Young Children’s Language and Literacy Learning at Home in the Digital Age
Social Work academic Prof Karen Winter is part of a research team that has been awarded £860,818 by the Economic and Social Research Council for a new project on ‘0-3-year old children’s language and literacy learning at home in a digital age (0-3s, Tech and Talk)’. Focussing on 0-3-year-olds at home in diverse mono- and multi-lingual communities in each of the four UK nations, this two-year study will explore how society’s youngest children develop language and literacy as they interact with people and with digital devices to communicate in creative, playful and collaborative ways across the diverse representational and sensory modes available in digital platforms.
The research project addresses the current research gap around how very young children interact with, around and through digital media, what devices and platforms they have access to, how long-standing social divides determine digital device ownership and use, and how parents, carers and siblings in majority and minority ethnic, privileged and disadvantaged UK communities support 0-3-year-olds' learning with digital media.
The study design includes a UK-wide survey of parents/guardians with very young children, interviews with parents/guardians and early education and care professionals, followed by in-depth ethnographic case studies of 40 young children’s everyday language and literacy practices at home with their families. It is hoped that a small group of very young children who are in care will be included in the study. It will be supported by an international advisory board, running from Spring 2022-Spring 2024.
The project team is led by Prof Rosie Flewitt (Manchester Metropolitan University, Principal Investigator) and includes Co-Investigators from across the UK: Prof Karen Winter (Queen's University Belfast), Dr Lorna Arnott (University of Strathclyde), Prof Julia Gillen (Lancaster University) and Dr Janet Goodall (Swansea University).
Karen’s contribution will draw on her research expertise in undertaking ethnographic research with young children, focusing on communication, in their home environments and on her research with young children in care. For more information see 0-3s, Tech and Talk.
