Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of lectures regarding the negative and positive aspects of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) use on parents’ beliefs of children’s use of ICT. The participants were 241 parents of children aged 3 to 5 years at a Certified Early Childhood Education Center. Before and after listening to lectures, participants were asked whether they thought their children need rules on ICT usage, instructions on how to operate the devices, and education on types of media and other related issues. The results indicated that lectures about negative and positive aspects of ICT heightened parents’ beliefs of the need for providing rules and information to their children. In addition, children’s age and the parents’ attitudes towards ICT partially affected the results, such that age impacted the need for education around ICT but not the need for rules or instructions, and parents’ attitudes toward ICT affected the need for instruction, but not the need for education or rules. The study supports the importance of educating parents about young children’s ICT usage.
