When the computer stays silent: Bedouin kindergarten teachers negotiating technology, pedagogy, and sociocultural expectations in the Negev

Physical access to digital technology does not necessarily result in meaningful pedagogical integration in early childhood education. This study explored how Arab-Bedouin kindergarten teachers in southern Israel understood and negotiated the pedagogical use and non-use of computers within their institutional and sociocultural contexts. A qualitative interpretive design was employed, based on semi-structured telephone interviews conducted in Arabic with eight female kindergarten teachers, aged 27–45. Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Findings revealed four interrelated patterns: endorsement of technology alongside limited routine integration; teacher-regulated mediation of children's digital participation; infrastructural and professional constraints affecting implementation; and negotiation of technology in relation to teachers’ understandings of appropriate early-childhood experiences, including play, movement, and screen exposure. Participants’ accounts suggest that computer use was shaped by the interaction of material conditions, professional judgement, pedagogical beliefs, and situated expectations rather than by a uniform cultural orientation toward technology. The study conceptualises symbolic integration as the physical and educational presence of technology without its sustained incorporation into everyday pedagogy.