Early childhood digital pedagogy: Multiple case studies of collective teaching practices in Shanghai kindergartens

This research aimed to probe the early childhood digital pedagogical practices of Shanghai teachers through multiple case studies of nine teachers across four kindergartens. They were interviewed individually, and their collective teaching practices were videotaped and analyzed. The synthesized results unveiled three primary themes of technological integration: (1) creation of a digital teaching environment; (2) digital participation and communication between young learners, teachers, and technology; and (3) the existing levels of Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, and Redefinition (SAMR) in practice. In addition, the interviewees exhibited a positive disposition towards technology integration, frequently creating digital learning spaces and leveraging technology to enhance student engagement and dialogue. However, their limited knowledge of digital teaching tools led to insufficient student autonomy and insubstantial technological interactions, a problem many teachers were unaware of, thus perceiving their teaching strategies as effective. This insufficient understanding confined the educators to the Substitution and Augmentation levels of the SAMR model, resulting in technology serving primarily to enhance, rather than transform, learning. This conflict demonstrated the gap between the child-centric policies of Shanghai and the reality of classroom experiences. The implications of this research were both theoretical, by leading the way in applying the SAMR model to Chinese EC education and revealing its potential usefulness in such a context, and practical, by pinpointing the strengths and constraints in current techno-pedagogical practices, thus providing valuable direction for future research and instructional improvements. Copyright © 2025 The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.