THE MEDIA IN PRESCHOOLS: THE ATTITUDES OF TEACHERS

Abstract

The media in the modern era influences all segments of society, and have an important role in the education and upbringing of children. A teacher is no longer the only source of information and the work of all educators is increasingly influenced by information that children learn through mass media. The aim of our research is to investigate the application of media in educational work. The purpose of the study was to examine the attitudes of teachers on the type of media they prefer to use in educational work in preschools. The survey was conducted on a sample of 217 preschool teachers in urban and rural areas in Serbia. The starting hypothesis of this research is the assumption that teachers prefer using the television in their work with preschool children, and that there is significant difference in the preferences of teachers regarding the type of media that is appropriate for use with preschool children, depending on the level of teachers' education, experience and age, as well as in relation to urban and rural areas. The research has shown that the mass media are represented in the framework of educational work in preschools. Educators believe that traditional media is still dominant, and to a lesser extent, they mention the use of the Internet and the new media. The results show that there is a statistically significant difference in the attitudes of teachers in relation to the location of their preschool (urban and rural area). Specifically, the media is better utilized in urban compared to rural areas in Serbia. The use of technologies is limited because of the financial crisis, unbalanced development of urban and rural areas and the lack of appropriate training of teachers.