ERIC Number: EJ1343259
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2022
Pages: 21
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0313-7155
EISSN: EISSN-1837-6290
Available Date: N/A
Research Linking Digital Technologies to Young Children's Creativity: An Interpretive Framework and Systematic Review
Issues in Educational Research, v32 n1 p105-125 2022
Creativity and technology are two vital elements of 21st century learning. Increasingly, educational policies internationally are acknowledging the importance of developing children's problem solving, innovation and computational thinking skills. It is also clear that children are spending more time accessing digital technologies both at home and in educational settings. However, little research has been conducted which focuses on the intersection of young children (4 to 8 years), digital technologies, and the development of creativity. In order to identify empirical evidence of how digital technologies impact the demonstration and development of young children's creativity, a systematic review of the literature was carried out, with 19 studies meeting the review's inclusion criteria. Each of the studies was then analysed using a lens that made explicit the associated process skills and characteristics of young children's creative thinking and learning. Analysis of the identified studies through the 'A-E' "of Creativity" framework (Murcia, et al., 2020) led to the conclusion that appropriately designed and used digital technologies could indeed provoke and facilitate young children's creativity. The predominance of particular devices, and emerging themes in relation to the affordances of the identified technologies, highlighted the importance of future research exploring quality learning design and digital pedagogies in early learning.
Descriptors: Young Children, Multimedia Materials, Electronic Publishing, Creativity, Creative Thinking, Early Childhood Education, Educational Research, Computers
Western Australian Institute for Educational Research Inc. 5/202 Coode Street, Como, Western Australia 6152, Australia. e-mail: editor@iier.org.au; Web site: http://www.iier.org.au/iier.html
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Information Analyses
Education Level: Early Childhood Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A