EXPRESSION OF THE DIGITAL COMPETENCE OF PRESCHOOL TEACHERS

The society and processes that take place in it are constantly renewed and modernized, digital devices, which not only facilitate the educational process and its course but also pose certain challenges, are included in various activities. The current digital evolution has significantly changed people’s lifestyle, including children’s lifestyle, their access to information, peculiarities of communication and teaching/learning. Preschool age children are already familiar with certain digital devices before starting to attend a preschool institution, consequently, they bring their values and attitudes when they come to kindergarten. In the digital world, the teacher must improve and be prepared for the challenges he/she faces, because changing, taking interest, communicating and finding solutions in the educational process that meet the child’s needs must take place on a constant basis. At the international and national level, various programmes and systems have been developed that make it easier for the teacher to self-assess the aspects of his/her digital competence as an educator, assess his/her opportunities, areas for improvement and the like. In this context, targeted research is needed to reveal the actual expression of the digital competence of preschool teachers, which includes the following areas of skills/competences: information and data literacy, communication and collaboration, digital content development, security, problem solving. In this context, a problem research question is formulated: how does digital competence manifest itself in the professional activity of a preschool teacher?Aim of the research – to reveal the expression of the digital competence of preschool teachers. Research techniques. In order to reveal the expression of the digital competence of preschool teachers, a quantitative research strategy was chosen and a questionnaire survey was conducted. The study involved 68 preschool teachers from various educational institutions of Lithuania.Research methods: theoretical – literature analysis; empirical – quantitative research (questionnaire survey of teachers); statistical – statistical analysis of the obtained data. Key results of the research: the empirical research has shown that teachers’ digital competences are the most strongly reflected in the following areas: information and data literacy, communication and collaboration, digital content development, security, and the expression of digital competencies is the weakest in problem solving. The results of the research also revealed that the administration of the preschool education institution contributes to the expression of digital competences through cooperation, preparation of/sending to training sessions and seminars, stimulates interest in the latest research and, if necessary and possible, provides groups with digital resources. The teacher’s digital competences and their expression are directly related to quality standards in the preschool educational institution, because it is necessary to be able to use digital resources properly in every activity. Not only must the teacher be able to collect and store information properly, but in doing so he/she must choose the appropriate methods and tools, solve problems, if necessary, and at the same time teach and learn, and follow the prevailing trends in society.