creativity in early childhood education journal article

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Promoting creativity in early childhood education

Yakup yildirim.

1 Department of Preschool Education, Faculty of Education, Akdeniz University, Antalya, Turkey

Yeşim Yilmaz

2 Preschool Teacher, Ministry of National Education, Alanya, Turkey

Associated Data

All "Promoting Creativity in Early Childhood" files are available from the openicpsr database (accession number(s) https://www.openicpsr.org/openicpsr/project/195022/version/V1/view , https://doi.org/10.3886/E195022V1 .).

This study aims to find out the opinions and experience of teachers and teacher candidates on promoting creativity and creative thinking in the early childhood stage within the scope of the current preschool educational program. The method of the study is the basic qualitative research design. The study group consists of 25 preschool teachers employed in the province of Alanya in the city of Antalya, and 25 preschool teacher candidates who were students in their 3 rd and 4 th year at Akdeniz University, Faculty of Education, Department of Preschool Education. Open-ended questionnaire form was used for getting the opinions of teachers and teacher candidates. The data was analyzed within the principles of content analysis. According to the results of the study, statements on the prominence of creative thinking mainly emphasized the child being able to express her/his emotions and thoughts effectively, developing the child’s problem-solving skills, forming cause- effect relationships, and being able to create a different point of view towards events and situations. As for developing creative thinking, the opinions that come to the forefront are going on trips with the children, conducting art activities, focusing on drama activities, conducting science and maths activities based on research, and motivating children to create authentic products with different materials. On the whole, teachers and teacher candidates expressed that the present preschool educational program has positive contributions to promoting creative thinking in children.

Introduction

What kind of atmospheres and situations in class and out of class should we create or what should we do to discover and promote the real potential of children? We have tried to seek answers to these questions from those closest to the child. Creativity may emerge when the child has the opportunity to combine different experiences in appropriate situations especially in the preschool period. This may sometimes display itself while creating a solution to a simple problem or when obtaining new knowledge by using higher skills. Creating an environment which enables the child to develop a new point of view is a leading element of creativity. Preschool is a stage during which the creativity of the child is at its peak as they have unlimited imagination.

The preschool stage, which is defined as the stage from birth to the time the child starts primary education, and a time when the child acquires the psychomotor, social- emotional, cognitive and linguistic development that will play an important role in children’s life, and a developmental and educational process during which the character of the child is shaped with the education provided by the parents and pre- school institutions [ 1 – 6 ] is the most critical period in life as it affects the future life of the child in terms of knowledge, skills, gaining habits and developing these traits. The preschoolperiod is a stage when mental development and synaptic connections are experienced the fastest and highest [ 7 ]. Mental development plays an important role during the preschool stage for the cognitive, linguistic, motor, social and emotional development of children.

Children grow rapidly in the preschool stage—the first six years of their life display rapid results in developmental areas [ 8 ]. This enables the child to realise herself/himself and become a productive member of society. The preschool period is the stage which is most affected by environmental factors. In this respect, the environment affects the preschool child and facilitates learning motivation for children who are in this stage. The child’s ability to discover and learn is closely related to how supportive the child’s environment is, and which opportunities are presented to the child [ 7 ].

The child, who matures and becomes competent rapidly, realises her/his own potential and starts to become a productive individual. Creativity has a prominent impact on how the child develops herself/ himself. Creativity and judgement skills enable individuals to consider problems using different views, to create new products as well as enabling them to reach a decision by forming cause- effect relationships [ 9 ]. It is necessary to create new ideas and consider events in a different way, and create new solutions to a problem. It is also important to respect different ideas [ 10 ]. It is going beyond the presented knowledge in order tocreate something authentic by using methods which are not traditional. It is defined as the skill to create innovative and authentic solutions to problematic situations by realizing problems and shortcomings within the light of experiences [ 11 ], and it may be said that it makes the child self- confident and independent and enables her/ him to develop herself/ himself and the environment, makes the child responsible towards her/his environment, makes them productive and sensitive individuals. Creativity can be enhanced by creating connections between similar or different areas [ 12 ]. Preschool children may activate their creative thinking skills when they use an object for a different purpose, when they find an extraordinary solution to a problem, while displaying motor skills, when day dreaming, while forming an emotional relationship with a peer or an adult, or in other situations which require a creative process [ 13 ].

Children who have suitable conditions for using and practicing their creative thinking actively may strengthen their cognitive skills. These conditions also contribute to the children’s social skills development such as discovering their emotions and values, understanding their own cultures and other cultures, thinking, and communicating with others [ 14 ]. Thus, different teaching approaches that will increase children’s motivation and cultural understanding could support creativity [ 15 ].

Creativity is a phenomenon needed and used in all stages of life, is a prominent factor in the development and advancement of society. In societies which have individuals who have high levels of creativity and who can use creative thinking effectively, the level of welfare increases and the opportunities for people depending on their interests and talents are equally higher. There is a positive relationship between the educational backgrounds of people and the increase in their creativity. In order to maintain progress, guarantee advancement and to have a good place in life, individuals need to get the opportunities to strengthen creativity both in the family and at home starting from the preschool stage. In an educational environment which is based on rote learning and which is teacher- centred, promoting creativity and creative thinking is more difficult compared to a child-centred environment [ 16 ].

Teachers who can create a child-centred environment and processes in which the children can develop their creativity contribute to the development of the children in all aspects as well as playing a prominent role in the progress and development of the society in which the children live. Thus, along with the development of creativity and creative thinking, some inventions result in increase in production and the economic situation of the society. Similarly, life standards increase in a society which has a developing economy. Consequently, promoting creativity in a society which lacks productive skills can be difficult [ 17 ]. The technological infrastructure, knowledge and skills of integrating technology into teaching and learning practices, and students’ creative skills of using technology is essential to promote higher thinking skills (i.e. creativity) [ 18 ].

Individuals who can think creatively become individuals who are open to change as they can adapt to the rapidly changing world. There is a positive correlation between the level of development in a country and the creativity and creative skills of the people in that society. In order to promote the development of a country, the development of creativity should be facilitated by focusing on production and innovation in different areas [ 19 ]. The adaptive skills may involve having cultural understanding of inclusive education, not only integrating children into the classroom, but also having a teaching program that will support children with special educational needs in creativity [ 20 ].

To promote creativity and creative thinking important skills for both the individual and the society, families and teachers have important roles. The family also has a prominence for developing creativity and creative thinking in children along with teachers. There are differences between the educational backgrounds of families, and this may hinder creativity in some situations. Families may be asked to help children concerning this topic by offering training to parents and educating them on creativity and creative thinking [ 21 ]. It is seen that children whose creativity is supported in the family environment offer different ways of solutions while expressing their emotions and thoughts, discover new games, are curious and are interested in travelling and observation [ 16 ].

Teachers and families may offer opportunities to children to promote their creativity and creative thinking by considering the traits that preschool children display. As the way each individual shows her/ his creative potential, and the way this potential is supported may display differences. The opinions of teachers and teacher candidates on how they discover and support the creativity of children is very important. Therefore the best way to understand these thoughts is to analyze the explanatory information they would express qualitatively. The aim of this study is to determine the prominence of creativity in preschool education, to determine the creative skills of children as well as making evaluations on what kind of studies should be conducted to develop creativity, and to determine methods and suggestions on developing creative thinking. For this purpose, answers were sought to the following questions:

• Why are creativity and creative thinking important in preschool education?
• What should we do to promote the creativity and creative thinking of children in the preschool stage?
• What are your in-class and out of class activities that you use to promote the creativity and creative thinking of preschool children?
• How did the 2013 Preschool Education Programme contribute to the development of creativity and creative thinking of children?

Materials and method

The research design.

This study, which has been conducted to determine strategies to promote creative thinking in the preschool stage, and to create suggestions for solutions, used the basic qualitative research design, which is a qualitative research pattern. Basic qualitative research aims to find out how participants comprehend their experiences within the scope of the topic studied, and which meanings they place on their experiences [ 22 ]. Thus, this method was preferred in this study in order to determine feelings, thoughts, perceptions and experiences of teachers and teacher candidates on the prominence of creativity and the promotion of creative thinking in the preschool stage, and to study their opinions in more detail. The open-ended questionnaire template which was developed to get written opinions was used for data collection. A comprehensive literature review was conducted for the study to reach its aims. In addition, the conceptual structure of the subject was stated within the framework of the aims and limitations of the study. Following that, open ended questionnaire forms were prepared for both teachers and teacher candidates as appropriate to the aims of the study. Thus, the purpose was to study in detail the awareness of the participants on the prominence of creativity in the preschool stage and developing creativity as well as the methods they used for this purpose.

