THE LEVEL OF KINDERGARTEN TEACHERS' USE OF AUGMENTED REALITY TECHNOLOGY IN DEVELOPING HEALTH AWARENESS IN KINDERGARTEN CHILDREN

Abstract

The current study aims to identify the extent to which kindergarten teachers use augmented reality technology to develop health awareness among kindergarten children. A descriptive approach was used, and the study was conducted with (70) kindergarten teachers registered in government kindergartens in Najran. The following tools were used in the study: - A questionnaire to measure the level of kindergarten teachers' use of augmented reality technology in developing health awareness among kindergarten children. The questionnaire included the following topics: environmental health, sleep health, diseases and their prevention, and the concept of first aid. The study reached the following conclusions: The level of kindergarten teachers' use of augmented reality technology in developing health awareness among kindergarten children was moderate, with an average score of (52.87) and a relative weight of (62.94%), placing it at a moderate level. The level of kindergarten teachers' use of augmented reality technology in developing environmental health awareness among kindergarten children was moderate, with an average score of (13.67) and a relative weight of (65.10%), placing it at a moderate level. The level of kindergarten teachers' use of augmented reality technology in developing sleep health awareness among kindergarten children was moderate, with an average score of (12.49) and a relative weight of (59.46%), placing it at a moderate level. The level of kindergarten teachers' use of augmented reality technology in developing awareness of diseases and their prevention was also moderate. The level of kindergarten children's use of augmented reality (AR) technology in developing their awareness of first aid was average, with the average score of the teachers in the research sample being 14.87 (70.82%), placing them at an average level. Similarly, the level of use of AR technology by kindergarten teachers in developing awareness of first aid concepts among kindergarten children was also average, with the average score of the teachers in the research sample being 11.84 (56.39%), placing them at an average level. Based on the study's findings, the researchers offered several recommendations: developing a guide for early childhood teachers explaining how to utilize AR technology in teaching kindergarten children; conducting workshops for early childhood teachers to train them on AR applications; and holding training courses for early childhood teachers to familiarize them with the importance of using AR technology and encourage its application in education.