

Education Secretariat, voluntary participation secured through informed consent and strict con-

fidentiality of all responses (Cárcamo & Gubbins, 2020).

The study employed in-depth interviews and group discussion sessions to explore the causes,

meanings, and consequences of school dropout. These interactions served as active listening

spaces, revealing not only structural challenges but also emotionally charged narratives—ex-

pressing individual and collective frustrations, emotions, and expectations.

Data was systematized through progressive categorization, organizing findings into thematic

clusters. These clusters were developed inductively as responses were analyzed, guided by re-

currence and depth criteria. The results were then triangulated with: secondary data, relevant

theoretical frameworks and enabling a critical interpretation of the dropout phenomenon.

The data was systematized through progressive categorization procedures, which enabled the

organization of findings into thematic clusters. These clusters were developed inductively as the

collected narratives were analyzed, using criteria of recurrence and depth. Subsequently, the

results were cross-referenced with secondary data and relevant theoretical frameworks, facili-

tating a more critical understanding of the problem.

The methodological approach of this research was not limited to applying techniques, but rather

sought to develop a situated comprehension of the phenomenon, respecting the social com-

plexity in which school dropout occurs. For this reason, the study not only produced academic

findings but also generated reflections that could contribute to the development of more sen-

sitive and contextually grounded public policies.

Results

Table 1

Total enrollment trends by sector

Note: Data provided by Tunja in Figures: Coverage Report - Access Subdirectorate, MEN.

Sector 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023

Public 23.825 23.328 23.345 23.664 23.557 23.660 22.770 22.661 22.255 22.159

Contracted 2.787 2.527 2.380 1.372 1.476 1.485 1.244 1.090 1.057 839

Private 12.905 14.050 14.050 14.924 14.797 14.910 15.013 13.245 14.344 14.221

Total 39.517 39.905 39.905 039.96 39.740 40.055 39.027 36.996 37.656 37.219

Revista Digital de Investigación y Postgrado, 6(12), 155-171

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School desertion, access and permanence strategies in the

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Municipal-level dropout trends

The evolution of enrollment across sectors (official, contracted, and non-official schools) shows

that official schools account for the highest number of students. However, data reveals a decline

in total student enrollment in Tunja’s education sector over a span of years. A gradual decrease

in student population is evident. It should be noted that since 2022, migrant students from the

Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela have been integrated into classrooms, contributing to increa-

sed enrollment.

Graph 1

Intra-annual dropout rate by educational level – Tunja

Note: Self-developed. Information provided by the Advisory Office of Planning, Ministry of National Education

(MEN) and the Territorial Education Secretariat.

Graph 1 shows the dropout rates by academic level (preschool, primary, secondary, and upper

secondary education) from 2010 to 2022. The data reveals that lower secondary education has

the highest dropout rate. The analysis also demonstrates that transitions between educational

levels increase both grade repetition and school dropout rates. Another concerning trend is

that many students at this educational level are outside the formal education system (Martínez,

2024).

Jorge Fernando Vargas Cruz

161

Graph 2

Dropout rate in oficial educational institutions of Tunja

Note: Self-developed based on information provided by the Advisory Office of Planning of the MEN and the Te-

rritorial Education Secretariat.

Graph 2 presents dropout rates (in percentages) from 2010 to 2023, showing an increase to

1.45% (equivalent to 856 students) during 2021-2022. The Secretaría de Educación Territorial,

through its educational coverage area, not only serves as the enrollment data provider but must

also coordinate activities with other departmental processes and official Instituciones Educativas,

following guidelines established by both the Ministerio de Educación Nacional and the municipal

administration (Alcaldía Municipal). Current priorities emphasize: Ensuring student retention within

the education system. Implementing access strategies to prevent grade repetition and school

dropout. While Tunja Municipality currently ranks in Group V (comprising Centralized Territorial

Entities - ETC- with dropout rates below 2.25%, specifically 2.03% for Tunja), notable contrasts

exist with Group I entities reporting rates exceeding 5%. This aligns with projections in the Plan

de Desarrollo Municipal Tunja (Alcaldía de Tunja, 2023).

The MEN promotes special measures aimed at creating conditions to prevent students from lea-

ving the system and ensure they remain in Educational Institutions as protective spaces for society

and guardians of the basic rights of children, women, adolescents, and younger generations.

This facilitates access to knowledge, enabling them to define their life projects.

To this end, the following strategies have been identified and implemented, among others: Tui-

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School desertion, access and permanence strategies in the

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162

tion-free programs, school meal initiatives, student transportation services, investments using

cooperative surpluses, support for students with specific educational needs, programs for ex-

ceptional talents, assistance for populations affected by violence.

Graph 4

Subjects not passed in June 2023

Note: Data sourced from the Sistema de Información para el Monitoreo, la Prevención y el Análisis de la Deserción

Escolar – SIMPADE (Information System for Monitoring, Preventing and Analyzing School Dropout), Tunja, 2023.

As shown in Graph 4, the highest subject failure rates (grade-level retention) occur in Mathematics,

followed by Humanities (Spanish Language and Literature), based on 18,755 records in the platform.

Access and Retention Strategies Proposed by Each Official Educational Institution

in Tunja

For the Entidad Territorial Certificada Tunja, these national-level retention strategies have

contributed to mitigating dropout rates. However, the focus now shifts to specific institutional

contexts – each Institución Educativa Oficial serves distinct populations within unique geo-

graphic locations. Through the Secretaría de Educación Territorial, a directive was issued to

develop tailored access and retention strategies for every official Institución Educativa in

Tunja. Subsequently, compiled data underwent systematic analysis. This study consolidated

the most relevant and representative strategies across Tunja’s twelve official Instituciones

Educativas, yielding the following analysis:

Jorge Fernando Vargas Cruz

163

Table 2

Consolidated access and retention strategy proposed by each public educational institution in

Tunja – Perspectives from teachers and school administrators

Problem Strategies Weaknesses Opportunities Strengths Threats

Unjustified ab-

sences

Telephone follow-

up system.

Single-shift schoo-

ling model.

Unexcused stu-

dent absences.

Unexcused

student absen-

ces. Phone

follow-up with

guardians to

monitor [stu-

dent pro-

gress/situation

s]. School at-

tendance mo-

nitoring.

Monitoring of

students regar-

ding their acade-

mic performance

and the institu-

tion's proper

physical infras-

tructure.

School aban-

donment,

grade repeti-

tion, school

desertion.

Learning diffi-

culties

Early Identification

of Students with

Specific Educatio-

nal Needs (SEN).

Inclusion Embed-

ded in the Institu-

tional Educational

Project (IEP).

Lack of characte-

rization of stu-

dents with

Specific Educatio-

nal Needs (SEN).

Curricular flexi-

bility.

Support teachers

working in triads

within Educatio-

nal Institutions to

target and pro-

mote student in-

clusion in the

education sector.

Educational

exclusion.

Behavioral

problems

The work carried

out by the depart-

ments involves

maintaining on-

going dialogue

with families

through concilia-

tory coexistence

committees, ge-

nerating commit-

ments from the

student, parents,

or guardians to

achieve positive

changes for the

students.

Guidance and

prevention pro-

grams for alcoho-

lism, drug

addiction, sexua-

lity, leisure time,

and conflict ma-

nagement.

