Rethinking young children creating and communicating : research briefing 3 for digital childhoods

This briefing paper specifically considers children’s early communicative and creative experiences with digital technologies, addressing the following questions: »» What are children learning about the roles digital technologies play in supporting communication and creativity in their families and communities? »» To what extent are they able to harness these technologies for their own purposes? »» What use will they make of their knowledge and experiences when they start school

Seven myths about young children and technology

Parents and educators tend to have many questions about young children's 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

At home with the future : influences on young children's early experiences with digital technologies

Early years curricula encourage practitioners to build on children's home experiences. Research into the kinds of activities that young children engage in at home and considerations of how to link these to their experiences in pre-school settings can therefore make an important contribution to practice. This chapter, which draws on studies investigating young children's home experiences with digital technologies, seeks to identify some of the key factors that influence the nature and extent of these experiences. Although digital divides - reflecting classic social divisions of economic status, gender and ethnicity - have been extensively explored in order to understand the causes of inequalities in access to digital technologies, our research concluded that parental attitudes towards these technologies are more influential than economic disadvantage in determining young children's experiences. To explore this issue in greater detail, we have drawn on the concept of prolepsis, a key influence on parents' interactions with their children deriving from the projection of their memories of their own idealised past into the children's futures (Cole, 1996). Parents' assumptions, values and expectations are influenced by their past experiences, enacted in the present, and are then carried by their children into the future as they move from home to formal education. We argue that prolepsis has powerful explanatory force for understanding the kinds of decisions parents make about activities such as the extent to which children engage in technological play

The home as a technological learning environment: children's early encounters with digital technologies

Today's children are growing up in homes with an ever-growing array of technologies supporting families as they work, play, communicate and learn. How have recent rapid changes to the home as a technological environment influenced what and how preschool children learn? This paper, based on a series of studies of young children's experiences with digital technology at home, identifies key factors - including the structure and layout of the home, family practices, family values and family interactions - which shape the ways in which children: a) learn to use technologies; b) learn about the world via the medium of technologies; c) develop learning dispositions; and d) learn about the role of different technologies in family and community contexts

Young children learning in Gaelic: Investigating children's learning experiences in Gaelic-medium pre-school. Research Briefing 6E. Stirling

Gaelic-medium (GM) education is an important part of current efforts to re-vitalise the language in Scotland. Beginning Gaelic-medium education in preschool is seen as a crucial entry point, enhancing the numbers entering GM primary education and facilitating transition to the school learning environment. However, it is essential that GM preschool is of high quality. Government-funded provision is expected to offer children the same learning opportunities as their peers who attend English-medium settings. Meeting these expectations is challenging because most children enter Gaelic-medium preschool from English-speaking homes so that the nursery or playgroup is their only exposure to Gaelic. Our earlier study mapped the range and extent of Gaelic-medium early education and childcare provision but in the research reported here our focus was on what happens within settings, the children’s activities in the playroom and the ways in which practitioners help them to learn Gaelic, as well as ensuring that national expectations about curriculum and learning outcomes are met

Learning to work as a Gaelic-medium teacher : the role of universities in developing skills in bilingual pedagogy and professional Gaelic

Teacher education courses for those wishing to work in Gaelic-medium education (GME) primary and secondary classrooms have been on offer in Scottish Schools of Education for some 25 years. However, the original model assumed that prospective teachers would already be fluent Gaelic speakers, and that their needs would differ little from those of others wishing to work in the English-medium sector: the curriculum is the same in both sectors, as are the regulations governing initial teacher education and (now) teachers’ career long professional development. However, over this period, the Gaelic-speaking population has changed significantly. Ongoing language shift means that fewer people consider themselves to be ‘fully fluent’ and ‘fully literate’ in Gaelic. Instead many – including those who are graduates of GME schools – describe themselves as ‘learners’ or ‘new speakers’ (McLeod et al, 2014) of Gaelic. They recognise that to become GME teachers they require a professional register, both spoken and written, and specialist pedagogical skills. These include the ability to support the Gaelic language development of both fluent and learner pupils, to develop literacy skills in Gaelic and English, and to enable children to reap the benefits of growing up bilingual. In addition, given the important strategic role now allocated to GME in national plans for Gaelic revitalisation, GME teachers need to be advocates for Gaelic, responsible not only for building capacity and providing opportunities for children to develop their Gaelic, but also for creating the desire to use it within and outwith the classroom (Lo Bianco & Peyton, 2013). This presentation outlines how these elements have been incorporated into the new Gaelic Immersion for Teachers (GIfT) course, developed jointly by the Universities of Strathclyde and Edinburgh and running for the first time in 2014-15. It focuses in particular on the role that the university, the profession and the wider community of Gaelic speakers (learners and fluent) play in creating the next generation of GME teachers

S3 Pupils' Career Aspirations and Views on Language Learning

In May 2005, the Scottish Centre for Language Teaching and Research (SCILT) undertook a government-funded nationwide survey of approximately 1500 pupils in the S3 cohort of Scottish secondary schools. Pupils in 47 randomly selected Scottish secondary schools completed a questionnaire that explored their career aspirations and how these related to their views on language learning. The responses of S3 pupils are significant because the government's educational policy A Curriculum for Excellence is proposing to give pupils in this year group the opportunity to have a greater say in their subject choices. The findings provide useful indicators for government officials, head teachers, careers advisers and language teachers in Scottish secondary schools

Review of Gaelic medium early education and childcare

The National Plan for Gaelic 2007-2012 contains ambitious targets for the expansion of Gaelic medium (GM) primary school education, aiming for 4000 children enrolled in P1 by 2021. GM early years education and childcare plays a crucial role in attracting parents to the 'Gaelic system' and the great majority of children who enrol in GM primary have experienced GM preschool provision at nursery or playgroup. If the target numbers entering GM primary school are to be achieved then there will have to be a considerable expansion in the preschool sector too, given that there were just over 700 children enrolled in GM nurseries for session 2008-09. The National Plan includes a specific commitment to review GM early years education and childcare. The study reported here is a response to that call. It aims to clarify existing provision, identify gaps and make recommendations for changes or developments needed to ensure that the goals of the National Plan are achieved

Community languages in higher education : towards realising the potential

This study, Community Languages in Higher Education: Towards Realising the Potential, forms part of the Routes into Languages initiative funded by the Higher Education Funding Council in England (HEFCE) and the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF). It sets out to map provision for community languages, defined as 'all languages in use in a society, other than the dominant, official or national language'. In England, where the dominant language is English, some 300 community languages are in use, the most widespread being Urdu, Cantonese, Punjabi, Bengali, Arabic, Turkish, Russian, Spanish, Portuguese, Gujerati, Hindi and Polish. The research was jointly conducted by the Scottish Centre for Information on Language Teaching and Research (Scottish CILT) at the University of Stirling, and the SOAS-UCL Centre for Excellence for Teaching and Learning 'Languages of the Wider World' (LWW CETL), between February 2007 and January 2008. The overall aim of this study was to map provision for community languages in higher education in England and to consider how it can be developed to meet emerging demand for more extensive provision

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. Evie's 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