Examining the Relationship between Pre-service Early Childhood Teachers' Digital Competence, Technology Use, and Technology Self-Efficacy

Abstract

Objectives The purpose of this study is to explore the effects of pre-service early childhood teachers' digital competence, technology use, and technology self-efficacy. Methods To achieve the purpose of this study, a survey was conducted among 214 pre-service early childhood teachers in Seoul, Gyeonggi, and Chungcheong, and 201 of the collected questionnaires were used as research data. The collected questionnaire data were subjected to correlation analysis and regression analysis using SPSS 23.0 program. Results The results of the study are as follows. First, there were differences in the digital competence, technology self-efficacy, and technology use of pre-service early childhood teachers according to the type of school, and differences in digital competence according to whether they received digital utilization education and ethics education. Second, technology self-efficacy of pre-service early childhood teachers was highly positively correlated with digital competence, and low positively correlated with technology use. Third, pre-service teachers' time spent on technology, digital pedagogy, and digital citizenship were found to influence their technology self-efficacy. Conclusions It is significant that this study provides a basis for the direction of pre-service early childhood teachers' technology self-efficacy and digital competence.