THE DIGITAL DIVIDE IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION: INEQUALITIES IN ACCESS AND ISSUES OF INCLUSION

Digital access to technology in early childhood education presents clear disparities. Studies report that children in affluent households use devices such as tablets, smartphones, and computers at a much higher rate than those in institutional settings. For example, two-thirds of Australian children aged 0–5 use touchscreen devices at home (Holloway et al., 2015), and children in some contexts are described as “heavy users” (Palaiologou, 2016). In contrast, early childhood education settings often face resource constraints and limited infrastructure; kindergartens in Kosovo, for instance, typically have only one television and infrequent access to tablets or computers (Gjelaj et al., 2020), while global case studies highlight that weak internet connectivity and minimal device availability further restrict learning (Livingstone et al., 2019; Santos et al., 2024). Socioeconomic status and parental cultural capital shape access and usage. Several studies note that teachers with positive beliefs regarding digital technology still encounter practical barriers such as inadequate training and scarce institutional support. Some educators value digital methods for enhancing learning and engagement, yet others remain skeptical due to a lack of pedagogical resources. Collectively, the evidence shows that inequalities in digital access and inclusion in early childhood education arise from a mix of socioeconomic, institutional, and cultural factors. In this article we Using your research question ”The Digital Divide in Early Childhood Education: Inequalities in Access and Issues of Inclusion”, we searched across over 126 million academic papers from the Semantic Scholar corpus. We retrieved the 50 papers most relevant to the query. The integration of digital technologies in early childhood education (ECE) offers significant potential for enhancing learning and development. However, unequal access to digital resources—commonly referred to as the "digital divide"—poses challenges to inclusive education. This article explores the dimensions of the digital divide in ECE, examines global inequalities in digital access, and offers strategies to promote equitable and inclusive digital learning environments.