Informatization of Early Childhood Education: the EU Experience

Abstract

Informatization of early childhood education in the EU occurs in the context of the use of ICT as a means of sharing experiences, practices in the education and training of preschool children, communication, both at the national level and locally - within educational institutions, as a means of document management, search, data processing and information for the management of early childhood educational institutions, and planning activities for these institutions. This article aims to identify the features of the informatization of early childhood education in EU countries. Results. The countries of the EU have different levels of workload on the staff of early childhood education institutions, which is caused by different numbers of preschoolers and workforce. The greatest load on the staff in France due to a large number of preschoolers, which, despite the reduction, remained the highest among all the countries. By comparison, Poland's significant workload is mitigated by the size of its workforce. With almost equal numbers of staff in Poland and Germany, the countries differ significantly in the number of preschoolers. The countries also have different funding mechanisms for early childhood education, which determines the potential for digitalization. In France, total spending on early childhood education has grown the least (by 11 % between 2012 and 2018), in Poland by 51 %, in the Czech Republic by 44 %, and in Germany by 49%. In France, 100 % is funded by the government, in Poland 78 % is funded by the government, in the Czech Republic and Germany 87 % and 85 % respectively is funded by the government. The results of the survey of teachers' training in the use of ICTs and the level of specialists' readiness to use them in their studies indicate a mismatch between education and the practice of using technology. At the same time, given the high level of professional training of teachers in the use of technology in education, a low level of practice of ICT use in teaching preschool children was revealed. Teachers require professional development of ICT skills.