Joanna McPake

Preschool children's learning with technology at home

We produced case studies of fourteen families based on nine rounds of data collection during the period from June 2008 to October 2009. We focused on fourteen children who were three years old when our visits started and used an ecocultural approach to examine their experiences of learning and playing with technologies at home. The study describes i) which technologies children encounter at home, ii) how family practices influence childrens encounters with technology, and iii) what children are learning through their interactions with technology. We present a framework of four areas of learning that could be supported by technology: acquiring operational skills, extending knowledge and understanding of the world, developing dispositions to learn, and understanding the role of technology in everyday life.

Seven Myths about Young Children and Technology.

Parents and educators tend to have many questions about young childrens play with computers and other technologies at home. They can find it difficult to know what is best for children because these toys and products were not around when they were young. Some will tell you that children have an affinity for technology that will be valuable in their future lives. Others think that children should not be playing with technology when they could be playing outside or reading a book.

Growing Up With Technology : Young Children Learning in a Digital World

First paragraph: The children in our studies were three or four years old. Like Andy and Evie they used technologies in different ways. They went to nursery, enjoyed active lives, and engaged in a diverse range of pursuits with friends and family. Whilst all the children had exposure to technologies at home their experiences varied: some children lived in homes with high levels of technology but preferred to read books, draw pictures or play with toys. Other children lived in homes where parents lacked confidence or interest in how to use technology and yet the children were able to find creative ways of integrating technology into their play. Andy was a keen Game Boy player, enjoyed surfing the web with his Dad but also liked dressing up, football and swimming. Evies favourite toy was the LeapPad but, apart from that, she did not show much interest in technology, preferring to look after her guinea pigs, play hopscotch or draw pictures.

Learning from the children: exploring preschool children's encounters with ICT at home

This article is an account of our attempts to understand preschool childrens experiences with information and communication technologies (ICT) at home. Using case study data, we focus on what we can learn from talking directly to the children that might otherwise have been overlooked and on describing and evaluating the methods we adopted to ensure that we maximized the childrens contributions to the research. By paying attention to the childrens perspectives we have learned that they are discriminating users of ICT who evaluate their own performances, know what gives them pleasure and who differentiate between operational competence and the substantive activities made possible by ICT.

Supporting young children's learning with technology at home and in preschool

We describe two empirical investigations of three‐ and four‐year‐old childrens uses of technology, one conducted in family homes and the other in preschool settings, with the aim of comparing the ways in which childrens learning with technology is supported in these different settings. The studies conceptualise learning within a sociocultural framework and use the concept of guided interaction to focus the discussion. Three areas of learning that can be supported by the use of technologies are outlined (extending knowledge of the world, acquiring operational skills and developing dispositions to learn), with the addition of learning about the cultural roles of technology in the home context. Both studies took place in Scotland and families were selected according to socioeconomic factors. The first study, of eight preschool settings, involved practitioners in implementing two interventions involving learning with technology. Findings were based on video analysis, interviews with practitioners and a process of guided enquiry. The second study, of childrens homes, involved survey responses from 346 parents and five visits over about 15 months to an initial 24 case‐study families. The paper also draws on a discussion with educational experts to discuss the policy and practice implications for transition to school. There were differences in terms of the human and technological resources available, the motivation and opportunities for providing guided interaction and the types of learning that were supported. Children encountered a more diverse range of technologies at home, were more likely to request help and could benefit from observing family practices. The limitations on the technologies available in most preschool settings and their lack of use for authentic activities meant that there were fewer opportunities to develop childrens awareness of the different cultural and work‐related uses of technology. Preschool and primary school staff have limited knowledge of childrens home experiences with technology.

Making provision for community languages : issues for teacher education in the UK

In UK schools, as elsewhere, linguistic diversity is on the rise. Changing patterns of migration and settlement mean that schools in areas where once English was the only language spoken are encountering bilingual pupils for the first time, while schools with a long history of multilingualism are finding that the range of languages spoken by pupils is growing and changing. These developments can be viewed positively, in particular given that plurilingualism (competence in more than one language) has been recognized by the Council of Europe, among other international bodies, as a desirable educational goal for all, benefiting both the individual who can speak several languages and wider society. However, to reap these benefits, there is a need for investment in formal educational provision which enables plurilingual learners to maintain and develop all their languages. Research conducted by three of the UKs Centres for Information on Language Teaching and Research—Scottish CILT, CILT, the (English) National Centre for Languages and CILT Cymru, in Wales—has established that there are substantial (and growing) numbers of plurilingual children in UK schools, speaking a very wide range of languages. There is provision for some of these languages to be studied formally, in mainstream education and in complementary classes. However, the research also revealed that professional development is a high priority for community language teachers, many of whom are untrained volunteers. In addition, research conducted by the Training and Development Agency (TDA) in England has shown that newly qualified teachers feel that their training has not prepared them well for working with pupils from a wide range of cultural and linguistic backgrounds. There is therefore also a need for initial teacher education and professional development which raises awareness of the benefits of plurilingualism, and for teacher educators to participate in experimental initiatives to develop bilingual educational approaches.

A mirror to ourselves? The educational experiences of Japanese children at school in the UK

Summary This paper reports the main findings of the ESRC‐funded study ‘The Educational Experiences of Japanese Children at School in the UK’. Research for this project was carried out by Janet Powney and Joanna McPake, at the Scottish Council for Research in Education, between April 1994 and January 1995. The work was based in two areas with thriving Japanese communities, one in Scotland and one in England; and focused on children in the 11‐13 age‐group, attending UK schools during the week and Japanese Saturday schools. This was a small‐scale study, intended principally to explore areas of dissonance in Japanese childrens experiences of school in the UK: the researchers defined a ‘dissonant’ experience as: one in which the children encountered contradictory notions of what school is and of the roles which pupils should play. It was postulated at the outset of the research that these dissonances would arise from the very different educational philosophies and practices in Japan and the UK. In the course ...

A fair deal for minority ethnic groups in Scotland

Scotland is a small country with a dominant white majority and relatively small, varied and dispersed minority ethnic groups. This paper draws on a review of educational research relating to minority ethnic groups at all stages of education in Scotland, conducted in 1998. The review aimed to evaluate research conducted in the areas of: access to educational opportunities, learning and teaching, attainment and staff. We found that existing educational research relevant to minority groups in Scotland is scarce, fragmented and on too small a scale to contribute significantly to policy. In this paper, we put forward various arguments to explain the lack of policy and consequent practice likely to enhance the education of minority groups and draw attention to significant developments in Scotland since 1998 that are likely to affect educational research concerning minority ethnic groups. How can small countries where minority groups comprise a tiny proportion of the overall population ensure that the interests, educational needs and aspirations of these groups are addressed?

Playing and learning in another language: ensuring good quality early years education in a language revitalisation programme

Offering Gaelic medium preschool provision poses particular challenges as most children only encounter Gaelic in the playroom and live in a context heavily dominated by English. Nevertheless, expanding provision for early years education in Gaelic is an important part of ambitious plans to revitalise the language. In this paper we explore the challenges experienced by adults and children as they strive to provide good quality preschool education through the medium of Gaelic. Drawing on evidence from a review of Gaelic medium preschool education, we consider the difficulties experienced in developing a Gaelic-only immersion playroom, the need for specific resources and the perceived training needs of practitioners. We look at the issues which arise from the largely English language home learning environment and the specific pedagogical challenges experienced when supporting language learning and access to the national curriculum. Our analysis will be relevant to others working in similar cultural–linguistic and political contexts across Europe.