The European Commission, within the framework of the Digital Education Action Plan (2021-2027), underlines that only 39% of teachers in the European Union feel prepared to use digital technologies in teaching. Studies on teacher digital empowerment show that it is necessary to go beyond digital skills training. In other words, it is about teachers also wanting to use technologies to their full potential and in a creative way, and being up to date with all the advances. To this end, motivation and the institutional environment are key factors (Akkoyunlu & Yilmaz, 2011). Based on Andersen and Pitkänen (2019), we consider that teacher digital empowerment refers to increasing the capacity to effectively use digital technologies in a way that expands and strengthens control, desire and the feeling of comfort in the application of technologies to teaching itself.

The aim of this study is to find out the level of digital empowerment of teachers in the Spanish education system, exploring different factors and identifying possible gaps and needs. This knowledge shows the current landscape and facilitates political, educational, and social decision-making, in line with the priorities of the Digital Education Action Plan (2021-2027) for the development of a high-performance digital education ecosystem and for an inclusive digital transformation of education systems. 

A total of 2,014 teachers (740 men and 1274 women) participated in this survey-type study. Among them, 529 teachers (141 men and 388 women) are between 26 and 35 years of age; 627 teachers (191 men and 436 women) are between 36 and 45 years of age; 552 teachers (240 men and 312 women) are between 46 and 55 years of age, and 306 teachers (168 men and 138 women) are between 56 and 65 years of age. The survey is designed based on specific literature (Akkoyunlu et al., 2010; Crompton & Sykora, 2021; Ezzeldin & Alsharidah, 2021).

The study shows teachers’ perception regarding the current state of their teaching and institutional capacity to effectively and creatively take advantage of the application of technologies for pedagogical purposes. It also points to perceived needs that demand to be addressed on the road towards the digital transformation of education.

The results show that teachers of primary, ESO, Baccalaureate, and VET achieve an acceptable level of digital empowerment compared to university teachers, who show an optimum level. Female secondary school teachers show the lowest level of digital empowerment, compared to female teachers at higher stages, who rank above the average (figure 1). 

Although acceptable, the lower level of digital empowerment among teachers of the ESO stage is explained, in part, by the lower effective and creative incorporation of digital technologies into teaching (figure 2). Thus, only 56.5% of secondary school teachers use technology to create, adapt, and personalise learning experiences, compared to 69.5% of primary school teachers, 62.1% of Baccaulaurate and VET teachers, and 63.8% of university teachers. Only 43% of secondary school teachers create innovative digital environments and only 44.1% apply learning strategies using e-learning platforms. This lower level is also explained by less technological motivation and less empowerment on social media networks. The fact is, they do not exploit the potential of social media networks to improve professional development and discover new professional interests.

The gender gap in attitudes towards digital technologies has hardly been reduced in the last twenty years. This study shows not only its persistence, but also the importance of considering technological motivation as a key element for digital empowerment. And the fact is that, at all educational stages, it is male teachers who state to a greater extent that they are up to date with everything related to new digital technologies. Thus, 61.9% of male teachers take the initiative in the use of new digital technologies for teaching, compared to 59.8% of female teachers. 

Specifically, female primary school teachers (28.8%) admit to feeling less comfortable with the use of digital technologies compared to their male counterparts (17.4%), with these differences being statistically significant. The gender gap requires urgent treatment through measures that extend teaching planning times or optimise them by reducing the bureaucratic burden, with continuous help available to increase technological comfort and be able to break down stereotypes and resistance to change.

The lower level of digital empowerment observed among teachers aged 56 to 65 (figure 4) compared to their youngest counterparts (26 to 35 years old) in the stages of ESO and Baccalaureate and VET, is due to the fact that they incorporate digital technologies to a lesser extent into their teaching and carry out less digital assessment. The fact is, a high percentage of older Baccalaureate and VET teachers (58.2%) do not apply learning strategies using e-learning platforms, and these differences are significant with respect to teachers of other ages. Of this group, 49.1% do not design activities using digital applications and resources. And only 47.2% help other colleagues explore and adopt new digital applications and resources. In the primary and university stages, teachers from this age group show greater technological performance.

Primary school teachers express the greatest needs for human and material resources, followed by secondary school teachers (figure 5). Female teachers, in general, express greater needs for human and material resources than male teachers (figure 6). And this is the most perceived need among teachers aged 36 to 45 (figure 7).

In relation to the need for institutional support and incentives, it is the Baccalaureate and VET teachers (33.75%) and university teachers (33.25%) who show the highest percentage of demand. Male teachers demand more institutional support and incentives (32.82%) than female teachers (30.24%).

Regarding the need for training for digital education, primary school teachers (21.93%) are prominent. Female teachers, in general, demand more training (20.35%) than male teachers (18.25%). This need is most often emphasised by teachers aged 56 to 65.
As for lack of time, although time is scarcely indicated as a need, it is manifested to a greater extent by Baccalaureate and VET teachers (1.82%). A gender focus shows that time is more in demand by female teachers (3.12%) than by male teachers (2.17%).

Teacher digital empowerment refers to effective use of the potential of digital technologies in teaching and depends both on individual factors, such as technological motivation, and on contextual factors, such as institutional digital support (infrastructures, incentives, training, etc.). The study shows an acceptable level of digital empowerment among teachers at primary, secondary and Baccalaureate and VET levels, and an optimum level of digital empowerment among university teaching staff, particularly among female university teachers. The study also highlights a persistent gender gap in the technological motivation of female teachers, especially those teaching the secondary stage, as well as an intergenerational gap that affects older secondary school teachers. In terms of needs, although all teachers ask for more material and human resources, it is primary school teachers who receive less institutional support and who demand resources to a greater extent.

This general diagnosis of the digital empowerment of teachers, which places it at an acceptable level, warns of the road that still remains to be travelled for an optimal digital transformation among Spanish educational institutions. The fact is that digital empowerment is the main challenge posed for European policies tasked with turning our education centres into high-performance digital ecosystems. This study reveals priorities for attention and intervention on the path towards inclusive and quality digital education. This implies the need to articulate education policies that intensify professional development training programmes for teachers, establish an incentive plan, and provide material resources (technological infrastructures, connectivity, digital resources, e-learning platforms, etc.) and human resources (support networks and references at education centres). All this, while seeking the creation of collaborative and innovative organisational environments that raise the level of empowerment, especially at primary and secondary levels, together with the development of relevant infrastructure. There is also a need to deploy more extensive and sustained motivational support, especially for female teachers, in order to reduce the gender gap. This is also in line with the results of other European studies (Cai et al., 2017; Ezzeldin & Alsharidah, 2021). 

In this sense, there is an urgent need to study more comprehensively the types of digital education in schools, the design of digital learning environments, and the processes for incorporating digital technologies into teaching and assessment using gender, intersectional, and inclusive perspectives (Jiménez-Cortés & Aires, 2021). Comprehensive studies of a qualitative nature should overcome the limitations of these quantitative studies and complete the interpretation of results.

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