With the slogan: “Valuing the voice of the teacher: towards a new social contract for education”. World Teachers’ Day is 30 years old. Since 1994, UNESCO has designated October 5 as the date on which to reflect on the challenges faced by professionals on whose shoulders rests the responsibility for equipping future generations with the knowledge to transform the world. Today, in a context where education faces unprecedented challenges and opportunities, the importance of educators in educating and training new generations resonates strongly. Against this background, ProFuturo stands out as a beacon of hope thanks to the promotion of initiatives that seek to improve the quality of education in vulnerable communities. Through innovative programmes and technological resources, ProFuturo, an educational innovation programme with technology promoted by the Telefónica Foundation and the “la Caixa” Foundation, are committed to empowering teachers and providing them with the necessary tools to inspire and train their students in digital skills.
In a world in which technology is advancing by leaps and bounds, education must not be left behind. This is precisely ProFuturo’s mission. Its motivation is to reduce the digital divide in education, deploying its technological resources in vulnerable environments throughout the world. In this way, they not only improve the educational quality of students, but also that of teachers, who learn and expand their own digital and curricular competences.
ProFuturo believes that educational innovation with technology is the master key to the global present and future, given that prioritising education is prioritising people, equality, justice and sustainable development.
A catalyst of global education
The main mission is thanks to technology, to bring knowledge and build educational pillars and training for those who otherwise would have no way of accessing them, with a commitment to the inclusion of rural areas in the digital reality, thus equalising the rights of rural and urban children in different countries and contexts. All this, with the conviction of the transformative power of education in vulnerable environments, where access to a quality, memorable and personalised learning experience for each student is more difficult.
If we stick to the data, the macro-survey that ProFuturo carries out annually, technology is a faithful ally in educational transformation and highlights the achievement of these objectives: in 2023 alone, this programme contributed to introducing innovative methodologies to improve learning in more than 5,000 schools around 39 countries around the world.
Digital and curricular competences
The annual ProFuturo Survey, carried out in the third quarter of last year, includes the testimony of 245 coaches, 14,700 teachers and 76,300 students, all of them participants in the programme. The conclusions drawn from their responses reflect the positive impact of the initiative. The data concentrate on the acquisition of digital and curricular competences, particularly mathematics in Peru, reducing absenteeism, increasing the motivation to attend class, attention, improvements in learning and teachers’ methodological competences.
- Digital and curricular competences: 76% of the teachers have observed a significant improvement in their students’ digital competences, while 73% report progress in their curricular competences. These data are a testament to how the integration of technology into the classroom can significantly enhance learning.
- Reduction of school absenteeism rates: 91% of the students state that the programme has increased their degree of motivation to attend school. This increased motivation is reflected in a reduction of school absenteeism rates, with 83% of the teachers reporting greater attendance.
- Effort, motivation and attention: Technology not only enhances the learning experience, it also increases the levels of effort and attention among the students. A remarkable 95% of the students say they make more of an effort thanks to the programme, while 80% of the teachers have observed improvements in terms of the attention and classroom discipline.
- New educational activities: 75% of teachers say that they’ve made changes to their educational activities with the technology and digital resources.
A way forward
The conclusions of the 2023 Survey show significant progress in reducing the education gap and highlight ProFuturo’s involvement in this task. The programme’s potential promises to continue transforming education globally. With every student motivated to attend school, with every teacher trained to use new technologies, and with every community involved in the sustainability of the project, ProFuturo contributes to better access to future opportunities. Technology plays a crucial role in improving students’ competences, motivation, attendance and attention, according to the data obtained.
“Education is the pillar upon which progress is built. At ProFuturo, based on our innovative approach and commitment, we’ve been ensuring for eight years that this pillar is strong and accessible to everyone, wherever in the world we operate. With each step, each achievement and each success story, we want to remind everyone that the future of education is here, and it is in our hands,” says Magdalena Brier, CEO of ProFuturo.
Training and skills development: the keys to success
Ongoing teacher training is a cornerstone of ProFuturo. 275,087 teachers received online training in 2023, with a completion rate of 74.5%, and with an overall satisfaction rating of 76%. Moreover, half of them report improvements in their digital and methodological competences, enabling them to implement new educational practices.
Better mathematical competences
Mathematics ProFuturo is a digital tool aimed at developing cognitive processes in students from 8 to 12 years old. And, specifically, it is one of the most successful resources in countries such as Peru, Chile and Brazil.
Together with the annual teacher survey, a sample of 214 schools in Peru that used Mathematics ProFuturo were asked a series of specific questions about it. The replies of the 830 teachers reflect high usage (almost 70% say they use it at least once a week), 75% highlight both the ease of use and usefulness of the content, 73% indicate that there is an increase in the students’ efforts when they do maths exercises and 66% say it has greatly improved the students’ skills level in maths. This is just one example of the potential of the resources that ProFuturo brings to the table.
Connections and collaborations: global teamwork
ProFuturo is demonstrating with real impacts that technology can be a powerful tool to transform education. With the implementation of the classroom and curricular content management platform, the teachers can design personalised learning experiences for their students. In 2023, more than 43.000 teachers created learning experiences and more than one million students completed activities on the programme’s educational platform.
Since its beginnings, its intervention has been based on the measurement, analysis and evidence of progress, data provided by continuous monitoring processes, studies and evaluations to achieve a larger social footprint.
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