Digital Talent Training Survey by the Vodafone Foundation

The Vodafone Foundation has published a study covering 10 countries, including Turkey. The study shows that there is great disparity in access to digital skills training and infrastructure in schools across European countries, and further highlights the need for a consistent approach to student and teacher access to education and technology. According to the study, 87% of parents in Turkey believe that digital skills are essential for their children’s future and strongly support the implementation of digital technology in classrooms.

A new survey conducted by the Vodafone Foundation in cooperation with IPSOS Germany reveals that Europe needs to adopt an equal response to digital skills to improve children’s skills and reduce regional disparities. The survey conducted with 10,000 parents from 10 countries, including Turkey, found that while students are concerned about the quality of digital tools in schools, teachers need to be further supported with mentoring and training. Though parents are optimistic about the potential of digital technology in education, they feel that steps need to be taken to provide consistent resources and infrastructure to increase the opportunities for students to acquire digital skills. According to the study, 87% of parents in Turkey believe that digital skills are essential for their children’s future and strongly support the implementation of digital technology in classrooms.

Evaluating the results, Hasan Süel, the Chair of Vodafone Turkey Foundation , said:

“The latest survey by the Vodafone Foundation reveals the talent gap that Europe currently faces and highlights the need to increase digital literacy among young people. According to the study, parents believe that teachers should be supported in setting a European standard for teaching digital skills. According to the study, 87%of parents in Turkey believe that digital skills are essential for their children’s future and strongly support the implementation of digital technology in classrooms. Vodafone Turkey Foundation, in collaboration with Habitat Association, has been providing theoretical and hands-on training on areas such as introduction to programming and algorithmic logic with the guidance of volunteer trainers to children aged between 7-14 across Turkey with the ‘Coding Tomorrow’ project, we have been conducting for 7 years. By doing so, we contribute to improve our children’s digital skills. We have so far provided coding training to more than 300 thousand children in 81 cities, and we are constantly expanding the coverage of our project.”

Results for Turkey

• According to the study, 87% of parents in Turkey believe that digital skills are essential for their children’s future and strongly support the implementation of digital technology in classrooms.

• A majority of 87% think that digital literacy needs to be one of the main learning objectives in schools. Another 70% think Europe should apply the same standards for the implementation of digital technology.

• As many as 61% of parents are concerned about their children being exposed to disinformation. So, 46% of parents believe that specialists should visit schools to train children while 45% support the organization of awareness raising events for parents.

• 50% of parents think that the government needs to provide teachers with more training on the use of digital tools in the classroom. Another 45% agree that there should be counselling services for schools on how to approach digital education in the classroom, with 43% calling for more funding for digital technologies.

Results for Europe

• In Europe, 85% of parents believe that their children’s career prospects depend heavily on digital skills. Yet, only three quarters (78%) state that at school their children have access to digital tools that support learning, such as laptops, tablets, and interactive whiteboards.

• There are significant differences between European countries in access to digital tools in schools. While students in the UK, the Netherlands and Portugal have the highest access rates at 87-88%, this falls to around 70% for students in Hungary, Italy, and Greece.

• In total, slightly more than half of schools provide online education, and only 59% of these provide their students with devices to access online education from home. In Italy and Portugal, only 2 in 5 students are able to access their schools’ online learning opportunities.

• Nearly three quarters of parents (73%) say they would support the European standards for teaching digital skills, while 85% state digital literacy should be a key learning objective at school.

A thousand people from each country

The study, conducted by the Vodafone Foundation in cooperation with IPSOS Germany, included Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Turkey, and the United Kingdom. The study, in which 1,000 people from each country participated, surveyed a total of 10,000 parents of elementary, middle, and high school students between February 23 and March 16, 2023.

Click here to access the Türkiye Report of the parental survey on children’s digital skills: https://img-vdfcdn.mncdn.com/medyamerkezi/pdf/2307/19/vodafone_parents_survey_turkey-rev.pdf