Digitalization in kindergartens in Lithuania: trends and implications for teachers' professional development
| Date | Start Page | End Page |
|---|---|---|
2022 | 127 | 127 |
The aim of the research was to analyze what are new trends in the application of digital tools in kindergartens and whether these new trends create challenges for teachers' professional development. In Lithuania there have been little studies focused on digital media in early childhood education. Čėsnaitė and Bagdonas (2014) analyzed the benefits of ICT for pre-school children's cognitive development. Kelpšienė (2020) investigated how augmented reality is applied in pre-school education. The study based on the theory of mediatisation was conducted in the framework of the EU project "I'm not a robot" to reveal Lithuanian teachers' attitudes towards the use of digital tools in kindergarten education. The quantitative, pragmatic paradigm based research approach and a survey design was chosen to attain the aim of the study because it helps disclose the attitude of teachers towards digitalization practices in kindergartens in Lithuania. We refined and used the questionnaire developed by Helen Knauf (2019). Teachers' survey was conducted online following the ethics of research in accordance with the principles of reliability, confidentiality and integrity. The study will present the current status of availability and aplicability of digital media and AI in kindergarten sector. The research findings also reveal how digital media is integrated into pedagogical practice of teachers in the classroom. The study will raise a debate whether current situation indicates new trends of digitalization in kindergarten and pre-school education and whether these trends implicate arising needs for teachers’ professional development in the field.