Young children and e-reading: research to date and questions for the future

Abstract

The practice of reading is rapidly moving from print to screen. Young children are not immune from this trend; indeed, many children's principal literacy experiences occur using iPads and other handheld digital devices. This transition raises important questions about how the emergence and development of literacy might change in these new environments. This paper reviews research to date on e-reading, both in the pre-tablet and tablet era, within the context of what we know more generally about literacy development. We then propose topics for future research and discuss methodological issues related to the investigation of these topics. Our goal is to spark further discussion about how to study young children's literacy development in the emerging e-reading era.