Marga Sikkema-de Jong is Professor of Digital Education and Child Development at Leiden University. Marga combines academic expertise in education and child development with practical experience in (special) primary education. She earned her master’s degree in Education and Child Studies at Leiden University (cum laude, 1996), and obtained her PhD there in 2003 with a dissertation on digital picture books and emergent literacy in young children.

More information about Marga Sikkema-de Jong

Marga Sikkema-de Jong is Professor of Digital Education and Child Development at Leiden University. Marga combines academic expertise in education and child development with practical experience in (special) primary education. She earned her master’s degree in Education and Child Studies at Leiden University (cum laude, 1996), and obtained her PhD there in 2003 with a dissertation on digital picture books and emergent literacy in young children.

Research

Marga Sikkema-de Jong’s research focuses on the pedagogical significance of digitality within education and child development. She investigates how digital technologies – ranging from interactive picture books to social media and generative AI – influence the learning, development and social relationships of children and young people, from early childhood to higher education. Her work combines conceptual reflection on digitality with empirical methods, including randomised controlled trials, correlational studies and meta-analyses. Her research addresses both causal relationships and explanatory mechanisms, and explores the implementation of evidence-based interventions in educational and care settings, in close collaboration with professionals and children.

Publications

Activities