Coexistence pro-

blems, preven-

tion of alcoholism

and drug addic-

tion.

Support from a

counselor and

psychologist

with the va-

rious difficulties

the student

presents.

The School Gui-

dance Units (cu-

rrently School

Guidance Zones)

monitor students

with coexistence

and behavioral

problems.

School dro-

pout, repeti-

tion and

abandonment.

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Table 2 (cont.)

Note: Summary of Access and Retention Strategies from the twelve (12) public Educational Institutions in Tunja for dropout

prevention.

Subsequently, through working sessions to update access and retention strategies for each

official educational institution—conducted alongside school counselors and student repre-

sentatives—the goal was established to ensure children remain within the educational system

and prevent school dropout.

Problem Strategies Weaknesses Opportunities Strengths Threats

Dysfunctional

families

One of the factors

that directly affects

the irregular atten-

dance and reten-

tion of students in

the institution lies in

the breakdown of

the family unit, as

minors are left wit-

hout a figure who

represents autho-

rity and responsibi-

lity for them.

Family responsibi-

lity in school mat-

ters.

The School Gui-

dance Units

(currently called

School Gui-

dance Zones)

have contribu-

ted significantly,

as they travel

and conduct

home visits to

promptly verify

cases of student

dropout.

Student support

provided by both

the family and the

educational ins-

titution.

Shared life project

(Parent School

program).

Family difficul-

ties. Emotional

problems at

home.

Subjects with

basic or low

rating

Each teacher ca-

rries out reinforce-

ment activities for

every topic cove-

red on a weekly

basis.

Improve the ins-

titutional and

classroom envi-

ronment.

The child's trust in

the teacher.

Support net-

works such as

SENA and

CASD.

Periodic acade-

mic leveling for

students with

learning difficul-

ties.

Interviews and

dialogue with at-

risk students (po-

tential dropouts).

Academic fai-

lure, repeti-

tion.

Attention pa-

rents

Tripartite Commu-

nication Among

School, Students,

and Parents.

Falta de comuni-

cación con pa-

dres de familia

del estudiante.

Lack of commu-

nication with the

student's parents.

Ongoing com-

munication

with parents.

Support provided

by some parents

and external sup-

port networks

(ZOE, Sisbén, Fa-

milies in Action,

Social Protection,

among others).

Communica-

tion is the

foundation of

education, so if

there is no

communica-

tion between

the student,

school, and

parents, there

is a high dro-

pout rate.

Jorge Fernando Vargas Cruz

165

With participation from school counselors and principals of official educational institutions,

the main causes of dropout were identified across schools (see Graph 4).

Graph 4

Dropout causes from school counselors' perspective

Note: Dropout criteria proposed by school counselors at official educational institutions in Tunja.

Table 3

Access and retention proposals for official educational institutions in tunja by school counselors

Note: Self-developed based on obtained data.

Recommen-

dations

from school

counselors

at official

educational

institutions

in Tunja.

Teacher sensitization, motivation, and accountability in fulfilling their professional duties..

To advocate within educational practice for assessment processes that actively contribute to

students' holistic development.

Prioritizing retention factors by incorporating teacher perspectives to identify root causes and

design context-specific strategies.

School Guidance Unit Program to support institutions, ensuring continuity through personnel

familiar with each school's specific context.

Teacher training and sensitization programs to foster student-centered, humanizing pedagogies.

Structured incorporation of parent voices to codify mutual accountability agreements.

Strengthening individualized parent engagement initiatives.

Enhanced inter-agency responsiveness.

Implementation of psychoeducational-play-based projects aligned with retention and motivation goals.

Establishing university partnerships (particularly with Juan de Castellanos University Foundation)

to support schools through social work practicum programs (Dávila et al., 2022).

Through the Municipal Education Secretariat (SEM), strengthening parent education schools.

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Table 4

Proposals from student representatives

Note: Self-developed based on obtained data.

Table 5

Suggestions from the Secretary of Education

Note: Self-developed based on obtained data.

Table 6

Distribution of dropout rates by grade level and year

Note: Integrated Enrollment System (SIMAT) - Territorial Education Secretariat.

For this reason, continuous monitoring was conducted on access and retention strategies and

school dropout trends through the Monitoring System for Dropout Prevention and Analysis

(SIMPADE); tracking the implementation of retention strategies (child-by-child via SIMAT) and

the National School Dropout Survey (ENDE).

Suggestions from

the Student Om-

budspersons of

the Official Educa-

tional Institutions

in the City of Tunja.

Improve teacher-student relationships.

Intervention by public and private entities to prevent external factors affecting academic

development and school coexistence (Muga, 2023).

Place greater emphasis on students' personal development.

Analyze and evaluate the current educational system's functionality.

The need to provide motivation [to students].

Parents should avoid transferring their personal problems to their children, as this may lead

students to neglect their studies in an attempt to relieve parental burdens. Instead, they

should provide emotional support.

Suggestions from

the Secretary of

Education

Train teachers in flexible pedagogical models.

Conduct staff climate activities with teachers multiple times per year.

Organize collaborative activities among students, teachers, principals, and administrative

staff to foster mutual tolerance.

Support school counselors in their social work with families and institutional/interinstitutional

support networks.

Engage parents in their shared responsibility when enrolling their child in the educational system.

Create spaces for students and teachers to voice areas for improvement within each institution.

Year Transition Primary Secundary Upper

secundary Total

2021 3,93% 1,69% 2,14 1,74 2,03

2022 3,79% 2,55% 4,59 2,75 3,48

Jorge Fernando Vargas Cruz

167

This analysis examines the profile of students who dropped out during 2022 (intra-year dro-

pouts), considering the following methodological approaches (Bañuelos and Salas, 2024).

Intra-year dropouts are defined as individuals who were enrolled in 2022 but abandoned their

studies during the academic year. The intra-year dropout analysis is partial, as it identifies dro-

pouts only from April through November of that year. Consequently, this partial dataset of intra-

year dropouts is shared with territorial entities, enabling them to utilize this tool for implementing

management strategies aimed at improving student retention.

The information comes from monthly monitoring of student enrollment in preschool, basic, and

secondary education (from Transition to 11th grade) within their respective territorial entities.

(This does not include adult education programs).

Discussion

Figure 1

Relationship between categories and codes

Note: Own elaboration.

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From the aforementioned semantic network, the following results can be observed:

•Student-Level Factors: Socioeconomic, familial, and academic characteristics significantly

influence student performance and motivation. Likewise, educational quality, school en-

vironment, and family support are crucial for academic self-efficacy and relevance.

•In school trajectories, educational pathways vary according to socioeconomic conditions

and institutional support.

•The implementation of effective methodologies and the adaptation of curricular content

are essential to maintain student engagement. Similarly, welfare policies such as meal

programs and psychological support reduce school dropout rates. Likewise, community

integration and the promotion of cultural practices enrich the educational experience.

•Parental emotional and financial support is crucial for academic success. A family envi-

ronment that values education motivates students. Household income and parents' edu-

cational level influence access to educational resources and academic expectations.

•Continuing education programs and rural education services are crucial for educational in-

clusion. Additional costs (such as school supplies and uniforms) may create barriers for some

students. Family trust in educational institutions is fundamental for academic success.

