Abstract
Because of the continuous stream of touchscreen apps that are claimed to be educational and the increasing use of touchscreen devices in early childhood, considerable attention is being paid to the effect of touchscreens on young children's learning. However, the existing empirical findings in young child samples are not consistent. In this meta-analysis we tested the overall effect of touchscreen devices on young children's (0- to 5-year-olds) learning performance, as well as moderators of this effect, based on 36 empirical articles (79 effect sizes) involving 4,206 participants. The overall analysis showed a significant touchscreen learning effect (d = 0.46), indicating that young children indeed benefited from touchscreen learning. Interestingly, age, learning material domain, comparison group, and experimental environment significantly moderated the effect of touchscreen devices on young children's learning outcome. These findings shed light on the role of touchscreen-related physical experience in early childhood education.
Highlights
Since Apple launched iPad in 2010, the whole world has begun to be obsessed with a new kind of technical products–touchscreen devices
For the same purpose in previous work, the present study focused on reevaluating the impact of educational touchscreen devices on young children’s learning outcome by conducting a meta-analysis
The current metaanalysis is one more successful attempt to provide an empirical investigation of the overall effect of touchscreen learning on young children’s performance and potential moderators of this effect
Summary
Since Apple launched iPad in 2010, the whole world has begun to be obsessed with a new kind of technical products–touchscreen devices. The popularization of touchscreen devices has stoked public interest in its potential for early childhood education (Rideout, 2014; Hirsh-Pasek et al, 2015; Apple, 2017). In a 2017 nationwide survey by Common Sense Media in the U.S, 98% children from birth to 8 live in a home with mobile devices, 95% of families with children this age have a smartphone, 78% have a tablet, and 42% of children have their own tablet device; 71% parents report that they have downloaded apps (including educational apps) for their children to use; 67% parents whose children use screen media say it helps their child’s learning, and 80% of them at least somewhat agree that they are satisfied with the amount and quality of educational screen media available for their children (Rideout, 2017). With the rapid growth of mobile touchscreen technologies, BYOD (bring your own device) has become a feasible pedagogical strategy which is
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
