The reflection strengthens the theoretical discussion on the role of innovations in the higher education system, as a fact that emanates from the need of the group to be trained to face social demands. Its purpose lies in the possibility of understanding how the incorporation of modern information and communication technology tools have had an impact on the development of educational practices at this level. It is located within the interpretative paradigm, with a qualitative approach and the use of hermeneutics as a methodical tradition that enables the review of various theorists associated with technological innovations applied to the educational field, and the initiatives implemented from the official instances and the university dependencies. The results indicate that the innovative elements promoted have not been applied by educational actors, who have taken refuge in their traditional practices, not fully using these tools to promote changes that benefit the collective as a whole.

Keywords: innovation, educational innovation, technology change, higher education

Each society defines the guiding principles of the educational process in accordance with the ideal of nation that predominates in the collective imagination, aligned with the implementation of a national project that finds in education the tool to train its citizens in the area of ​​skills and in the affective-spiritual; considering the way in which the collective understands education in accordance with its expectations; according to Guedez¹ the historical process of every society includes education as one of its most important elements, for which it forms its pedagogical project, whose praxis is educational technology.

In this line of thought, education is not only a philosophical, political, and social fact inherent in the ideals and ways of thinking prevalent within a given society, it is also technology; understood as those resources that will prevail when operationalizing a didactic practice for the formation of an individual capable of building the type of human development that is aspired to, in accordance with the challenges and demands of the increasingly demanding current reality worldwide.

Consequently, the central purpose of the study is to understand, from the review of the theoretical precepts that explain the development of higher education, how the introduction of certain technological tools allows for the promotion of educational innovations and changes that respond to the need to standardize learning processes with the evolution of society itself, understanding "Educational Technology" as the systematic application of scientific knowledge for problem-solving.

Methodological perspective

The reflection corresponds to the interpretive paradigm that, according to the Libertador Experimental Pedagogical University,³ interprets the existing conditions or relationships, the practices, beliefs, points of view and current attitudes, the processes, or the trends that are developing, which have to do with the level of development of innovative practices, in accordance with current social requirements and demands.

The approach is qualitative, which according to Ramírez³ focuses on the meanings of human actions and social life, seeking to identify the deep nature of realities, their dynamic structure, that which gives full reason for their behavior and manifestations, focusing, in this case, on determining the significance of the innovative attempts that have been promoted in the higher education system.

We work with hermeneutics, conceived the ability to interpret texts, as defined by Gadamer,⁴ constitutes the process that allows for the universalization of interpretive capacity from a personal and specific historical perspective. This paper reflects on the described topic from the viewpoints of various theorists regarding the scope of technology applied to the educational context, in relation to initiatives developed in recent years.

Porco⁵ defines technology as the set of knowledge and techniques applied systematically to achieve a specific objective or solve a problem; it is a response to humankind's desire to transform the environment and improve quality of life. Along the same lines, ECLAC⁶ conceives of technological development as the ultimate foundation of long-term economic growth, where the Latin American and Caribbean region remains structurally behind. In this same vein, the need to align innovation policies with the advancement of scientific and technological initiatives is considered essential, a task that must involve the efforts of private companies, government officials, and academic sectors.

Educational innovation, from EDUCO's⁷ perspective, is not simply about applying new technologies in the classroom, but about implementing a novel way of teaching. Consequently, it involves using practices that transform and improve teaching and learning processes. This potential is currently hampered by certain weaknesses or gaps, namely:

1. The rigidity in the structuring of educational systems.
2. Difficulties in implementing innovations due to shortcomings in teacher training.
3. Lack of coordination among those responsible for its implementation.
4. Budget shortages, among other things.

Despite these difficulties, it is hard to deny how educational practices have been changing with the progressive incorporation of technologies in the context of implementing these innovations. In this regard, Pérez Olivares⁸ points out some indicators that support this reality, in relation to the new options and advances that the introduction of these tools has fostered in the field of educational process development, namely:

1. The possibility of attending class from anywhere.
2. The consolidation of learning from experience.
3. more inclusive education.
4. Individualized student monitoring.
5. More direct communication within the educational community.
6. The student sets their own learning pace.
7. Potential of students' digital skills.

This reality underscores the need to accelerate initiatives to transform educational processes. In this regard, UNESCO (2021) has developed a diagnosis revealing that the current global education system is not prepared to address the alarming challenges facing humanity or to provide quality learning that prepares students for life. Therefore, it is crucial to rethink how and where we learn, as the turning point is now; it is time to change education. In this sense, UNESCO proposes the need to work on this transformation in the following areas:

1. Inclusive, equitable, safe and healthy schools.
2. Learning and skills for life, work and sustainable development.
3. Teachers, teaching, and the teaching profession.
4. Learning and digital transformations.
5. Education funding.

