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
Open accessAbstract
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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“Many popular apps are of low educational quality and often contain in-app purchases and advertisements,5,92 which may bely this finding.”
From Digital Ecosystems, Children, and Adolescents: Technical Report (2026) · cites this paper as [92]
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“Furthermore, many online videos and apps in the app store are low-quality, despite having educational claims otherwise.5,92”
From Digital Ecosystems, Children, and Adolescents: Technical Report (2026) · cites this paper as [92]
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Hill, D., Ameenuddin, N., Chassiakos, Y. R., Cross, C., Hutchinson, J. W., Levine, A. E., Boyd, R. W., Mendelson, R. A., Moreno, M. A., & Swanson, W. S. (2016) · PEDIATRICS · doi:10.1542/peds.2016-2591 · Cited by 1,802
Putting Education in “Educational” Apps
Hirsh‐Pasek, K., Zosh, J. M., Golinkoff, R. M., Gray, J. H., Robb, M. B., & Kaufman, J. (2015) · Gothic.net · doi:10.1177/1529100615569721 · Cited by 1,305
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Self-citationYoung students using iPads: App design and content influences on their learning pathways
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Young Children’s Use of Smartphones and Tablets
Radesky, J. S., Weeks, H. M., Ball, R., Schaller, A., Yeo, S., Durnez, J., Tamayo-Rios, M., Epstein, M., Kirkorian, H., Coyne, S., et al. (2020) · Pediatrics · doi:10.1542/peds.2019-3518 · Cited by 282
Self-citationVisual Environment, Attention Allocation, and Learning in Young Children
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Memory Constraints on Infant Learning From Picture Books, Television, and Touchscreens
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Papadakis, S. (2021) · Frontiers in Education · doi:10.3389/feduc.2021.657895 · Cited by 188
Association Between Screen Time Trajectory and Early Childhood Development in Children in China
Zhao, J., Yu, Z., Sun, X., Wu, S., Zhang, J., Zhang, D., Zhang, Y., & Jiang, F. (2022) · JAMA Pediatrics · doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2022.1630 · Cited by 115
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Self-citationPrevalence and Characteristics of Manipulative Design in Mobile Applications Used by Children
Radesky, J. S., Hiniker, A., McLaren, C., Akgün, E., Schaller, A., Weeks, H. M., Campbell, S. W., & Gearhardt, A. N. (2022) · JAMA Network Open · doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.17641 · Cited by 82
Self-citationEarly Childhood and Digital Media
Barr, R., Kirkorian, H. L., Coyne, S. M., & Radesky, J. S. (2024) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108885751 · Cited by 83
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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
- 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
- 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
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- 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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