Media Literacy gennem leg i børnehaveklassen. "Medier" - er det når bøffen er gennemstegt?

The problematisation of children’s play with digital media has resulted in a perception that children should not spend too much time in front of the screen. If children spend plenty of time in front of a screen at home, then a continuation of this view would therefore deem it unnecessary to spend time and resources on digital media in kindergarten. The author has therefore investigated how playing with digital media affects kindergarten children’s media-literacy. The following research questions were asked: How can children’s play with digital media contribute to the understanding of media literacy in kindergarten classes? Three supplementary questions were also asked: 1) What happens in kindergarten classes when digital media is included in play? 2) What understanding of play is included in kindergarten children’s media-literacy? 3) What is media-literacy in relation to play with digital media?

The study shows that media-literacy should be understood in context, where children’s use of digital media is included in their everyday lives as ‘digital play’. When kindergarten children are the context, one should be aware of how digital media is included in children’s everyday lives and in play. When media-literacy is understood as play practice, it is necessary use children’s perspectives as a starting point to positively support, strengthen and develop media-literacy among children in kindergarten.

The author participated in the everyday life of the kindergarten classes with the aim of tracking ‘the digital play’ and to investigate children’s play with media-literacy. The empirical material is generated through ethnographic fieldwork where children’s participation opportunities have had a significant impact on the field design. The author was a participating observer in relatively informal conversations with the children about what they typically had access to and used regarding digital media, both at home and in kindergarten. Twelve children were selected to participate in six lengthy focus group interviews.

Jørgensen, H. H. (2018). “Media Literacy gennem leg i børnehaveklassen «medier»- er det når bøffen er gennemstegt?». Akademisk avhandling. Syddanske Universitetet.