Parents’ mobile technology adoption influences on elementary children’s use

Abstract

PurposeWith a high rate of mobile technology ownership in the home, it is unknown how parents’ behavioral intention influences mobile technology adoption and children’s informal use to support reading. The purpose of this paper is to identify 120 parents’ intentions to adopt mobile technology and gather in-depth perceptions about mobile technology adoption with a smaller subset of 13 parents.Design/methodology/approachThe unified theory of acceptance and use of technology adoption model and the ecological systems theory help explain the interconnections of the child’s home and school on mobile technology intentions and use behavior. A mixed-method explanatory research design obtained behavioral intention scores from a parent survey and individual interviews explained intention scores and depth of perceptions.FindingsParents’ behavioral intention scores show, on average, parents agree with using mobile technology to help their child read in the home. Behavioral intention concerns are influenced by children’s individual experience with technology: reluctant users prioritize media-safe education; indifferent users perceive technology as entertainment and desire a balance of text mediums; eager users are influenced socially and recognize interactive and individual affordances when reading with technology.Research limitations/implicationsKnowing that parents’ behavioral intentions vary based on their individual concerns, transparency between parents and teachers about parents’ concerns and children’s mobile technology use in the home can strengthen children’s mobile learning opportunities between home and school.Originality/valueData were collected from 46 classrooms between two K-5 elementary schools in the southeastern USA, which offers a unique glimpse into technology adoption behavior in two different communities.