Young Children’s Digital Literacy Practices in the Home : A Review of the Literature

Kumpulainen, Kristiina and Gillen, J (2017) Young Children’s Digital Literacy Practices in the Home : A Review of the Literature. [Report]

Abstract

This paper reports a review of research literature on young children’s (aged 0-8 years old) digital literacy practices in the home. The review contributes to one of the aims of the COST DigiLitEY programme by identifying the current state of knowledge on young children’s digital literacy and multimodal practices in homes and communities, including synthesising research on parental support of children’s digital literacy development” (WG1 Mission Statement). Accordingly, the purpose of this review is to 1) summarise current research knowledge in the area of young children’s digital literacy practices in the home, 2) identify key messages for educational researchers, parents and policy makers, and 3) propose key research questions in the field for future study. A total of 33 studies published between 2005 and 2015 were selected for the review. Informed by a descriptive and narrative approach, the review revealed three leading themes that emerged from the analysis, namely; Parental mediation of children’s digital literacy practices in homes, Children’s media engagement and literacy learning in homes, and home-school knowledge exchange of children’s digital literacy practices. The major findings of these themes are highlighted and the review ends with key messages for parents; educational policy and practice, and educational researchers.