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Reimagining TPACK for Early Childhood Education: Teachers’ Knowledge, Parental Adaptation, and ICT Integration in Pandemic-Era Play-Based Learning
Hannah Xie ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-sonnet-5-5This thesis looks at how technology was used to support play-based learning for young children in China during COVID-19 lockdowns. It uses the TPACK model (a framework for teachers' technology, teaching and content knowledge) as its lens. It combines a scoping review of 47 studies with a qualitative study of ten teachers in five international schools and a second qualitative study of three parents. Teachers moved from using technology as an extra resource to using it as the main tool, and parents took on unexpected roles as co-educators.
Key points
- A scoping review of 47 empirical studies found that ICT in play-based learning focused on teacher-initiated guided play, child-initiated free play, and balanced approaches.
- Ten teachers from five international schools in China facilitated online play-based learning for children aged 2-6 years during COVID-19.
- Teachers shifted ICT from a supplementary resource to a primary tool, fostering digital literacy, interactive and exploratory learning, collaboration, and critical thinking.
- Contextual knowledge was critical for adapting ICT integration to changing circumstances.
- Three parents acting as co-educators for children aged 3-9 years showed that their evolving TPACK influenced children's engagement, digital literacy, and play-based learning outcomes.
Limitations
Only the abstract is available, and the qualitative studies are very small (ten teachers from international schools, three parents), so the findings cannot be generalised to other settings or to children in less-resourced contexts. The abstract gives no measured child outcomes.
Abstract
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has become an integral part of young children’s lives. However, research on online learning in early childhood education (ECE) prior to the COVID-19 pandemic was limited. The pandemic created a context for young children to engage in online learning, offering new opportunities to explore how ICT can support play-based learning (PL), particularly in China, during prolonged lockdowns. PL is recognised as a developmentally appropriate and effective pedagogical approach, but little research has examined its integration with ICT in online contexts for children in ECE. This thesis, deploying the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) model as an analytical lens, begins with a scoping review of 47 empirical studies revealing that ICT integration in play-based pedagogies focused on teacher-initiated guided play, child-initiated free play, and balanced approaches with different learning content foci. Building on this, the first qualitative multi-case study explored the experiences of ten teachers from five international schools in China during COVID-19, highlighting the challenges and opportunities in facilitating PL online for children aged 2-6 years. Teachers shifted their use of ICT from a supplementary resource to a primary tool, fostering digital literacy, interactive and exploratory learning, collaboration, and critical thinking. Contextual knowledge was critical for adapting ICT integration to evolving circumstances. The second qualitative study examined three parents’ experiences as unexpected co-educators supporting children aged 3-9 years. Findings indicate that parents’ evolving TPACK influenced children’s engagement, digital literacy, and PL outcomes.