Adult mediation of preschool children’s use of mobile technologies in public libraries in Taiwan: A socio-cultural perspective

Abstract

This study explores characteristics of caregivers’ mediating behaviours for supporting preschool children’s emergent literacy development mediated by mobile technologies (i.e. laptops, tablets and smart phones). Design-based research in the action research framing was used to examine the process of adult-child interaction and communication in nine Involve Me workshops at five public libraries between 2013 and 2014 in Taiwan. A deductive-inductive thematic analysis identified examples to illustrate main forms of caregivers’ mediating behaviours: ‘focusing’, ‘affecting’, ‘expanding’, ‘encouraging’ and ‘regulating behaviour’. This study embraces the role of media mentorship in libraries, but acknowledges such a role demands training for library practitioners in order to effectively support children’s and families’ literary needs in the digital age.

Keywords

Adult mediation media mentorship mobile technologies preschool children public libraries

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