The study group

The study group consists of preschool teachers who are employed at preschools in the province of Alanya in the city of Antalya, and preschool teacher candidates who were students in their 3rd and 4th year at Akdeniz University, Faculty of Education, Department of Preschool Teaching. The 25 preschool teachers and 25 teacher candidates who met this criteria and who participated in the study group were determined by using the purposive sampling method [ 23 ]. The main purpose for preferring this sampling method is that the participants are chosen according to certain criteria determined by the researchers beforehand [ 24 ]. When choosing the participants among the teacher candidates attending their third and fourth year at university, the main determining factor was that they had taken the classes which were ‘creativity, school experience and/ or teaching practice’. Another point which was given priority during the study was ensuring that preshool teachers and teacher candidates gave sincere answers to the questions which were included in the data collection tool, and which were directed towards the experiences and practices of the participants. For this reason, special care was taken to make sure that the preschool teachers participating in the study had spent a certain amount of time working with the children so that they were able to get to know the children better, and that they could express their experiences more clearly. In addition, special care was taken to ensure that the professional seniority of the teachers were different from each other and that met the desired criteria in terms of seniority (See. Table 1 ). The data on the professional seniority of the preschool teachers participating in the study are presented in the table below:

Data collection tools

When the data collection tool of the research was being prepared, the related regulations and the Ministry of Education Preschool Educational Program [ 7 ] was studied as well as the related literature review. As a result of the theoretical knowledge in the related literature and the interviews conducted with experts, ‘open-ended questions were prepared’ in order to determine the opinions of teachers and teacher candidates for the aims of the study. The steps to develop the data collection tool is listed in Table 2 . Due to the pandemic, the opinions of teachers and teacher candidates were obtained using online methods. After the subject and aims of the study were explained to teachers and teacher candidates, open-ended online questionaire forms were sent to volunteers, and they were asked to answer the questions in the data collection tool. The participants were told that it was prominent that they put emphasis on their personal experiences and pay attention to their practices or future practices while offering suggestions. The first part of the data collection tool includes the personal information of teachers and teacher candidates. The second part of the data collection tool focuses on the prominence of creativity and creative thinking in the preschool stage. The third part contains what should be done in order to promote creativity and creative thinking during the preschool stage while the fourth part focuses on in- class and out of class activities that affect creativity and creative thinking. The fifth part includes the suggestions of preschool teachers and teacher candidates on the contribution of Preschool Educational Program on the development of creativity and creative thinking in children.

The data collection stage and ethical procedure

During the data collection process, it was stated that teachers and teacher candidates were to pay attention to certain criteria while filling in the open-ended questionnaire forms.

• The open-ended questionnaires were sent to teachers via online methods as it was impossible to conduct face-to-face interviews with the participants because of the pandemic. These open-ended questionnaire were conducted between March 15 th 2021 and June 28 th 2021.
• Before filling in the open-ended questionnaire forms, written consent form was signed by adult participants to make sure that they are aware of the ethical issues.
• Each teacher and candidate teacher was told that that codings would be used instead of their names, and that their real names would not be used so as to ensure that the participants would answer the research questions sincerely.
• The data obtained in the pilot study was not included in the final findings of the study.
• - Teacher 1 (T1)   - Teacher Candidate 1 (TC1)
• - Teacher 2 (T2)   - Teacher Candidate 2 (TC2)

This study is approved by Social Sciences and Humanities Scientific Research and Publication Ethics Committee of Akdeniz University.

Data analysis

The content analysis method was used for analyzing the study data of the participants in the open-ended questionnaire form by applying a child-centred data analysis method (see Fig 1 ). The main purpose of content analysis is to reach concepts and connections that would assist in explaining the comprehensive data obtained in the study. Data, which is summarized descriptively and commented on broadly, is studied in detail using content analysis, and new concepts and connections are discovered. The basic process here is to gather related data within the framework of specific themes and concept and present the data in a meaningful and organized way [ 24 , 25 ]. The themes were created according to the results of the analysis obtained using content analysis. The codes that emerged during creating the themes were presented to the opinion of an expert for reliability (Reliability = consensus / consensus + disagreement) as suggested by Miles and Huberman [ 26 ]. The reliability of the experts and researchers for the relationship between the codes and the themes was calculated as 89%. The themes which were created were presented as items in findings, and the information on the preschool educational program and regulations were added to the end of each theme in order to compare the data obtained from participants for each theme. Statements were presented in the findings of the study in order to maintain the reliability of the study.

This part presents the findings obtained from the participants within the framework of the themes of the study. Themes and subthemes were analysed by presenting the tables for the subthemes of each theme. The findings of both preschool teachers and teacher candidates were presented after the tables.

Theme 1. Awareness on creativity

• The Opinions of Preschool Teachers on Theme 1

When Table 3 is studied, it is observed that preschool teachers participating in the study mentioned the following categories on the prominence of creativity and creative thinking in the preschool stage:

• a) The relationship between imagination and creativity enables the child to express her/ his thoughts
• b) It enables the child to gain communicative skills
• c) It develops the child’s problem-solving skills
• d) It enables the child to create cause- effect relationships
• e) It enhances the child’s curiosity and the wish to discover
• f) Contributes to scientific research
• g) Enables the child to develop a different point of view
• h) It provides hands-on learning to the child

It may be said that the categories least mentioned by the teachers are that it makes each child feel special, it enables self-realization, and it contributes to the social skills development of the child.

A general evaluation on subthemes of the first theme

When the opinions of preschool teachers on the theme ‘the prominence of creativity and creative thinking’, are studied it is observed that teachers believe that creativity and creative thinking develop the most when children use their imagination and the power of thought, and that the preschool stage was a very important stage for developing these skills as their imagination is at its peak during the preschool stage. When the teachers were stating their opinions on the prominence of creativity and creative thinking during the preschool stage, they focused on the fact that it would help children to express their emotions and thoughts, and help them in gaining communicative skills. They have also stated that the problem-solving skills of children would develop, and that they could understand cause- effect relationships between events in this way. Examples for the teachers’ opinions on the first theme and its subthemes are presented as follows:

• Creative thinking and using imagination. This stage, in which imagination is unlimited, is a stage that should not be missed to promote creativity and creative thinking skills. For most children, creativity is at its peak before the age of six (T1).
• The preschool stage is a world during which imagination and cognitive skills are unlimited. Developing this world starts with discovering the creative thinking of the child (T14).
• It is important because the children can learn to express themselves (T19).
• Children who have creative thinking skills also develop their communication skills (T23).
• It is important to promote creative thinking so that they can find authentic solutions to problems (T8).
• Helping students to form cause- effect relationships plays a very important role in children’s discovering their talents. Children who have creative thinking skills also develop their skills for communication, problem solving, practice, following instructions, and starting and maintaining projects (T23).
• The Opinions of Preschool Teacher Candidates on the First Theme

The opinions of teacher candidates’ preschool children on the prominence of creativity and creative thinking in preschool children are presented below:

When Table 4 is studied, it may be said that the preschool teacher candidates participating in the study mostly focused on the following categories on the prominence of creativity and creative thinking in preschool education:

• It helps the child to create a different point of view
• It develops the problem-solving skills of the child
• It affects the child’s life
• It develops the child’s imagination
• Creativity and creative thinking are very important in the preschool stage

The categories least mentioned by teacher candidates for the theme ‘the prominence of creativity and creative thinking’ were the following:

• It enables the child to discover and get to know herself/ himself
• It contributes to the developmental aspects of the child
• Creativity contributes to the child’s learning
• It helps us to understand the child
• It enables the child to express her/ his feelings and thoughts

A general evaluation of the subthemes of the first theme

In their opinions on the theme ‘awareness for creativity’ teacher candidates drew attention to the fact that creativity and creative thinking was an important factor in helping the child realize her/ his potential, and in strengthening the child’s self-realization. Teacher candidates, who focused on the fact that creativity and creative thinking developed the imagination and the potential of the child, also mentioned the contribution of creativity and creative thinking on the social and cultural life of the child. The fact that creative thinking makes life easier for the child and would provide proactive conditions to the child in social life and in problematic situations in the future is the opinion of teacher candidates that stands out in the subthemes of the first theme. Example statements of teacher candidates that express that developing creativity and creative thinking presents positive contributions to different developmental aspects of the child are as follows:

• If we can help them to discover their creativity and develop this potential in this stage, they may create more practical solutions to situations they may experience in the future and have different content (TC4).
• The schemes created by the child in this stage contributes to the child’s creativity in the future (TC1).
• The child discovers and gets to know herself/ himself with creative thinking (TC2).
• The child may discover herself / himself by thinking differently (TC9).
• It is important as they can find different and authentic solutions to problems they may encounter throughout their lives (TC17).
• The activities which are used during this stage affect the creative skills of the child in the coming years (TC12).
• It is effective for the cognitive, social, emotional, and psychomotor development of the child (TC11).

