Abstract:
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has become an important part of many young
children’s lives. While kindergarten teachers’ perceptions of the use of ICT and their actual use have
been investigated across many countries, empirical research on the topic remains scant in China.
Previous research has shown kindergarten teachers develop perceptions of, and make decisions on,
ICT use based on their understandings of pedagogy, content, and the affordances of technologies, all
of which are contextually situated. This research aims to investigate kindergarten teachers’
perceptions and practices, as well as factors that influence their ICT use in China. The Technological
Pedagogical and Content Knowledge (TPACK) model was used to understand the rationale for
teachers’ perceptions and practices, while Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory was adopted
to seek in-depth understanding of the context of teachers’ ICT use.
A qualitative case study was selected as the research approach to understand the topic of the study.
Fifteen teachers recruited from three kindergartens in Nanjing, China were interviewed to explore
participants’ perceptions and practices related to ICT use. Observations were conducted to further
investigate how they used ICT in kindergarten activities. The researcher reviewed both public and
private documents, including national policies issued for kindergarten education and participants’
teaching plans. These were triangulated with data elicited from interviews, observations and field
notes recording aspects of the research context. A thematic analysis produced a range of
interrelated themes to answer the research questions.
The findings indicate that ICT was widely used as a teaching tool for teachers and a learning tool for
children. When it was used as a teaching tool, all participants regarded it as a screen-based
technology which could be used for various purposes in whole-class activities. However, when used
as a learning tool by children, teachers’ perceptions and practices were less uniform, as there
seemed to be a tension between teachers’ perceived values of ICT and their concerns about
children’s use. The analysis shows teachers’ use of ICT depended on their understanding of
pedagogy, subject matter, the affordances of ICT and young children’s learning. Teachers developed
those understandings through interactions with a range of complex but interrelated contextual
factors including the institutional context, educational and cultural traditions and macro policies and
documents. Implications for kindergarten principals, teachers and policymakers regarding the use of
ICT in ECE contexts are discussed along with future research directions.