TRENDS AND ISSUES: A REVIEW OF STUDIES RELATED TO TECHNOLOGY USAGE IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION

References (1)

1. 2006; Espinosa et al., 2006). Furthermore, it was discovered that technology was useful for early childhood teachers in terms of supporting their professional development (Chen & Chang, 2006a; Downer et al., 2009NAEYC 1996). The results of these studies suggested that training programs should be provided for early childhood teachers in order that could use technology in ways that were appropriate for their young students. By attending technology related courses in their pre-service education and became familiar with computer skills they were able to utilize these skills in their professional life. According to the statement from NAEYC (1996), both in-service and pre service training should be conducted to allow early childhood teachers to benefit from the possible advantages of technology in their teaching. This systematic review indicated different types of studies about technology usage in early childhood education in terms of the impact on children, teachers, and both children and teachers. The current study covered 30 articles concerning research conducted in different countries in the world; however, none of the reviewed journals contained a report of research carried out in Turkey. It would, therefore, be useful to review studies carried out in Turkey in order to reflect the issue of technology usage in early childhood education. Thus, the recent debate about technology usage in early childhood education can be seen as a guide for further studies. This study reviewed technology-related articles from journals published from 2003 to 2009. From a content analysis it emerged that the main issues of these studies focused on the different types of technologies using in early childhood classrooms. This study showed that the “computer” as a technology plays an important role on technology-related literature. In addition, other types of technologies such as ICT, assistive technology were selected to be used in early childhood classrooms. Moreover, it was clear that most of the researchers chose the type of methodology on the basis of their research purposes. Therefore, this review can help future researchers to select an appropriate methodology to suit the purpose of their research. ABU-EL-HAIJA L. (2003, July). Technology environment? How do computers affect kids? Paper presented at the National Information Center “Towards a Healthy Environment for Children, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid, Jordan”. Retrieved May 11, 2009, from http://www.