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Empowering Young Children in the Digital Age

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Digitalisation is transforming education as well as social and economic life, with implications for childhood. Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC), with its immense potential to shape children’s early development, learning and well-being, can play a major role in addressing the opportunities and risks that digitalisation brings to young children. Digitalisation also creates new ways of working that have the potential to lead to quality improvement in the ECEC sector. This report provides a 360-degree view of the challenges of digitalisation in ECEC and possible policy responses.

English

Executive summary

The rapid development of digitalisation provides opportunities for early childhood education and care (ECEC) including new learning materials and environments, new ways for staff development and collaboration, and strengthened links between institutions and parents. At the same time, digitalisation has created challenges to young children’s lives. From concerns about screen time to the misuse of children’s data, ECEC faces many dilemmas and difficult issues. This report sets out the opportunities and risks of digital technology for young children and identifies five key challenges and potential responses for the sector. At its heart, the report makes clear that ECEC should use digital technologies to improve the quality of services and prepare young children to understand the dangers and benefits of these technologies. It outlines a roadmap to help policymakers take a consistent approach to digitalisation in ECEC and support young children to thrive in the digital age. The report summarises findings from a two-year policy review that collected data from 30 countries and jurisdictions in 2022.

English Also available in: French

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