Facilitating digital equity in educational contexts with teenagers at risk of social exclusion: the ICT facilitator competence profile

Abstract

This research explores the possibility of defining the competence profile of ICT facilitators aimed to ensure digital equity in educational settings. In order to define the professional profile of the ICT facilitator, a selection of various competences is presented as a survey study and distributed to digital literacy instructors working in areas of high risk of social exclusion. The selection of competences was done first through a bibliography search process based on the Spanish and Catalan (due to the local context of study) and European frameworks for digital literacy skills. The selected competences were iterated with experts from a non-profit organization specialized in digital literacy training in contexts with minors at risk of social exclusion. Finally, the survey was administered to other ICT instructors with expertise in similar contexts asking them to assess the relevance of the competences that an ICT facilitator should have to promote digital equity. Competences that have been identified as highly important are the following ones: communication, respect, interdisciplinary coordination, relational skills and interpersonal skills. This research contributes to the current debate of proposals to guarantee digital equity in formal education environments through the definition of the ICT facilitator’s competence profile.