•The results reveal that a combination of socioeconomic, familial, institutional, and con-

textual factors influences students' education. Educational policies should consider these

factors to improve the quality and equity of education. Collaboration among family,

school, and community is essential to promote student well-being and academic success.

This analysis can thus be summarized in the following figure.

Figure 2

School dropout by dimensions (Discussion)

Note: Own elaboration.

Jorge Fernando Vargas Cruz

169

Conclusions

The factors that mitigate the risk of school dropout in Colombia include being female, possessing

exceptional abilities, having a disability, studying in institutions with lower ratings than the student,

and attending classes irregularly. These factors are associated with increased school dropout rates.

The risk factors for school dropout include having a disability, changing schools, being new to

an educational institution, failing an academic year, temporarily leaving, interrupting, or not

completing an academic year, studying in rural areas, being in secondary school, or being in

the Special Education Integrated Cycles modality.

Education is fundamental for social mobility and reducing inequalities. Factors such as socioe-

conomic background, immigration, and educational policies play a decisive role. Early inter-

vention, attention to diversity, and inclusive policies are necessary to improve equity and the

performance of the educational system.

Educational trajectories should be complete, continuous, and of high quality. It is essential to

monitor and improve these trajectories through national, local, and institutional policies, as well

as through collaboration between the educational community and municipal administration.

Reducing grade repetition rates is a crucial component in preventing school dropout. The transition

phase between grades is decisive, and retention strategies must be implemented for this population.

School dropout triggers multiple issues, including the structure of teaching and administrative

leadership, the allocation of economic resources, and the social impact on students who are

left outside the educational system.

Education is realized as the process of an individual’s socialization, and collaboration among family,

school, and society is essential for access, retention, and completion of the educational process.

The joint effort of these three factors is crucial for the comprehensive development of the student.

It is important for teachers to research and implement motivational activities that encourage grea-

ter student participation and effective teaching methodologies. Student motivation varies, so tea-

ching techniques must be adapted according to the context, timing, and environmental needs.

It is imperative to identify the main causes of dropout and take action against them, conducting

constant follow-up and working collaboratively with students.

Acknowledgments

To the Territorial Education Secretariat of Tunja, the Official Educational Institutions of Tunja, the

Mathematics Education Research Group PIRÁMIDE, the Seedbed: Collaborative Group in Virtual

Learning Environments for Geometry, and Dr. Nancy Diaz Pinillos.

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170

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Electronic ISSN: 2665-038X

School desertion, access and permanence strategies in the

official educational institutions of Tunja

Quality indicators system: Evaluation of

research training in higher education

in Nicaragua, 2021–2023

Sistema de indicadores de calidad: Evaluación de la

formación investigativa en la Educación

Superior de Nicaragua, 2021-2023

173

Jossarys Gazo Robles

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0989-4827

Managua / Nicaragua

Revista Digital de Investigación y Postgrado, 6(12), 173-183

Electronic ISSN: 2665-038X

How to cite: Gaso, R. J. (2025). Sistema de Indicadores de Calidad: Evaluación de la Formación Investi-

gativa en la Educación Superior de Nicaragua, 2021-2023. Revista Digital de Investigación y Postgrado,

6(12), 173-183. https://doi.org/10.59654/zjcv8v41

* Doctor in Quality Management of Scientific Research, Master in Scientific Research Methods and Bachelor in Social

Anthropology, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Nicaragua (UNAN-Managua, Nicaragua). Research professor,

UNAN Managua. Email: jgazo@unan.edu.ni

Received: may / 5 / 2025 Accepted: june / 26 / 2025

https://doi.org/10.59654/zjcv8v41

174

Abstract

Indicators have become key instruments to improve decision-making in the research manage-

ment of institutions and for better definition, development, and evaluation of policies, reforms,

and programs. Under this reality, the present research is developed, which arises from the doc-

toral thesis in Gestión de la Calidad de Investigación Científica. The methodology was charac-

terized by a constructivist paradigm, a mixed approach, and an explanatory type of study.

methods, techniques, tools, and instruments were used to collect and process data. The objec-

tive of the research is: to develop a quality indicators system for the evaluation of research in

the university context, based on efficacy, effectiveness, and efficiency.

Keywords: Quality, Indicators, Research, System, University.

Resumen

Los indicadores se han convertido en instrumentos claves para mejorar la toma de decisiones

en la gestión investigativa de las instituciones y para una mejor definición, desarrollo y eva-

luación de políticas, reformas y programas; bajo esta realidad se elabora la presente investi-

gación que surge de la tesis doctoral en Gestión de la calidad de investigación científica. La

metodología se caracterizó por un paradigma constructivista, enfoque mixto, tipo de estudio

explicativo, se utilizaron métodos, técnicas, herramientas e instrumentos para recolectar y pro-

cesar datos. La objetividad de la investigación es: elaborar un sistema de indicadores de calidad

para la evaluación de la investigación en el ámbito universitario, desde la eficacia, efectividad

y eficiencia.

Palabras clave: Calidad, Indicadores, Investigación, Sistema, Universidad.

Introduction

This scientific article is linked to the research area: University Research. Research line: Impact of

research results on the productivity of Central American countries. Research line of UNAN Ma-

nagua: Knowledge area: Educational Sciences. CED1.-16: Management and quality in education.

It is linked to the Institutional Project of Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Nicaragua (UNAN-

Managua). Likewise, it is related to Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) number 4: Education

and to the National Plan to Fight Poverty, in the development of human talent for national de-

velopment from within the education system.

The system of proprietary quality indicators for the evaluation of research at UNAN-Managua is

a set of indicators that will serve to measure the quality of performance in the institution’s research

process; the aim is that those involved in continuous improvement projects of processes and

products in the Quality Management Systems not only have sufficient tools, but also know how

to develop them. This is the central purpose of this research: to be prepared for what lies ahead

— to measure and improve quality through indicators day by day.

Jossarys Gazo Robles

175

The research has far-reaching implications by developing a system of proprietary quality indica-

tors for the evaluation of research in education at UNAN, based on efficacy, effectiveness and

efficiency; it can be implemented in any higher education university or in organizations carrying

out quality and continuous improvement systems, showing the relationship between criterion,

indicator and standard with their respective examples, as well as the different types of indicators.

This research identifies the specific problems that affect the research process and proposes al-

ternative solutions to promote the development of continuous improvement processes that con-

tribute to strengthening the current research quality management system at the university level.

The quality and impact of research must be measured because educational institutions are and

must be permanent generators of intellectual property, knowledge and human resources, which

impact the educational, scientific, economic and social sectors. National development priorities

must be clearly established and based on this definition, fund or support the research that ad-

dresses these priorities.

Given this reality, the following question arises: How is the quality, efficiency, efficacy and effec-

tiveness of the research component evaluated? Among the forms of completion of undergra-

duate and postgraduate studies is the monographic work for obtaining the professional degree.

Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate the relevance and contribution of the impact of the research

carried out. Measuring quality in the research process and in the training of careers with a re-

search profile in higher education is essential.

