‘We have to be professional’: Swedish preschool teachers’ conceptualisation of digital media

This paper describes how a group of preschool teachers participating in a design workshop sketched ideas for how ICT (information and communication technology) can be developed in relation to preschool practice. The design process, which was modelled on creative research methods and future workshops, is presented in detail. The main findings, based on a data-driven analysis of verbal and written statements and design sketches, show that ICT is mainly conceptualised as either a possibility in the support of specific competences (such as language development) or a threat to, for example, the notion of real communication and also to well-established conceptualisations of preschool practice.

"At the workshop it was evident that there are different conceptualisations of digital media among the participating preschool teachers. The analysis showed not just the breadth of these conceptualisations, but also that they existed in parallel within preschool practice. Notably, none of the preschool teachers participating in the workshop explicitly referred to research or established knowledge, but rather used their own experiences, and not the least their personal values, when examining the potential of digital media in preschool practice. Two main trends can be seen, one more progressive, the other more apprehensive." (Authors, 20)