Theme 2. Promoting creativity

• The Opinions of Preschool Teachers on Second Theme

Table 5 presents the suggestions and the subthemes created by preschool teachers for the theme ‘promoting creativity’. Preschool teachers suggested creating environments in which the child can ask questions and express herself/ himself, providing them with creative environments, having structured activities, motivating children for creative thinking by asking them open-ended questions, creating environments that would arouse interest, designing activities and games, and enabling children to discover themselves and their environment for promoting creativity. When the sub themes for the second theme are studied, the topics least mentioned by teachers were that they need to discover the inner world of the child, conducting attention and coding activities, and giving children some responsibilities in the family.

A general evaluation of the subthemes of the second theme

The suggestion most emphasized by teachers for promoting creativity in the preschool stage is the need for creating an environment that keeps the curiosity of the child active and enables the child to express herself/ himself. It was stated that a process in which children are asked open-ended questions that would make them think would contribute to promoting creative thinking in children. Teachers stated that activities which are not structured and ones which the child could shape using her/ his interest are more functional, and that they are an important factor that supports creativity. It may be said that especially manipulative materials enable children to think in different ways. The prominence of games, the fact that games open the doors to the inner world of children, that children may face different challenges and create authentic solutions through games are among the suggestions of teachers. The following statements of teachers draw attention in their suggestions for promoting creativity and creative thinking in children:

• Creativity develops in environments in which the child can express herself/ himself with self- confidence and show her/ his curiosity (T1).
• Children should be supported to express themselves by asking open-ended questions (T15).
• Open-ended questions, art, music, movement, and dance activities enhance creative expression. They should be given opportunities to create their own stories by looking at illustrations in books. Children may create new objects using their imagination by using games such as puzzles and building blocks. Using play dough may be effective in gaining creative skills by creating the objects in their imagination (T1).
• We may give them different materials and ask them to create new things, or we may give the same materials at different times and expect them to create different things each time (T3).
• We may encourage them to think by asking open-ended questions (T22).
• In order for them to discover creative thinking, games and activities should be designed to increase their curiosity (T2).
• Children should be provided environments that can arouse their curiosity. We should trigger their curiosity by offering opportunities for play and give them a chance to experience their creativity (T10).
• We should open a door to their inner world by using games and determine their needs (T5).
• We should not stereotype them while they are making these discoveries (T16).
• The Opinions of Preschool Teachers Candidate on the Second Theme

The opinions of preschool teacher candidates on promoting creativity and creative thinking in preschool stage children are presented below:

When Table 6 , which presents the suggestions of teacher candidates for promoting creativity and creative thinking in children, is studied, the suggestion that is most emphasized is the need to offer an environment of freedom to the children. It is emphasized that creating a rich environment by presenting different materials to children is another important factor that promotes children’s creativity. Another major opinion of teacher candidates for the second theme is creating authentic activities for children and providing hands-on learning.

A general evaluation of subthemes for the second theme

Creating a suitable environment in which the child can think freely was greatly emphasized by teacher candidates as a suggestion for promoting creativity and creative thinking in children. Having different materials that motivate children to think in a different way may be stated as another suggestion that supports creative thinking. Example suggestions by teacher candidates for adding variety to materials, the quality of the questions to be asked, the children participating actively in the learning process, guiding children to create solutions to problematic situations are as follows:

• We may design and implement activities in which the children can use their imagination (TC4).
• We must give them opportunities to discover without intervention. We should help them with hands-on learning (TC11).
• We should motivate them to use hands-on learning (TC11).
• We may ask children divergent questions and motivate them to think and develop their creativity (TC7).
• Asking them questions directed at their creativity while conducting activities in class (TC19).
• We must present different stimulus to motivate the child (TC1).
• It may be necessary to conduct different activities with children using different materials. Learning centres at nursery schools are in direct proportion with this topic (TC8).
• We must respect children’s thoughts and ideas and pay attention to what they wish to do (TC13).

Theme 3. Strategies for promoting creativity

• The Thoughts of Preschool Teachers on the Third Theme

Table 7 presents the strategies of preschool teachers for promoting creativity and creative thinking. It is observed that for the third theme the teachers mainly drew attention to the following categories:

• a) Enabling the children to express themselves by asking open-ended questions
• b) Making use of art activities, and using activities different from standard ones
• c) Enabling the children to create authentic products by using different materials
• d) Enabling the students to express their emotions and thoughts individually during Turkish language classes
• e) Using structured and semi-structered activities
• f) Using different methods and techniques in activities
• g) Enabling children to express themselves through drama and game activities
• h) Using science and math activities
• i) Making use of out- of- class activities
• j) Observing children during play and while they are not playing
• k) Motivating children to carry out activities with their families in the home

A general evaluation of the subthemes for the third theme

Teachers have emphasized that acting according to standard practices for in-class and out-of- class activities for promoting creativity hinders creative thinking, and that it is necessary to conduct activities with which the children can reflect their individual performance to the maximum, either during in-class or out-of- class activities. Teachers mentioned the prominence of trips and observation in out-of- class activities and stated that it would be useful to talk to the children about the activities following practice. They stated that using techniques such as scamper, brainstorming, dramatization that attract the attention of children and enable them to think in a different way in in-class activities should be used. Examples for the teachers’ statements for the third theme and its subthemes are as follows:

• Asking children for their opinions, asking open-ended questions, creating a model, praising creative thinking. Organising out-of- school trips and observations, and later chatting to the students about what they have seen and learnt (T8).
• I would encourage them to express themselves by asking open-ended questions during in-class activities and out-of- school activities (T2).
• I would make them create products using their creativity by using natural materials such as fabric, pinecones and twigs during art activities (T15).
• During classes I use techniques such as games, drama, scamper, and brainstorming (T8).
• I introduced them to activities that would motivate them to do research and create what they think. (STEM activities, coding, algorithm, recycling, ecology and nature activities, the Young Inventor and his Inventions, drama and the Orff approach, audio stories, games, scamper activities etc.) (T16).
• We frequently make use of experiments and maths activities (T1).
• Patterns with buttons of different sizes, measuring the length of objects, finding pairs, ordering, making comparisons. Science and nature studies in the garden, creating appropriate environments for them to study and discover stones and leaves (T10).
• They should be allowed to act freely and flexibly in the classroom without being dependent on a model, with the guidance of the teacher (T7).
• Preparing comprehensive activity plans that enhance creativity instead of steoretype activities (T17).
• Families should accept that each child in the family is an individual, determine targets parallel to the interests and talents of their children. In addition, they may cooperate with teachers to conduct activities that reinforce the school program and that are related to real life. These activities should be conducted starting from simple to difficult ones, and from the known to the unknown (T23).
• The Opinions of Preschool Teacher Candidates on the Third Theme

The strategies of preschool teacher candidates on developing creativity and creative thinking in preschool children are presented below:

When Table 8 is studied, it is observed that the strategies most suggested by preschool teacher candidates for promoting creativity and creative thinking in the preschool stage are taking children on trips, conducting art activities, carrying out drama activities, making Turkish language activities, conducting maths and science activities, and focusing on activities children have at home with their families. The least mentioned suggestions are not interfering when children are conducting activities, carrying out comprehensive activities with divergent questions, and motivating students to different areas of interest.

Evaluation of the subthemes of the third theme

Giving prominence to activities children conduct with their families attracts a lot of attention among the strategies teacher candidates have suggested for developing creativity. Another major suggestion of teacher candidates is that supporting children with different activities may enable them to think in different ways. Teacher candidates have suggested that motivating children to ask questions, and using techniques that promote creativity such as completing stories may enable children to ask different questions and enhance their creativity. Examples for the statements of teacher candidates are presented below:

• Games to develop the creative sides of children may be designed by using kitchen tools in the home, or parents may make cookies of different shapes with the children (TC5).
• Activities that are mostly based on the choices of children should be conducted. Families should read story books at home with the children, and later ask child to narrate the rest of the story, or ask them to change the ending of the story. Parents may make drawings with the children or may build towers with toys (TC13).
• Drama activities enable children to use creative thinking. These activities develop their way of thinking by causing children to use improvisation (TC3).
• Drama activities may be conducted by planning improvised activities on a certain topic (TC7).

