PRIMARY TEACHERS' ATTITUDES TOWARDS THE USE OF ELECTRONIC RESOURCES IN PRIMARY EDUCATION IN BULGARIA

Abstract

Digitization in education is an evolving process which affects different aspects of education worldwide and Bulgaria is also following this tendency. One of the tools for digitalization of education is the use of electronic resources (e-resources). Different e-resources have been adopted increasingly in primary school classrooms making them an integral part of education. European policies are also supporting e-resources usage – a European Parliament resolution on New Technologies and Open Educational Resources42 encourages the study and dissemination of good practices in order to support the efficient use of electronic resources in education, as well as conducting research to evaluate teachers' competences for the use of educational e-resources. However, there are limited researches in the literature about the use of e-resources in primary education and their findings are far from consistent (Chu et al., 2010). In the currently existing literature, the main emphasis is on the advantages and the potential of e-resources for improving the educational process. For example, some researchers found that the integration of electronic resources in the educational process have the potential to support the active learning of primary students (Vitanov et al., 2015). According to White & Manton (2011) e-resources have better quality and are more flexible than traditional resources and they provide better opportunities for learning, including a compliance with different learning styles. Some disadvantages of e-resources are also mentioned in the literature such as the potential risk for students to lack concentration during the classes knowing that they can access the e-resources later or the risk of getting inaccurate information from internet based e-resources (Purcell et al., 2012); (UNESCO, 2011).Yet there is not sufficient data about teachers’ attitudes towards the use of educational e-resources which data could be a valuable source for planning and implementing the integration of e-resources in primary education. Moreover, in order to provide quality education, higher education institutions which train the future primary teachers should be aware of primary teachers’ opinions and needs and, on this basis, to search for effective strategies to improve their university courses or professional development programmes. The answer to the question: “What are the attitudes of primary teachers to the use of e-resources in primary education?” has a significant role in developing and implementing pedagogically effective curricula. Thus in this study the attitudes of 452 teachers towards the use of e-resources in primary education is examined. It discusses the teachers’ attitudes in terms of the advantages and disadvantages they found in using e-resources in their everyday routine as well as the requirements that e-resources should fulfil in order to be used effectively.Data includes an online questionnaire which was conducted during the beginning of academic year 2018-2019 and completed by 452 primary teachers from schools in different regions of Bulgaria. The results revealed that the surveyed teachers recognize well the advantages of e-resources which they mostly see as instruments for better visualising learning content as well as motivational instruments. They found disadvantages mainly related to the material and/or financial aspects of their usage. The requirements that e-resources have to fulfil in order to be effectively used in primary education according to the respondents are also discussed in the paper.