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Cited by 178Child Development and Digital TechnologyEarly Childhood Education and DevelopmentEducational Games and Gamification

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 26 of the 26 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

How educational are ‘educational’ apps for young children? App store content analysis using the Four Pillars of Learning framework

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Meyer, Marisa, Zosh, Jennifer M., McLaren, Caroline, Robb, Michael, McCaffery, Harlan, Golinkoff, Roberta Michnick, Hirsh-Pasek, Kathy, Radesky, Jenny·2021·Journal of Children and Media
DOI 10.1080/17482798.2021.1882516PMC PMC8916741
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Abstract

Experts have expressed concerns about the lack of evidence demonstrating that children’s “educational” applications (apps) have educational value. This study aimed to operationalize Hirsh-Pasek, Zosh, and colleagues' Four Pillars of Learning into a reliable coding scheme (Pillar 1: Active Learning, Pillar 2: Engagement in the Learning Process, Pillar 3: Meaningful Learning, Pillar 4: Social Interaction), describe the educational quality of commercially available apps, and examine differences in educational quality between free and paid apps. We analyzed 100 children’s educational apps with the highest downloads from Google Play and Apple app stores, as well as 24 apps most frequently played by preschool-age children in a longitudinal cohort study. We developed a coding scheme in which each app earned a value of 0–3 for each Pillar, defining lower-quality apps as those scoring ≤4, summed across the Four Pillars. Overall scores were low across all Pillars. Free apps had significantly lower Pillar 2 (Engagement in Learning Process) scores (t-test, p < .0001) and overall scores (t-test, p < .0047) when compared to paid apps, due to the presence of distracting enhancements. These results highlight the need for improved design of educational apps guided by developmental science.

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Research works printed but not linked: 2

  1. Chiong, C. & Shuler, C. (2010). Learning: Is there an app for that? Investigations of young children’s usage and learning with mobile devices and apps. The Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop. http://joanganzcooneycenter.org/publication/learning-is-there-an-app-for-that/
  2. Vaala, S., Ly, A. & Levine, M. H. (2015). Getting a read on the app stores: A market scan and analysis of children’s literacy apps. The Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop. Retrieved from http://joanganzcooneycenter.org/publication/getting-a-read-on-the-app-stores-a-market-scan-and-analysis-of-childrens-literacy-apps/

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Metadata

Authors
Meyer, M., Zosh, J. M., McLaren, C., Robb, M., McCaffery, H., Golinkoff, R. M., Hirsh-Pasek, K., & Radesky, J.
Affiliations
  • University of Michigan (US)
  • Pennsylvania State University (US)
  • Common Sense Media (US)
  • University of Delaware (US)
  • Department of Psychology, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA
Corresponding author
Radesky, Jenny
ORCID
Venue
Journal of Children and Media
Publisher
Informa UK Limited
Published
2021-02-23
Volume
15
Issue
4
Pages
526-548
ISSN
  • 1748-2798 (ISSN-L)
  • 1748-2801
DOI
10.1080/17482798.2021.1882516
PMC
PMC8916741
OpenAlex
W3129825267
Cited by
178
References
26
Citations by year
2026: 29 · 2025: 27 · 2024: 43 · 2023: 43 · 2022: 27 · 2021: 7
FWCI
52.75
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Journal of Children and Media (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
  • ScholarSphere (Penn State Libraries) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc)
Funders
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD / R21HD094051)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Education › Child Development and Digital Technology
  • Social Sciences › Education › Early Childhood Education and Development
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Educational Games and Gamification
Keywords
app quality, preschool children, free vs paid apps, active learning, meaningful learning, social interaction, mobile application design, digital learning media, coding scheme

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