Abstract:

Preschool education is a priority area of education in the European Union and Lithuania. Today, a new look is taken at the organization of the process of preschool education not only in terms of quality, but also in terms of pedagogical relationships, i.e., the whole educational process is organized from the perspective of the child, recognizing him/her as an equal partner in the educational process. Researchers explain that there are still educators who still find it quite difficult to give up the elements of previous pedagogy, because for too long the aspiration to supervise and control children prevailed in their conception often prioritizing formal educational outcomes over the quality of the process of children’s education or the culture of pedagogical relationships. As the attitude towards the organization of the educational process and the role of educational participants in it changes, so does the role of the teacher. The teacher in the reality of education faces many challenges, for the solution of which new tasks are posed and new competences are required. The concept of the role of the teacher is also changing when it comes to modern preschool children and their education.

The aim is to analyse the challenges faced by teachers in educating modern preschool children.

The research sample is non-probability, targeted, convenience sample. Eighty-three preschool teachers from various preschool institutions of Lithuania, who work with children aged five to six, participated in the research on a voluntary basis.

Methodology:
Prior to the empirical research, scientific and methodological literature, information sources and the documents on education of the Republic of Lithuania were analysed. A quantitative research strategy was chosen to implement the research aim. Data were collected through a questionnaire survey. The survey was conducted remotely in September-October 2020.

Results:
The analysis of the scientific literature and the results of the research allow to state that the teacher in the reality of education faces many challenges in educating modern preschool children.

The research found that teachers must be able to work in constant change, be able to manage the educational process, which requires modern didactic knowledge, to solve complex educational situations arising from children’s differences and the diversity of their educational needs, to perfectly manage information technology without which a modern educational process is not possible and have other important competences that are necessary in the diversity of the activities of the teacher of the 21st century.

Keywords:

Challenges, teacher, education, preschool children.