This paper discusses findings from online surveys completed by parents of 0–3-year-old children in Norway, Portugal and Japan concerning their young children’s use of touchscreen technology. The study investigated parental practices, views and perspectives related to children’s digital practices and explored these in relation to wider cultural discourses around early childhood in the participant countries. The study adopted Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory to inform the questionnaire and interpretative data analysis of how parents’ views and experiences are influenced by a wide range of social, cultural and personal factors. The findings demonstrate some coherence between beliefs among parents regarding very young children’s use of touchscreen technologies and their place in the children’s home lives. Quantitative and qualitative results highlight that the respondents from all countries expressed the need for further guidance regarding technology use, and better communication with early education and care centres. The study findings are discussed in relation to the reported uses of touchscreen technologies in the three different cultural contexts, parents’ views on the benefits and/or disadvantages of children’s touchscreen technology use, and the potential influences of dominant cultural discourses on parents’ perceptions, views and practices.

This paper presents findings from an ongoing international study of Early Childhood (EC) teachers' and children's use of Internet of Toys (IoToys) to understand possibilities for developing children's cognitive capacities (e.g., creativity, inquiry, engineering design thinking). The study employed a Design Based Research (DBR) method, where teachers intentionally plan and deliver technologically constructed Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) experiences for preschoolers. Using Australia as a case study, data collection involved participant observation of three teachers' and 17 children's technology constructed play experiences with robotic toys, littleBits electronic magnetic blocks, alongside pre and post semi-structured interviews with teachers and children's photo voice sessions were video recorded. Analysing the findings using embodied cognition theory showed that the teachers, although novice in their own technological pedagogical knowledge engaged children's play with the robotic toys, and co-learn with the children. Integration of STEM-focused playful experiences supported children's scientific inquiry, design thinking and creativity as well as vocabulary targeted at interdisciplinary STEM concepts. With the ever increasing focus on developing children's 21st century skills, this study recommends engineering habits of mind, creativity and inquiry dispositions should now be taken into account in teaching and learning situations with young children and to develop STEM engagement.

This paper presents findings from an on-going international study of early childhood educators' and children's use of new digital technologies, such as the Internet of Toys (IoToys) and the pedagogic interactions which occur when these artefacts are integrated in classrooms. Based on qualitative methodology, data has been collected in four countries: Australia, Norway, Scotland and England. Data collection includes observations of interactions with IoToys (written and video), multimedia messages (digital images, videos), short written reflections and consultations with the children. Findings across all countries show that IoToys offer a platform for interactions to become multidirectional, multidimensional and multimodal. Examining the interactions in the ecology of the playroom, this study calls for pedagogy involving IoToys to provide a platform for children's rich symbiotic explorations, creativity, collaboration and problem solving.

This study examines whether the Internet of Toys (IoToys) (de)limits children's make-believe play and whether the functionality and manipulatives offered by the IoToys serve as motivational pleasure (tactile, virtual and visual) for children to engage in makebelieve play. Combining Piagetian and Vygotskian ideas of play as a unity of cognition and social context, we consider IoToys as a motivational conduit for children's symbolic actions that leads to makebelieve play. Qualitative methodology was employed using observations of young children at home when interacting with IoToys (total n = 10 families) from England (n = 5 families) and Australia (n = 5 families).Data showed that children's interaction does not limit the development of their make-believe play as they engage in imitation schemata and create imaginative situations within and beyond the intended preprogrammed functions of the IoToy. To conclude, it is argued that instead of differentiating virtual and physical play, we should (re)think play with multimodal playscape lenses.

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This Australian study examines whether and how technologies such as Artificially Intelligent (AI) toys in a home-based setting might socially and emotionally support children with diverse needs through play. Building on the concept of ‘emotional capital', and employing a design-based research approach, parents during the COVID-19 lockdown periods in 2020 intentionally used robotic toys to engage their children with additional diverse needs in home-based play experiences. The data from both parents’ and children’s ( n = 5) Zoom interviews, digital observations and children’s drawings demonstrated how children creatively conversed with their AI robots in innovative and empathy-based dialogues that generated happy feelings and a sense of ‘imaginary’ togetherness with their robot during the coding experiences. This study contributes to research by exploring the use of AI robotic toys together with physical and artificial environments and offers a case to build children’s emotional capital in enabling children’s social-emotional literacies.

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This paper will discuss the beliefs and experiences of early childhood educators across three countries, England, Norway and Greece, in relation to the use of touchscreen technology with the youngest children in their settings. Building on previous research which explored parents' perspectives, this study now extends the investigation to early childhood educators who play a key role in children's learning and development. A detailed online survey was implemented across the three countries based on Bronfenbrenner's ecological framework and with a focus on their teaching philosophy. Findings indicate that although there are some pertinent cultural differences, overall educators are generally confident when using technology for work/personal purposes but less so when integrating technology with very young children. Educators across all countries were not satisfied with their training. The country of origin had a significant impact on teachers' philosophy and their views towards technology, with Norwegian educators reporting the most positive views towards using touchscreen technologies in educational settings with very young children. Macrosystemic factors in each country could be explored in future research to contribute to a deeper interpretation of similarities and differences between countries and cultural contexts.