Journal of Childhood, Education & Society (JCES)
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The impact of education reform in Romania between 1989-2020 on the regulation and decentralization of early childhood education
Get PDFRomania inherited a tightly controlled and strictly regulated mass education system from socialism, which inevitably has gone through a systematic reform. However, transformation or change of any education system does not take place for its own sake, but it is intended to meet certain social and political challenges and requirements. Therefore, the present study investigates the significant changes that have taken place in early childhood education (ECE) in Romania since the collapse of the Ceausescu regime in 1989. Specifically, the impact of the reform measures on ECE provision is examined in relation to curriculum content and structure. Explanation of how to investigate education have been central to the present research. The analysis of documentary data corpus identified three main themes reflecting the changes that took place: (i) the introduction of education reforms, (ii) the emergence of educational pluralism, (iii) the various iterations of the early childhood curriculum. Findings suggest that decentralisation processes led to the spread of alternative pedagogies in ECE add the findings about curriculum content change our investigation offers a detailed picture of the educational processes of decentralization and the changes it has brought in the early childhood curriculum
Allowing for segregation in ECEC? Legal conditions, administrative structures and enrolment practice in Germany
Get PDFSupposedly children are to learn together in surroundings mirroring the overall democratic and diverse make-up of society. Segregation in ECEC is undesirable. However, substantial segregation exists - even in systems designed for universal, high-quality ECEC provision. While some research has already carved out the role of parents´ choice of institutions, little is known about how children are selected by institutions. This article attempts to shed light on institutional choice as a variable for segregation. Including a detailed picture of the German ECEC system and pointing out administrative relations between municipalities and providers in Germany, this article will depict enrolment. It will draw an empirically based ‘tryptich’, focusing on municipalities´, provider organisation managers` and ECEC centre managers` views on enrolment. Findings will lead to a call for providers and municipalities to join efforts in order to design and implement enrolment procedures that prevent segregation
Teachers’ perspectives on optimizing manipulatives in teaching 21st century skills in kindergarten
Get PDFKindergarten teachers optimize manipulatives in teaching young children. These manipulatives can be tools in developing essential skills needed to meet the demands of 21st century society. A descriptive mixed method design was employed in this study. Qualitative data were gathered using interviews and classroom observations, while quantitative data were extracted from questionnaire and classroom inventory checklist. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, whereas qualitative data were transcribed, coded, and categorized by themes. Research respondents were the 25 kindergarten teachers from public schools (n=8) and private schools (n=3) in Pulilan, Bulacan. Results showed that teachers use manipulatives in the teaching and learning process as these provide many opportunities for children to learn and acquire different skills. Several manipulatives develop more than one skill, depending on their characteristics and nature. Moreover, skill development varies depending on the activity and type of manipulatives used. The research finds that manipulatives continue to be relevant and can be used to develop 21st century skills in kindergarten. However, teachers need to undergo training on the optimization of manipulatives that are readily available in the kindergarten classroom. Furthermore, there is a need for schools to invest in different manipulatives for use in kindergarten
Embedding character education into an early childhood classroom through service-learning
Get PDFThe implementation of service-learning in early childhood education classrooms has not been well documented, and the links to service-learning and the potential effects on character education are scarce at best. In this paper, a service-learning pedagogy is presented as a way to enhance character through education with the youngest learners: children in an early childhood classroom. This study examines the experiences of both teachers and children in an early childhood classroom participating in the form of a service-learning pedagogy for a year, and investigates the social emotional and character development of the young children participating in the classroom. Through the implementation of service-learning in early childhood classrooms, it is possible to grow and create a generation of learners who connect academic curricula through projects that deal with real community needs. With an emphasis on building relationships and making connections, service-learning the authors suggest, is an approach that can allows teachers to maximize children’s strengths, while at the same time building character and positive social and emotional traits
Boarding schools in transition: A post-socialist analysis of “relevance” as an education policy problem in Mongolia
Get PDFThe rural boarding schools that were established in the socialist era to serve children in Mongolia’s herding communities remain integral to national policy for ensuring universal access to formal education. Education policy actors demonstrate commitment to the socialist legacy of the schooled herder child, while at the same posing legitimate questions as to boarding schools’ quality and contemporary relevance. This questioning is framed with reference to a globally-orientated discourse of standards, outcomes measurement and skills for employability. The paper argues from a post-socialist perspective that this orientation forecloses a nuanced, contextualised understanding of “relevance” as a complex educational policy problem. Drawing on policy documents and secondary literature, it develops and applies a post-socialist conceptual framework to explore the temporal and spatial orientations of rural boarding schools and their “relevance”. The analysis evidences multiple, intersecting layers of change which situate the schooled herder child and constitute Mongolia”s “unfinished business of socialism” in education. The paper concludes that the layering revealed in this analysis needs to be more visible to educational policy; and that to resist oversimplifying the complex problem of education”s relevance is an ontological imperative
