Digital Storytelling in Early and Primary Childhood: An Integrative Review of Literacy Outcomes and Pedagogical Practices

Abstract

This study conducted an integrative literature review to examine the educational meanings and effects of digital storytelling on literacy among young children and lower-grade elementary students. The study analyzed 15 studies published between 2015 and 2025 using an integrative literature review approach. The findings indicated that digital storytelling supported children’s literacy development across four domains: emergent literacy, conventional literacy, narrative construction and multimodal literacy, and emotional, identity-related, and sociocultural meaning-making. In particular, digital storytelling contributed not only to vocabulary development, listening comprehension, and reading comprehension, but also to meaning-making through narrative organization, multimodal expression, self-expression, and identity-related interactions. However, effects varied by research design, instructional design, the type of adult support provided, and the degree of interaction afforded by digital media. These findings suggest that the educational effectiveness of digital storytelling depends on how closely digital elements are connected to the narrative meaning-making process. Overall, digital storytelling can serve as a multidimensional teaching and learning tool that supports not only cognitive literacy but also the emotional and sociocultural dimensions of literacy.