School Culture and Digital Technologies: Educational Practices at Universities within the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic

The pandemic caused by COVID-19 led schools to continue their work by relying on digital technologies. Changes in this matter are observed within three dimensions in the theoretical and conceptual background: (a) the influence of ITC in education, (b) the macrosocial changes in the educational systems and public policy derived from the COVID-19 pandemic, and (c) the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in higher education and its role for the future. The general objective of this research was to characterize the educational practices executed by the university community (students, professors, and managers) during the emerging remote classes derived from the pandemic at the Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana, Cuajimalpa Campus, a public educational institution in Mexico (through an explanation for each educational actor profile). As specific research objectives, this paper: (a) examines whether the professors and students had enough digital technology to continue with the classes, (b) defines the obstacles they had in the use of said digital technology, and (c) recognizes the existence of innovative educational practices and determines whether stated learning was achieved in educational programs. For this purpose, a mixed methodology was chosen, comprising the application of surveys to students and professors and semi-structured interviews with managers, professors, and students. It was found that there was innovation in the area of resources (material–economic dimension) and in the area of relationships (socio-political dimension), while the discursive dimension (cultural-discursive dimension) was negatively impacted. Based on the above, we conclude that the school culture of the UAM-C is solid and that it has the necessary technological resources to continue with the teaching–learning process. The educational practice was transformed, which resulted in advantages and disadvantages, but despite these situations, most students developed their learning.