Theme 4. Creativity in the program

• The Opinions of Preschool Teachers on the Fourth Theme

When teachers were asked their opinion on the elements in the preschool educational program that supported the creativity of children, they stated that on the whole, the program enabled children to reflect their individual traits. They have also reported that the flexibility of the program enables them to restructure the program according to the individual differences of children, and that this offers them a chance to support their creativity. It may be said that teachers consider the preschool educational program as one that supports the children’s feeling of discovery and self-awareness. The teachers’ opinions on the fourth theme are presented below:

• It is child-centred. Children experience meaningful hands-on learning instead of rote learning. In this way, creativity is always active. The flexible program enables necessary changes in the educational process depending on daily and momentary changes that may arise. As individualism is the most prominent element, the program is created by taking individual differences into consideration as appropriate to the needs of the children. In this way, the differences, creativity, interests and needs of each child make each children unique (T2).
• The program basically has a structure that supports creativity and aims to strengthen it. However, the shortcomings in practice (physical shortcomings, the attitudes of teachers, the attitudes of school administration and families etc.) makes it difficult to reach goals or hinders it (T6).
• The program enabled the child to participate actively in the learning process, and encouraged the child to learn by asking questions, doing research, making discoveries, and playing games. It offered the children the necessary opportunities to express themselves authentically, and in different ways in environments which are appropriate for the learning needs and learning styles of each child (T16).
• The effect of the 2013 Preschool Program on the development of children’s creativity and creative thinking is great. As it is a flexible program, it enables teachers to plan according to the interests and talents of children, the cultural traits of the environment and the self-awareness of the children (T23).
• It develops the imagination, creative and critical thinking skills of children as well as their communication skills and their potential to express their feelings (T25).
• The Opinions of Preschool Teacher Candidates on the Fourth Theme

When preschool teachers candidate were talking on the advantages of the preschool educational program that supported the creativity of children, they focused on the fact that the program supported the development of children in all aspects. They stated that as the program is student- centred, it is a prominent factor in supporting the children’s creativity. The opinions of teacher candidates on the fourth theme are as follows:

• The 2023 preschool program is a program that considers children with all of their aspects and supports children’s development in all ways. Since this program is student-centred, it gives children the chance to express themselves, and to state their opinions freely. Consequently, this situation contributes positively to children’s creativity (TC5).
• In this program, activities are prepared as student- centred activities as appropriate to the program, and then put into practice. Chatting to the children about the activities prior to practice and asking open-ended questions to children following activities may give us clues on how their creativity is developing (TC7).
• This program contributes to the progress of children’s creativity by enabling the children to receive better education as it leads teachers and candidate to the right path (TC1).
• The 2013 preschool program was prepared by studying different programs that would contribute to different types of development. It includes various activities to facilitate children’s creative thinking, and different types of advice to teachers. Teachers who study the program may become more conscious (TC12).
• Following a certain program, acting within limits is a situation that affects creativity negatively. For this reason, the 2013 preschool program makes limitations to children’s creativity (TC8).

Conclusions and discussions

The themes derived from the findings of the study and the subthemes related to these themes were discussed by taking into consideration the opinions of teachers and teacher candidates within the light of the related literature. In the first theme, which focused on creativity and the prominence of creative thinking, teachers and teacher candidates mentioned aspects of creativity which emphasized the individual traits of children. The fact that creativity is an important factor in bringing up unique individuals draws attention as an important finding, which was also proved by the research that was conducted by Özkan [ 8 ] and which sought answers to the question ‘What is creativity?’. In his study, Özkan [ 8 ] reached the conclusion that a majority of teachers defined creativity as the child expressing himself individually, being able to grasp what is authentic, and producing authentic products. Opinions which state that creativity and creative thinking develops the problem-solving skills of children are the items most mentioned by both teachers and teacher candidates regarding the first theme. Opinions which support that children may develop different points of view towards events and situations are supported by thoughts which state that children are able to express their feelings and thoughts authentically. In teachers’ and teacher candidates’ opinions on the prominence of creativity and creative thinking, it is stated that this skill may also positively affect the social development of children. The opinions of the participants which state that training aimed at promoting creativity will lead to positive results both in terms of cognitive development and other areas of development, distinctly overlap with the study conducted by Karadayı [ 27 ], in which the researcher states that we should focus on creativity and creative thinking during the preschool stage. In his study, Karadayı [ 27 ], studied the effects of creavity education on cognitive processes and the skill to organise emotions, which was given to children aged 5 to 6. It is also stated that creativity education promoted creativity, and the skills to organise cognitive and emotional personality, and reached the conclusion that creativity in the preschool stage was related to both controlled and flexible cognitive skills [ 28 , 29 ]. Opinions within the first theme which stated that creativity enables children to express themselves individually also draw attention to the social aspect of creativity and creative thinking. In fact, there are other studies which present opinions that children in classes of extremely traditional teachers may experience problems expressing themselves, and that this situation may hinder creativity [ 10 ]. If teachers are flexible in their attitudes towards children, and if they pay attention to the individual traits of children, children will be able express themselves easily, and this will strengthen the social function of creativity in children.

Within the second theme, which includes opinions on supporting creativity and creative thinking in children, teachers and teacher candidates mentioned the prominence of techniques that would attract the attention and interest of children during activities conducted with them. Leaving children in the middle of a problematic situation, motivating them to use an object for different purposes or asking them to complete a story are among the practices that may be carried out to support creativity. The participants stated that there are technology-based techniques that can be used to promote creativity in addition to techniques based on communication. Akbaba and Kaya [ 30 ], who pointed out that such techniques may be used to enhance the creativity of children by maintaining their interest and curiosity, conducted research with teachers to promote the thinking skills of children. In this research, preschool teachers stated that they mainly used methods and techniques such as hands- on learning, demonstrations, projects, games, and the question and answer to enable students to achieve thinking skills.

There are the opinions of teachers and teacher candidates which state that using different methods (i.e. arts) to promote creativity and creative thinking in the preschool stage will provide positive contributions [ 31 ]. In their suggestions regarding in class activities and out of class activities to be conducted with children, teachers have concentrated on conducting activities that offer different options to children rather than standard and monotonous activities. Creativity and creative thinking may yield more development when people break the mold. Teachers developing attitudes that enable their students to express themselves comfortably is one of the most important factors that would eliminate the obstacles hindering creativity [ 32 ]. In the findings of the study conducted by Yenilmez and Yolcu [ 10 ] regarding the attitudes of teachers in classes on the promotion of creative thinking skills in children, it was stated that children should be given the opportunity to express their thoughts, and that their thoughts should be respected.

It has been emphasized that families should contribute as much as possible during in class and out of class activities. Supporting the child strongly both in the home and at school is a very important factor that accelerates the development of creativity. Chatting to the children about activities during out of class activities, and asking them open-ended questions about the process may enrich their thinking and their mind. Making suggestions to the family to have this point of view while communicating with the child may give the children an opportunity to enhance their creativity throughout the day. The teachers stated opinions which show that if families participate actively during this process, they may provide positive contributions to the child.

Mutlu and Aktan [ 33 ] stated that educational programs which are directed towards thinking, and with which the teacher, family and children support and complement each other during preschool education should be prepared. The preschool teachers participating in the study also stated that creativity and creative thinking play an important role in activities which the families do with their children.

It is important to include activities that address different senses for activities conducted in the class, and getting the attention of children. In a study conducted earlier [ 8 ] it was found out that a teacher needs to discover the different traits of children by observing them carefully, act as a role model for the child with her / his character, and include music, art, language and game activities in the daily plan that will develop and promote the child’s creativity.

It was stated by teachers and teacher candidates that the preschool educational has a structure that gives the chance to promote creative thinking. The preschool educational program is defined as a child-centred and flexible program which places prominence on research and discovery, and which offers children different activities for learning. The program is a developmental program which places emphasis on creativity as well as family education and family participation [ 7 ].

Teachers and teacher candidates expressed that the flexible structure of the preschool educational program enables them to plan according to the individual traits of children and offers the child more freedom. The fact that the program is student- centred may enable the child to display more creative outcomes.

