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487
Stepić, G. et al. (2023). The impact of the application of the online teaching model on the development of digital competencies
of future preschool teachers, International Journal of Cognitive Research in Science, Engineering and Education (IJCRSEE),
11(3), 487-495.
Introduction
“Whether or not computers will enrich the learning environment of preschool children depends on
the knowledge, skills and attitudes of preschool teachers. Colleges and universities for the education
of future educators play an important role in providing opportunities for students to acquire appropriate
knowledge, skills and positive attitudes towards the use of computers in preschool education” (Kutluca
and Gokalp, 2011). In addition to compulsory and elective courses in the eld of digital competence
development attended at college / university, the indirect development of digital competence through
various courses in which digital technologies are used to achieve the outcomes of these courses is of
growing importance.
Kalogiannakis (2010) indicates that there is a gap between the ICT subjects attended by future
preschool teachers at the university and the expected level of ICT use in the environment of preschool
education, and points out that adequate education of future preschool teachers during their studies is
of crucial importance for the application of digital technology in preschool. Shortcomings in the use of
digital technologies found in preschool are determined by the following factors: study plans and training of
trainers (Romero-Tena et al., 2020). This is in line with the opinion of preschool teachers who recognize the
educational level and training in the eld of digital technology as the most important factors inuencing the
application of digital technology in practice (Liu and Pange, 2015), and believe that they need additional
training in this eld during their professional development (Mikelić Preradović, Lešin and Boras, 2017).
The Impact of the Application of rhe Online Teaching Model on the
Development of Digital Competencies of Future Preschool Teachers
Gordana Stepić1,3* , Sonja Veličković2 , Olivera Cekić Jovanović3 , Andrijana Miletić3
1State University of Novi Pazar, Department for Philosophy and Arts, Serbia, e-mail: gstepic@np.ac.rs
2Academy of Vocational Studies South Serbia, Department - High school for preschool teachers Bujanovac, Serbia
e-mail: svelickovic..sv@gmail.com
3University of Kragujevac, Faculty of Education in Jagodina, Serbia
e-mail: olivera.cekic@pefja.kg.ac.rs; andrijana.jakovljevic@yahoo.com
Abstract: In this study, the inuence of the application of an online teaching model on the development of digital
cometences of future teachers in preschool institutions was examined. The research that this study deals with was carried out
on a sample consisting of N=125 students of the 3rd year of basic academic and professional studies in the study program
of teacher in preschool institutions. As a research instrument, a ve-point Likert-type scale of attitudes was used. The results
show that there is a statistically signicant difference in the attitudes of future teachers in preschool institutions when it comes
to self-assessment of digital competencies before and after the implementation of online classes during the state of emergency
in Serbia during the Sars-Cov-2 virus pandemic. The conclusion of the study is that the implementation of online teaching in
processing the content of the Methodology of getting to know the environment affects the improvement of the digital competences
of future educators when it comes to: 1) creating digital resources; 2) application of digital technologies in immediate educational
work; 3) the role of digital technologies in professional development. The results of this research can be used to encourage
teachers to step out of the usual pre-pandemic practice and enrich their pedagogical work with combined teaching (hybrid
model) where part of the material would be analyzed in person, and part would be analyzed online using web tools, websites
and videoconferencing applications.
Keywords: digital competences, online teaching, Methodology of teaching science.
Original scientic paper
Received: October 20, 2023.
Revised: December 01, 2023.
Accepted: December 10, 2023.
UDC:
373.2.011.3-051:004
37.018.43:004
10.23947/2334-8496-2023-11-3-487-495
© 2023 by the authors. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the
Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
*Corresponding author: gstepic@np.ac.rs
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Stepić, G. et al. (2023). The impact of the application of the online teaching model on the development of digital competencies
of future preschool teachers, International Journal of Cognitive Research in Science, Engineering and Education (IJCRSEE),
11(3), 487-495.
Training and professional development of educators, preparing them for the process of lifelong
learning (Life Long Learning), monitoring trends and frequent changes in information and communication
technologies is an unavoidable process that cannot be bypassed. The facts and results of research
(published in the world and in our country) that indicate that the introduction of information technology
into the preschool educational system is a response to the needs of children and in the interest of the
child, represent one of the decisive driving factors for the active participation of educators in the process
of integrating information and communication technologies in educational work. This determines the
direction of the development of the program for the professional development of educators in practice,
and certainly of students who are preparing for the profession of educators (Veličković, 2014).