The direct beneficiaries are the next professionals to be trained in careers with a research profile and

teachers who have not yet achieved the category of research professors. The indirect beneficiaries

are the Nicaraguan community. Given the importance of the research component in responding to

phenomena and problems demanded by society, at UNAN it has always been a topic of interest to

evaluate the relevance and contribution of the quality and impact of the research carried out.

To achieve the objective of this research, it is necessary to define impact and quality research in-

dicators that allow their effectiveness to be evaluated. Thus, quality indicators are those associated

with the results and operation of an organization’s key processes and are determined based on

critical success factors and components, i.e., the development of concrete actions and final process

results that guarantee the achievement of objectives. Quality indicators measure whether the most

relevant actions carried out by the organization contribute to achieving results (García et al., 2003).

Regarding the concept of quality, it has evolved from prehistory to the present day, but it reaches its

greatest relevance in business activity and in the last half of the previous century. Several internationally

recognized authors stand out, who emphasize certain aspects as cited by Becerra et al. (2018, n.p.):

quality as value (Feigenbaum, 1951; Abbot, 1955), quality as conformity to specifications

(Levitt, 1972; Gilmore, 1974), quality as meeting requirements (Crosby, 1979), quality as

fitness for use (Juran and Gryna, 1988), uniformity and reliability (Deming, 1989).

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176

According to Horruitiner (2007), the concept of quality is used to define a set of qualities of the

object of study — in this case, the training process — previously established, which becomes a

standard against which periodic evaluations of said process are carried out.

Quality indicators are measurement instruments, tangible and quantifiable in nature, that make

it possible to assess the quality of processes, products, and services to ensure customer satis-

faction. In other words, they measure the level of compliance with the specifications established

for a given activity or business process.

In education, indicators serve informative, evaluative, and knowledge-production functions.

What can be measured can be better understood, and what is better understood can be im-

proved. The most competitive educational institutions are those capable of innovating at the

technical and organizational level, maintaining their entrepreneurial vision, in the constant

quest to improve their processes, with increasing standardization, which is achieved through

good administrative management. All this stems from the search for solutions to the critical

situation they face, which arises from the lack of innovation in products and processes, merely

managing to remain in the market by being defensive, but without significant progress or

growth.

At the international level, the university of the new century must face important challenges

given the continuous changes and growing paradigm shifts that occur constantly in all areas of

knowledge, science, and technology. In other words, the aim is to guarantee and substantially

increase the current and potential resources of knowledge, establishing a relationship between

higher education and society as a whole.

At the national level, there is general consensus on the need to evaluate and accredit higher

education institutions and programs, particularly regarding the type, scope, and characteristics

of teaching as an effective way to ensure quality and safeguard public trust (Consejo Superior

de las Universidades Privadas. 2000, p. 2). In this case, UNAN-Managua, as an institution com-

mitted to the quality of higher education and the relevant training of its students, has been in-

volved in various processes, including: Institutional Self-Assessment for improvement purposes,

the Institutional Improvement Plan, the Minimum Quality Standards Verification Process, and

the international accreditation process of the International Evaluation and Accreditation Council

(CEAI) of the Union of Universities of Latin America and the Caribbean (UDUAL). This body is

responsible for evaluating based on the following dimensions: Governance, University Mana-

gement and Infrastructure, Training, Research, Artistic, Cultural and Innovation Creation, Com-

munity Engagement, and Internationalization.

Methodology

The research paradigm was socio-constructivist. According to Berger and Luckman (2003), it is

based on the principle that knowledge of the real world is constructed through processes of

social interaction and mobilization of persuasive and representational resources.

Jossarys Gazo Robles

177

This research, having a mixed approach, employed both qualitative and quantitative methods

and techniques, such as: documentary research, ethnographic method, data analysis, closed-

question surveys, semi-structured interviews, participant observation, triangulation, and focus

group.

The type of study was explanatory, aiming to solve problems or intervene in history. It includes

technical, artisanal, and industrial as well as scientific innovation. According to the timing of the

events and the recording of information, the study was retrospective, and according to the pe-

riod and sequence of the study, cross-sectional.

The study was also ex post facto, meaning it was based on available information about

events that had already occurred, from which data was obtained at two levels (employers

and graduates). This method allowed the collection of information on the go and of the

products generated, to make decisions regarding adjustments and corrections to the study

plan.

The study population consisted of UNAN degree programs with a research profile (Social Anth-

ropologists, Historians, and Geographers); a total of 256. Simple random sampling and conve-

nience sampling were used, with 60 participants considered.

In the documentary phase, the following sub-phases were carried out: (a) Project planning: Re-

view of secondary sources and existing documentary sources related to the object of study (the

quality of education). According to the research objectives, the variables to be investigated were

defined, operationalized, and quality indicators were constructed. (b) Instrument development:

Design and validation of research instruments that allowed data collection with their respective

output tables, representing the studied variables, through information exchange, questionnaires,

and interviews. For the quantitative analysis, the process started with a research idea based on

formulated hypotheses. Once the numerical data were collected, they were transferred to a

matrix, which was analyzed using statistical procedures.

Based on the collected data, the corresponding database was designed using SPSS statistical

software, v. 20 for Windows. Once the quality control of the recorded data was completed, the

relevant statistical analyses were conducted, according to the nature of each variable (quanti-

tative or qualitative) and guided by the commitment defined in each specific objective; des-

criptive analyses were considered for nominal and/or numerical variables.

Results

The quality of a product is always complex to assess. The reason is simple: the measurement of

quality can be approached from different perspectives and has a multitude of possible solutions.

Therefore, to speak of quality as objectively as possible, one must first define what is meant by

that quality, second specify how that quality will be evaluated, and third clarify the desired level

of quality and whether it can be achieved.

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The simplest way to approach these steps is to identify the objectives pursued in terms of quality

(quality criteria), establish a way to know if these objectives are achieved (a numerical index

known as an indicator), and finally establish a range within which the level of quality is acceptable

and must remain (quality standard).

It has been argued that working on quality requires an essential condition: evaluation, that is,

the ability to measure. Data, not impressions, are needed; one must know what, how, who,

when, why, and for what purpose measurement is done. This is where quality criteria, indicators,

and standards come into play, which, as will be seen, are closely linked and help achieve the

expected learning outcomes. A good quality information and evaluation system in an educa-

tional system should include, in addition to performance tests, indicators derived from traditional

educational statistics and other studies on specific aspects, such as school resources and internal

processes.

Interest in performance tests should not lead to abandoning traditional indicators but to impro-

ving and managing them alongside the most recent ones, while continuing to explore the de-

velopment of those still insufficiently addressed, especially those of relevance, impact, and equity.

Management indicators become a simple and powerful idea for measuring how well something

is being done; because resources invested in education are expected to be managed efficiently

and produce the best results. For example, they make it possible to know: what is the level of

satisfaction of employers with graduates of research-profile programs due to their prestige de-

rived from their competencies?

Indicators refer to a specific object of analysis (program, degree, etc.); there is always an eva-

luation factor on which the importance of the indicators depends. Therefore, in this research,

the following evaluation factors were selected: (a) evaluation of the quality, efficiency, and ef-

fectiveness of social research. Thus arose the general research question: what is the quality in-

dicator system required to evaluate research training in Nicaraguan universities?

