Access and Use of Digital Technologies in Early Childhood: A Review of Mixed Messages in Popular Media

Authors

  • Laura Teichert Western Michigan University
  • Jim Anderson University of British Columbia
  • Ann Anderson University of British Columbia
  • Jan Hare University of British Columbia
  • Marianne McTavish University of British Columbia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.20360/langandlit29546

Abstract

This paper reports on an analysis of 60 print and online articles collected in a metropolitan area in Canada that describe children’s digital engagement through a focus on ‘early literacy’ or ‘digital literacy’. Findings reveal mixed messages about children’s use of digital technology that create competing frames for adults supporting (or not) young children’s digital literacy practices. Digital technology was often characterized as something to limit/control, except in school, where digital literacy was characterized as holding a proper place when controlled by educators. Consistent across media messaging was the promotion of traditional, print-based texts as an essential early literacy practice.

Author Biographies

Laura Teichert, Western Michigan University

Laura Teichert is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Special Education and Literacy Studies at Western Michigan University. Her research interests focus on young children’s early digital literacy in home, school, and community contexts; pre-service teacher education in literacy; and family literacy. Previously, she has worked as an early literacy specialist and an elementary school teacher.

Jim Anderson, University of British Columbia

Jim Anderson is Professor Emeritus (June, 2020) in the Department of Language and Literacy Education at the University of British Columbia. Prior to joining UBC, he worked in the public education system as a classroom teacher, reading specialist, language arts coordinator and assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction. His research and teaching focus on early literacy and family literacy, particularly on issues around social inequality.

Ann Anderson, University of British Columbia

Ann Anderson is a Professor in the Department of Curriculum and Pedagogy at the University of British Columbia. Her research and teaching foci include mathematics education in the early years, parent mediation of young children’s multi-literacies at home, and family literacy. Ann researches the ways in which young children’s multi-literacies are supported in families from diverse backgrounds, prior to and during primary school and has ongoing collaborations with colleagues in family literacy. Her research is funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and published in journals in early childhood education, literacy education, and mathematics education.

Jan Hare, University of British Columbia

Jan Hare is an Anishinaabe scholar and educator from the M’Chigeeng First Nation in northern Ontario, Canada. She is a Professor in Language and Literacy Education and a Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Pedagogy in the Faculty of Education at the University of British Columbia. Her teaching and research focus on improving educational outcomes for Indigenous learners and centering Indigenous knowledge systems in early learning, K-12 schooling, and post-secondary education.

Marianne McTavish, University of British Columbia

Marianne McTavish is Professor of Teaching and Associate Dean of Teacher Education in the Faculty of Education at the University of British Columbia. She teaches introductory language arts courses to pre-service teachers and graduate courses in literacy. Her research work with early childhood teacher candidates and digital literacies reconceptualizes the way literacy is taught and practiced. She has authored several professional resources in addition to scholarly articles on young children’s emergent literacy learning, teacher education, and family literacy

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Published

2021-10-26

How to Cite

Teichert, L., Anderson, J., Anderson, A., Hare, J., & McTavish, M. (2021). Access and Use of Digital Technologies in Early Childhood: A Review of Mixed Messages in Popular Media. Language and Literacy, 23(3), 106–128. https://doi.org/10.20360/langandlit29546

Issue

Vol. 23 No. 3 (2021): Regular Issue

Section

Articles

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