Chinese early childhood educators’ beliefs and experiences around using touchscreens with children under three years of age

Research shows that educators’ technology beliefs and experiences strongly shape their technology adoption and utilization in educational practices. This mixed-method study investigated very young children’s educators’ touchscreen use and their beliefs and experiences in China. Rich quantitative findings (N = 1276) revealed the availability of touchscreen devices mainly computers and laptops in early childhood educational settings and this technology provision aligns with Chinese traditional teacher-centred educational practices. Despite their highly reported digital skills, educators’ overall use of touchscreen technologies with very young children was low and there was a lack of confidence in using them with children. It appears that confidence is more influential for Chinese educators in deciding to use technology with very young children than their digital skills. Implications for educational policies and designing effective professional learning and development for early childhood educators to enhance their digital competence are discussed.