Wonder children and victimizing parents – preservice early childhood teachers’ beliefs about children and technology at home

What is it about?

In this study, written assignments from preservice early childhood teachers were examined to find answers to the following research questions: [1] What beliefs do preservice teachers have about children and technology at home? [2] How are parents represented in preservice teachers’ beliefs about children and technology? [3] What are the relationships between these beliefs and preservice teachers’ views about the role of technology in early childhood education? Preservice teachers in this study had idolized beliefs about children and discriminating beliefs about parents. Children were believed to be born-competent technology users. Parents were believed to lack the skills or will needed to regulate their children’s technology use. It was expressed to be the responsibility of early childhood education to ensure that play and social interaction are still included in young children’s lives. These findings propose that students’ beliefs about children and parents need to be afforded attention in educational technology courses.

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