In a research which was conducted to find out the achievements and the indicators in the program in relation to the skills of the 21 st century, it was emphasized that 5 achievements within a total of 21 in the cognitive delopment part were found to be in relation with the skills of the 21 st century. Similarly, 18 indicators among a total of 113 indicators were found to be in relation with skills of the 21 st century. It was stated that 7 of the achievements in the social- emotional development, 5 items in the cognitive development, and 4 of the items in the achievements in linguistic development were parallel to the skills of the 21 st century. It is stated that the highest achievements in relation with the skills of the 21 st century are the achievements in social- emotional development [ 34 ].

It is also aimed to find out the opinions of teachers and teacher candidates for developing creativity and creative thinking in children, tries to evaluate the opinions of participants using a holistic perspective within the context of the preschool educational program. The following suggestions are made based on the findings of the study:

• Problem solving situations that may enable students to display their creativity should be provided.
• Families should participate more in children’s educational process.
• Teachers should include more activities that strengthen the individual traits of children.
• Resources should be provided to teacher candidates to enhance awareness for promoting creativity in the preschool stage.
• Teachers should develop attitudes that are not traditional in the activities conducted with children, and when communicating with the children, as well as taking individual differences into consideration.

As the study was conducted during the Covid-19 pandemic, there was less interaction between the researchers and the participants. Thus, this situation is considered to be the greatest limitation of the study.

Acknowledgments

This article was written based on the master’s thesis titled ‘The Study of the Opinions of Preschool Teachers and Teacher candidates on the Promince and Promotion of Creativity in the Preschool Stage‘ which was prepared by Yeşim Yılmaz under the supervision of Assistant Professor Yakup Yıldırım in 2021, at Akdeniz University, Institute of Educational Sciences.

Funding Statement

The author(s) received no funding for this work.

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Creativity Throughout the Day

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Fostering creativity is one of the most rewarding—and challenging—goals that teachers of young children can set for themselves. While it may seem simple enough to put out art materials—and let young children bubble with their often novel ideas—it takes a lot of thought and skill to establish a learning environment that nurtures creative thinking. Only by intentionally connecting educational goals with open-ended, inspiring approaches can teachers encourage children to express and develop their creativity as part of the learning process. True creativity emerges from the combination of knowledge, skill, inspiration, and persistence.

This  Young Children  cluster takes readers inside classrooms where children’s creative thinking is cultivated in large and small ways throughout the day. Painting and poetry are used as means of self-expression and as paths to a deeper grasp of core concepts in science and social studies. Singing brings a meaningful context to reading fluently, and a design challenge reveals the benefits of combining aesthetics with mathematics and engineering. Throughout this cluster, children’s creativity provides the spark for new explorations, and in turn, their new knowledge inspires yet more creative thinking.

Another way to challenge children’s creative thinking is to carefully examine excellent works of art. Angela Eckhoff, in “ Meaningful Art and Aesthetic Experiences for Young Children ,” takes us inside the Denver Art Museum as a class of 3- and 4-year-olds explore a ceremonial mask from a Pacific Northwest Coast tribe from aesthetic and cultural perspectives. Later, they creatively apply their new understandings as they make their own mask-like boxes. Knowing that many teachers are not able to take trips to museums, Eckhoff suggests ways to use museum websites to inspire similar learning experiences.

In “ ‘Look What I Made!’ Open-Ended Apps that Spark Creativity ,” Holly Carrell Moore considers how a variety of apps can be strategically incorporated into preschool classrooms to foster creativity. Much like blocks and paints, many apps provide meaningful opportunities for children to express their ideas and feelings, create patterns, design environments, and more. For some children, the ease with which changes can be made in digital creations is especially freeing.

For educators, one reason to make time for creative endeavors is that these experiences combine aesthetic, academic, and social and emotional learning. As Rekha S. Rajan demonstrates in “ Take Center Stage: Enriching Academics with Musical Theater in the Primary Grades ,” musical theater can develop a wide range of abilities. Working with a second-grade teacher, Rajan selects a short musical that enriches a social studies unit, has performance and production roles for all children, provides meaningful language and literacy practice, requires collaborative problem solving, and creates unique opportunities for the children to express themselves.

Creative self-expression is the heart of “ ‘Freedom for Me Is to Play Heartily in a Playground’: Writing Poetry Develops Children’s Voices ,” by So Jung Kim. Kim describes a class of 6-year-olds in South Korea flourishing in a student-centered, multicultural curriculum. Challenging the children to deeply explore concepts like friendship and freedom across cultures, the teacher reads aloud picture books on multicultural issues, then engages the children in developing free verse poems and illustrations to express their thoughts.

Rounding out the cluster, we move from the humanities to a design and engineering project in “ Over the Fence: Engaging Preschoolers and Families in a Yearlong STEAM Investigation ,” by Lauren Weatherly, Vicki Oleson, and Lisa Ramond Kistner. Wanting to see over the tall fence surrounding their playground, a group of 4- and 5-year-olds moves from asking their teachers for a solution to solving the problem themselves by researching, designing, modeling, and building a tree house (with a little help from families and friends). Like professional architects, they meet regulatory standards and consider aesthetic features while achieving their goal.

Throughout this cluster, what strikes me is how fortunate these children are to be engaged in meaningful, creative challenges so early in their education. Without diminishing children’s initial thoughts, the teachers in these articles find ways to press forward—building knowledge, asking questions, and making time and space for thinking—to enable the children to have deeper, more creative ideas.

Reflecting on these articles, I realize that we are all fortunate, for we all ultimately benefit from this type of education. As Martin Luther King Jr. pointed out, “Almost always, the creative dedicated minority has made the world better.”

We’d love to hear from you!

Send your thoughts on this issue, as well as topics you’d like to read about in future issues of Young Children, to  [email protected] .

Would you like to see your children’s artwork featured in these pages? For guidance on submitting print-quality photos (as well as details on permissions and licensing), email  [email protected]  or see  NAEYC.org/publications/forauthors/photoguidelines .

Lisa Hansel, EdD, is the editor in chief of NAEYC's peer-reviewed journal, Young Children .

Vol. 72, No. 5

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Impact of an EFL Digital Application on Learning, Satisfaction, and Persistence in Elementary School Children

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• Published: 15 April 2024

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• Rikito Hori   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-7190-8831 1 , 2 ,
• Makoto Fujii 2 ,
• Takaaki Toguchi 1 ,
• Steven Wong 1 &
• Masayuki Endo 2  

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There is a lack of research evaluating the effects of digital textbooks and digital apps on learning for early elementary school learners. Therefore, this study conducted a randomized controlled trial to evaluate how an iPad application for learning English as a foreign language impacted children’s grammar understanding, satisfaction, persistence, and confidence compared to a digital textbook. A total of 119 Japanese first- and second-graders participated in the study. They were randomly divided into groups studying English using “digital books” or “applications” over five days. Pre- and post-intervention tests and questionnaires were used to measure their understanding of the study content, satisfaction, persistence, and confidence in English. Application-based learning was more effective than digital books in terms of grammar comprehension and was significantly better for satisfaction and persistence. The results suggested the use of specific criteria for selecting multimedia learning materials, including a high degree of learner control, autonomy to manipulate the learning environment, feedback on learning activities, and guaranteed interactions with the learning materials.

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Introduction

In recent years, several elementary schools worldwide have taught English as a foreign language (EFL), with some offering EFL programs for very young children (Edelenbos et al., 2006 ; Fenyvesi, 2020 ; Jaekel et al., 2017 ; Johnstone & Kubanek, 2006 ). Since 2021, Japanese elementary schools have commenced EFL classes for students in first grade and above (Japan Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT, 2017 ). A reason for this early start of EFL classes is that children at this age are more receptive to and motivated in language learning (Djigunović, 2012 ). Djigunović ( 1993 ) showed that 6- to 7-year-olds liked learning English more than 9- to 10-year-olds did, and early learners maintained more favorable attitudes than late learners during the 3-year study period. However, this motivation can easily diminish (Costa & Pladevall Ballester, 2020 ; Edelenbos et al., 2006 ; Johnstone & Kubanek, 2006 ; Mosavi Miangah & Nezarat, 2012 ). Heinzman ( 2014 ) suggests that young learners’ motivation can shift from being primarily intrinsic to more instrumental over time, which indicates a loss of motivation over the years. This highlights the need to devise appropriate learning content and methods to meet the learning needs of students to maintain their inherent high motivation (Cameron, 2001 ).

