Evaluating educational apps for preschoolers: Differences and agreements between the assessments of experts, parents, and their children

Abstract

Educational apps offer a wide range of opportunities to foster children's early competency development during preschool age. However, due to inconsistent evaluation criteria, comparing the educational value of different apps is challenging, and conclusive data on children's and parent's preferences in choosing educational apps for preschoolers is lacking. In the present study, we analyse differences and agreements between the assessments of educational apps by scientific experts, parents, and their children, and compare their assessments with children's actual usage times. In sum, N = 400 children aged between 51 and 75 months (M = 60.9; SD = 4.5) obtained tablets to use at home for 10 consecutive months, with educational apps specifically developed to foster preschool children's cognitive, mathematical, and linguistic competences. Scientific experts rated children's apps according to the evaluation criteria by Hirsh-Pasek et al. (2015), while parents and children rated the respective apps with school grades, data was assessed at t1 (after 5 months) and t2 (after 10 months). Results show that children are less likely to play with apps with a higher educational value and rate them lower compared to ratings by scientific experts. Significant associations were found between the app ratings of parents and their children. With these findings, the present study provides insights into children's app preferences und usage behaviour especially in the context of family environment. The results highlight the importance of thoroughly researching and considering the perspectives of both parents and children to design apps that are enjoyable and played for extended periods.