Classroom Computers and Social Interaction among Low-Income Preschool Children
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.55370/hsdialog.v17i3.323Abstract
Despite increases in computer availability in the classroom, very little data exists on computer availability and its use in Head Start classrooms. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the impact of availability of computers on urban preschoolers’ naturally occurring social interactions in Head Start classrooms across one school year. The sample consisted of 66, predominantly African American, lower income preschool children in four urban, Head Start classrooms. A design was employed in which three classrooms had computers, while one classroom served as the comparison group. Naturally occurring social interactions were observed during free-play sessions over an 8-month period. Differences in social interactions across classrooms and school year were analyzed. Results suggest that classroom computer availability may increase the interactive behavior of preschoolers. Implications of study findings for use of computer centers in the preschool classroom are discussed.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
This Agreement (the Agreement) is made by and between __________(“Author(s)â€) and "Dialog†(the “Journalâ€).
Author Agreement
By submitting this research article entitled “_____________†('article')to (Dialog) published by the J. Murrey Atkins Library at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, the Author(s) certify that:
I. Warranties:
A.  Author  __________(name)  is legally authorized and possesses full power and authority on behalf of my co-authors [list names] to enter into this Agreement.
B. Author warrants, on behalf of all article authors, that:
a. the article is original, has not been formally published in any other peer-reviewed journal, is not under consideration for publication by any other journal and does not infringe any existing copyright or any other third party rights;
b. The named authors (above) are the sole author(s) of the article. Any co-author not signing this Agreement personally has granted full authority to [named author in I.A.] to enter into this agreement of his/her behalf and to grant the following rights to Dialog set forth below.
c. the article contains nothing that is unlawful, libellous, or which would, if published, constitute a breach of contract.
II.Copyright
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
a. Author(s) shall retain copyright to the article but grant the Journal right of first publication, and the irrevocable right to perpetually disseminate the article as part of the Journal subject to the Creative Commons Attribution License, that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
b. Beginning one year after the date of formal publication of the article, Authors may enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work and subject to the Creative Commons Attribution License (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), subject to a proper acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal: “This article was originally published in the Dialog (Vol., Issue, Year).â€
III. Indemnification.
Author shall indemnify, defend, and hold harmless the Journal from any and all claims, liabilities, damages, expenses (including attorneys’ fees and expert costs’, penalties, fees, if any arising from enforcement of this Agreement and/or related to claims of infringement of copyrights or proprietary rights allegedly contained in the Article  , or resulting from a claim of defamation, obscenity, or invasion of privacy based upon or arising out of the publication of the Article or any other breach of warranty as set forth in No. 1.
