Early Childhood Pre-service Teachers' Perceptions of Teaching Technology to Children in Japan and the United States

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to examine early childhood education pre-service teachers' perceptions of the increasing role of new technologies in classroom environments. Given the growth in interest in a teacher's technological literacy, the research focused on similarities in and differences between pre-service teachers' concepts of technology use in Japan and the United States. The participants consisted of 41 female pre-service teachers in the southeastern United States and 41 pre-service teachers (seven males and 34 females) on the main island of Japan. Qualitative analysis of the data yielded five major themes regarding conceptions of technologies: competence; communication; pros and cons of technology; the importance of external and internal assessments; and the media. The results contrasted American and Japanese pre-service teachers' notions of the role of technology in teaching. American and Japanese pre-service teachers mostly agreed on the importance of child, parent, and community involvement in implementing technology in the early childhood centre.