To play or not to play - That is the question: computer use within three Swedish preschools

Research Findings: This article is about computer use in 3 Swedish preschools with a specific focus on the preschool teacher's way of managing this use. Data were collected in 3 preschools serving children from 3 to 5 years of age. The data consisted of approximately 13 hr of video-documented observations and interviews with 9 teachers. The study is an example of a situated evaluation, which is an evaluation that takes place within an institutional practice such as a preschool. A key question is how this new artifact should be used in preschool activities. Practice or Policy: The study revealed how political and theoretical visions may be realized in everyday preschool practices. The teacher's approach to computer use was shown to be determined by a combination of the teacher's assumptions about the possibilities of computers and the dominant underlying principle or rationale at work in the preschool. It is argued that the computer is treated differently depending on whether a caring, nurturing, or teaching rationale dominates. It is also argued that the dominant rationale produces three different meaning-shaping practices; in the study, these are labeled protective, supporting, and guiding. These environments afford quite different possibilities for children to learn about and from the computer.