On the other hand, the authors point out the attitudes (and skills) of ICT use as important factors,
which shape their use in the preschool context (McCarrick and Li, 2007). Attitude is considered one of the
decisive factors in predicting an individual’s behavior (Tatalović Vorkapić and Milovanović, 2012). When
it comes to the use of computers in preschool conditions, the attitude towards computers is dened as
a “general assessment of a person or a feeling of acceptance or antipathy towards digital technology
and computer-related activities” (Smith, Caputi and Rawstorne, 2000). Teachers who have more positive
attitudes toward technology tend to integrate technology into their teaching (Marangunic and Granic,
2015). Other authors emphasize the importance of the intention of teachers as a factor that directly affects
the use of digital technology in practice (Gialamas and Nikolopoulou, 2010). The authors also indicate
that, in addition to knowledge and skills, attitudes and intentions, the self-perception of the possibility of
using digital technology in practice by teachers will directly affect their integration (Romero-Tena et al.,
2020). “Psychological context, especially of teachers’ perception, is necessary for understanding the use
of digital technologies in their daily duties” (Wang et al., 2008) since the perceptions that teachers have
about the use of digital technologies can signicantly affect the practice in kindergarten. If teachers believe
digital technologies to be useful, they are more likely to adopt and use them without any difculty (Oldridge,
2008). When a “new pedagogical approach or tool is presented, teachers make value judgments about
whether that approach or tool is relevant to their goals. The more valuable the approach or tool is in their
opinion, the more likely they are to use it” (Ottenbreit-Leftwich et al., 2010). Thus, although two teachers,
after graduation, have the same level of knowledge and skills for the application of digital technologies
in educational practice, positive / negative attitudes of educators and self-assessment will greatly affect
the degree and quality of digital technology use in their future practice. However, if future teachers are
provided with adequate training and practical application of digital technologies during their studies, it is
likely that attitudes towards the use of computers in educational practice and their self-assessments will
be more positive.
Taking into account the above ndings and the situation caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, which
forced higher education institutions around the world to intensify the use of numerous digital tools for
online learning in working with students, we conducted a study that examined and compared the attitudes
of future teachers on self-assessment of digital competencies, before and after the implementation of
online classes during the summer semester 2019/2020.
Online teaching includes intentional and thoughtful support for student learning mediated by
the Internet (Rapanta et al., 2020). Experiences of online learning through distance education can be
asynchronous or synchronous. Asynchronous learning occurs when students can determine their own time
to participate in learning through a variety of digital tools. Students can participate in communication and
complete activities at a time of their choice and learn at their own pace. On the other hand, synchronous
learning activities take place through live video and/or audio conferencing with instant feedback (Kim,
2020). The effectiveness of online learning depends on the designed and prepared learning material, the
engagement of the lecturer in the online environment and the interaction between the lecturer and the
student (Bao, 2020).
The transition from the usual way of working to online teaching, in response to the Covid-19
pandemic, contributed to professors and students nding themselves in a new environment and seeing
the differences between the previous way of working and teaching online, but also to the improvement
of their digital competencies. Online teaching has set new requirements for professors and students:
the use of various digital tools and resources and the application of new approaches in teaching and
learning (König, Jäger-Biela and Glutsch, 2020). However, teaching and learning online is not entirely
new for professors and students. Digitization in schools / universities began even before the pandemic,
and it is reected in, among other things, equipping “schools / universities with appropriate equipment,
striving to include ICT in curricula and giving students the opportunity to use advanced technological
tools and digital resources for creative and innovative problem solving” (Kozma, 2011). The Covid-19
pandemic has accelerated the digital transformation of higher education and introduced innovations in
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Stepić, G. et al. (2023). The impact of the application of the online teaching model on the development of digital competencies
of future preschool teachers, International Journal of Cognitive Research in Science, Engineering and Education (IJCRSEE),
11(3), 487-495.
higher education, which would normally take much longer, immediately after the closure of schools /
universities. The digital transformation has brought several challenges, and one of the main issues is
that it has caused mandatory modications in the attitudes of online teaching administrators, teachers
and students about the importance of the Internet for learning (Kozma, 2011). Research has shown that
current students, as Gen Z representatives, want to learn new skills and gain more experience in the eld
of digital technologies (Kamarianos et al., 2020). Globally, student satisfaction with the organization of
three segments of the teaching process was quite high and almost the same on all continents: for lectures
3.30, tutorials and seminars 3.12, and mentoring 3.20 (Aristovnik et al., 2020). The authors believe that
education, like all other segments of life and work, will never (and many should not) be the same, and
that the crisis will have a lasting impact on learning, innovations and digitization (Aristovnik et al., 2020).
