Parents, pre-schoolers and learning with technology at home: Some implications for policy

Journal of Computer Assisted Learning

Volumn 27, Issue 4, 2011, Pages 361-371

  Plowman, L ^a   Stevenson, O ^b   Mcpake, J ^c   Stephen, C ^a   Adey, C ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF STIRLING   (United Kingdom)

^b UNIVERSITY OF GLASGOW   (United Kingdom)

^c UNIVERSITY OF STRATHCLYDE   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

Early years; Home; ICT; Parents; Policy; Pre school

Indexed keywords

EID: 79960220533     PISSN: 02664909     EISSN: 13652729     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2729.2011.00432.x     Document Type: Article

References (49)

1. Aubrey C. & Dahl S. (2008) A Review of the Evidence on the Use of ICT in the Early Years Foundation Stage. Becta, Coventry.
2. Becta (2008a) Extending Opportunity, Final Report of the Minister's Taskforce on Home Access to Technology. Becta, Coventry.
3. Becta (2008b) Exploiting ICT to Improve Parental Engagement, Moving Towards Online Reporting. Becta, Coventry.
4. Becta (2009) Home Access Programme: One Year on: Summary (December 2009). Becta, Coventry.
5. Britto P., Cerezo A. & Ogbunugafor C. (2008) How evidence can be used to inform policy: a case study of early childhood evidence-based policy development. International Journal of Early Childhood 40, 101-118.
6. Byron T. (2008) Safer Children in a Digital World: The Report of the Byron Review. Department of Children, Schools and Families, Nottingham.
7. Central Advisory Council for Education (England) (1967) Children and Their Primary Schools (The Plowden Report). (Paragraphs 92-101). HMSO, London.
8. Consultative Committee on the Primary School (1931) The Primary School (The Hadow Report). (Paragraph 48). HMSO, London.
9. DCSF (2007) The Children's Plan. DCSF, London.
10. DCSF (2008) Practice Guidance for the Early Years Foundation Stage: Setting the Standards for Learning, Development and Care for Children from Birth to Five. DCSF, London.
11. Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) & Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) (2009) Digital Britain, The Interim Report. The Stationery Office, Norwich.
12. Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) & Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) (2009) Digital Britain, The Final Report. The Stationery Office, Norwich.
13. Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) (2009) The Children's Plan Two Years on: A Progress Report. DCSF, London.
14. Desforges C. & Abouchaar A. (2003) The Impact of Parental Involvement, Parental Support and Family Education on Pupil Achievements and Adjustment: A Literature Review. (Research Report 433). Department for Education and Skills, London.
15. Feinstein L., Duckworth K. & Sabates R. (2008) Education and the Family: Passing Success across the Generations. Routledge, Abingdon.
16. Grant L. (2010) Developing the Home-School Relationship Using Digital Technologies. Futurelab, Bristol.
17. Hope S. & MacDonald A. (2007) Scotland's People: Scottish Household Survey Fieldwork Outcomes 2005/2006. Scottish Executive National Statistics, Edinburgh.
18. Learning and Teaching Scotland (2009) Curriculum for Excellence: Technologies - principles and practice. Available at: (last accessed 7 January 2011).
19. Lynch S., Bielby G., Judkins M., Rudd P. & Benton T. (2010) Evaluation of the Computers for Pupils Initiative: Final Report. Becta, Coventry.
20. Marsh J. (2010) Young children's play in online virtual worlds. Journal of Early Childhood Research 8, 23-39.
21. McPake J. (2010) The home as a technological learning environment: children's early encounters with digital technologies. Presented at the American Educational Research Association (AERA) Conference, Denver, April 30-May 2, 2010.
22. McPake J. & Plowman L. (2010) At home with the future: influences on young children's early experiences with digital technologies. In Contemporary Perspectives on Early Childhood Education (ed. N. Yelland), pp. 210-246. Open University Press, Maidenhead.
23. Parette H., Quesenberry A. & Blum C. (2010) Missing the boat with technology usage in early childhood settings: a 21st century view of developmentally appropriate practice. Early Childhood Education Journal 37, 335-343.
