Becoming a preschool teacher: Developing beliefs about digital literacy seen through a democratic lens

The aim of this study was to explore how students’ and newly graduated preschool teachers’ beliefs about digital literacy in preschool develop, as well as the extent to which they see this as part of their mission from a democratic perspective. This longitudinal study followed a group of participants as students during their teacher education and 3 years as graduated teachers. Data consisted mainly of transcribed discussions and was analysed out from a theoretical understanding of teacher agency. The results revealed an initial scepticism regarding the use of digital tools in preschool; however, the participants’ attitudes changed during the preschool teacher programme, as they began to see a learning potential of digital tools. Three years after graduation, digitalisation was a given part of their work – including a democratic perspective. This article shows how education matters, and that it takes time for the preschool-teachers to develop their beliefs.