Reimagining Early Education: Literacy, Technology and Learning Across Contexts

Dear Colleagues,

Early childhood, spanning birth-age 8, is a critical developmental period during which foundational literacy skills, learning behaviors and identities are fostered. Simultaneously, the contexts in which young children develop are rapidly evolving. Digital technologies are increasingly embedded in children's daily lives, and emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) are beginning to reshape how children access information, communicate, create and learn. Educators and caregivers face growing expectations to support children’s literacy while preparing them for a technology-rich, rapidly changing world.

These shifts have prompted renewed conversations about literacy, learning and teaching in the 21st century. Although considerable attention has been focused on reading and writing development, concerns about literacy proficiency persist, highlighting the need to reexamine how literacy is conceptualized, taught and assessed. As definitions of literacy expand and new technologies reshape how meaning is constructed, there are opportunities to rethink traditional approaches and imagine new possibilities for early learning.

This Special Issue explores the intersections of literacy and learning and technology in early childhood and early elementary education. The issue seeks to understand how educators or caregivers support children's literacy and learning while fostering equitable, developmentally appropriate and engaging educational experiences. We welcome original empirical studies examining literacy (including digital/ multimodal/AI-related literacies), technology integration (including AI/emerging technologies) and/or educators'/caregivers’ beliefs, practices, decision-making, agency and knowledge related to literacy and technology.

Topics of interest for publication include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Reimagining literacy in early learning through digital, multimodal and emerging forms of communication;
• Artificial intelligence in early childhood and early elementary education, including AI literacy, AI-supported learning and children's understanding of intelligent technologies;
• Developmentally appropriate integration of technology to support literacy, learning, play, creativity and inquiry;
• Teacher preparation, professional development and professional learning for literacy instruction in technology-rich environments;
• Innovative approaches to integrating literacy with STEM, computational thinking, coding and robotics experiences;
• Teacher beliefs, agency, decision-making, identity development and instructional practices related to technology and literacy;
• Equitable, inclusive and culturally sustaining approaches to literacy and technology-enhanced learning;
• Technology-supported learning experiences for multilingual learners and children with diverse learning needs;
• Family, school and community partnerships that support literacy and technology engagement;
• Assessment and evaluation of literacy, digital literacy, AI literacy and technology-enhanced learning outcomes;
• Innovative curriculum, instructional and pedagogical models that bridge literacy, technology and teacher development.

Dr. Margaret F. Quinn
Dr. Amanda Y. Shimizu
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2000 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• early childhood education
• elementary education
• literacy
• technology
• learning contexts
• digital literacy
• professional learning
• multimodal learning