DigiLEP is a national research project being carried out by the Centre for Education and Lifelong Learning (CELL) Research team at NCI.
Learn more about the DigiLEP research project at NCI.
What is DigiLEP?
Digital Literacy in Early Childhood Education and Care Practice (DigiLEP) is a national research project exploring the digital competencies of Irish early childhood educators and their attitudes and engagement with digital technologies in their everyday practice. It focuses on the practical, pedagogical, and professional use of digital tools in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) settings.
The outcomes of this research is to support Irish policy development in this area.
Objectives
- To describe the current use of digital technology in everyday ECEC practice.
- To identify gaps in digital competencies and capacities using the Digital Competence Framework.
- To explore educators’ attitudes and perceived challenges in using digital technology in ECEC settings.
Why research digital literacy of Early Childhood Educators?
Children are growing up in digital worlds. Digital technology plays a significant role in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) practice. International reports, such as OECD (2025), show that digital tools offer both clear benefits and potential risks. On one hand, they can boost learning, STEM skills connectivity, and creativity. On the other, there are valid concerns about digital risks, such as excessive screen time and unsupervised access. As a result, a child-centred approach which keeps in mind children's rights is seen globally as essential for integrating technology meaningfully.
In the Irish context, research mirrors these global complexities. For instance, Bohnert and Gracia (2021) highlight the nuanced impact of screen time on well-being among Irish children. Significantly, Ireland’s Literacy, Numeracy and Digital Literacy Strategy 2024–2033 recognises digital competence as a crucial foundation for every learner from birth to young adulthood (Government of Ireland, 2024). While this national ambition aligns with global standards, the full translation into everyday practice is still evolving. Official earlier reports, such as Digital Learning 2020 (Department of Education and Skills, 2020), continue to highlight gaps in educator confidence and usage. This points to a clear need for stronger professional support across the sector.
DigiLEP addresses this specific gap by using Irish and international research to explore digital competencies of ECEC educators in Ireland and how they use digital technology in their daily practice. The project outcomes aim to indicate what support may be needed for educators to access and use digital tools effectively and equitably for all children.
What methods is the DigiLEP research project using?
DigiLEP employs a mixed-methods, pragmatic design combining quantitative and qualitative approaches. The quantitative phase applied an adapted version of the SELFIE for Teachers tool (Economou, 2023a, 2023b) to assess educators' digital competencies, capacities and attitudes.
The qualitative phase includes focus group discussions with a volunteer sample of educators to explore everyday experiences, challenges and the benefits of digital technologies in ECEC practice.
Where are we in the research now (Dec 2025)?
Data collection for both the quantitative and qualitative phases of the project is now complete, following a strong response from the ECEC sector.
Over 200 Early Childhood Educators have completed the survey using the SELFIE tool, which was available in English and Irish.
The SELFIE for Teachers tool is an adapted self-reflection tool based on the European Commission's framework. It was deployed to assess educators’ digital competencies and attitudes. This tool is designed to assess levels of digital capacity and practices across six key competencies:
- Professional Engagement
- Digital Resources
- Learning, development and well-being
- Documenting and assessing learning and development
- Empowering children
- Facilitating children’s digital competence
Expected Outcomes
- Develop an evidence-based framework for developing a National Level Policy on Digital technology for Early Childhood Practice
- Provide Trends on the pedagogical use of Digital technology in Early Childhood Practice
- Identify Barriers and evidence-based solutions to integrating safe use of digital tech in practice.
Preliminary Findings
Our initial analysis of the data reveals Irish Early Childhood Educators have mixed feelings about the use of digital tools in ECEC practice. There is positive engagement and confidence in using digital tools in administrative areas, such as Professional Engagement and Documenting and Assessing Learning as this is expected of them for compliance to regulations.
When it comes to Creating Digital Resources, Empowering Children to protect themselves from digital risks and Facilitating Children’s Digital Competence, Educators indicate a need for professional support through recommended continuous professional development (CPD). For instance, in safely introducing and using digital tools for pedagogical purposes in everyday Early Childhood practice, such as robotic kits for coding and developing STE(A)M skills.