Integration of digital technologies in families with children aged 5-10 years - A synthesis report of four European country case studies
Publication details
| DOI: | 10.5281/zenodo.7924821 |
| Issued: | 2022 |
| Language: | English |
| Editors: | |
| Authors: | Kapella O.; Schmidt E.; Vogl S. |
| Type: | Report and working paper |
| Topics: | Internet usage, practices and engagement; Social mediation |
| Sample: | "the final sample comprises a variety of different family forms and living arrangements, diverse backgrounds in terms of highest parental school education and in terms of rural and urban areas, As well as families involving two (biological) parents living with their children, we also included single-parent families, families living in a multi-generational household, rainbow (LGBTIQ*) families, families with migration or binational backgrounds, large families (3+ children), divorced parents and reconstituted families, as well as families of specific communities like Roma families. Overall, WP3 conducted n=42 focus groups with a total of n=176 children at the ages of 5 to 10 years and n=42 family interviews with a total of n=124 interview partners of families in the participating countries." (p.35) |
| Implications For Parents About: | Parental practices / parental mediation; Parenting guidance / support |
| Implications For Policy Makers About: | Creating a safe environment for children online |
| Implications For Stakeholders About: | Other |
| Other Stakeholder Implication: | enabling children and families to realise the full potential of DT in a positive way |
Abstract
Outcome
"In our methodological approach, we could see that our multipleperspective
interview research proved to be very valuable to triangulate
perspectives for a more nuanced understanding of shared knowledge
and family practices. Furthermore, comparing the different perspectives
within one family allows for new insights. Triangulating means
comparing, relating and integrating perspectives—not validating them.
This allows for a more comprehensive understanding of family dynamics
and practices. Another triangulation exercise was the integration of
different disciplinary perspectives amongst researchers. Further, our
approach of conducting focus groups turned out to be very fruitful, even
with the younger children. We successfully conducted focus groups with
children aged from five to six and from 8 to 10 years. Generally, focus
groups with children are characterised by children’s short attention
span. Furthermore, they require more directive moderator behaviour.
Based on these results, we offer four recommendations with regard
to children’s well-being, which are described as (family) practices
that could be supported by various players (e.g., policymaker,
teachers, stakeholders): (1) building and improving children’s digital
competences from an early age onward to ensure their well-being and
to avoid increasing and creating (new) vulnerabilities of children, (2)
promoting DT as one way to support ‘doing family’ in everyday family
life, (3) supporting all children in having access to the digital world to
ensure children’s rights and (4) researching young children through
participatory and multiple-perspective approaches."