In this context, the much-needed educational transformation is conceived from UNESCO's perspective (2022, p. 1):⁹ "It is about ensuring that people are equipped with the knowledge, skills, and values ​​that will help them not only to succeed but also to contribute to making our world a better place." Under this premise, concepts such as change, reform, and innovation must become the guiding principles of the educational practices of all stakeholders, supported by the effective use of the technological tools available to us in this era of digitalization.

New technologies have gained prominence in educational institutions at all levels, and following their abrupt closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they became an indispensable tool for sustaining activity under a remote work model. In this context, the health emergency accelerated a process of digital transformation at the university level that had been developing moderately for several decades. Hence the imperative priority of training educational personnel—cognitively, operationally, and affectively—in the mastery and systematic application of modern communication and information tools, in order to address the shortcomings and incapacities of current educational systems and to be able to counteract the crises and imbalances facing humanity, as proposed by organizations such as UNESCO and ECLAC.

Representation of Innovation in the University Educational Imaginary

Innovation plays a crucial role in the design of higher education curricula. It translates into the opportunity to continuously update the various components of the system by introducing novel ideas and resources that challenge established practices. This fosters a persistent sense of change as a strategy to maintain the focus of interest among stakeholders in the process, cultivating positive expectations regarding the possibility of incorporating new elements that streamline procedures and refine the very concept of education.

ThereforeIn higher education, changes affecting a system (legislation, curriculum, structure) can be considered innovations; however, not all of them are educational, because they do not always serve the purpose of advancing towards human being and vocation. Consequently, for an innovation to be educational, it must necessarily involve changes in the style of thinking and action of the people who are directly or indirectly linked to it.

From this perspective, innovation in education is seen as a complex phenomenon that is not limited to the implementation of a novel action, but rather connotes a substantial impact where the existing framework of human thought and action is profoundly affected, fostering significant changes in the practices of different educational stakeholders. In Poggi's view (2011), the term "innovation" necessarily implies a qualitative assessment, given that it generally carries a positive connotation.

The Position of Educational Actors Regarding the Needs for Innovation in Higher Education

The educational actors in the process are obliged to embrace innovation as their guiding principle, starting with the State as the entity responsible for designing macro educational policies, university campuses from their autonomous perspectives, and teachers, students, and the organized community; all as potential agents of change, must incorporate some level of innovation into their daily practices to promote the internalization of transformation as a necessity to overcome ideas and procedures that are out of step with the times of change we are experiencing.

Starting from that premise, changing the existing state of affairs is not an easy task; human beings by nature resist it, either because they do not want to abandon the comfortable spaces they enjoy, because they fear not being prepared to assume the new procedures, or because of ideological-political disagreement; they simply question it in order not to put it into practice, at the risk of maintaining an anachronistic circumstance that no longer responds to the purposes of the common good.

From this perspective, Camargo¹⁰ argues that the changes driven by innovative action cannot be reduced to structural modifications for the redistribution and reorganization of the organization; it is necessary to achieve deeper qualitative changes in the way of thinking and acting of all those involved in the process, materialized through strategic mechanisms and the planning of appropriate, deliberate and systematized processes.

The Social Impact of Scientific Research as a Strategy for Promoting Innovation in Higher Education

The integration of innovation across all levels of higher education goes hand in hand with the processes of scientific knowledge construction. In this context, research becomes the essential activity for every member of the university community, particularly in teaching and academic-administrative management, through a performance aligned with the very purpose of higher education institutions: to foster change as a guiding principle in the search for solutions and responses to societal demands. Research is about producing, innovating, transforming, and evolving; it represents a permanent commitment to eradicating from educational practices phenomena so contrary to their transformative essence as stagnation, anachronism, outdatedness, and, ultimately, backwardness.

Within the theoretical review of the functioning of university education, the prevailing conception in research products is highlighted, conceived as a tool for building innovative knowledge and its relevance to the demands of the social environment.According to Cuello and Vizcaya¹¹ scientific research is conducted to further develop theories that lead to qualitative and quantitative improvements in our understanding of human beings: their attitudes, aptitudes, values, principles, and behaviors. Consequently, the results of scientific research should be useful for applying knowledge aimed at the physical and mental well-being of individuals, who are likely to be impacted by it as it holistically improves their living conditions. Therefore, scientific production is linked to the interest in increasing the hierarchy, culture, power, and even independence of human beings at their various levels of activity.

In this context, diagnoses have been made in different university settings regarding the productivity and impact of research processes in concrete reality. In many cases, the results are not encouraging, as the tangible evidence of university research experiences is scarcely perceived in the reality of Latin American countries. Regarding the concrete achievements fostered by universities, there are few references to them. That is, beyond the theorization and scientific rationalization of the problems addressed by academia, the innovative products generated from these centers of knowledge are not visible, and many of these reflections never even transcend the walls of the institutions where they are generated.

