Sandra Hesterman

The COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020 forced schools in China to shift abruptly to online learning, placing unexpected demands and responsibilities on parents who supported their children’s online learning over a two-year period (2020-2022). Families and teachers were unprepared for this change, especially for families with young children. This study examines how parents as co-educators navigated these responsibilities and developed Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) within international school contexts during the pandemic. A qualitative design was adopted, utilising semi-structured interviews with three parents of children aged 3-9 years enrolled in an International school that offers the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme in China. Participants were recruited through purposive and snowball sampling. The TPACK framework was used to analyse the data to determine how parents integrated technological, pedagogical, and content knowledge. Findings reveal that parents initially struggled with unfamiliar technologies and pedagogical strategies. However, they gained a sophisticated knowledge of supporting their children’s learning online over the two-year period. Children's online learning was influenced by contextual factors, such as device access, parental workload, household composition, culture, and developmental level. Parental TPACK was developed through experiential experiences, which differed from those of teachers with formal training, thereby expanding the framework beyond teacher use. The study highlights the critical role of parents as co-educators, with implications that include strengthening parent-school partnership models, developing hybrid-readiness policies, and underscoring the need for policies that account for home-based learning in future educational planning, particularly during times of crisis.

This paper reports on a scoping review on teachers’ knowledge of supporting play-based learning using ICT in Early Childhood Education (ECE) (aged 0–8 years) in the literature from January 2015 to January 2025. The Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) framework was used to analyse 47 peer-reviewed empirical studies. This review finds that Pedagogical Knowledge of play-based pedagogies for teaching young children exhibits different practical foci. Teachers’ knowledge of play-based pedagogies revolved mainly around these three main types of play identified: play-based learning in child-initiated free play; play-based learning with curriculum objectives in teacher-initiated guided play, and play-based learning with a balanced approach (using a combination of free play and guided play). Although a wide range of ICTs have been integrated into play-based learning in ECE, thus advancing teachers’ and children's technological knowledge, most studies focused on utilising ICT in play-based learning for guided play rather than in free play and a balanced approach to play-based learning were identified.