The Persistence and Transformation of Kindergarten Teachers in the Digital Age

Abstract

: Educational digitalization is a key driver of high-quality early childhood education development, yet it poses comprehensive challenges to kindergarten teachers as frontline practitioners. Currently, kindergarten teachers face practical dilemmas including erosion of professional subjectivity, structural imbalances in digital literacy, and expanding role boundaries. Without clarifying what to preserve and what to transform in the digital context, educators risk falling into the trap of "technology supremacy." Adopting a literature review approach, this paper systematically examines the challenges confronting kindergarten teachers in the digital age and proposes three essential bottom lines to uphold: fidelity to educational essence, defense of professional autonomy, and adherence to ethical standards. Correspondingly, three transformation dimensions are identified: role reconstruction, literacy enhancement, and development model innovation. The study argues that persistence and transformation form a dialectical unity: persistence constitutes the educational foundation and bottom line, guiding the direction of digital development; transformation represents the pathway of the times, determining educational vitality and quality. Both serve the core goal of promoting children's comprehensive and healthy development. This research provides practical guidance for teacher digital transformation and references for improving training systems and digital governance.