A Cultural-Historical Study of Digital Devices Supporting Peer Collaboration in Early Years Learning Setting in One Saudi School

Abstract

This chapter draws upon the cultural-historical concepts of perezhivanie and the social situation of development to understand the role of a digital device in one public primary school in Saudi Arabia for fostering peer collaboration. The study found that students appeared to show their readiness to engage collaboratively as a spontaneous and unintentional sort of collaboration (initiative, helping and explaining, sharing the work roles and monitoring). The cultural-historical study gave the possibility for gaining deep understandings of the ways the children collaborate with each other when a digital device is introduced for the first time within an ongoing learning environment. The findings give guidance on how to support appropriate integration of digital devices into the early learning contexts in Saudi Arabia.