1. the necessity and purpose of research
The core competencies required in the era of the 4th Industrial Revolution emphasize critical thinking, problem solving, creativity, communication, and cooperation, and are required to have the ability to creat ...
1. the necessity and purpose of research
The core competencies required in the era of the 4th Industrial Revolution emphasize critical thinking, problem solving, creativity, communication, and cooperation, and are required to have the ability to creatively organize classes using digital technologies in response to these changes
With the revision to the play-centered and young child-centered early childhood education curriculum in 2019, the method of education using various digital media and content is emphasized, so teachers' digital competencies are further emphasized to meaningfully realize young children's learning.
However, since the current teacher curriculum has limitations in that there are no systematic teacher curriculum contents or specific guidelines for the curriculum to use digital technology, it is necessary to clarify digital competencies and organize teacher curriculum suitable for each competency.
In this study, first, we will suggest a digital competency model for early childhood teachers and develop a diagnostic tool that can measure the digital competency of early childhood teachers by extracting competency indicators for digital competency diagnosis. Second, based on the developed digital competency model, the digital technology-centered teacher curriculum will be designed step by step to strengthen teacher’s digital competency.
2. Research details
1) In the first year study, the digital competency of early childhood teachers is conceptualized, digital competency groups and sub-competency indicators are extracted, and diagnostic tools are proposed focusing on them.
2) In the second year study, the curriculum for competency strengthening is designed, focusing on the digital competency indicators conducted in the first year study.
3. Research method
The literatures related to digital competency, expert delphi survey for development of digital competency models and indicators, expert advisory meetings for digital competency models and diagnostic testing tools and curriculum design, and expert evaluation for digital-centered teacher curriculum design
4. Research results
In the first year study, the digital competency of early childhood teachers was conceptualized, digital competency groups and sub-competency indicators were extracted, and diagnostic indicators were developed and verified based on them. In order to extract digital competency indicators, an expert Delphi survey was conducted three times, and the final 5 competency groups and 24 sub-competency indicators were derived. The five competency groups are digital media understanding and utilization competencies, digital content understanding and management competencies, digital-based play and activity support competencies, digital-based communication competencies, and digital ethics competencies.
In the second study, a survey was conducted on early childhood teachers using the digital competency diagnosis indicators developed in the first year, and the importance of early childhood teachers' digital competency indicators was analyzed through the survey. The digital competency group with the highest importance was ‘the digital ethics competency’ and the competency group with the lowest importance was ‘the understand and manage digital content competency’.
As a result of analyzing the current level of digital competency group of early childhood teachers, the highest competency group was ‘the digital ethics competency’ and the lowest competency group was ‘the digital content understanding and management competency’. As a result of data analysis, early childhood teachers recognized ‘the digital ethics competency’ as the most important and the current level was high, whereas ‘the digital content understanding and management competency’ was the least important and the current level was the lowest.
As a result of analyzing the level of the importance of early childhood teachers on digital sub-competency indicators, ‘the understanding and complying with netiquette competency’, ‘the personal information protection competency’, ‘the copyright understanding and compliance competency’, while low importance level competencies were ‘the technical problem solving competency’, ‘the digital content production competency’, and ‘the digital-based teacher learning community activities and operations competency’. In terms of the current level of digital sub-competencies, the level of ‘the personal information protection competency’, ‘the copyright understanding and compliance competency’ is high, while the level of ‘the technical problem solving competency’, and ‘the digital content creation competency’ is low.
Due to the importance of digital competency and the current level, the competency with high educational needs was ‘the digital content creation’, and the competency with low educational needs was ‘the personal information protection’ and ‘the copyright understanding and compliance’.
As a result of data analysis, early childhood teachers had a relatively high importance and current level of ‘the digital ethics competency’, so the degree of demand for education was not higher than that of other competencies. However, ‘the digital content understanding and management competency’, especially ‘the digital content creation competency’ was found to have a high educational need, the educational content of the designing and developing digital content should be considered when designing educational programs.
Based on the digital competency group, the teacher curriculum design can be divided into five main areas: digital media understanding and utilization, digital content understanding and management, digital-based play and activity support, digital-based communication, and digital ethics. Each area consists of three levels, and the first level recognizes the contents of the area as a basic step and acquires basic knowledge and skills. Level 2 is a development step, and the focus is on applying the contents of step 1 to the class. The last level 3 means applying and spreading the contents learned at the first and second levels to various class situations as an in-depth stage to various class situations.
There are three curriculums to strengthen the digital competency of early childhood teachers. Understanding and utilizing digital media and content, supporting digital-based play and activities and communication, and digital ethics and attitudes. Each content is classified into 1 to 3 levels, and has a structure that allows content to be selected and learned according to the competency level of early childhood teachers.
The first education content is to train the competency of early childhood teachers to accurately understand the types and characteristics of digital media and content and to effectively utilize digital technologies suitable for class content.
The second educational content aims to train teacher skills that can properly utilize various digital technologies in play-oriented early childhood education to help young children experience various play activities happily and safely. In particular, the focus is on integrating various digital technologies in young children play activities and sharing the experiences of digital technology-based play activities through communication with young children, teachers, and parents.
The third educational content is related to digital ethics and attitudes. The purpose is to develop the competency to accurately understand digital ethics and practice digital ethics in educational situations so that early childhood teachers can use and practice digital technology correctly. To this end, it is necessary to organize contents on personal information protection, copyright, digital addiction, and digital citizenship, and share practice cases to understand the importance and direction of ethics in the future digital society.
5. Research results utilization plan
The results presented in this study can spread positive perceptions of digital competency and provide appropriate digital education opportunities according to the teacher's competency level. In addition, the digital competency-based teacher curriculum design includes educational information that can be used and operated based on knowledge and functions of digital technology, providing basic information for establishing and operating professional teacher curriculum.
The digital competency of early childhood teachers is an essential factor for the development of teachers' expertise suitable for a digital-based society. In order to train convergent capabilities suitable for a digital-centered society, an educational support environment should be provided to train digital technology utilization skills in school education, and teachers' digital competency education program should be strengthened and spread to achieve effective digital education purposes. In this dimension, if a teacher curriculum plan focused on digital competency is established and a specific operation plan is prepared, it will be able to contribute to establishing an education system for the development of teacher expertise.