Educational Apps for Young Children: Insights from Parents

Many parents are interested in using educational appsto supplement their children’s literacy and math developmentat home. Research shows that well designedapps can be a tool to support children’s learning,however parents might struggle to find well designedapps due to the large number that exist and theiroverall poor quality. The present study investigatedhow parents choose educational apps, including theirattitudes towards teaching their children, the sourcesof information they use, and the features they lookfor in math and literacy apps. Results indicate thatparents are motivated to find educational apps butmay not be certain about some important instructionalfeatures that would make an educational appeffective. Practical suggestions based on the findingsare provided. Understanding obstacles parents face aswell as how they select instructional tools is importantin order to identify ways to support parents infinding high quality educational apps that have thepotential to supplement education at home.