This article identifies contemporary issues for educators regarding the integration of new technologies in the early childhood education centre, through critical analysis of discourse associated with the integration of new technologies in early childhood services in Aotearoa/New Zealand. A culture of critique is revealed as an early childhood curriculum objective in Aotearoa/New Zealand, supported by the Ministry of Education. However, engaging in such critique reveals tensions between expectations regarding educators and the vested interests of policy-makers and technology industries. The characterisation of the educator as technologically deficient marginalises opportunities for educators to critically consider the role of technology in society. This paper argues for a problematisation of negative characterisations of educators in order to promote meaningful critique that is articulated as a requisite of effective integration of technology in early childhood curricula.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AppleM. W. (2004). Foreword. In O'NeillA., ClarkJ., & OpenshawR. (Eds.), Reshaping culture, knowledge and learning: Policy and content in the New Zealand curriculum framework (pp. 9–15). Palmerston North: Dunmore Press.
2.
AngusL., SnyderI., & Sutherland-SmithW. (2004). ICT and educational (dis)advantage: Families, computers and contemporary social and educational inequalities. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 25(1), 3–18.
3.
ArmstrongA., & CasementC. (2001). The child and the machine: How computers put our children's education at risk.Melbourne: Scribe.
4.
BagritL. (1965). The age of automation. The Reith Lectures, 1964. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books.
5.
BersM. U., NewR. S., & BoudreauL. (2004). Teaching and learning when no one is expert: Children and parents explore technology. Early Childhood Research and Practice, 6(2). Retrieved 22 January 2005, http://ecrp.uiuc.edu/v6n2/bers.html.
6.
BolstadR. (2004). The role and potential for ICT in early childhood education: A review of New Zealand and international literature.Wellington: New Zealand Council for Educational Research.
7.
BowersC. (1988). The cultural dimensions of educational computing: Understanding the non-neutrality of technology.New York: Teachers College Press.
8.
CookD., & FinlaysonH. (1999). Interactive children, communicative teaching: ICT and classroom teaching.Buckingham: Open University Press.
9.
CordesC., & MillerE. (1999). Fools gold: A critical look at computers in childhood.College Park, MD: Alliance for Childhood. Retrieved 27 May 2002, www.allianceforchildhood.net.
10.
CordesC., & MillerE. (2000). Robotic baby dolls named worst toy idea of the year. College Park, MD: Alliance for Childhood. Retrieved 27 May 2002, www.allianceforchildhood.net.
11.
EllisK., & BlashkiK. (2004). Toddler techies: A study of young children's interaction with computers. Information Technology in Childhood Education Annual.American Association for Computers in Education.
12.
EllulJ. (1964). The technological society. (J. Wilkinson, Trans.). New York: Vintage Books.
FitzsimonsP. (2002). Enframing education. In PetersM. A. (Ed.), Heidegger, education, and modernity (pp. 171–190). Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
15.
GoldsmithM. (1963). Mechanisation in the classroom: An introduction to teaching machines and programmed Learning.London: Souvenir Press.
16.
HeideggerM. (1977). The question concerning technology. (W. Lovitt, Trans.). In HeideggerM., The question concerning technology and other essays (pp. 1–49). New York: Harper & Row.
17.
HughesD. R. (1998). Kids online: Protecting your children in cyberspace.Grand Rapids, MI: Fleming H. Revell.
18.
KapurJ. (1999). Out of control: Television and the transformation of childhood in late capitalism. In KinderM. (Ed.), Kids media culture (pp. 122–136). Durham, NC: Duke University Press.
19.
KrokerA. (2004). The will to technology and the culture of nihilism: Heidegger, Nietzsche, and Marx.Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
20.
LankshearC., SnyderI., & GreenB. (2000). Teachers and technoliteracy: Managing literacy, technology and learning in schools.St Leonards, NSW: Allen & Unwin.
21.
LukeC. (1999). Media and cultural studies in Australia. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, 42(8), 622–626.
