This dissertation reports research that investigated the integration of technology into early years pedagogy. The work contributes to knowledge about teaching and learning in the early years in the context of the pedagogical challenges practitioners face when integrating technology. The theoretical framework for the study combined theories of activity theory and learning ecologies. The methodology was framed by educational design research. Collaborative design was adopted by the researcher and a primary-school nursery teacher to develop and implement an intervention in her classroom, focussing on the integration of digital media in teacher-to-children, and peer-to-peer interactions. Ongoing reflective dialogue facilitated the collaborative nature of this study and supported the adoption of new practices. Research data included video observations of the children, the teacher and other practitioners. The data sets also included interviews and reflective discussions with the teacher, and scrutiny of classroom planning documents. Qualitative data analysis involved thematic analysis to identify key factors that were related to changes in teacher beliefs and pedagogy across the phases of the design research. Iterative cycles of the intervention were designed and implemented in collaboration with the teacher. This resulted in the development of teaching and learning strategies to integrate digital media into free-flow play and into directed teaching. The developments required the reconstruction of some practitioner beliefs about the value of digital technologies in early education. The study findings suggest professional development should address practitioner beliefs about digital media and early years pedagogy, and provide time and space for reflection. The research makes an original contribution to knowledge about the integration of digital media into early years classroom pedagogy, including in-depth understanding of the potential barriers and gateways between practitioner beliefs about new technologies and their uptake in the classroom, and the processes of bringing about change through appropriate intervention and reflection