This study involved a randomized controlled trial (RCT) to evaluate the learning effects of digital textbooks and mobile apps among first and second-grade (aged 6–8 years) EFL learners, with a secondary focus on learning satisfaction and persistence, and to measure how the use of mobile apps differs from digital textbooks in EFL education. This study exclusively used digital materials and did not involve “old school” physical books. The study investigated the efficacy of iPad apps previously and currently used in participants’ schools and evaluated their usefulness in EFL education. Furthermore, this study was designed as a rigorous RCT based on the CONSORT 2010 statement (CONSORT) (Schulz et al., 2010 ). The following studies were used as references in designing the mobile-assisted language learning (MALL) and RCT protocols for this study. A previous study (Brooks et al., 2006 ) evaluated whether an intervention with additional information and communications technology (ICT) support could help improve literacy (spelling and reading) achievement among seventh-graders in a secondary school. This study is methodologically innovative in design and data reporting (Torgerson, 2009 ). Regarding the study content of the current research, the focus was on grammatical aspects (Cameron, 2001 ). The research questions (RQs) formulated in this study were as follows:

RQ1: Is learning with digital applications in MALL as effective as learning with digital textbooks for early elementary school students in acquiring grammatical knowledge?

RQ2: Is learning with digital applications in MALL as effective as learning with digital textbooks for early elementary school students in terms of intrinsic motivation, specifically “satisfaction” and “persistence”?

RQ3: What factors are necessary for learners to continue using digital applications in MALL?

Literature Review

Learning content varies by grade and, to some extent, a country’s educational guidelines. It is not considered appropriate to formally teach EFL grammar rules at the early elementary school level; instead, methods should be devised to make students aware of the rules (Cameron, 2001 ). In Japan, the curriculum guidelines do not stipulate specific learning content for first- and second-graders; however, the guidelines do emphasize interactions with informal materials during foreign language activities (MEXT, 2022 ). Traditional language learning requires repetitive routine work, which may not always be enjoyable or suitable for all learners, especially those in the lower elementary grades (Purgina et al., 2020 ). A study (Mihaljević Djigunović & Lopriore, 2011 ) comparing specific EFL activities preferred by students found that learners as young as 7 years old prefer “play activities.” Therefore, several EFL programs use mobile learning (M-learning), which leverages technology to reduce cognitive load and provide a more interactive way of learning (Lin & Lin, 2019 ; Sweller, 2020 ).

M-learning is defined as the use of mobile technology to acquire knowledge or skills, anytime, anywhere (Geddes, 2004 ). It is characterized by the use of mobile devices for learning, which makes it ubiquitous, personalized, and more spontaneous (Mosavi Miangah & Nezarat, 2012 ). In today’s world, M-learning is easily enabled by delivering a variety of educational materials and content to learners through mobile devices (Mosavi Miangah & Nezarat, 2012 ). Mobile devices are portable and easy to carry, allowing students to access, edit, and modify learning content (Jeno et al., 2019a , b ). Several previous studies have shown that mobile devices can be advantageous for learners as they contribute to better learning outcomes, stronger motivation, and enhanced learning persistence (Chachil et al., 2015 ; Chang et al., 2021 ; Hori & Fujii, 2021 ; Huang et al., 2012 ; Klimova & Poláková, 2020 ; Kumar et al., 2019 ; Liu et al., 2020 ; Plass et al., 2015 ; Yaghoobi & Razmjoo, 2016 ). Technology has become deeply embedded in our lives. Mobile devices are widely used in training, learning, and education and are often used in language learning (Loewen et al., 2019 ). The adaptation of M-learning to language learning is called mobile-assisted language learning (MALL) (Okumuş Dağdeler et al., 2020 ). Evidence suggests that MALL helps students learn languages more effectively (Solihin, 2021 ). Through MALL, learners can engage in independent reading of the learning materials at convenient intervals (Steel, 2012 ; Sung et al., 2016 ). It has been suggested that MALL is effective in EFL vocabulary learning, grammar learning, and listening (Darsih & Asikin, 2020 ; Lin & Lin, 2019 ; Ozer & Kılıç, 2018 ; Clay, 2022 ). Interactive affordances built into mobile devices allow learners to learn at their own pace and adjust the difficulty level of the material to their language proficiency level (Hung et al., 2012 ).

Recent EFL education with M-learning has seen a shift from mechanical, repetitive, teacher-driven learning to self-directed learning that is learner-initiated and sustained (Lin & Lin, 2019 ; Rosell-Aguilar, 2018 ). Technology use is primarily a self-selected activity and, thus, by definition, an intrinsically motivated activity (Rigby & Ryan, 2017 ). This background information is related to the self-determination theory (SDT). Several studies in the field of education have adopted the SDT as a research framework because it provides a strong theoretical background for understanding student motivation (Jeon, 2022 ). SDT assumes that students’ motivation to learn and persist is largely related to the extent to which the three basic psychological needs (BPNs) of autonomy, competence, and relatedness are met in the environment (Ryan & Deci, 2017 ). Furthermore, previous studies have shown that MALL supports a dynamic learning process by providing opportunities for choice and modification while promoting spontaneous emotions that meet the need for autonomy (Jeno et al., 2018 ). Learning materials used in M-learning are called M-learning tools. “Mobile applications” are the most common materials in English M-learning (Elaish et al., 2017 ). The number of language learning applications has substantially increased in recent years (Jeon, 2022 ), primarily because of the increasing popularity of smartphones that enable widespread access to software applications (hereafter, apps) for language learning. Although researchers have investigated rubrics for evaluating preschool educational apps (Bentrop, 2014 ; Papadakis et al., 2017 ), limited standards or evaluation rubrics exist. Since several apps have been created and are commonly used in EFL education, it is important to identify the key factors for selecting apps that can be used effectively, even at the early elementary school level.

“Digital textbook” is selected as the object of comparison to evaluate the efficacy of the application in this study. Digital textbooks are used in the same manner as e-books and are defined as digital objects containing text and other content, with commonly available features, such as search and cross-reference functions, hypertext links, bookmarks, annotations, highlighting, multimedia objects, and interactive tools (Hsieh & Huang, 2020 ). Digital textbooks have been used extensively as technology-based learning tools with proven learning and motivation efficacy (Huang et al., 2012 ). Myrberg and Wiberg ( 2015 ) conducted an experimental study with two groups of students to compare students’ preferences for printed books versus e-books. When they were tested for comprehension, it was found that the students preferred e-books. Zhang et al. ( 2020 ) examined 52 language-based learning studies conducted over the past decade and found that e-books have positive effects on language learning. Twelve weeks of e-book instruction was found to increase students’ motivation to read, as measured by pre- and post-test questionnaires. Thus, e-books have been used as M-learning tools and have shown positive effects on both learning and the motivation to learn. In Japan, the Amendment to the School Education Act (Act No. 39 of 2018) was enforced on April 1, 2019. Under the amended Act, digital textbooks may be used as needed, while paper textbooks remain the primary learning source, ahead of the implementation of the new National Curriculum Standards (MEXT, 2016 ). Thus, the shift from traditional paper textbooks to digital textbooks is recommended in Japan. In M-learning, a study by Zhang et al. ( 2020 ) compared “digital textbooks” with “applications” from the lens of the self-selection theory and analyzed the factors that were effective for learning outcomes and motivation. An RCT within this study investigated how different interactivity approaches affected learning outcomes and motivation, focusing on textbooks, e-books, and applications. The results showed that M-learning tools, including apps, were more intrinsically motivating than digital or traditional textbooks, increasing learners’ psychological desire for autonomy, competence, and relevance. Deci & Ryan ( 1995 ) points out that “a sense of competence” and “a sense of autonomy or self-determination” are important for enhancing “intrinsic motivation,” and states that the “reward” of such intrinsic motivation are “enjoyment” and “a sense of achievement.” The optimal state of being intrinsically motivated is called the “flow state,” that is, a state of strong concentration in an activity where one is intrinsically motivated and finds pure pleasure and enjoyment in the activity itself and feels a strong sense of control and competence over one’s actions and the surrounding environment (Nakamura & Csikszentmihalyi, 2002 ; Deci & Möller, 2005 ). The results discussed above indicate that the perspectives of “satisfaction (enjoyment)” and “competence (confidence)” are significant in motivation through the use of M-learning, and “persistence” is important to continue learning based on these perspectives (Deci & Ryan, 1995 ; Nakamura & Csikszentmihalyi, 2002 ). Although this study was conducted with college students, the authors were unable to find any studies using similar research methods to test the effectiveness of EFL education at the early elementary school stage. It is necessary to investigate how different technology tools affect achievement and intrinsic motivation for learners at a younger age (Jeno, 2019a , b ).