22.
MarshJ. (2002). Electronic toys: Why should we be concerned? A response to Levin & Rosenquest (2001). Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood, 3(1), 132–138.
23.
MarshallJ. D. (1999). Technology in the New Zealand curriculum. New Zealand Journal of Educational Studies, 34(1), 165–175.
24.
Ministry of Education, Te Tahuhu o te Matauranga (1993). New Zealand curriculum framework, te anga marautanga o Aotearoa. Wellington: Learning Media.
25.
Ministry of Education, Te Tahuhu o te Matauranga (1996). Te Whāriki: He whāriki: matauranga mō ngā mokopuna o Aotearoa, early childhood curriculum.Wellington: Learning Media.
26.
Ministry of Education, Te Tahuhu o te Matauranga (1998). Quality in Action, te mahi whai hua: Implementing the revised statement of desirable objectives and practices in New Zealand early childhood services.Wellington: Learning Media.
27.
MitchellW., & SimmonsR. (1994). Beyond politics: Market, welfare and the failure of bureaucracy.Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
28.
New Zealand Education Institute (2001). NZEI submission on the Ministry of Education information and communications technology (ICT) draft strategy for schools, 2002–2004. Retrieved 24 June 2003, www.nzei.org.nz.
29.
O'NeillA., & JolleyS. (2004). The technology curriculum: Commercialising education for mindless consumption. In O'NeillA., ClarkJ., & OpenshawR. (Eds.), Reshaping culture, knowledge and learning: Policy and content in the New Zealand Curriculum Framework (pp. 177–201). Palmerston North: Dunmore Press.
PapertS. (1993). The children's machine: Rethinking school in the age of the computer.New York: Basic Books.
32.
PattersonM. (2004). How can ICT enrich the learning environment in early childhood centres?Computers in New Zealand Schools, 16(1), 25–30.
33.
PetersL. (2003). Testing time: The need for a new focus on technology and results. T.H.E. Journal, 30(10). Retrieved 2 July 2003, www.thejournal.com/magazine/vault/A4407.cfm.
34.
PetersM. A. (1998). Education and the shift from knowledge to information: Virtual classrooms or automated diploma mills?Access, 17(1), 65–78.
35.
PetersM. A., & MarshallJ. D. (2004). The politics of curriculum: Autonomous choosers and enterprise culture. In O'NeillA., ClarkJ., & OpenshawR. (Eds.), Reshaping culture, knowledge and learning: Policy and content in the New Zealand Curriculum Framework (pp. 109–125). Palmerston North: Dunmore Press.
36.
Pullar-StreckerT. (2004, 15 November). Drive to switch on kindy kids. The Dominion.
37.
ShutkinD. (1998). The deployment of information technology in the field of education and the augmentation of the child. In PopkewitzT. S. & BrennanM. (Eds.), Foucault's challenge: Discourse, knowledge, and power in eEducation (pp. 205–230). New York: Teachers College Press.
38.
SkinnerB. F. (1965). Reflections on a decade of teaching machines. In GlaserR. (Ed.), Teaching machines and programmed learning: Data and directions (pp. 5–20). Washington, DC: Association for Educational Communications and Technology.
39.
StratfordR., & BrownM. (2002). Towards a political understanding of New Zealand's ICT strategies. Computers in New Zealand Schools, 14(2), 3–9.
40.
Te OneS. (2003). The context for Te Whāriki: Contemporary issues of influence. In NuttalJ. (Ed.), Weaving Te Whāriki:(pp. 17–49). Wellington: New Zealand Council for Educational Research.
41.
ThomsonA. (2005, April 13). Govt tags $16m to drive early childhood technology. The New Zealand Herald.
WhiteM. A. (1986). The future of electronic learning for children. In SendorB. & StanchevI. (Eds.), Children in an information age: Tomorrow's problems today (pp. 47–56). Oxford: Pergamon Press.