The specicity of the situation in which we found ourselves due to the Covid-19 pandemic put the
issue of digital competencies of students to the forefront, regarding the monitoring and implementation
of online teaching, as well as the level and possibilities for the development of these competencies. Our
interest in this paper is focused on examining the possibility of improving students’ digital competencies
during the implementation of online teaching, indirectly, through the daily use of various digital tools for the
purpose of learning, exchange and communication. Will students, future teachers, after three months of
using digital tools for monitoring, implementation and evaluation of teaching have more positive attitudes
about self-assessment of digital competencies and in which segments?
Materials and Methods
Research aim
The aim of this paper is to recognize the change in the attitudes of future teachers on self-
assessment of digital competencies under the inuence of the implementation of online teaching, during
the spring semester 2019/2020. Specically, it was about reviewing the attitudes of future teachers on the
self-assessment of digital competencies before the implementation of online classes and after the end of
the semester. We wanted to nd out whether there was a change in attitudes about self-assessment of
digital competencies of future teachers under the inuence of online teaching, which included the use of
various web tools for communication and cooperation, creating digital content and its application during
teaching.
The research goal set in this way led to the following research task: Compare attitudes about
digital competencies of future teachers in preschool institutions before and after the application of online
teaching during the emergency situation in Serbia caused by the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, through self-
assessment of digital competencies.
Sample
The research sample consisted of third-year students of basic academic and vocational studies
in the study program for the education of teachers in preschool institutions. The sample included N=125
students (57 respondents were from vocational studies (colleges for education of preschool teachers) and
68 from basic academic studies (study program Teacher in preschool institutions).
Instruments
The research presented in this study is a continuation of the research the results of which are
presented in the paper published by Cekić-Jovanović, Stepić, Miletić (2020). Based on the results pre-
sented in the mentioned published study, as well as on the basis of previously studied literature and
research results of other researchers in the eld of digital competencies and application of educational
technology, for the purposes of this research, a research instrument that was used was an electronic
questionnaire in the form of a ve-point Likert-type scale that examined the attitudes and self-assessment
of digital competence of future teachers in preschool institutions before and after the implementation
of online teaching during the spring semester. This questionnaire was also used by Cekić-Jovanović,
Stepić, Miletić (2020) in their research, and its reliability was assessed by calculating the Cronbach’s α
reliability coefcient which is α = 0,83, α>0,7. The rst part included questions for collecting general data
and information about the respondents (gender of respondents, their achievements in the Educational
Methodology, the Environmental studies methodology, etc.). The second part was a ve-point Likert-
type scale, consisting of 26 statements (items). The statements in the questionnaire were formulated on
the basis of the Rulebook on standards of competence for the vocation of preschool teachers and their
professional development (Ofcial Gazette of RS - Education Gazette, No. 16/2018), which is based on
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Stepić, G. et al. (2023). The impact of the application of the online teaching model on the development of digital competencies
of future preschool teachers, International Journal of Cognitive Research in Science, Engineering and Education (IJCRSEE),
11(3), 487-495.
DigComp 2.1. (Carretero, Vuorikari and Punie, 2017). The formulations of all statements are given in the
study conducted by Cekić-Jovanović, Stepić, Miletić (2020), and they were used in this study as well, with
minor changes.
Procedure
The beginning of the research presented in this paper deals with an initial examination of the
attitudes of future teachers in preschool institutions (students of basic academic and vocational studies
who are part of the study program Teacher in preschool institutions), through self-assessment of digital
competencies before applying online teaching during an extraordinary situation. After the initial research,
the students had online classes within the compulsory subject Environmental studies methodology
for 3 months during the state of emergency in Serbia caused by the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Classes
were mainly realized using the Google Classroom, video conferencing tool Zoom, Moodle platform and
Edpuzzle application for editing interactive video materials. Students received teaching materials through
these websites in the form of texts and video lessons, assignments were given via Google and Moodle
platform, while they interacted with teachers and other students through discussions and analysis of
teaching content via Zoom videoconferencing tool.
The end of the semester and online teaching was followed by the nal examination of the attitudes
of students / future teachers in preschool institutions on the self-assessment of digital competencies after
the application of online teaching during an extraordinary situation. The nal examination of attitudes
included the same research instrument described earlier.
