From Technological Distribution to Educational Innovation: How Context, Curriculum, and Local Practice Frame Educational Technology Use in Early Childhood Education

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Bibliographic Details
Title: From Technological Distribution to Educational Innovation: How Context, Curriculum, and Local Practice Frame Educational Technology Use in Early Childhood Education
Language: English
Authors: Robin Samuelsson (ORCID 0000-0002-8110-6506)
Source: Education and Information Technologies. 2025 30(12):17023-17048.
Availability: Springer. Available from: Springer Nature. One New York Plaza, Suite 4600, New York, NY 10004. Tel: 800-777-4643; Tel: 212-460-1500; Fax: 212-460-1700; e-mail: customerservice@springernature.com; Web site: https://link.springer.com/
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 26
Publication Date: 2025
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Education Level: Early Childhood Education
Descriptors: Educational Technology, Technology Uses in Education, Early Childhood Education, Educational Innovation, Foreign Countries, Educational Change, Affordances, Ethnography, Educational Practices
Geographic Terms: Sweden
DOI: 10.1007/s10639-025-13462-3
ISSN: 1360-2357
1573-7608
Abstract: For decades, educational technologies have been distributed to educational arenas, more recently also including early childhood education. However, many problems stem from a less transformative first-order change in the implementation of digital technologies. This study follows the changing states of educational technologies from three case studies spanning 2015-2022, during which early childhood curricular changes occurred in Sweden. Drawing on an ecological framework, three ethnographies of technology-in-use are examined for how technological affordances affect practice, using meta-ethnography comparisons and qualitative ethnographic analysis. Results show how macro-level curricular change interplays with local rules, technological offerings, pedagogical practice, and interaction to influence how technologies are used and pedagogies are shaped. The paper discusses how local negotiations make second-order educational innovation possible considering all ecological change layers and adds how pedagogy-first and child-first models can work to drive critically informed change in early childhood educational environments.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2025
Accession Number: EJ1480290
Database: ERIC
Description
Abstract:For decades, educational technologies have been distributed to educational arenas, more recently also including early childhood education. However, many problems stem from a less transformative first-order change in the implementation of digital technologies. This study follows the changing states of educational technologies from three case studies spanning 2015-2022, during which early childhood curricular changes occurred in Sweden. Drawing on an ecological framework, three ethnographies of technology-in-use are examined for how technological affordances affect practice, using meta-ethnography comparisons and qualitative ethnographic analysis. Results show how macro-level curricular change interplays with local rules, technological offerings, pedagogical practice, and interaction to influence how technologies are used and pedagogies are shaped. The paper discusses how local negotiations make second-order educational innovation possible considering all ecological change layers and adds how pedagogy-first and child-first models can work to drive critically informed change in early childhood educational environments.
ISSN:1360-2357
1573-7608
DOI:10.1007/s10639-025-13462-3