DIGITAL COMPETENCE OF A PRESCHOOL EDUCATOR AS A CONDITION FOR ENSURING THE QUALITY OF PRESCHOOL EDUCATION

Abstract

The article substantiates the importance of preschool educators’ mastery of digital competence as a significant condition for ensuring and improving the quality of preschool education. The analysis of psychological and pedagogical literature makes it possible to consider the digital competence of a preschool educator as an integrated, personally valuable, and multi-component construct based on future educators’ acquisition of a set of knowledge, abilities, and skills related to the use of information and communication technologies in preschool education institutions, as well as the transformation of acquired information into pedagogical activities with infants and preschool-aged children.
It is emphasized that the modern model of preschool education in Ukraine is focused on the comprehensive development of a life-competent child’s personality, the realization of children’s creative abilities, and the formation of their psychophysical readiness for life in today’s information society. The digitalization of preschool education is viewed as the integration of digital tools, services, information technologies, and media resources into the educational process of preschool institutions in order to ensure high-quality education, expand its opportunities, and modernize the content, methods, and forms of interaction between educators, children, and parents.
It is emphasized that distance education for preschool-aged children is not merely a temporary solution in emergency situations, but an important component of the core educational process in preschool institutions. It should be used for individual work with children, corrective support, the implementation of inclusive education, and interaction with parents.
The conditions for the effective implementation of ICT technologies in the educational process of preschool institutions are highlighted, the requirements for educators regarding the organization of distance learning for preschool-aged children are revealed, and pedagogical principles are characterized, including an individual approach, consideration of age characteristics, ensuring psychological comfort, emotional support, and others.
The article presents the experience of the Faculty of Preschool Education of H. S. Skovoroda Kharkiv National Pedagogical University in developing future preschool educators’ digital competencies and outlines ways to improve this process.