Analysis Procedures
In order to compare the attitudes of future teachers in preschool institutions, it was rst necessary
to examine the normality of the distribution of data obtained by applying the research instrument (a
questionnaire) within the initial and nal survey. As the sample of respondents is greater than 50, the
results of the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test given in Table 1 show that the signicance is greater than 0.05 (p
= 0.2), which means that there is a normal distribution of data.
Table 1
Test of normality of data distribution in the initial and nal examination of the attitudes of future
teachers in preschool institutions
By further using the t-test, we examined whether there was a statistically signicant difference
between the results of the initial and nal examination, and whether the attitudes of future teachers in
preschool institutions differed signicantly before and after the implementation of online teaching.
If we summarize all the statements (Table 2), the t-test showed that the signicance p=0.001 was
less than 0.05, which means that there is a statistically signicant difference in the results of the initial
examination of attitudes compared to the nal examination of attitudes, in favor of the nal examination.
Table 2
T-test results
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491
Stepić, G. et al. (2023). The impact of the application of the online teaching model on the development of digital competencies
of future preschool teachers, International Journal of Cognitive Research in Science, Engineering and Education (IJCRSEE),
11(3), 487-495.
Results and Discussion
In general, after the realization of online classes during the spring semester, students estimated
that they had better digital competencies compared to the initial examination of attitudes. If we look at the
results obtained for each individual statement (Table 3) within the assessment scale, the t-test shows that
there is a statistically signicant difference in favor of the results of the nal survey. Signicance is less
than 0.05 when it comes to self-assessment of digital competences related to the following statements /
items (IT7, IT12, IT13, IT15, IT17, IT20, IT22, IT25, IT26): assessment of the quality, relevance, accuracy
and scope of digital information (IT7); use of appropriate digital technologies for designing and creating
the necessary educational materials for working with children in the realization of the planned learning
situation in the eld of Environmental studies (IT12); application and integration of digital technology
in the immediate educational work, in the realization of the planned learning situation in the eld of
Environmental studies (IT13); multimedia presentation of content that is interactive and allows children
to better understand and learn easier and faster in the eld Environmental studies (IT15); application
of digital technology that enables children to meaningfully use digital technologies for expression and
learning through play within a topic or project in the eld of Environmental studies (IT17); use of digital
technologies that encourages children’s decision making and critical thinking within the educational work
in the eld of Environmental studies (IT20); adequate attitude and habit of using digital technologies (IT22);
use of digital technologies for professional development of teachers (IT25); control of shortcomings and
dangers of digital technology application (IT26). For all the mentioned items, after the realization of online
classes, the students estimated that they had better digital competencies compared to the period before
the realization of online classes.
Table 3
Differences in students’ attitudes
t-test for Equality of Means
t df Sig.
(2-tailed)
Mean
Dier-
ence
Std. Error
Dierence
95% Condence
Interval of the Dif-
ference
Lower Upper
I use e-mail in my everyday life and dur-
ing my studies.
-1,532 219,57 ,127 -,144 ,094 -,329 ,041
In my daily life and during my studies, I
use WWW - Internet databases.
,783 248 ,435 ,080 ,102 -,121 ,281
I use social networks in my everyday life
and during my studies.
,537 248 ,592 ,032 ,059 -,085 ,149
I use digital technologies to exchange
information
-1,243 248 ,215 -,096 ,077 -,248 ,056
I use digital technologies to work in dif-
ferent bases
,682 248 ,496 ,056 ,082 -,105 ,217
I use digital technologies to summarize,
compare and consolidate information
-,096 248 ,923 -,008 ,082 -,171 ,155
I use digital technologies to judge the
quality, relevance, accuracy and coverage
of digital information
-4,030 248 ,000 -,528 ,131 -,786 -,269
I successfully use digital technologies in
nding and collecting
-,411 248 ,681 -,040 ,097 -,231 ,151
I successfully use digital technologies in
planning
,255 248 ,799 ,024 ,094 -,161 ,209
I can eectively adapt, present and me-
thodically transform
-1,195 240,940 ,233 -,104 ,087 -,275 ,067
I can apply digital tools to organize and
classify information
-1,323 248 ,187 -,136 ,102 -,338 ,066
I use digital tools to design and create
the necessary educational materials
-5,866 229,032 ,000 -,696 ,118 -,929 -,462
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Stepić, G. et al. (2023). The impact of the application of the online teaching model on the development of digital competencies
of future preschool teachers, International Journal of Cognitive Research in Science, Engineering and Education (IJCRSEE),
11(3), 487-495.
