Among studies of young children's digital engagement in educational spaces, engagement was explicitly defined in only 18 of 88 studies (19.3%), theorised in 8 (9.1%), and measured in 31 (35.2%)¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · review r2 · q2
Currency · newest study 2026 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? In a corpus of 88 included studies, a definition of engagement was provided in 18 studies (19.3%), a theory in 8 (9.1%), and a measure in 31 (35.2%). → J. Harverson 2026

Evidence¶

J. Harverson 2026¶

J. Harverson, C. Zomer, C. Chu, S. Horwood, M. Horwood, M. Nicholas, L. Paatsch. (2026). Children's engagement with digital technology in educational spaces: A scoping review. Computers & Education 240 (2026) 105454. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2025.105454

q2 · i? · review · r2

Systematic scoping review of 2661 screened records yielding 88 included studies of children aged 5-8 using digital technology in formal or semi-formal educational settings. The review reports: "A measure of engagement was provided in 31 studies (35.2 %), a definition in 18 studies (19.3 %), and a theory of engagement in eight studies (9.1 %)."

"A measure of engagement was provided in 31 studies (35.2 %), a definition in 18 studies (19.3 %), and a theory of engagement in eight studies (9.1 %)."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• In definitions of children's digital engagement, the most prominent themes were participation (44.4%), effort (38.9%) and interpersonal skills and behaviour (33.3%) — related
• Most studies of children's digital engagement provided no explicit theory, definition, or measure of engagement, and only one study provided all three — related
• The review corpus comprised 88 studies from 2661 screened records, mostly in formal school contexts, spanning quantitative, qualitative and mixed methodologies — related
• In measures of children's digital engagement, the predominant themes were enjoyment (45.2%), participation (35.5%) and interest (25.8%) — related
• Explicit theoretical frameworks of engagement were provided in only 14% of the reviewed ECEC studies — related
• Only about one-third of quantitative ECEC engagement studies provide an explicit definition of child engagement or involvement — related
• Questionnaires were the most common measure of children's digital engagement (11 studies), followed by observation (8) and checklists (5) — related