USING ELECTRONIC TEXTBOOKS IN PRIMARY EDUCATION: STUDENTS-PROSPECTIVE PRIMARY TEACHERS' VIEWS

Abstract

Bulgaria is now in а process of major changes and reforms in the field of education that involve the implementation of various strategies and regulations. Updating the curricula for school and preschool education has led to the development of new textbooks and teaching aids. Primary and middle school textbooks sets for all subjects were replaced with new ones complemented by their compulsory electronic versions. These e-versions are not only covering the topics and content of the printed versions of the textbooks, but include additional e-resources. Some research of the new textbooks contents has already been done by authors such as Kirova (Kirova, 2018; Kирова, 2018). She compares different components of the curriculum content and the way they are developed in the mathematics textbooks, but the components of the adjunct electronic textbooks (e-textbooks) are not yet analysed. Their examination is necessary for teachers’ practice as well as for the preparation of prospective primary teachers for using e-textbooks in the classroom. No special training for working with e-textbooks is provided in prospective teachers’ current university preparation. However, digital competence is one of the key competences which are developed in primary education programs in Faculty of Educational Studies and the Arts (FESA), Sofia University, Bulgaria. Although it is generally acknowledged that students use digital devices very often and their skills are sufficient for blended learning (Цанев, 2018), yet it is not clear if students’ digital competencies are sufficient for using e-textbooks. Furthermore, there is a gap in the literature about students’ views and attitudes towards working with e-textbooks. Along with their competencies, students’ attitudes are important for successful implementation of e-textbooks in their teaching. Therefore, Sofia University Scientific Research Fund funded project №80-10-170/2019 "Practical aspects of students-prospective primary teachers’ preparation for working with electronic resources" whose main objectives include exploration of the views, preparation and readiness of students-prospective primary teachers about the usage of e-textbooks in primary education. As a part of the project, this study analyses students’ views in terms of necessity of using e-textbooks, their benefits and the requirements that e-textbooks have to meet in order to be used effectively in primary education.Data include an online survey which was conducted during the summer term of academic year 2018-2019 and was completed by 166 students-prospective primary teachers from bachelor and master degree programs at FESA (SU), Bulgaria. The results revealed that the surveyed students generally have positive views about the usage of e-textbooks in education and are well aware of their advantages. They recognized their potential to better visualise learning content and save teachers time. The content that e-textbooks should include and the requirements that e-textbooks have to meet in order to be effectively used in the classroom are also discussed in the paper.