Research linking digital technologies to young children's creativity: An interpretive framework and systematic review

Katie Fielding and Karen Murcia
Curtin University, Australia

Creativity and technology are two vital elements of 21st century learning. Increasingly, educational policies internationally are acknowledging the importance of developing children's problem solving, innovation and computational thinking skills. It is also clear that children are spending more time accessing digital technologies both at home and in educational settings. However, little research has been conducted which focuses on the intersection of young children (4 to 8 years), digital technologies, and the development of creativity. In order to identify empirical evidence of how digital technologies impact the demonstration and development of young children's creativity, a systematic review of the literature was carried out, with 19 studies meeting the review's inclusion criteria. Each of the studies was then analysed using a lens that made explicit the associated process skills and characteristics of young children's creative thinking and learning. Analysis of the identified studies through the 'A-E' of Creativity framework (Murcia, et al., 2020) led to the conclusion that appropriately designed and used digital technologies could indeed provoke and facilitate young children's creativity. The predominance of particular devices, and emerging themes in relation to the affordances of the identified technologies, highlighted the importance of future research exploring quality learning design and digital pedagogies in early learning.
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Authors: Katie Fielding BA MEd is a sessional academic in the Humanities Faculty, Curtin University, Western Australia. Her research focuses on how digital technologies are used by and with young children, particularly in the area of creativity development. She is a member of the Australian National Centre of Excellence for the Digital Child (https://www.digitalchild.org.au). ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6427-7856 Email: katie.fielding@curtin.edu.au Karen Murcia MEd PhD is an Associate Professor in the School of Education, Curtin University, Western Australia. Her research interests include scientific literacy for citizenship, creativity and digital technologies, and STEM education leadership. She is a Chief Investigator with the Australian National Centre of Excellence for the Digital Child (https://www.digitalchild.org.au). ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1900-2781 Email: karen.murcia@curtin.edu.au Please cite as: Fielding, K. & Murcia, K. (2022). Research linking digital technologies to young children's creativity: An interpretive framework and systematic review. Issues in Educational Research, 32(1), 105-125. http://www.iier.org.au/iier32/fielding.pdf