The Need for Professional Development Program in Creating Digital
Storybooks among In-Service Early Childhood Education (ECE)
Teachers
1Balvinder Kaur Khalsa, *2Iylia Dayana Shamsudin
1, 2Faculty of Human Development, Sultan Idris Education University, Perak, Malaysia,
1Department of Education, HELP University, Selangor, Malaysia
*Corresponding Author
Received: 20 December 2025; Accepted: 26 December 2025; Published: 05 January 2026
ABSTRACT
This study intends to identify the need for a professional development (PD) program among in-service early
childhood education (ECE) teachers in creating digital storybooks. This study employs an explanatory
sequential design, also known as a mixed-methods research design. In the first phase, the survey questionnaires
were sent to 118 in-service ECE teachers who teach preschoolers. In the second phase, a semi-structured
interview was conducted with teachers to understand their response in the first phase and whether PD is
needed for them. The findings showed that teachers are aware of digital storybooks, with 68.7% preferring to
use digital storybooks to teach stories, 69.5% to teach literacy and 60.2% to teach science and mathematics.
Qualitatively, these preferences were understood when teachers revealed during the interview that the digital
storybooks tend to engage preschoolers in the lesson, encouraging self-learning and increasing parental
involvement. It was observed that 89 (75.4%) of the teachers have not used any web-based tool to create
digital storybooks. This led to the next finding, which demonstrated that 94.1% of ECE teachers revealed that
they need PD to create digital storybooks. Teachers believed that PD would increase their confidence to learn
new skills, foster digital skills, and improve teaching & learning strategies. This study implies that a training
program for creating digital storybooks is essential to enhance the level of PD, and it should be implemented
without hindrances.
Keywords: Need Analysis; Professional development; Digital Tools; Digital Storybooks; Preschoolers
INTRODUCTION
ADDIE’s model has five phases: analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation (Zulkifli et
al., 2022). In this study, the focus is on the first analysis phase. The analysis phase is one of the most important
phases that typically determines whether a program, research, or training is needed. The primary objective of
this study is to determine the need for professional development among in-service teachers in creating digital
storybooks.
Professional development is defined as a process of improving knowledge, skills, classroom effectiveness, and
increasing the learners’ learning performance (Shahrean Irani Abdul Rashid et al.,2025). Teachers, especially
ECE teachers, need to upgrade their level of efficiency and mastery consistently in this fast-moving century,
ensuring substantial educational goals for the learners (Dewi et al., 2024).
The current transformation of the 21st century learning in the education field has tremendously observed with
learners picking technological devices to read and write, for instance, the usage of digital books (Bayley,
2022). Digital storytelling through digital storybooks consists of digital elements like video, audio, text, and
pictures (Robin, 2008). Digital storytelling is a powerful platform used by every individual from young to
adults, and it easily integrates technology in every aspect of life, particularly education, leaving them
motivated, active learners, and collaborative in nature (Ulutas et al., 2022).
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