The introduction of information technologies (IT) as agent of change has been pushed to educational practices. The ability to use and embed information technologies as an integral component of educational practices is increasingly considered an important qualification for educational institutions and teachers. Such extensive push of technological technologies, seems, has not transform educational practices in preschool and schools (Brown, Englehardt, & Mathers, 2016; Cuban, 2018; Player-Koro, 2013).

An increasing number of studies highlight the importance of developing pre-service teachers’ digital competences as significant factor in determining the future level of information technology use in teaching and learning practices (Bakir, 2015; Brown et al., 2016; Tondeur et al., 2011). The Swedish Higher Education act underline the integrating information technologies as an integral part of teacher education programs (Government Bill, 2009/10:89, 2017/03:17). The Swedish curriculum for preschool (2018), similarly, highlights the preschool teachers’ role in providing authentic opportunities to develop children’s digital skills. A number of measures including substantial level of investment on IT have, accordingly, been adopted to extend the integration of IT in teacher education programs. The qualified pre-service teachers are, thus, expected to demonstrate ability and competence to use information technologies in their educational practices (Government Bill, 2017/03:17).

 An increasing number of teacher education institutions are implementing a verity of approaches to enhance pre-service teachers’ digital competences (Tondeur, van Braak, Ertmer, Ottenbreit-Leftwich, & Development, 2017). The ways i.e. how well teacher education programs prepare new teachers’ digital competences are seen as one of the factors which defines the teacher education programs’ quality.

Preparing future teachers who know how to integrate and make use of IT in their teaching and learning practices remains a challenging goal for teacher education programs (Brown et al., 2016; Scherer, Tondeur, Siddiq, & Baran, 2018; Tondeur et al., 2012). It seems that many newly qualified teachers do not have the necessary skills to be able seamlessly woven information technologies into the teaching and learning practices (Chigona, 2015; Player-Koro, 2013). Davis (2010) and Tondeur et al. (2012) in their studies argue that promoting pre-service teachers’ digital competences are not firmly anchored in teacher-education programs. The findings of these studies reconfirm that pre-service teachers’ graduates are ill-prepared to use information technologies in their educational practices (Bakir, 2015; Jordan & Elsden-Clifton, 2017; Lund & Hauge, 2011; Player-Koro, 2013; Scherer et al., 2018). Little research, however, has focused on preparing early childhood preservice teachers’ digital competences.

This study, accordingly, aimed to examine the underlying challenges in terms of whether (and if so, how) pre-service early childhood teachers are prepared to use information technologies in their future educational practices. The research questions that guide this case study are (1) How do preservice teachers perceive their digital competences? How do pre-service teachers’ digital competences are processed during their teacher education program? and Which factors can challenge and contribute developing of the preservice teacher digital competences?

In order to explore if and how teacher education students’ digital competences are developed in a teacher education program, four focus group discussions were carried out. Focus group discussion in educational research is frequently used to collect data regarding groups or individual’s experiences and understandings on a specific topic (Haydn & Barton, 2007; Kay, 2006). It offers a powerful means for provoking the members’ interaction to create open in-depth discussion about the addressed topic (Creswell, 2012). The study was conducted in the final year of a 3.5-year teacher education program, awarding qualified teacher status for early education teachers in a Swedish higher education institution. 25 teacher education students enrolled in early education program were volunteered to participate in a semi-structured focus group meeting. Participated Students were fulfilled almost all of their courses and were involved with their last course i.e. final essays. Four focus group meetings are organized including two focus groups discussion with 5 and 7 teacher education students in September 2017 and two focus groups discussion with 4 and 9 students in September 2018. Each focus group is lasted 30 and 40 minutes and moderated by the researcher. Through prompting questions and involving of all participants, the researcher tried to challenge focus group members to share their understandings and experiences. Encouraging the involvement of the participants, providing prompt questions and limiting the domination of discussion by a few participants, the researcher facilitated the focus group discussion. A list of 7 questions was used as a framework for discussion. When analysing the collected data an interpretivist approach is employed. The discussions were digitally recorded and transcribed. The transcribed discussions were read on multiple occasions looking for ideas and themes focusing on the ways the participants made sense of their experiences. Initially, a series of “structural” codes are developed and accordingly the emerged ideas from each of focus groups are coded (Guest, MacQueen, & Namey, 2012). The emerged codes were reviewed and refined across the entire data and then similar codes were conceptualized under broader themes. Following a deductive process, the relationships between the emerged themes across the conducted focus group discussions were re-identified. The ethical considerations were considered in accordance with Swedish ethical regulations for research (Vetenskapsrådet, 2017) both in the planning and implementation of the study.

The primarily findings of the study are reflected in three main categories including: (1) Pre-service teachers’ perceived digital competences, (2) Developing pre-service teachers’ digital competences during their teacher education program (TEP), and (3) Challenges and ways forward in developing pre-service teachers’ digital competences in TEP. The participants in the focus groups are passionate in arguing for the necessity and importance of developing preschool teachers’ digital competences. They, accordingly, argue that mastering of information technologies can contribute to preschool teachers’ “comfort and confident using IT in educational practices”. The participants noted that they use a range of technologies and applications in their daily life. A large number of the participated pre-service teachers, however, indicated that they do not feel ready to use information technologies in their educational practices. The participants underlined a number of efforts to integrate IT in TEP and develop teacher education students’ digital competences. The given efforts include a number of initiatives ranging from providing specific moments about technologies in some of the courses to having opportunities to use technologies in their internships. The addressed activities seem are detached from the conducted learning activities in the courses. A number of the focus group discussion members, further, highlights opportunities they were provided in their internship to experience how IT can be used in educational activities. By addressing the challenges, students identified possible ways that teacher education institutions can develop students’ digital competences. Following challenges and recommendations were addressed as possible ways out to develop teacher students’ digital competences. A) Introducing “stand-alone” technology courses as part of the TEP, B) Integrating IT across the entire TEP, C) Providing examples of best practices, D) Engaging and pushing teacher education students to deepen their digital competences, E) Developing teacher educators’ digital competences, and F) Developing action plans for integrating IT in TEP.

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