Currently, UNAN -Managua has a Research Directorate and an Institutional Quality Management

Directorate, which have succeeded in consolidating the main theoretical and conceptual elements

of process management, quality management, and information management systems, securing

the participation of central-level units in driving the achievement of established goals. The re-

search culture is not exempt from this strategic purpose of accreditation for academic excellence.

At UNAN, quality management is understood as the set of policies, strategies, actions, and pro-

cedures aimed at maintaining and sustaining continuous improvement at each level of mana-

gement, academic and administrative instances, strategic, key, and support functions and

processes we develop to meet the demands of Nicaraguan society.

The Vice-Rector of UNAN - Managua, Luis Alfredo Lobato, in an interview with Mora and Her-

nández (2024), states that:

Jossarys Gazo Robles

179

We are making progress in Research, and above all in Innovation. Nowadays, the Inno-

vation Conferences are already seen from the technological, social, and process pers-

pectives (...) they are no longer a surprise; they are a continuous dynamic. There are 4,

5, even 6 Conferences a year in terms of competitions and the pursuit of progress in In-

novation and Research. The University Conferences on Scientific Development continue

to be a regular feature at our Universities, and we keep growing despite the fact that it

is always an unfinished task — how we grow, how we advance in Research. (n.p.)

In Cuban higher education, this concept of quality is understood as the result of the conjunction

of academic excellence and comprehensive relevance. The degree of social relevance of a pro-

gram or institution is measured by the social impact it generates, by the flow of repercussions

and meaningful transformations that objectively occur in the surrounding society, presumably

as a result of the set of contributions made by such program (Águila, 2012).

Según Martín et al. (2015) existen indicadores claves en la evaluación:

1. Relevance and social impact: The response provided by the degree program to achieve

the sustainable development of the country and the region, the strengthening of the

cultural identity of Cuban society, the comprehensive development of professionals, and

the attention to ideals of justice and equity that characterize our social system.

2. Students, teachers, specialists, graduates, and employers are satisfied with the research

training achieved in the program.

3. Graduates fully take on the research challenges of the profession in accordance with the

accelerated dynamics of science and technology in the country’s economic and social

development.

4. Teachers and specialists demonstrate, through their scientific production and especially

in their way of acting, a culture of research.

5. Teachers and specialists must stand out for their investigative qualities as educators,

based on solid political-ideological, scientific-technological, and professional prepara-

tion.

6. Faculty members of the degree program possess a high capacity for professional and

scientific research work, accredited by the university community and society, with a sig-

nificant number holding the scientific degree of Doctor and the academic title of Master

or Specialist.

7. The supervision of research work, courses, and diplomas is also carried out by highly

qualified teachers and specialists. In this research, the following criteria were taken into

account:

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Given this reality, and with the aim that higher education research achieves efficiency, efficacy,

and effectiveness, the Quality Indicators System: Evaluation of Research Training at the Higher

Education Level was developed, comprising 140 indicators for the dimensions of research: (a)

Research project, Research training programs; (b) Human resources in research and Research

infrastructure, evaluated in terms of research efficiency, efficacy, and effectiveness; (c) Capacity

to investigate socio-cultural realities, with the aim of comprehensively analyzing the human

being and their culture (indicators applied in anthropology, history, and geography programs);

(d) Capacity to formulate social projects with cultural relevance, contributing to sustainable

human development; (d) Capacity to promote intercultural dialogue, in order to foster local

coexistence and strengthen identities, among other key elements; (e) Use and relevance of

scientific research based on bibliometrics, among others. Figure 1 summarizes in three steps

how to achieve good quality.

Figure 1

Process to achieve quality objectively

Note: Own elaboration (2025).

The simplest way to approach these steps was to identify the objectives pursued in terms of qua-

lity (quality criteria), establish a way to know if we are achieving those objectives (numerical index

that shows where we are and which is called an indicator), and finally, establish a range within

which the level of quality is acceptable and within which it should remain (quality standard).

As a result, each criterion was assigned a score from zero to five, such that indicators that scored

between 13 and 15 were classified as priority 1, those that scored between 10 and 12 were clas-

sified as priority 2, and those that scored below 10 were classified as priority 3. Why were these

Jossarys Gazo Robles

181

indicators selected? They were considered because the research project constitutes the unit

from which information is retrieved from state universities regarding inputs and outputs.

Discussion of results

The concepts of effectiveness, efficiency, and efficacy are fundamental in quality assessment and

can be used as key criteria and indicators in a Quality Indicator System, especially when evalua-

ting research training.

The quality indicator system is the set of indicators associated with the results and operation of

an organization's key processes, determined based on critical success factors and components;

that is, the development of concrete actions and the final results of the processes that ensure

the achievement of objectives.

The quality of research training is always complex to evaluate. The reason is simple: the mea-

surement of quality can be approached from different perspectives and has a multitude of pos-

sible solutions. For this reason, it is necessary to speak of quality as objectively as possible.

The quality of research training is always complex to evaluate. The reason is simple: the mea-

surement of quality can be approached from different perspectives and has a multitude of pos-

sible solutions. For this reason, it is necessary to speak about quality as objectively as possible.

To work on quality, an indispensable condition is evaluation—that is, the ability to measure.

What does efficacy measure? The degree of fulfillment of the proposed objectives. Efficiency

measures the relationship between the resources used and the results obtained. It implies achie-

ving objectives with the least possible use of resources (time, money, effort). Effectiveness is the

system’s capacity to generate real positive impacts in its environment. Data are needed, not im-

pressions. It is necessary to know what, how, who, when, why, and for what purpose the mea-

surement is done. This is where criteria, indicators, and quality standards come into play, which

are closely linked.

Similarly, it was observed that the participation of teachers in research processes is a key element

for knowledge production and educational improvement. Analyzing their role in terms of effi-

ciency, efficacy, and effectiveness allowed us to understand how their involvement impacts the

results of the research process and the transformation of the educational environment.

In this sense, teachers' participation in research can be evaluated positively or negatively based

on efficacy (achievement of objectives), efficiency (resource management), and effectiveness

(real impact, understood as a lasting change in the condition of people and their environment,

brought about by a chain of events or a change in the functioning of a system to which research,

innovations, and related activities have contributed, provided there is adequate articulation bet-

ween their teaching and research roles. To maximize these aspects, it was considered essential

that educational institutions provide training, time, and recognition for teachers’ research work.

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Conclusions

Research has become synonymous with quality. A university that does not produce research does

not contribute to the development of knowledge and therefore becomes relegated in the acade-

mic context; a teacher who does not conduct research cannot develop professionally or acade-

mically. Understood in this context, research training constitutes a pathway to a new society.

It is concluded that research effectiveness means doing things well to achieve the expected re-

sult. It focuses on a person’s ability to carry out research tasks. It can be measured with indicators

that reflect the level of productivity achieved. Thus, it is concluded that research efficiency means

focusing on the use of resources and the required time, doing the right things to obtain the re-

sult, and optimizing the necessary resources to achieve the objective. It can be measured with

indicators that reflect the advanced level of quality.

Finally, it is concluded that effectiveness is the combination of effectiveness and efficiency to

achieve the expected result. It focuses on how to achieve an objective in the best possible way.

It is the highest quality that can be achieved to fulfill the stipulated objective. It can be measured

with result indicators that reflect data on the levels of productivity and quality achieved.