I am competent to apply and integrate
digital technologies
-2,599 248 ,010 -,264 ,101 -,464 -,063
I am competent to evaluate and docu-
ment in numerous ways
-,942 248 ,347 -,072 ,076 -,222 ,078
I am competent to present multimedia
content that is interactive
-4,322 193,14 ,000 -,568 ,131 -,827 -,308
Digital tools enable children to access
information
,382 248 ,703 ,032 ,083 -,132 ,196
I am competent in enabling children to
meaningfully use digital technologies for
expression and learning through play
-2,453 248 ,015 -,280 ,114 -,504 -,055
I am competent to enable children to use
digital technologies themselves to moni-
tor their own learning
-1,270 248 ,205 -,136 ,107 -,346 ,074
I am competent to enable children to
progress at their own pace
,256 248 ,798 ,024 ,093 -,160 ,208
Modern technologies enable children to
make decisions and think critically
-2,803 235,31 ,005 -,312 ,111 -,531 -,092
I adequately and safely use the advan-
tages of digital technology
-,817 248 ,415 -,072 ,088 -,245 ,101
An adequate relationship and culture of
using digital technologies is necessary
for every educator
-2,818 214,10 ,005 -,328 ,116 -,557 -,098
I am competent to develop awareness
and habits for adequate use of digital
technologies in children and parents
-1,162 248 ,246 -,152 ,130 -,409 ,105
I am not competent enough to develop
awareness and habits for adequate use
of digital technologies in children and
parents.
-1,909 248 ,057 -,288 ,150 -,585 ,009
I believe that it is important that digital
technology is used for the professional
development of educators.
-3,028 218,37 ,003 -,320 ,105 -,528 -,111
I believe that, as a future educator, I am
not always able to control the disad-
vantages and dangers of using digital
technology.
-2,565 240,75 ,011 -,360 ,140 -,636 -,083
Further analysis of the research results shows that there is no statistically signicant difference
between the initial and nal examination of the attitudes of future teachers in preschool institutions when it
comes to self-assessment of digital competencies related to: the use of e-mail, WWW - Internet databases
and social networks; the application of digital technology for information exchange; work in different
databases for recording information about children, their parents, evaluation of educational work, etc.;
summarizing, comparing and combining information from different digital sources; nding and collecting
relevant information and educational materials for educational work in the eld of Environmental studies;
the use of digital technology in the planning of educational work in the eld of learning Environmental
studies; adaptation, presentation and methodological transformation in accordance with children’s age
and the topic of educational work in the eld of Environmental studies; application of digital tools for
organization and classication of information (charts, schemes, planners, schedules, mind maps,
animations, video tutorials, etc.) in the eld of Environmental studies; evaluation and documentation of
data, photographs, digital texts, videos, etc.; the use of digital technologies as tools that enable children
to access information during the implementation of educational work in the eld of Environmental studies;
enabling children to use digital technologies in monitoring their own learning; enabling children to make
progress in educational work in the eld of Environmental studies at their own pace, in a way that suits
them best; adequate and safe use of the benets of digital technology in educational work in the eld of
Environmental studies; developing awareness and habits in children and parents for the adequate use of
digital technologies;
The results indicate that the students similarly assessed their digital competencies before and after
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493
Stepić, G. et al. (2023). The impact of the application of the online teaching model on the development of digital competencies
of future preschool teachers, International Journal of Cognitive Research in Science, Engineering and Education (IJCRSEE),
11(3), 487-495.
the realization of online classes during the pandemic. And that online classes did not signicantly affect
their self-assessment of digital competence in the mentioned areas.
The ndings of one study indicate that self-assessments of digital competencies of future teachers
in the areas of information and data, communication and collaboration and security are more than self-
assessments in the areas of digital content creation and problem solving (Çebi and Reisoğlu, 2020).
The authors explain this by having the focus on theoretical knowledge in teacher training programs,
lack of practice for digital content development and technical problem solving, and the fact that future
teachers feel more advanced in these areas, probably due to the use of digital technology in everyday
life in terms of these areas (Çebi and Reisoğlu, 2020). We could say that the nding of our research is
the opposite. During online classes, students had the opportunity to practically apply certain tools, to a
greater extent than usual, and this resulted in a better self-assessment of digital competencies in the eld
of creating digital resources, direct work in educational practice and professional development. Analogous
to the interpretation of the above research, we can assume that pedagogically designed use of digital
technology during studies can lead to the improvement of digital competencies that are practiced during
online classes.
