Surveying preschool teachers’ use of digital tablets: general and technology education related findings

Abstract

The availability of digital tablets in preschools has increased significantly in recent years. Literature suggests that these tools can enhance students' literacy and collaborative skills. As society becomes increasingly digitized, preschool curriculum reform also emphasises the subjects of technology and science as priority areas of learning. Teachers' knowledge and experiences are of utmost importance in carrying out this mandate. Few studies have explored the use of digital tablets to teach preschool technology and science in Sweden, and there is an urgent need to ascertain the role of digital aids as teaching tools. This survey study seeks to determine how digital tablets are used to support preschool children's learning in general, and with respect to technology education. Preschool educators (n = 327) across Sweden responded to an online survey consisting of 20 closed and 6 open items that probed the use of digital tablets. Survey results revealed a high degree of engagement with digital tablets in preschools, with activities directed toward various subject-related, social and generic skills. Programming, invention, construction and creation, problem-solving, and design emerged saliently as tablet activities in technology subject areas. Opportunities for providing meaningful learning tasks and digital adaptability were seen as pedagogical benefits of using tablets, but increasing expectations to integrate tablet activities with an accompanying lack of digital skills were expressed as limitations. Teachers' recommendations for future tablet use included defining clearer curriculum guidelines for tablet implementation and adequate training for acquiring digital competence.

Swedish preschool teachers’ perceptions about digital play in a workplace-learning context

“…Opportunities were identified at a workplace practice level, in the way digital play enhanced pedagogy, by supporting language development and mathematical skills, as well as communication in multicultural settings. These results confirm other studies (Otterborn, Schönborn, and Hultén 2018; Swedish National Agency for Education 2018), which have reported on the way that digital play is being used in Swedish preschools. The results also confirm the study of Petersen (2015) in the sense that some participants seemed to utilize digital play to enhance the agency of children with multi-cultural backgrounds.…”

“…In relation to the content, most participants identified challenges in their limited knowledge and in the rapidity of technological development, perhaps because these participants had not received further training, even though the task to figure out how digital technologies are to be used in preschool is a complex one (Dezuanni et al 2015;Lafton 2012). Otterborn, Schönborn, and Hultén (2018) confirm that some preschool teachers need training and, with the National Digitalisation Strategy, further training seems likely to become more accessible to Swedish preschool teachers in the near future (Ministry of Education 2017). The informants claimed to be insecure about how, and how much, digital play could be used in preschool pedagogy, perhaps due to limited examples of what children's digital play looks like, and how it can be manifested in preschools (Lawrence 2018), but also perhaps because preschool teachers currently need to come to terms with a lot of issues in order to regain and maintain their professional competence in times of digitalisation.…”

“…This is confirmed in a study by the Swedish National Agency for Education (2016), in which 80% of preschool staff state that IT is used to develop children's language, to look at pictures and videos and as a way to introduce mathematics. Similarly, Otterborn, Schönborn, and Hultén (2018) found that tablets were used to support subject-related, social and generic skills.…”

“…In a study by Otterborn, Schönborn, and Hultén (2018,) preschool teachers expressed that their lack of knowledge was a limitation to the integration of tablet-supported activities, that they needed clearer curriculum guidelines and adequate training. Johansson, Pramling Samuelsson, and Engberg (2003) highlight how the pedagogical situation is being affected by teachers' thoughts about knowledge and learning, and how these thoughts ultimately will influence children's opportunities to develop competences.…”

“…One way to inspire such discussions could be to follow the advice of Nuttall et al (2015), to direct teachers' attention towards defining and understanding children's digital play. The increased emphasis on developing children's digital competence in preschool (Swedish National Agency for Education 2018) will probably strengthen preschool teachers' interest in digital play (Otterborn, Schönborn, and Hultén 2018). However, it remains to be seen whether the curriculum changes will lead to a widespread and collaborative exploration of digital play among preschool teachers.…”