‘It’s just another nightmare to manage:’ Australian parents’ perspectives on BYOD and ‘ed-tech’ at school and at home

Discussions about computers and media technologies have long been infused with optimistic and future-focused rhetoric about their educational potential. Australian schools have the highest proportion of students using digital media in the OECD, and have implemented a range of ed-tech policies and programmes. Not everyone is satisfied with educational uses of digital media technologies, however. This article documents the concerns, perspectives and experiences of 40 Australian parents in relation to their children’s educational uses of technology. It reveals a number of concerns, including that it undermines parental agency and involvement in their children’s learning; is a source of distraction for their children; makes parental mediation increasingly difficult, and ultimately increases the parenting burden. These findings highlight that governments and schools need to take into account the experiences and concerns of parents when developing school technology programmes and policies.