Study Design

This RCT was designed with pre- and post-intervention tests to evaluate the efficacy of an iPad app for first- and second-grade (aged 6–8 years) EFL students by comparing digital textbooks and digital app methods of learning. Two researchers conducted the randomization process, assigning interested students to the intervention or control groups using the permuted block method with two block sizes. These participants were stratified according to whether they had attended international schools. To prevent bias, the group allocations were not revealed to the participants. The intervention group used an EFL app on an iPad and the control group used e-book content compliant with traditional textbooks. The iPads used in this study were not owned by the participants. They were owned by the school and loaned to the participants. All the iPads had the same settings. This study conformed to the CONSORT guidelines for conducting RCTs (Schulz, 2010 ).

Participants and Setting

The study sample consisted of 119 first- and second-grade (6–8 years old) students, 40 boys and 79 girls, from a private elementary school in Osaka, Japan (Table  1 ). The total number of students in the school was approximately 360, with each class consisting of approximately 30 students. The participants’ parents purchased the iPad in June 2020. Since then, the participants have used these tools both at school and home. When the students were unable to physically attend school due to the COVID-19 outbreak, they were able to learn through online classes. Daily classes are conducted in Japanese. First- and second-graders study English in daily 15-min modules, third- and fourth-graders in 45-min units three times per week, and fifth- and sixth-graders in 45-min units four times per week. Among the stratified participants, some attended international kindergartens where they were exposed to instruction primarily in English. In the school where this study was conducted, most of the children were of Japanese nationality, although there were a few children of foreign nationalities. Eligible students and their parents were invited to participate in this study using the following inclusion criteria: (1) the child was attending an elementary school; (2) the child possessed vision, hearing, and language skills that did not interfere with participation in the education program; and (3) the parents and child consented to participate in the study.

Intervention

Intervention group: efl application.

The intervention consisted of an EFL app called Rabbits (Rabbits. (n.d.). Osaka, Japan: Takaaki Toguchi), which presents different scenarios, requiring learners to answer questions or identify illustrations using English vocabulary and grammar. When users select and drag an illustration to the center of the screen, the app verbalizes an associated programmed utterance. Users can choose from multiple illustrations in various units (e.g., nouns, verbs, etc.). One of the app’s features allows the conversion of nouns into plural forms and inserts conjunctions to create longer sentences. It has both the typing and speech recognition modes. In the latter, users can select an illustration and hear the app vocalize the word in English. They can then tap the microphone button and speak the word in English to record their vocalization. The app repeats the proper English vocalization and displays a sentence including the word, hence, the users can confirm whether their verbalizations are correct. They can tap the app or learner speaker buttons to listen, test, and compare their utterances with those presented in the app. When there is a match between the user’s and the app’s spoken sentence, the user can tap the “ + ” button to save a screenshot for record keeping (Fig.  1 ).

Screenshot of the EFL app used by the intervention group

Control Group: Digital Textbook

The control group used an iPad, presenting digital textbook materials created by organizing and arranging relevant vocabulary and grammar with graphics and audio. The digital textbook materials used in this study were exclusively developed for this experiment. This digital textbook was exported in EPUB format. It was installed on the iPads of the control group and made available for manipulation by the participants. The users could tap an object to play audio, swipe between objects, and change words from singular to plural forms. They could swipe the pages back and forth, similar to a traditional book. The defined structure ensured that the users learned the content in a specific order (Fig.  2 ). Using this function, vocabulary can be practiced by matching the words with pictures of fruits, such as apples and oranges, and pronouncing the words. Since audio examples are provided to show how to pronounce the words in singular and plural forms, the user can practice by imitating the pronunciation. Since the user can swipe back and forth, they can repeatedly review the content to address any inadequacies. The sequential structure of the book allows users to learn without losing sight of the learning.

Screenshot of the digital textbook-type materials used by the control group

Both the app and the digital textbook used the theme of fruits for vocabulary and the grammar items covered singular and plural noun changes and indefinite articles.

Roles in Intervention Facilitation

The researcher ensured that the digital application and the digital book had the same content. They created scripts for the intervention, directed the intervention and control groups, and conducted the study from separate rooms to facilitate participation with minimal differences. A native EFL teacher was responsible for reading out the pre- and post-test questions that were common to both groups.

Outcome Measures

This study evaluated the usefulness of tablets in EFL education based on how well the participants understood the content, how satisfied they were with their learning progress, their learning persistence, and their confidence in English.

The primary outcome was the change in comprehension scores. The comprehension questions were based on the Courses of Study for Foreign Languages (MEXT, 2022 ), approved English textbooks, and the Eiken Test in Practical English Proficiency ( https://www.eiken.or.jp/eiken/en/ ). The specific learning content included listening comprehension (fruit vocabulary), singular and plural forms, indefinite articles, and sentence structure conventions. The test consisted of 17 multiple-choice questions (score range: 0–17).

A self-reported survey on satisfaction and motivation was conducted, in which participants were asked to rate five items: (1) “You enjoyed today’s learning” (learning enjoyment), (2) “You would like to continue this learning at home” (willingness to continue EFL learning at home), (3) “You would like to try different content” (willingness to try different content), (4) “Using the iPad to study English is fun” (enjoyment of using the iPad to study English), and (5) “Studying English on the iPad has increased your confidence in English” (whether studying English on the iPad increased their confidence in English). Participants rated the items using a 5-point Likert scale (1 = strongly agree, 2 = agree, 3 = undecided, 4 = disagree, and 5 = completely disagree). Questions (1) and (4) apply to satisfaction evaluation, questions (2) and (3) to persistence, and question (5) to confidence. This scale is based on the theory of intrinsic motivation; however, since the scale was created by the researcher for this study, there is no prior psychometric information. The participants provided demographic information about their age, gender, and international school affiliation.

Sample Size

There are no similar RCTs that have examined the educational benefits of interactive multimedia-based mobile applications for elementary school students in the first and second grades (6–8 years). The sample size of 112 was determined by assuming a standard deviation of 2.5, a one-sided significance level (α) of 0.1, and non-inferiority that could be judged as established within 1 point. A total of 120 cases were considered to allow for dropouts.

Data Collection

Data for this study were collected between February 19 and March 5, 2021. The intervention period was five days each, from February 19 to February 26 for first-grade students and from March 1 to March 5 for second-grade students. All the participants were required to take the same comprehension test on the first (pre-intervention) and last (post-intervention) days of the study to assess their prior and subsequent knowledge levels. The test included a questionnaire that measured their satisfaction, willingness to continue learning, and confidence levels.

Statical Analysis

The chi-square test was used to analyze pre-intervention baseline characteristics for the intervention and control groups. The Wilcoxon test was used to compare the two groups’ learning satisfaction. A generalized linear mixed model was used to compare the two groups’ changes in knowledge of the content. The group variable, the pre–post intervention test category, and the interaction terms were included as fixed effects in the model, with the subject ID nested in the intervention category as a random effect. Restricted maximum likelihood was used as an estimation method. A paired t -test and student’s t -test were conducted to compare knowledge about the learning contents within and between groups, respectively. Differences significant at p  < 0.05 were considered, and all the statistical analyses were conducted using JMP (Version 16.2.0; Cary, NC, USA: JMP Statistical Discovery LLC).

Ethical Considerations

The Research Ethics Review Board of XX approved this study before commencing data collection and recruitment. The study was registered with the XXX Registry (XXX). The study was described to all the participants and their parents, and they were explained that no academic credit would be granted for participation. The students in the control group were informed that they could use the interventional application once the data collection process was complete. Written informed consent was obtained from all the participants and their parents.

Study Sample and Participant Characteristics

The study included 119 participants (Fig.  3 ). They were stratified into those who had graduated from international schools (41 participants) and those who had not (78 participants). Seven participants (four from the control group and three from the intervention group) who did not complete both the pre- and post-intervention tests were excluded. One participant was excluded from the control group for not completing the questionnaire survey. The final sample consisted of 111 participants.

Flowchart of the participant selection and group allocation processes

Main Outcomes

Noninferiority was established with mean differences of 0.69 and 0.39 in the pre-intervention and post-intervention tests, respectively, for the intervention type. The number of participants analyzed and effect sizes were almost as designed a priori. The type of intervention had no significant effect on the comprehension of the learned content ( p  = 0.714). Both intervention types significantly improved participants’ comprehension of the learned content ( p  < 0.001). There was a significant interaction between intervention type and pre- and post-intervention comprehension ( p  = 0.048). The variance estimate for random effects and residual errors in the intervention was 2.63 (95% CI 1.28, 3.98), accounting for 38% of the total variation (Table  2 ). The results supported the hypothesis that application-based learning was not inferior to traditional learning methods in terms of learner comprehension. In addition, the intervention group felt more satisfied with their learning and exhibited a higher state of persistence.