Adequate initial training in the eld of digital competence development “makes students better
perceive themselves in their development of critical thinking, problem solving and decision making, and
points to the fact that this will increase their creative capacity and inuence them to be more innovative,
as shown by ndings obtained in various studies” (Romero-Tena, 2019; according to: Romero-Tena et al.,
2020).
Expressing positive attitudes / intentions is just one of the factors for successful integration of ICT,
which has an effect on professional development and education of teachers (Gialamas and Nikolopoulou,
2010), and, according to our results, vice versa. Shaping the pedagogical use of digital technology in
working with students during online classes has proved important for improving attitudes about self-
assessment of digital competencies.
It should also be borne in mind that teachers’ pedagogical practices and behavior in practice are
not static and are inuenced by beliefs about the potential of ICT to improve learning as well as about the
competence of teachers to integrate ICT into the curriculum (Webb and Cox, 2004). This means that even
those teachers who have expressed positive attitudes or intentions may be disappointed and limit the use
of digital technologies if they do not have continuity in professional development in this eld (Gialamas
and Nikolopoulou, 2010). This tells us that when it comes to application of digital technology, we need
adequate and continuous support for students, future teachers, but also for practice teachers.
Conclusions
Based on the results presented in this study, it can be concluded that the implementation of online
classes with students of basic academic and vocational studies who are part of the study program
Teacher in preschool institutions has a positive effect on their attitudes and self-assessment of digital
competencies.
Comparing the results obtained during the initial and nal examination of students’ attitudes, it can
be seen that students believe that after the implementation of online classes they have more developed
digital competencies related to: 1) creation of digital resources; 2) application of digital technologies in
the immediate educational work and 3) role of digital technologies in professional development. Overall,
differences between the initial and nal measurements were not observed in the following elds: 1) use of
digital technologies in everyday life; 2) work with information; 3) planning, monitoring and documenting;
4) respect for children’s characteristics; 5) safe use of digital technologies.
These results tell us that practicing the use of digital tools during online classes has helped future
teachers feel more condent in creating digital resources and applying digital technologies for chidren’s
learning and development, but, at the same time, they have become aware that they are not competent
enough to assess the quality, relevance, accuracy and coverage of digital information and that they cannot
always control the shortcomings and dangers of digital technologies.
When implementing online teaching or hybrid models in post-pandemic conditions, it is necessary to
keep in mind the potential effects of certain objective and subjective factors that discourage teachers from
opting for this way of working. The absence of adequate technical conditions for the implementation of
teaching activities can be a signicant objective factor. When it comes to subjective factors are concerned,
they are mostly reected in the approach of teachers and students. Hybrid and online teaching require
highly motivated and creative teachers who will have to invest more time and effort to create different
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Stepić, G. et al. (2023). The impact of the application of the online teaching model on the development of digital competencies
of future preschool teachers, International Journal of Cognitive Research in Science, Engineering and Education (IJCRSEE),
11(3), 487-495.
learning activities and materials than those to which they and students were used to before the pandemic.
Although web applications, such as Edpuzzle, Google Classroom, Zoom, etc., are quite easy to use,
teachers, especially those with insufcient experience in the application of modern technology, may have
difculty with their implementation. Additional training, professional development and systematic support
for the development of teachers’ digital competencies would certainly contribute to a more successful
implementation of hybrid teaching in post-pandemic conditions.
The results of this research can be used to encourage teachers to step out of the usual pre-
pandemic practice and enrich their pedagogical work with combined teaching (hybrid model) where part
of the material would be analyzed in person, and part would be analyzed online using web tools, websites
and videoconferencing applications. This would certainly affect the improvement of digital competencies
of students - future teachers in preschool institutions. The results of this study can also serve as a starting
point for other researchers who want to examine this issue in more detail and more comprehensively,
taking into account the possibility and need for online learning outcomes to be tested in different working
conditions, learning environment, within other subjects, at other levels of education, on a different and
larger sample of respondents, and so on.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the respondents who participated in the research and the reviewers
who made a valuable contribution to the quality of the work by giving constructive suggestions.
Conict of interests
The authors declare no conict of interest.
Author Contributions
Conceptualization, G.S.,V.S.,O.C.J.; data curation, G.S. V.S. and A.M.; methodology, G.S., V.S.,
O.C.J. and A.M. resources, G.S. and V.S.; formal analysis, G.S., V.S., O.C.J. and A.M.; validation, O.C.J.;
writing—original draft preparation, G.S., V.S., O.C.J. and A.M.; writing—review and editing, G.S., O.C.J.
and A.M. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
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