The Need for Professional Development Program in Creating Digital Storybooks among In-Service Early Childhood Education (ECE) Teachers

Abstract

This study intends to identify the need for a professional development (PD) program among in-service early childhood education (ECE) teachers in creating digital storybooks. This study employs an explanatory sequential design, also known as a mixed-methods research design. In the first phase, the survey questionnaires were sent to 118 in-service ECE teachers who teach preschoolers. In the second phase, a semi-structured interview was conducted with teachers to understand their response in the first phase and whether PD is needed for them. The findings showed that teachers are aware of digital storybooks, with 68.7% preferring to use digital storybooks to teach stories, 69.5% to teach literacy and 60.2% to teach science and mathematics. Qualitatively, these preferences were understood when teachers revealed during the interview that the digital storybooks tend to engage preschoolers in the lesson, encouraging self-learning and increasing parental involvement. It was observed that 89 (75.4%) of the teachers have not used any web-based tool to create digital storybooks. This led to the next finding, which demonstrated that 94.1% of ECE teachers revealed that they need PD to create digital storybooks. Teachers believed that PD would increase their confidence to learn new skills, foster digital skills, and improve teaching & learning strategies. This study implies that a training program for creating digital storybooks is essential to enhance the level of PD, and it should be implemented without hindrances.