Fundación Telefónica and Fundación ‘La Caixa’, through their educational innovation programme ProFuturo, participated this week in the IFE Conference at Tecnológico de Monterrey, an event with more than 500 activities focused on learning, collaboration and innovation.
There, they shared the findings gathered from a recent qualitative study of eight schools in Panama and Mexico classified at the Transformation level of the Programme, which is the highest level in terms of the application of this technology-based education model. The research was carried out between June and October 2024, through visits to schools to gather information from in-depth interviews, focus groups and non-participant observations.
The study shows that schools at the Transformation level have a management model that facilitates and optimises the incorporation of the ProFuturo Programme, based on three pillars: operational planning, pedagogical planning and integration, and continuous monitoring. In addition, the research confirms that ProFuturo’s innovative SAT (School Assessment Tool), launched in 2023, is valid for determining the degree of appropriation of the Programme in schools.
These findings are highly relevant for drawing up a series of recommendations aimed at implementing and replicating the management model in other schools, thereby improving education with the use of technology as an ally. The first of these recommendations is to strengthen school leadership, with training and empowering management teams being essential. Their support is not only absolutely necessary for the incorporation of a programme such as ProFuturo in schools, but also plays a relevant and decisive role in the organisation of educational centres.
Secondly, it is recommended that all schools carry out a ‘curriculum match’ between the digital resources made available and the national curriculum, if possible with the active participation of teachers. As a third recommendation, the importance of ensuring continuous support is emphasised, so that schools feel supported at all times. To this end, it is essential to establish systems for continuous follow-up, support and monitoring that allow for the evaluation of goal achievement and the adjustment of strategies as necessary.
And, as a fourth recommendation, both teachers and students greatly appreciated that ProFuturo’s digital resources help them to concretise ideas that are abstract and difficult to understand, because they facilitate the understanding of processes that cannot be observed directly. In this way, the use of technology can be a useful resource for fostering student motivation and engagement.
