Toddlers’ interactions, agency and concept formation in mechanical technology activities in early childhood education

The aim of this doctoral thesis is to contribute knowledge to the field of early childhood mechanical technology education. This is pursued through a systematic review and synthesis of existing research, alongside empirical explorations of video documented hands-on mechanical technology activities in preschool. The thesis is theoretically informed by sociocultural perspectives on interaction and development (Vygotsky, 2016; Wertsch, 1998) and by DiGironimo’s (2011) framework for understanding the nature of technology.