References

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competitividad institucional. Revista Iberoamericana, 36(12),1-6.

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Becerra, L. F. Á. Andrade, O. A. M. y Díaz, G. L. I. (2018). Sistema de gestión de la calidad para

el proceso de investigación: Universidad de Otavalo, Ecuador. Actualidades Investigativas

en Educación, 19(1), 1-32. https://www.redalyc.org/journal/447/44759854020/html/

Berger, P. L. y Luckman, T. (2003). La construcción social de la realidad. Amorrortu.

Consejo Superior de las Universidades Privadas. (2000). Informe del Congreso Académico. Ma-

nagua. COSUP.

García, P. M., Ráez G., L., Castro, R. M., Vivar, M. L. y Oyola, V. L. (2003). Sistema de Indicadores

de Calidad I. Industrial Data, 6(2), 63-65. https://www.redalyc.org/pdf/816/81660210.pdf

Martín, G. A., Viltes, S. H., Batista, V. J. Romero, G. M. (2024). Evaluación de las competencias

profesionales de egresados de la Universidad de las Ciencias Informáticas. Revista Cubana

de Ciencias Informáticas, 18(2), . http://scielo.sld.cu/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2227-

18992024000200003&lng=es&tlng=es

Mora, A. y Hernández, A. (2024). Entrevista al Doctor Luis Alfredo Lobato Vicerrector de la

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UNAN-Managua. el19digital. https://www.el19digital.com/articulos/ver/159623-entrevista-

al-doctor-luis-alfredo-lobato-vicerrector-de-la-unan-managua

Horruitiner, S. P (2007). Modelo de acreditación de carreras de la educación superior cubana.

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Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Nicaragua - Managua. (Agosto de 2020). Proyecto Institu-

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Quality indicators system: Evaluation of research training

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Essays

Ensayos

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Challenges faced by teachers when

guiding competitive learning in

areas outside their field

of expertise

Retos del profesorado al guiar aprendizajes

competitivos en saberes distintos

a su especialidad

187

Mayra Daniella Escobar Rivas

https://orcid.org/0009-0006-1163-4190

Santa Bárbara, Barinas state/ Venezuela

Revista Digital de Investigación y Postgrado, 6(12), 187-195

Electronic ISSN: 2665-038X

How to cite: Escobar, R. M. D. (2025). Challenges faced by teachers when guiding competitive learning

in areas outside their field of expertise. Revista Digital de Investigación y Postgrado, 6(12), 187-195.

https://doi.org/10.59654/0ycs4z44

* PhD Candidate in Education Master of Educational Sciences with specialization in University Teaching, Universidad

Nacional Experimental de los Llanos Occidentales Ezequiel Zamora, Venezuela. Educational Assessment Specialist,

Universidad Valle del Momboy, Venezuela. Associate Professor, Universidad Nacional Experimental de los Llanos

Occidentales Ezequiel Zamora, Santa Bárbara Campus Department of Educational Sciences and Humanities Office

of the Vice Rector for Planning and Social Development: Email de contacto: mayradaniella.17@gmail.com

Received: may / 8 / 2025 Aceptad: may / 28 / 2025

https://doi.org/10.59654/0ycs4z44

188

Abstract

This essay examines the challenges faced by university educators when teaching subjects outside

their expertise, advocating for a competency-based approach that fosters critical thinking, au-

tonomy, and problem-solving skills. It critiques traditional, behaviorist teaching models for stifling

student creativity and proposes a transdisciplinary, humanistic framework integrating technology

(e.g., artificial intelligence). The text emphasizes the need for adaptable, ethically grounded

educators who create meaningful learning environments. Additionally, it addresses Venezuela’s

teacher shortage crisis, worsened by migration and poor working conditions, calling for policies

to train non-specialist faculty. The author argues that true competitive teaching transcends te-

chnical knowledge, requiring reflective educators committed to holistic student development

and societal transformation. Ultimately, the essay highlights the urgency of rethinking higher

education to produce professionals capable of addressing complex global challenges

Keywords: competency-based education, teacher adaptability transdisciplinary learning, edu-

cational crisis (Venezuela), critical pedagogy.

Resumen

El ensayo analiza los desafíos del profesorado al guiar aprendizajes en áreas fuera de su espe-

cialidad, destacando la necesidad de una enseñanza universitaria basada en competencias que

fomente el pensamiento crítico, la autonomía y la resolución de problemas complejos. Critica

los modelos tradicionales, conductistas y repetitivos, que limitan la creatividad estudiantil, y pro-

pone un enfoque transdisciplinario, humanista y ético, integrando tecnologías como la inteli-

gencia artificial. Subraya la importancia de docentes con habilidades pedagógicas, vocación y

adaptabilidad, capaces de crear entornos de aprendizaje significativo. Además, analiza la crisis

de especialistas en Venezuela, exacerbada por migración docente y condiciones laborales ad-

versas, exigiendo políticas de capacitación para suplir estas carencias. El texto concluye que la

verdadera enseñanza competitiva trasciende lo técnico, requiriendo docentes reflexivos, com-

prometidos con la formación integral y la transformación social..

Palabras clave: Educación basada en competencias, adaptabilidad docente, aprendizaje trans-

disciplinario, crisis educativa (Venezuela), pedagogía crítica.

Challenges for educators in guiding competitive

learning outside their core expertise

Contemporary university students demand competitive teaching approaches that foster self-

discovery, awakening, and activation of their identity – including their skills, virtues, talents, ca-

pacities, ideas, potential, and thought processes developed through life and academic

experiences. They require this competitive learning model to identify novel problem-solving

approaches for daily tasks and to understand social, professional, political, economic, and cul-

tural challenges.

Mayra Daniella Escobar Rivas

189

Global, national, local, and institutional realities now demand transformative university education

that enhances personal development as thinking, rational beings while preparing technically skilled

professionals. We must move beyond traditional models toward critical reflection on teaching-

learning processes that recognize students' competencies, skills, talents, aptitudes, and virtues.

Regarding this, Zhizhko (2017) states that at the university level, competency-based education

demands that these competencies be articulated with experience. However, the task is not easy

to achieve; it requires incorporating experience into the educational process itself without di-

minishing the student's way of seeing and explaining the world or realities.

Nevertheless, it is necessary to highlight the need to promote this methodology because clas-

srooms continue to show academically developing students working under an advising, men-

toring, and guidance model that leads to developing an archaic, behaviorist, repetitive, and

unproductive learning system; one that neither helps them think nor understand nor resolve si-

tuations required of university students. In other words, a discriminatory form of teaching is

being developed, as it restricts students from producing knowledge from their own perspective,

instead making them reproduce others' thinking, isolating them from critical, eclectic, and holistic

knowledge.

In this sense, it is a priority to promote this methodological approach, given that classrooms

still maintain advising and mentoring models based on archaic, behaviorist, repetitive, and un-

productive learning schemes. These models do not foster reflection or understanding, let alone

autonomous problem-solving. Consequently, they continue to promote limited and discrimi-

natory teaching that inhibits students from producing knowledge from their own perspective,

subjecting them to reproduce others' thinking and distancing them from critical, eclectic, and

holistic knowledge.

