فلسفة تربية الطفل ودورها في توجيه الممارسات التربوية بمؤسسات رياض الأطفال في ضوء النظريات التربوية المعاصرة وتحديات العصر الرقمي
The aims of the study are: Clarifying the nature of child education philosophy in early childhood and reaching the principles proposed by this philosophy, Determining the most important contemporary educational theories of child education in early childhood stage, Recognizing the reality of educational practices in kindergarten institutions in early childhood stage and Presenting a suggested educational proposal for activating the application of child education philosophy principles and contemporary educational theories in pedagogical practices in kindergarten institutions in the light of digital age challenges. The problem of the study: The philosophy of pre- school child education has called for the importance of dealing with the child in a proper way and taking into consideration the child’s characteristics and needs of child’s development during applying the educational activities. Yet, the reality of the practices in kindergarten institutions does not rise to the adherence to the principles of child education philosophy in early childhood. It is incompatible with the principles of this philosophy and does not take the challenges of the digital age into consideration concerning educational practices. Obligatory scholastic education practices prevail instead of educational activities based on methods of educational games. Despite the existences of the philosophy of child education in early childhood and the contemporary educational theories that direct the educational practices, kindergarten teachers do not understand these principles proposed by contemporary educational theories and philosophy and depend on general understanding and personal experience in their practices with the child inside kindergarten institution. The methodology of the study: This study depends on the philosophical method Additionally, It uses the analytical descriptive method. The sample of the study: A random sample has been selected to apply the tools of the study to, as follows: (164) teachers in (governmental, private) and (rural, urban) kindergarten institutions have been selected for the questionnaire and (82) kindergarten teachers have been selected for note cards. Findings of the study: The results of the study have shown that kindergarten teachers do not fully understand the principles of child education philosophy in early childhood, Kindergarten teachers do not fully understand the principles of contemporary educational theories in early childhood and the weakness of employing digital age technologies in educational practices in kindergarten institutions. (Author’s abstract)