RESEARCH ARTICLE
Comparing the Digital Literacy of Early Childhood Teachers by Personal Background Characteristics
Eun-young Kim1 , Dong-re Kim1*
Correspondence to kdr2210@hanmail.net
Brain, Digital, & Learning. Volume 11, Number 4, 673–684, December 2021. https://doi.org/10.31216/BDL.20210043
Received on December 2, 2021, Revised on December 13, 2021, Accepted on December 21, 2021, Published on December 31, 2021.
Copyright © 2021. Institute of Brain based Education, Korea National University of Education This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract
This study investigates where there is a difference in digital literacy according to the background characteristics of early childhood teachers. To this end, data from 208 teachers, kindergartens, and daycare centers in Gwangju and South Jeolla Province were analyzed, and multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was conducted to determine the difference in digital literacy according to individuals’ background characteristics. The results revealed that the teacher group aged 31 to 35 years was high in all three sub-factors of digital literacy (Computer, Information, and Knowledge). Additionally, as per differences in terms of career, the teacher group with more than ten years of experience had a high level of computer and information literacy, while that with less than one year of experience demonstrated the highest degree of knowledge literacy. Lastly, there was no difference in digital literacy by the type of institution (whether a kindergarten or a daycare center). This study proposes customized digital literacy education and support measures for early childhood teachers for the future.
Keywords
Child care and education, digital literacy, teacher education