‘How can you survive in the world if you can’t use a computer?’ Exploring the vocational education and training needs of early years practitioners in England

Abstract

This article is based on research data from students and tutors associated with the Early Years Sector-Endorsed Foundation Degree at six UK Higher Education Institutions. A main finding is that pedagogical practitioners in early years regard the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) for learning and teaching activities with children aged up to 8 years old as a continuing professional development (CPD) priority. Although this suggests that this is a key area of professional work, the research participants in this study seem to associate ICTs with computers and software as opposed to focusing on the wider pedagogical learning associated with technology. This reveals that there is a need for CPD training to consider the rationale behind using ICTs for pedagogy with young children aged up to 8 years old.