Children under five and digital technologies: implications for early years pedagogy

This project aimed to investigate the types of digital technologies children under the age of five are using at home and assess the possible implications for early years pedagogy. The research, carried out between 2010 and 2012, was based in four European countries: England, Greece, Malta and Luxemburg. A mixed methods approach was employed to investigate what types of digital technologies were used by children under five years of age in their households and parental attitudes towards the use of these technologies. The project was developed into three stages. In the first instance data was collected from focus groups with the families to indicate what digital technologies are used in the households. In the second instance a questionnaire was designed for and completed by parents and children aged from birth to five years in order to reveal the extent to which children were making use of those technologies in the home. Subsequent to the analysis of the questionnaires, a further series of interviews were conducted with focus groups of parents and children to investigate their views in relation to the use of the digital technologies. Analysis of the data from the questionnaire revealed that children under five are heavy users of a number of digital technologies at home. Analysis of the qualitative data emerging from the interviews suggested that children are ‘digitally fluent from a very young age’. One of the key findings was that parents felt that their definition of an illiterate person no longer corresponded to the traditional view of someone who cannot read and write, but rather was considered as a person who cannot learn, unlearn, relearn and use digital technologies as part of their everyday lives. Firstly, this project concluded, therefore, that there should be a re-conceptualisation of young children's learning in early years pedagogy and early childhood settings as children under five are engaging with digital technologies in playing and learning at home and this cannot be overlooked by early years education. Secondly, it is suggested that in today's world of digital technologies early years educators should re-examine the way children learn and the way in which the early years workforce organise their learning environments.