ANALYSIS OF THE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT NEEDS OF EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATORS: A SURVEY STUDY IN CIBIUK DISTRICT

Abstract

Effective professional development for early childhood education (ECE) teachers should be grounded in an accurate training needs analysis rather than the assumptions of training organizers. This study aims to map the competence-development needs of ECE teachers based on field data so that training programs can be designed precisely. A descriptive quantitative approach was employed through an online survey of 69 ECE teachers (class teachers and principals) from kindergartens and playgroups. Data were collected using an electronic questionnaire covering respondent profiles and nine training-topic options, then analyzed descriptively using percentages. The results show that most respondents were female (95.7%) and held the position of class teacher (62.3%), with academic qualifications ranging from senior-secondary level (34,8%) to bachelor's degree (56.5%). The training topic with the highest need was instilling manners and religious character in young children (59.4%), followed by developing instructional media (52.2%), lesson planning and Qur'an memorization methods (49.3% each), and microteaching (46.4%). The need for training in AI-based instructional media was also relatively high (39.1%), indicating a digital-literacy gap among ECE teachers. These findings provide practical recommendations for training providers and education offices to design competence-improvement programs grounded in teachers' real needs, prioritizing the integrated strengthening of pedagogical, spiritual-religious, and technological-literacy competence.