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Do children bring to nursery a knowledge of ICT that depends on their parents' income? Jackie Cosh looks at research that found some other surprising factors at work, with recommendations for nursery practice Children's experience of ICT in the home varies, but does it vary in response to the household income? This is something that Interplay, at the University of Stirling, decided to find out.
Do children bring to nursery a knowledge of ICT that depends on their parents' income? Jackie Cosh looks at research that found some other surprising factors at work, with recommendations for nursery practice

Children's experience of ICT in the home varies, but does it vary in response to the household income? This is something that Interplay, at the University of Stirling, decided to find out.

Interplay is part of the university's Institute of Education. Its purpose is to 'identify ways of enhancing young children's experience with information and communication technologies through guided interaction with practitioners, peers and parents'.

In 2003-2004 the researchers looked at the impact of socio-economic disadvantage on pre-school children's development of ICT competencies in the home. The study was funded by a British Educational Communications and Technologies Agency bursary and headed by Joanna McPake (see further information).

The aim of the research was to explore children's experience of ICT in the home in the year before they began formal education. The assumption was that young children who have varied and extensive access to ICT at home may be in a better position to take advantage of the opportunities to learn about ICT and use it when they start primary school.

There is a considerable amount of research establishing links between socio-economic disadvantage and subsequent educational disadvantage.

Concerns about this divide have raised questions about the potential educational disadvantages for children growing up with limited access to ICT.

Wide definition

Interplay's research involved a survey of 400 children who were attending eight nurseries in central Scotland. Case studies of 16 children aged three to five were taken from different social backgrounds.

To determine the impact of household income on ICT use, the children of 'advantaged' and 'disadvantaged' families were compared. How to classify advantaged and disadvantaged was not an easy question, so the researchers used household income as a criterion. Head researcher Joanna McPake says, 'Disadvantaged was defined as families with an income of less than Pounds 10,000. Advantaged was defined as families with an income of more than Pounds 20,000.'

Much of the study was conducted in the home environment, allowing the researchers to see for themselves the types of ICT available and the level of usage. 'All families were visited twice,' says Ms McPake. 'We spoke with them, usually with the child present. We talked with the children about what they liked, and in some cases we watched them play with the technology.'

ICT was considered in the widest sense of the word, she explains. 'Some people think that computers are the most important aspect of ICT. We didn't just look at computers but at a wide range of goods - DVDs, interactive TVs, electronic musical instruments, mobile telephones, cameras, even karaoke machines. We found that even with other electronic items, they were learning the necessary skills.'

By learning skills, the researchers recognised the way that, for example, a two-year-old may start by pushing buttons and then move on to more complex tasks.

Technical and cultural

It was decided that the study would focus on three areas:

* the ICT skills that children develop at home

* the impact of socio-economic disadvantage on ICT skills

* the links between children's home experiences and pre-school and primary school practice.

Interplay found that children were developing both technical competencies (for example, switching items on and off) and cultural competencies (the children's understanding of the social roles which ICT plays). It was also found that ICT was being used at home to support early literacy and numeracy, communication and musical skills, and to help children 'learn how to learn'.

'We found a huge variety of skills in what was a small sample of families, with some children very confident,' says MsMcPake. 'While there was no evidence that disadvantaged families were disadvantaged with regards to ICT use, we did find that advantaged families knew more about what was educational.'

In each case the degree of competency children had acquired was dependent on a number of factors including access to equipment, support for learning to use it, and the particular interests and aptitudes of other family members. But household income was not necessarily the deciding factor.

'Some children will be advantaged because their parents can afford more, while others may be advantaged because their parents use computers at work and have more knowledge,' says Ms McPake.

'We didn't find that earning power made much of a difference. However, we were surprised to find that in lots of disadvantaged families there was swapping of goods with families and friends. If a family wanted a new electronic item, they would look to swap one of their own items for something else.

'The disadvantaged families would acquire new technology in different ways, maybe winning a computer in a raffle, or swapping with relatives. We found that families with smaller incomes were not necessarily disadvantaged because there were so many other routes to buying technology.'

However, she adds, the family's attitudes did count for a lot. The researchers found that sometimes disadvantaged families have different attitudes towards ICT in allowing their children to make more use of it in the home.

One explanation found for this is that families in the higher income group may have important work stored in the computer and may be more worried about losing it if children play on the machine. Or children's access may be inadvertently restricted because the parent is less interested in ICT-based activities, and may not be encouraging their children to have an interest either.

Practitioner awareness

'The main thing that came out of it was that children have very varied home experience of ICT,' says Ms McPake. But when they came to pre-school it was another story.

'The childcare guidelines stress that early years practitioners should build on what the children know,' says Ms McPake. 'But we didn't get the impression that the nurseries knew all that much about the children's home life. Assumptions were made - some accurate, some not.'

The research highlighted that early years practitioners tended not to be well informed about what the children did at home, despite having processes in place to inform parents about their children's activities and developments within the nursery setting. The practitioners' knowledge of the level of ICT use in the family home was often the result of guesswork.

Rather than make assumptions about ICT use based on perceived household income, the researchers suggested, early years practitioners could talk with parents to establish the level to which ICT was used in the home, and to explain its relevance to children using it in the educational system.

Ms McPake stresses that this was a small study, and she would like to see more research into the subject. The report recommended a more substantial study looking particularly at the long-term effects of ICT at home. It also recommended training for early years practitioners which draws their attentions to the natures of children's home experiences and their cultural and educational value. NW

Good practice

How your setting can build links with children's families to help combat disadvantage:

* Converse with parents to establish the usage of ICT in the home (both the type of product and the level).

* Try to build on the products the child is used to using at home. For example, other forms of ICT such as disused or toy mobile telephones and cameras should be made available in the nursery.

* Build on the level of experience of the children. If the child's ICT use is quite advanced, use this as a starting point.

* Discuss with parents why it is important for children to use ICT. This should encourage parents to allow the child more access.

* Show parents what ICT activities the children are confidently participating in throughout the nursery setting.

Further information

* Already at a disadvantage? ICT in the home and children's preparation for primary school by Joanna McPake, Christine Stephen, Lydia Plowman, Daniela Sime and Susan Downey can be downloaded at www.ioe.stir.ac.uk/Interplay/summary.htm