Preschool teachers’ use of ICTs: Towards a typology of practice
- 20 February 2015
- journal article
- research article
- Published by SAGE Publications in Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood
- Vol. 16 (1), 5-17
- https://doi.org/10.1177/1463949114566753
Abstract
This study aimed to identify the ways in which information and communication technologies (ICT) are integrated in three preschools in south-western Sweden. The case study involved observations of and interviews with preschool teachers. The findings support claims that ICT can enhance preschool practices by providing a variety of complementary opportunities to enrich and transform existing curricula. The study shows that in the studied preschools ICTs have been appropriated in distinctive ways: as an object to enrich existing practices; as a cultural mediator; as a way to entertain young children; and as a communication and documentation tool. In addition, by addressing the teachers’ values and attitudes to the role of ICT in early childhood, the paper also unpacks the stances of teachers who consider ICT to be unsuitable for early childhood education. The findings of this study may bring some clarity to the complexities that surround engagement with any innovation in preschool settings, and the adoption of new technologies in particular.Keywords
This publication has 26 references indexed in Scilit:
- Application of a Model for the Integration of Technology in Kindergarten: An Empirical Investigation in TaiwanEarly Childhood Education Journal, 2011
- Exploring student identity in an intercultural web-assisted scientific inquiry projectJournal of Research in International Education, 2010
- The development of ICT across the curriculum in Irish schools: A historical perspectiveBritish Journal of Educational Technology, 2009
- Children's Development from a Cultural–Historical Approach: Children's Activity in Everyday Local Settings as Foundation for Their DevelopmentMind, Culture, and Activity, 2009
- Enhancing learning with information and communication technologies in pre‐schoolEarly Child Development and Care, 2008
- To Play or Not to Play—That Is the Question: Computer Use Within Three Swedish PreschoolsEarly Education and Development, 2008
- Young children, learning and ICT: a case study in the UK maintained sectorTechnology, Pedagogy and Education, 2008
- Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge: A Framework for Teacher KnowledgeTeachers College Record: the Voice of Scholarship in Education, 2006
- Learning through ICT in Swedish Early Childhood Education from a Pedagogical Perspective of QualityChildhood Education, 2003
- A ‘benign addition’? Research on ICT and pre‐school childrenJournal of Computer Assisted Learning, 2003