Dans Álvarez de Sotomayor Isabel (Espana)
Abal Alonso Nuria (Espana) Verea García Natalia (Espana)
Sections:
Ethical Aspects of Children's Interaction with AI;
Professions of the Future: New Competencies and Skills for the Younger Generation;
Creating Children's Digital Content: Modern Approaches and Technologies;
Abstract
Children grow up surrounded by digital technologies from their earliest years, placing new demands on early childhood educators. Understanding what future teachers need in order to educate children in a digital world is essential for designing coherent and effective initial teacher education programmes. The DigCompEdu framework (Redecker, 2017) identifies six key areas for teachers’ professional digital competence, yet there is still limited empirical evidence on how these competences evolve during initial training and which needs pre-service teachers perceive as most urgent.
This study aims to analyse the attitudes, perceptions, and training needs of prospective early childhood teachers regarding Digital Competence, with particular attention to the requirements they identify to support young children’s learning and development in digital environments. A longitudinal research design was implemented with a cohort of first-year students enrolled in a Spanish Early Childhood Education degree. Over six academic years, a total of 464 pre-service teachers completed online questionnaires and a diagnostic test of Teacher Digital Competence (MRCDD, 2022). Data were collected and analysed to examine trends in attitudes, perceived competence, and self-reported needs throughout the training period. Findings indicate that pre-service early childhood teachers show consistently positive attitudes towards educational technologies, especially in areas related to communication and collaboration. However, participants identified persistent needs in the creation and use of digital resources, digital assessment strategies, and in the ability to guide young children’s emerging digital competence. These needs remained stable across the six years, suggesting that current training programmes do not fully address the pedagogical integration of digital technologies. The evidence highlights that positive attitudes are not sufficient. Future teachers require structured, pedagogically grounded preparation that connects technology with meaningful early childhood learning experiences. Strengthening initial teacher education is essential to equip educators with the competences needed to support children effectively in the digital age.
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