In other words, it is necessary to materialize a university education focused on understanding

what and how the student learns, so that they consolidate into a living resource, opportunity,

or tool that serves all actors in the educational process, and so that the full development of

everyone's capacities, gifts, potential, skills, competencies, and virtues is achieved, while simul-

taneously promoting a professional future that is competent to make decisions based on the

achievements and aspirations of the very protagonist who seeks to develop it. In this way, as

Lora (2020, p. 84) states, competencies should focus on "what one can do, what one knows

how to do, and what one has the will to do (Being, Doing, Knowing-How)." Without neglecting

what Rodríguez (2003, p. 82) pointed out: "to stay up to date on relevant topics and provide

criteria for validating knowledge."

In this line of thought, a university professor with competitive qualities who teaches within their

area of training expertise is required. Ideally, they should begin by manifesting themselves in

doing, being, seeking, coexisting, and feeling as a competent professor. That is to say, they

should promote, practice, and demonstrate competency-based teaching. This call has been

made for several years. Thus, Ortega y Gasset (1976, p. 49) said: "...one should only teach what

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can be taught; that is, what can be learned...". Here, the focus turns to the curriculum and the

objectives that should be designed. But the matter goes further; attention must be paid to the

human condition and its role in the earth homeland, as Morin (1999) affirms.

Many global challenges are occurring across various topics, phenomena, and events that emp-

hasize, demand, and urgently require university teaching that truly prepares competent indivi-

duals who can understand, explain, and guide from their area and beyond regarding what is

happening. It is necessary to educate and instruct without neglecting the ethical, environmental,

technological, scientific, and psychological aspects, but above all without losing sight of the

sense of the common good.

It is time for university professors to firmly assume the epistemological challenges they face,

commit to their formative work, and develop the ability to express themselves with versatility

on any topic, in a secure, reflective, critical, and profoundly human manner. Competency-based

training for future professionals represents a valuable opportunity to also educate in values. It

should not be forgotten that the university professor is the fundamental pillar in the processes

of training, mentoring, advising, guidance, and instruction. Teaching to be competent is not re-

duced solely to the transmission of content or the fulfillment of curricular aspects defined by

the academic profile; nor is it limited to analyzing an event or social phenomenon from a single

perspective. Training in competencies demands putting the totality of the human being into

action, which implies integrating cognitive processes, emotions, socialization, and experience

as fundamental axes of meaningful learning.

It is a matter of weltanschauung, cosmovision or worldview to study reality from both an internal

and external gaze (visible and non-visible), to seek new paradigms, to rethink a genuine un-

derstanding and explanation of the event that attracts the student's interest, concerns them or

constitutes a challenge for the student. However, this is only achieved if the university professor

makes their debut with agility, versatility and curricular eclecticism or interactive strategies such

as debates, conversations or discussions in the classrooms.

From this perspective, one must not neglect techniques, methods, resources, learning contexts,

or didactic strategies and new technologies like artificial intelligence; which implies re-examining

epistemological, ontological, axiological theories and the critical and interpretative capacities

of all participants in the process. Meanwhile, the more ideas emerge, the more knowledge is

nourished and everyone's intelligence improves. We must leave aside that blind intelligence

proposed by Morin.

To the extent that a university professor self-disciplines and projects themselves through their

own interest to develop competency-based teaching without fearing the risks, challenges or

demands of this approach, society, businesses, families and other institutions will have profes-

sionals capable of making proposals, taking initiatives, responding to individual or collective de-

mands; there will also be dynamic, critical, autonomous professionals, emancipated from

knowledge and managers of solutions to the problems of their entire environment.

Mayra Daniella Escobar Rivas

191

For this reason, it is necessary for the professor to have attitudes, competencies and skills among

which stand out, according to Santiago and Fonseca (2016, p. 193) "professionalism, discipline,

responsibility, ethics, values or mental and emotional stability", Freire (2004) and Dewey (1998)

mention that they should be stimulating and critical. For his part, Escámez (2013, p. 17) indicates

that a competitive professor seeks the "creation of favorable environments for learning where

their students achieve the highest levels of development".

However, truly competitive teaching is not limited to specialized or technical instruction. There

are many teachers with this professional qualification who struggle to make others understand

what they attempt to convey and demonstrate, and this is due to their daily expressed personal

disposition or condition. What is needed is a good attitude, feeling, thinking, having vocation,

researching, consulting, knowing how to evaluate, having experience, analyzing, and confronting

theories.

It should be noted that truly competitive teaching is not confined to the specialized or technical.

Even teachers with solid training in their discipline may face difficulties in effectively communi-

cating and demonstrating their knowledge, often due to personal attitudes or unreflective prac-

tices. Therefore, it is essential to cultivate a proactive attitude, authentic vocation, critical thinking,

and openness to dialogue between theories.

Likewise, it is crucial to integrate constant research, formative evaluation, and context analysis,

as required by the competency-based approach to train emancipated professionals capable of

solving complex problems. Only in this way can we overcome "blind intelligence" —warning as

Morin (1999) does— and consolidate learning that, through ethics, self-discipline, and pedago-

gical creativity, transforms both the participants in the process and their environments.

To the extent that these conditions are understood and valued, university teaching will improve,

and we will cease to rely on academic prestige that often produces rejection and academic iso-

lation because there is no logical or reflective meaning to what is taught in universities.

A truly competitive teacher who sets challenges in teaching reflects that, whether a specialist or

not, the importance of teaching for students lies in their actions, the role, the function, the con-

tributions, the satisfaction of benefits, and the meaningful, constructive, humanistic, critical,

eclectic, and holistic learning that it provides them to create or rethink new experiences, testi-

monies, and knowledge that are linked to their daily lives. Only then do they understand that

they are moving beyond a traditional and receptive teaching approach to a competency-based

approach that allows them to unite the qualitative with the quantitative in the same formative

encounter, valuing their full multidimensional potential as a person and not merely as a simple

student.

Of course, this new teaching stance urges the teacher to demonstrate greater commitment,

responsibility, vocation, skills, abilities, and love for what they "do." That is to say, to be more

self-taught, unprecedented, ingenious, motivational, humanistic—in short; to express a complex,

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transdisciplinary, and global epistemology about what they teach to help them self-understand,

discover, and recognize how the student learns most effectively in these times of universal

change, whether through competencies or through the duplication off others' ideas and know-

ledge.

Indeed, it requires reflection to avoid ending up educating merely for learning's sake, or simply

to fulfill the curricular objectives and goals of the teaching area being imparted. For the ideal is

to ultimately offer society first and foremost a person of great humanism, and then a multidi-

mensional professional - secure, versed, eclectic, and complex - capable of operating with au-

tonomy and self-mastery, without imitating others' thoughts. Rico and Ponce (2022, p. 80) add

regarding this that "competent teachers are capable of resolving diverse situations across dif-

ferent contexts, for which knowledge viewed from a purely conceptual or disciplinary perspective

proves insufficient."

In this sense, a teacher with competitive particularities is one who manifests themselves - even

without being an expert in their teaching area - as a tutor, companion, and guide from human,

ethical, epistemological, social, cultural, empirical, scientific, and technical perspectives. Thus,

they are the professional who expresses and acts as a complete whole in the development of

both teaching and student learning.