24. Parker-Rees R. (2010) Editorial. Early Years 30, 201-203.
25. Penuel W., Pasnik S., Bates L., Townsend E., Gallagher L., Llorente C. & Hupert N. (2009) Preschool Teachers can Use a Media-Rich Curriculum to Prepare Low-Income Children for School Success: Results of a Randomized Controlled Trial. (Summative evaluation of the Ready to Learn initiative), Education Development Center Inc & SRI International, Newton, MA.
26. Perry A., Amadeo C., Fletcher M. & Walker E. (2010) Instinct or Reason: How Education Policy is Made and How We Might Make It Better. CfBT Education Trust, London.
27. Plowman L. (2010) Using mobile phone diaries to explore children's everyday lives. Presented at the American Educational Research Association (AERA) Conference, Denver, April 30-May 2, 2010.
28. Plowman L. & Stephen C. (2005) Children, play and computers in pre-school education. British Journal of Educational Technology 36, 145-158.
29. Plowman L. & Stephen C. (2007) Guided interaction in pre-school settings. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning 23, 14-21.
30. Plowman L., McPake J. & Stephen C. (2008) Just picking it up? Young children learning with technology at home. Cambridge Journal of Education 38, 303-319.
31. Plowman L., McPake J. & Stephen C. (2010a) The technologisation of childhood? Young children and technology in the home. Children and Society 24, 63-74.
32. Plowman L., McPake J. & Stephen C. (2010b) Growing Up with Technology: Young Children Learning in a Digital World. Routledge, London.
33. Pramling Samuelsson I., Sheridan S. & Williams P. (2006) Five preschool curricula - comparative perspective. International Journal of Early Childhood 38, 11-30.
34. Rideout V. & Hamel E. (2006) The Media Family: Electronic Media in the Lives of Infants, Toddlers, Preschoolers and Their Parents. Kaiser Family Foundation, Menlo Park, CA.
35. Scottish Executive (2007) A Curriculum for Excellence, Building the Curriculum 2: Active Learning in the Early Years. Scottish Executive, Edinburgh.
36. Scottish Government (2008a) A Guide to 'Getting It Right for Every Child'. Scottish Government, Edinburgh.
37. Scottish Government (2008b) The Early Years Framework. Scottish Government, Edinburgh.
38. Scottish Government (2009) Pre-school and Childcare Statistics 2009. Available at: (last accessed 7 January 2011).
39. Scottish Government (2010a) Ministers step up action on the early years. News release, 23 June 2010.
40. Scottish Government (2010b) The Financial Impact of Early Years Interventions in Scotland. Available at: (last accessed 4 January 2011).
41. Selwyn N., Potter J. & Cranmer S. (2009) Primary pupils' use of information and communication technologies at school and home. British Journal of Educational Technology 40, 919-932.
42. Stephen C. (2006) Early Years Education: Perspectives from a Review of the International Literature. Scottish Executive Education Department, Edinburgh.
43. Stephen C., McPake J., Plowman L. & Berch-Heyman S. (2008) Learning from the children: exploring preschool children's encounters with ICT at home. Journal of Early Childhood Research 6, 99-117.
44. Stephen C., McPake J. & Plowman L. (2010) Digital technologies at home: the experiences of 3- and 4-year-olds in Scotland. In Early Childhoods in a Changing World (eds M.M. Clark & S. Tucker), pp. 145-154. Trentham Books, Stoke-on-Trent.
45. Stevenson O. & Adey C. (2010) Toy tours: reflections on walking-whilst-talking with young children at home. Qualitative Researcher 12, 8-10.
46. Sylva K., Melhuish E., Sammons P., Siraj-Blatchford I. & Taggart B. (2010) Early Childhood Matters: Evidence from the Effective Pre-School and Primary Education Project. Routledge, Abingdon.
47. Tudge J. (2008) The Everyday Lives of Young Children. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
48. U.S. Department of Education (2002) No Child Left Behind, part D, Section 2042, 'Enhancing Education Through Technology'. Available at: (last accessed 7 January 2011).
49. U.S. Department of Education (2010) Transforming American Education: Learning Powered by Technology. National Educational Technology Plan 2010, Office of Educational Technology, Washington, DC.