Out of the 33% of low-income countries that have established technology competency frameworks for teachers, 30% updated or implemented them following the COVID-19 pandemic.
A similar adjustment or implementation occurred in 15% of high-income countries. This finding suggests that a significant proportion of low-income countries have recognized the importance of technology competency among teachers and have taken steps to establish guidelines or frameworks for this purpose.
Additionally, it indicates that the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic prompted many of these countries to either update their existing technology competency guidelines for teachers or implement new ones.
Analysis of the 88 GPE partner countries suggests 46% have put in place ICT standards for teachers and among these, a quarter of them were adjusted or implemented following the COVID-19 pandemic.
For instance, in Guyana, the Ministry of Education has developed an ICT Competency Framework for teachers in accordance with the UNESCO ICT Competency Framework, which the 2021 ICT in Education Policy and Master Plan aims to update.
In Liberia, the revised 2020 National Teacher Professional Performance Standards, initially developed in 2007, incorporate ICT standards within the domain of "teaching skills" (Standard 2.7).
In Niger, the ministries in charge of education have also developed a competency framework for the teaching profession in 2020, with Competency 7 focusing on "Mastering and using ICT" and including various specific sub-competencies.
In Georgia, Minister of Education and Science Order No. 1014, issued in 2008, approved the Teacher Professional Standard, which requires teachers to use ICT and hardware like computers and mobile phones for showing records, capturing audio, video and photos of creative accomplishments and conducting resource searches.
Fostering teacher training through regulations and policies
Regulations and policies to ensure teachers receive training in technology, whether as part of initial training or continuing education programs, are critical.
Analysis of PEER suggested that only 1 in 4 countries have such regulations in place globally, and they’re far less common in low-income (10%) countries than in high-income (39%) countries.
Among GPE partner countries, only 10% have these regulations in place. For instance, in Honduras, the 2014 General Regulation of the Fundamental Education Law emphasizes the importance of incorporating ICT into initial teacher training, which should include relevant knowledge and research methods.
Additionally, it mandates access to updated technological resources and infrastructure. In Rwanda, the Presidential Order No. 64/2020 underlines the role of teachers in capacity development, highlighting the inclusion of ICT as part of continuing professional development courses for teachers.
In Benin, the Decree 2021-569 also aims to plan and organize high-quality training for general secondary education personnel in collaboration with relevant authorities, utilizing digital means.
On a more positive front, we found that 72% of the world’s countries have established policies, plans or strategies to incorporate technology into pre-service teacher education (71% for GPE partner countries), and 84% have similar plans for in-service teacher professional development (81% for GPE partner countries).
However, efforts are needed to help low-income countries catch up as only 67% have plans to provide pre-service teacher education in technology and 73% for in-service teacher professional development.
Percentage of countries that have laws and policies, plans or strategies to provide teacher education in technology (by region, and income level)