This teacher explains, does, and evaluates both what they master and what they don't, without

fear of making mistakes, because they reflect that from error can emerge a desire to seek know-

ledge to verify, demonstrate ignored realities, and improve concepts or skills previously lacking.

For through trial and experimentation, one also learns and postulates new knowledge theories

that emerge from doing, coexisting, and interpreting - becoming meaningful for the knowledge

producer.

On the other hand, what matters in competency-based teaching is not whether the teacher

specializes in the academic area they develop, nor whether they are an excellent learning pro-

cess companion, nor a responsible tutor in achieving specific objectives within a curricular dis-

cipline. Hence, the fundamental challenge lies in understanding and considering what particular

actions merit application, activation, and promotion so that students deploy or unveil the skills,

abilities, capacities, virtues, and gifts that were underutilized at other study levels and that should

become specific competencies to provide contextualized responses and meaning to analyzing

concerns, questions, doubts, or curiosities emerging in the educational act.

However, it's necessary to mention that currently in Venezuela, regarding basic education tea-

chers, as reported by the Ministry of People's Power for Education (2025), there is a deficit of

fifteen thousand specialists. Likewise, Venezuelan universities are experiencing a teacher exodus

as indicated by Linarez and Linarez (2019). According to the United Nations Educational, Scien-

tific and Cultural Organization (1999), there is a brain drain occurring. Parallel to this, teaching

loads are being increased for teachers with different academic profiles, consequently facing

greater challenges, questions, and criticisms of teaching praxis.

Mayra Daniella Escobar Rivas

193

Certainly, the specialized teacher deficit won't diminish if the current salary and economic reality,

treatment, and educational indoctrination persisting in universities continue - and this will lead

to various studies and profound reviews of professionals wishing to remain engaged in the tea-

ching process, so they may self-train, become aware, discipline, and align themselves with edu-

cational approaches that truly satisfy student needs and the world's intellectual demands -

whether or not they are competent in what they guide.

Likewise, it is required that university authorities and the State reflect on this problem of profes-

sional deficit and mitigate specialized migration, or propose mechanisms that transcend to train,

advise, and educate the non-specialized teacher, so that they become competent in what they

teach. This is because some are struggling to meet the multidimensional and epistemological

demands of today's students, or to continue demonstrating that academic and competent qua-

lity responds more to human principles than to the curricular fulfillment of a number of deve-

loped objectives.

There is recognition and concern even from the United Nations and competent entities regar-

ding the teaching challenges faced by educators when guiding and directing non-specialized

learning. Therefore, from our perspective, it is necessary to halt university-level teacher migra-

tion through national and international policies and to massively implement, through universities,

training for non-specialist teachers that satisfies the technical needs not being received by stu-

dents in training.

As final ideas of this essay, it must be noted that the obsolescence of traditional methods based

on memorization is evident, as they nullify students' critical capacity. In response, it calls for ap-

plying a competency-based model that integrates knowing, doing, and being, articulating

theory with real experience. This approach demands teachers who facilitate meaningful learning

linked to social and professional problems, overcoming the mechanical reproduction of know-

ledge. The transition requires rethinking curricula and pedagogical practices toward autonomy

and innovation.

It is also concluded that a competitive teacher is not limited to mastering content but combines

professionalism, ethics, and socioemotional skills to guide multidimensional learning. Even wit-

hout specialization, they must act as facilitators, fostering interdisciplinary dialogue and adapting

to diverse contexts. Their success lies in vocation, self-criticism, and the ability to learn alongside

their students, transforming limitations into opportunities for collective growth.

In Venezuela, the teacher exodus and lack of specialists exacerbate educational challenges. Low

salaries and precarious working conditions discourage the retention of qualified professionals.

Public policies are urgently needed to halt this migration and train non-specialized teachers,

ensuring educational quality. The solution is not merely technical but structural, requiring in-

vestment in continuous training and recognition of teaching work.

Modern teaching demands the incorporation of technologies (such as AI) and interactive stra-

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tegies (debates, case studies) to develop analytical skills. According to Morin, this involves over-

coming "blind intelligence" through holistic approaches that link knowledge with ethics and glo-

bal context. The teacher must master digital tools and foster a critical worldview, preparing

students for changing realities.

Finally, it is concluded that competitive training must prioritize values such as the common

good, empathy, and social responsibility. Freire and Dewey emphasize that the teacher should

be a critical stimulator, not a mere transmitter of information. This implies balancing the technical

with the human, training professionals who solve problems from a comprehensive, ethical, and

emancipatory perspective, transcending traditional curricular demands.

References

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Escámez, S. J. (2013). La excelencia en el profesor universitario. Estudios, 254, 11-27.

https://www.revistadepedagogia.org/rep/vol71/iss254/9/

Freire, P. (2004). Pedagogía de la autonomía: Saberes necesarios para la práctica educativa. Paz

e Terra.

Linarez, V. G. D. y Linarez, V. G. D. (2019). Éxodo del docente universitario en Venezuela. Revista

Scientific, 4(14), 141-162. https://www.redalyc.org/journal/5636/563662154008/html/

Lora, G. H. S., Castilla, P. S. y Gómez, F. M. C. (2020). La gestión por competencias como estra-

tegia para el mejoramiento de la eficiencia la eficacia organizacional. Revista Saber, Ciencia

y Libertad, 15(1), 83 – 94. https://doi.org/10.18041/2382-3240/saber.2020v15n1.6291

Ministerio del Poder Popular para la Educación. (2025). Así incrementa el Ministerio de Educación

el número de docentes especialistas. https://www.mppe.gob.ve/noticias/2025/05/21/así-incre-

menta-el-ministerio-de-educación-el-número-de-docentes-especialistas/#:~:text=Así%20in-

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especialistas&text=El%20sistema%20educativo%20venezolano%20presentaba,ministro%20del

%20área%2C%20Héctor%20Rodríguez.

Morin, E. (1999). Los siete saberes necesarios para la educación del futuro. Organización de las

Naciones Unidas para la Educación, la Ciencia y la Cultura.

Organización de las Naciones Unidas para la Educación, la Ciencia y la Cultura. (1999). Fuga de cere-

bros, movilidad académica, redes científicas. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000186433

Ortega y G. J. (1976). Misión de la universidad y otros ensayos afines. Ediciones de la Revista de

Occidente.

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Rico, G. M. y Ponce, G. A. I. (2022). El docente del siglo XXI: Perspectivas según el rol formativo

y profesional. Revista Mexicana Investigación Educativa, 27(92), 77-101, 2022.

Rodríguez, E. S. (2003). Nuevos retos y enfoques en la formación del profesorado universitario.

Revista de Educación, 331, 67-99. https://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/articulo?codigo=670568

Santiago, G. R. y Fonseca, B. C. D. (2016). Ser un buen profesor. Una mirada desde dentro. EDE-

TANIA, 50, 191-208. https://revistas.ucv.es/edetania/index.php/Edetania/article/view/27/26

Zhizhko, E (2017). Competencias en la educación profesional: una contribución a su estudio. Uni-

versidad Autónoma de Zacatecas. ile:///C:/Users/Carmen/Downloads/Dialnet-Competen-

ciasEnLaEducacionProfesional-6475486.pdf.

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