App-Genres for Children's Agency--Affordances in Applications Used in Preschool

The study explores the types of apps found in kindergartens, with a special focus on children’s agency and multilingual skills. The aim is to provide kindergarten teachers with insights that can help them choose digital resources that support both children’s participation and the development of multilingualism in an educational context. The research questions are: 1) What effects do the features of applications used in kindergartens have on children’s agency and their ability to express themselves in their mother tongue or minority language? 2) What types of application genres arise from these features?

The study identifies ten app genres ranging from closed, monolingual apps to more open, multilingual apps that give the children more agency. Among other things, the genres include ‘talking picture-book apps in multiple languages’, ‘history storytelling apps with recording options’, and ‘drawing and documentation apps’. The results show that apps with open features provide greater opportunities for children’s participation and creativity, especially when they can create their own content in their own language. Especially genres that support multilingualism and children’s active participation are highlighted as important in educational practice in kindergarten.

The study analyses 20 apps used in Swedish kindergartens, based on previous studies. The features of the apps were mapped using social semiotics and translanguaging. A multimodal analysis was conducted, including screen recordings and detailed documentation of the applications’ features, linguistic content, and usability.

Petersen, P. (2023). App-Genres for Children's Agency--Affordances in Applications Used in Preschool. Designs for Learning, 15(1), 17–30.