Knowledge of Learning Content Before and After the Intervention

The intervention and control groups’ mean scores in the pre-intervention tests on learning content knowledge (processing singular and plural, a and an ) did not differ significantly ( p  = 0.11) (Table  3 ). Both groups’ mean scores increased significantly after the intervention ( p  < 0.001). A comparison of the groups showed no significant differences in the pre- or post-intervention test scores ( p  = 0.48).

Comparison of the Groups’ Post-intervention Motivational Scores

Table 4 compares the two groups’ learning satisfaction, as expressed in the questionnaire survey in conjunction with the post-intervention test. The intervention group had significantly higher scores (mean: 4.72, SD: 0.60, median: 5 (5–5)) than did the control group (mean: 4.36, SD: 0.80, median: 5 (4–5) for learning enjoyment (“I enjoyed learning today”) ( p  = 0.004). The same was true for persistence (“I want to continue learning at home”), with the intervention group obtaining a mean score of 4.65 (SD: 0.78) and a median score of 5 (5–5) and the control group obtaining a mean score of 3.86 (SD: 1.20) and median score of 4 (3–5); the difference between the two groups was significant ( p  = 0.0001). Furthermore, the scores for whether using the iPad to study English was fun were significantly higher for the intervention group, with a mean of 4.74 (SD: 0.59) and a median of 5 (5–5), than the control group, with a mean of 4.32 (SD: 0.92) and the median of 5 (4.25–5) ( p  = 0.010). Regarding whether studying English on the iPad increased their confidence in English, the intervention group’s mean score was 4.50 (SD: 0.93) and the median score was 5 (5–5), whereas the control group’s mean score was 4.05 (SD: 1.17) and the median score was 5 (3–5), showing a significantly lower difference ( p  = 0.025). There was no significant difference ( p  = 0.348) between the two groups’ willingness to try different contents, with the intervention group’s mean score being 4.67 (SD: 0.95) and median being 5 (5–5) and the control group’s mean being 4.64 (SD: 0.67) and median being 5 (5–5).

Is learning with digital applications in MALL as effective as learning with digital textbooks for early elementary school students in acquiring grammatical knowledge?

This study involved a rigorous RCT to evaluate an iPad app designed for EFL learning for first- and second-grade students in Japan, focusing on learning efficacy, satisfaction, and persistence (all checklists of the CONSORT criteria were followed in design, implementation, and reporting). The results showed that both the intervention and control groups had higher post-intervention test scores, which is consistent with previous findings, suggesting that interactive multimedia promotes learning (Heidig et al., 2015 ). The findings supported the research hypothesis, indicating that apps were as effective for learning as digital textbook-type materials.

Is learning with digital applications in MALL as effective as learning with digital textbooks for early elementary school students in terms of intrinsic motivation, specifically “satisfaction” and “persistence”?

The intervention group had significantly higher scores than the control group on the self-reported questionnaires for both satisfaction (“enjoyed learning”) and persistence (“want to continue learning at home”), with particularly significant results for the latter. The more significant result for “persistence” indicates that the group’s learners were in a flow state and intrinsic motivation was more stimulated (Nakamura & Csikszentmihalyi, 2002 ). In addition, evidence suggests that interactivity increases motivation (Skulmowski & Xu, 2022 ), which is positively associated with higher learning persistence (Schnotz et al., 2009 ). Previous studies have shown that apps (i.e., M-learning tools) can better fulfill learners’ psychological needs, including autonomy and competence, than digital textbooks (Jeno et al., 2019a , b ). Furthermore, the SDT predicts that individual motivation, performance, and well-being increase when basic psychological needs are met (Jeno et al., 2019a , 2019b ).

What factors are necessary for learners to continue using digital applications in MALL?

The app used by the intervention group in this study allowed them to manipulate the learning environment with a high degree of control, such as creating English sentences by combining objects. Snow et al. ( 2015 ) found that user choice was one of the most compelling features of an educational game. Autonomously regulated activities are often intrinsically motivated (Deci et al., 2017 ) and engagement can increase motivation (Domagk et al.,  2010 ; Heidig et al., 2015 ; Villalobos-Zúñiga & Cherubini, 2020 ).

The control group was provided with digital textbooks similar to traditional books, albeit with a multimedia component. The users could not control the order of content presentation, had fewer choices, and were more regulated by external forces (Domagk et al.,  2010 ; Heidig et al., 2015 ; Jeno et al., 2019a , b ). These led to lower satisfaction and learning persistence (Loewen et al., 2019 ). The digital textbook-type materials were specialized for listening. In contrast, the app was designed for active learning. It included a speech input function, allowing users to input vocalizations. Hence, directly appealing to multisensory processing encourages active learning (Skulmowski & Rey, 2018 ).

Users in the intervention group could speak and record English sentences that the app displayed alongside the correct English sentences, providing immediate accuracy feedback. This allowed the learners to recognize problem areas and identify positive directions for improvement, which can be a motivating factor (Domagk et al.,  2010 ; Villalobos-Zúñiga & Cherubini, 2020 ). Supporting autonomy and competence implies support for learner choice and feedback, which enhance intrinsic motivation (Deci & Möller, 2005 ). These results are consistent with previous evidence suggesting that M-learning tools increase learners’ psychological desires for autonomy, competence, and relevance more than digital and traditional textbooks (Jeno et al., 2019a , b ). Leszczyński et al. ( 2018 ) found that interactive materials were more effective when they required substantial effort and dedication and provided immediate feedback. In contrast, applications (including e-book-type materials) that consist primarily of drills and repetitive practice may facilitate rote fact-learning, however, are unlikely to promote a deep conceptual understanding (Hirsh-Pasek et al., 2015 ).

Research Implications

Based on the results, this study recommends the following measures that can be applied to EFL in M-learning. First, app-based education should not rely primarily on rote memorization through drills and repetitive learning practice. Second, it should give users autonomy in manipulating the learning environment and a high degree of control over the presentation order. Third, it should provide feedback on the learning activities. In these ways, learners should be able to interact dynamically with the learning materials and receive feedback on their activities. In addition, digital textbooks were confirmed to be effective for learning in lower elementary grades. However, considering that continuity is reduced when there is little room for choice and autonomy, this study suggests that more thought needs to be given to the interactivity of the teaching materials in MALL.

Limitations

This study has several limitations. The participants were all recruited from a single private elementary school in Japan, which limits the generalizability of the results. Several participants had previously experienced English learning, suggesting prior high motivation and interest. All the participants were Japanese first- and second-graders learning English. Therefore, researchers should exercise caution in generalizing the study results to other elementary school students and other languages.

Since the questionnaire was designed for first- and second-graders, the questions were simple and limited in number, particularly since the children completing the survey had a limited vocabulary. Furthermore, the self-reported format might have affected the results. Future studies should establish the questionnaire’s reliability and validity.

The young age of the participants meant that the intervention was short and the study period was brief because it was expected to be difficult to keep the children blind to the intervention and non-intervention for a long period. Thus, the measure of learning persistence might yield different results with a longer intervention or study period. Future studies should address this, given the general lack of evidence on the long-term effects of M-learning.

Conclusions

The SDT was a helpful framework for reviewing the design of M-learning tools for EFL education for early elementary school students. The participants who studied with the app showed significantly higher satisfaction and persistence without any reduction in learning effectiveness than those who studied with digital textbook-type materials. All the participants used multimedia learning materials presented on digital devices. However, the methods differed in the degree of interactivity and autonomy, which affected learners’ motivation. The results highlighted specific criteria for selecting EFL applications for early elementary school students – high user control and autonomy to manipulate the learning environment, feedback, and dynamic interactions with the learning materials.

Data Availability

The published article contains all the data that were generated or analyzed during the study.

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RH: Conceptualization; FM: Methodology; FM: Formal analysis and investigation; RH, FM, TT, SW: Writing—original draft preparation; TT: Resources; ME: Supervision.

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Hori, R., Fujii, M., Toguchi, T. et al. Impact of an EFL Digital Application on Learning, Satisfaction, and Persistence in Elementary School Children. Early Childhood Educ J (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-024-01653-5

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