Greek preschool teachers’ readiness to teach online at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact around the world and has drastically changed the field of education. In addition to instructional materials, new technologies enabled access to new learning environments. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted some significant disparities between conventional information and communication technologies (ICTs) included in teacher training curricula in Greece and the new software required for remote learning and teaching. Thus, the study presented here aimed to examine the mobilisation of in-service teachers and their readiness to address teaching challenges while delivering online lessons. Online questionnaires were distributed to 110 in-service preschool teachers. The study aimed to answer four research questions about teachers’ ICT knowledge and the ways in which they used technology for work purposes, as well as the difficulties they encountered while teaching online. Evaluation of the data resulted in three main findings: (1) holding an ICT training certificate did not have a significant impact on the implementation of new technologies in distance education; (2) support from local education authorities was an important factor of the transition to online teaching; and (3) Greek teachers did not feel fully prepared to teach online.

The views of preschool teachers on the contribution of ICT in Environmental Education

“…Notably, 93 out of 105 teachers use ICT in the teaching process. However, these results contrast with findings showing that 110 preschool teachers, despite holding a relevant certificate, need more preparation to teach using ICT (Tympa et al, 2023).…”

Preschool teachers' perceptions of preschool education during Covid-19 in Greece: a diary-interview study

“…Significant problems with the implementation of ERT in preschool classrooms have been reported in a number of Greek studies as well as the international literature for teachers, children and parents alike. Prominent issues reported by Greek preschool teachers include lack of training and insufficient technological skills (Foti, 2020;Apostolou & Lavidas, 2021;Markaki & Kostas, 2022;Dadatsi & Koukouriki, 2022;Gkoros & Papageorgiou, 2023;Apostolou, 2023;Tympa et al, 2023), difficulties in developing appropriate materials for online learning in a limited period of time (Foti, 2020;Chalari & Charonitis, 2022;Markaki & Kostas, 2022;Nikolopoulou, 2022), the inability of ERT to meet children's emotional and educational needs (Apostolou, 2022(Apostolou, , 2023Gkoros & Papageorgiou, 2023) and the lack of internet and technological equipment in preschools and children's homes (Markaki & Kostas, 2022;Nikolopoulou, 2022;Gkoros & Papageorgiou, 2023;Apostolou, 2023).…”