Detection of pedagogical training needs of university teachers within the framework of the competency-based professional training approach: the case of the Bolivian Catholic University “San Pablo”

When world organizations analyzed higher education, they established its purposes and scope in light of the impact of changes in the social, political, economic, technological and cultural environments that occur in humanity. In this way, important changes were identified in the way professionals are trained.

One of the responses to deal with these changes was the approach to training based on competencies, which proposes a shift in training, professional profile, pedagogical methods, in teaching functions, among others. Seeking to bring teaching closer to contextual changes, socio-labour linkage and a more comprehensive training.

This approach assumed by the Bolivian Catholic University "San Pablo", La Paz campus, case study of this research, has demanded changes in the role of the teacher, including pedagogical changes. After a few years of applying this approach in the university, the aim is to detect what these pedagogical needs are in the teaching staff. It is a qualitative research, which uses the case study and evaluative research as methodological references for collecting information, with methodological strategies such as interviews and focus groups, which include the members involved in this phenomenon, that is, managers, teachers, students and graduates.

To analyze the pedagogical needs of teachers, Bradshaw's typology has been taken into account, which classifies them into normative, expressed, perceived and comparative, but also based on the ANISE needs diagnosis and intervention model proposed by Perez-Campanero, who studies the phenomenon from a socio-educational perspective in sequential phases. The information retrieved shows that in recent years regarding the approach there has been a learning process on the part of the teaching staff, marking styles and ways of carrying out professional training. The results indicate that regarding the application of this new approach there are not only needs in the teaching staff but also institutional and curricular. Although there is an application of the approach in the formation of competences, especially in didactics, teachers also have pedagogical requirements related to the link with the context, the evaluation of competences, including authentic evaluation, pre-professional practice and interdisciplinarity. It is verified that clarity and training are still required for the development of generic competences. Finally, the importance of incorporating in teacher training not only the what of the competency-based approach, but also the how of some teaching practices related to competency development methods and, on the other hand, also providing them with incentives and constant feedback to their scope of learning is established. part of the institution.