In this regard, it is perceived thatThe results of these efforts are sometimes impractical, merely fostering theoretical reflections detached from the pressing problems affecting the population and disconnected from the development strategies or priorities of different countries. It is evident that the driving force behind research in university institutions is the formal fulfillment of institutional academic obligations, translated into achieving a promotion or obtaining a specific postgraduate degree. This situation stems from the lack of mechanisms for integrating research findings into concrete reality, beyond their dissemination through scientific publications.¹²

Current State of the Innovation and Change Process in Higher Education

The change, according to Perez¹³ it is a type of phenomenon in which some more or less planned alteration always occurs at different levels. For example, from a strictly descriptive perspective, when we speak of "changes in the education system" or "changes in the methodology used in the classroom," it means that the change affects all actors in the process. In line with UNESCO's five lines of action, in recent decades innovative initiatives have been launched in higher education at different scales to foster the qualitative leap that has been demanded in the Latin American region: the design of new curricular models and educational laws, joint financing processes between the State and private capital, transformation of the system's structures, provision of computer equipment, creation of new university institutions in fields historically underrepresented in traditional training programs, and the creation of awards and recognition for talent and scientific entrepreneurship, among other actions.

So, what has been the real impact of these innovative initiatives? From a quantitative perspective, the progress has been significant: in some countries, illiteracy has disappeared and school dropout rates have decreased, the enrolled population has increased, access to university education has been democratized, new study programs have emerged, and training opportunities have increased through blended and online learning modalities. However, on a qualitative level, the result does not appear to be so favorable, judging by the skills that students demonstrate in the cognitive and procedural domains, the resistance of teachers to modify their teaching practices, maintaining traditional conceptions despite having, in many cases, the necessary technological tools to foster transformations, as well as the resistance of communities to get involved through the organizational modalities established in educational legislation.

According Schmelkes¹⁴ argues that change drives risk (the dynamic interaction between possibility and probability that results in either loss or gain). Innovation requires a greater commitment to continuously identify the needs of individuals, leading to transformative practice, that is, gradual renewal. Given this theoretical position and the contrasting reality described above, it is inevitable to express concern that the innovations designed have not brought about the desired qualitative leap. This raises the question: How can an innovation be implemented so that it truly fosters educational change? For Angulo¹⁵ innovation means generating something new, and this novelty is then introduced and assimilated by someone.

The problem lies in the difficulty of operationalizing this premise in the current reality. The innovative elements have not been assimilated by the actors in the process, who have opted to maintain their traditional practices, missing the opportunity to use novel tools to promote significant changes that would benefit society. The concept of innovation is highly polysemous, being identified and differentiated according to the actors involved. This necessitates assigning innovations a sense of authenticity and originality according to their specific circumstances and in harmony with external processes.

It is perceived that sometimes innovations, far from being incorporated through the awareness of the actors responsible for their dissemination, are guided by certain imposing attitudes under the ignorance of their scope within the collective, given that every need for change stems from the conviction of those interested about the convenience of its implementation for the achievement of common objectives and updating of procedures, as De la Torre¹⁶ states, implementing an innovation implies promoting a deliberate type of change.^17–19

In the current circumstances, it is essential to raise awareness among our students and teachers at the higher education level about the value of Information and Communication Technologies as tools linked to the design of learning strategies. A true educational change is inconceivable without incorporating current technological innovations to promote the development of novel pedagogical and didactic practices, aimed at training citizens capable of using these technologies to solve the problems that reality presents in today's digitalized world. Consequently, the aim is to train people in the use of information and communication technologies as educational resources to foster, as Fullan (1982) suggests, a process of implementing new ideas, programs, or sets of activities with an attention to or expectation of change. This task requires the participation of public initiatives that make it clear that change in education is not an option but an urgent necessity, coupled with a collective awareness of the need to understand that the responsibility for innovation and educational change is a commitment we all share. Societies progressing towards stages of social well-being are based on the awareness their population has developed regarding the rejection of anachronism as a way of life, recognizing that this would mean accepting the material and spiritual impoverishment of human coexistence. In this context, innovation becomes a tool for the relentless pursuit of technological updating in all areas, with an emphasis on education. This is a necessary condition for achieving the quality standards set by the governing body of educational policies worldwide – UNESCO. This is crucial for verifying educational transformation as the epicenter of the structural change demanded by the current world, given the critical circumstances it faces and the expectations for change that the global population continues to yearn for, especially in the post-pandemic era, which is marked by its aftermath and renewed expectations for collective well-being.

None.

The author delcares there is no conflicto of interest.

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