Children’s views on social distancing and playing on an adventure playground
Get PDFAdventure playgrounds have provided an important play environment for children in the United Kingdom (UK) since the 1940s. Twenty-five children ages from 4 to 13 were asked how they would play if social distancing was introduced on their adventure playground. Using Piagetian classification as a framework, responses from children in the pre-operational stage were compliant, whilst in the operational stage, children were compliant but explained how they would adapt their play. For the formal operational stage, the responses were confrontational. The importance of obtaining children’s views challenges the original ‘blanket’ policy guidance within the UK on social distancing for all children in outdoor environments including an adventure playground and considering how children play when with their peers is more social play
Play based activities for mathematical thinking at infancy: Nursery teachers’ and parents’ beliefs
Get PDFMathematics takes place in a major part of human life and mathematical concepts are used in every part of daily life, starting from the age of infancy. The present study concentrates on the age of 11 months to two years, during nursery education, when formal, informal and non-formal activities enable infants to have experiences related to mathematical concepts. Nursery teachers are expected to include play-based activities at every stage of the teaching process, while parents are recognized as young children’s first educators. We examined nursery teachers’ and parents’ beliefs and practices about the development of the infants’ mathematical skills through the use of play-based activities and their respective roles. The present study was conducted in Cyprus, where obligatory preschool education is only one year before primary education. Questionnaires, interviews and shared diaries with home activities were used for quantitative and qualitative data. Results indicated that both groups of participants expressed positive conceptions on the value of daily life play-based activities which could support mathematical learning. However, it seemed that in the case of parents there was a lack of relevant knowledge about the use of attractive and creative activities which could relate to plenty of mathematical concepts. Parents recognize the vital role of teachers and they asked for further guidance and support. We discuss how we can ensure the quality of early mathematics informal teaching and nonformal learning experiences can be offered for all infants. We discuss the role of the Curriculum in Mathematics at nursery school under a play-based context and the guided parental involvement
Diversity of assessment discourses in Swedish and Norwegian early mathematics education
Get PDFIn many countries, including those in the Nordic region, there has been a growing trend towards measuring students’ knowledge and understanding, a trend that is evident even in early education. This article presents a discourse analysis of mathematics assessment materials intended for six-year-olds in two neighbouring countries, Sweden and Norway. Thus, the article presents an example of early assessment in two neighboring countries with similar culture and education system. The aim is to investigate the similarities and differences between the various meanings ascribed to their assessment materials, and to discuss how these assessment materials may both influence and be influenced by early mathematics education in these two countries. The results show a diversity of discourses – both between and within the assessment materials – indicating different views on students’ learning of mathematics, on when to assess, on what knowledge to assess, and on how and why to assess. Thus, even though Sweden and Norway have similar cultures and education systems, there is no consensus when it comes to when, what and how to assess the mathematical knowledge of six-year-olds
Relationship between families and kindergartens in Hungary in the 1950s
Get PDFPartnership working and co-operation between parents and early education and care settings is a widely researched topic worldwide. However, little is known about how the relationship between families and kindergartens developed in the historically significant period of the 1950s in Hungary, which marks the beginnings of socialism and a period of rapid expansion of early childhood education and care. This study aims to explore how the expectations of raising ‘socialist citizens’ was incorporated into educational and policy documents and other written resources relating to kindergarten and family education. Purposive sampling selection identified 80 documents as data sources, which were subjected to qualitative content analysis. Intra-frame coding was done by hand using a combined inductive and deductive approach. Employing a constructivist theoretical lens, the analysis focused on both the manifest and latent content of the selected documents and resulted in seven main themes. The findings confirmed that the ideologically driven policy decisions not only influenced the relationship between families and kindergartens but also legitimised the efforts to build a socialist system of early education through organised collaboration and related propaganda work. This study is significant as it offers a more nuanced understanding of the relationship between kindergartens and families in the ‘50s and with that provides foundations for further analytical work of the socialist pedagogical past
Social protection of children with disabilities before the change of regime and at present
Get PDFThe integration of people with disabilities and the normalisation of their living conditions appear to be a key goal in today’s social approach. However, it is not enough to change the social approach alone in order to achieve integration, we need instruments which are able to support the social participation, self-determination and normalisation of people with disabilities. Such instruments can be defined as follows: a wide range of social welfare support and social services ensured by the state. It is indispensable to help, support and strengthen families which raise a child with disabilities, consequently social policy instruments should be extended to families as well. The present study aims at providing an overview of how children with disabilities and their families were supported during the socialist regime and in the subsequent period. We used a qualitative case study, for the preparation of which secondary research and document analysis were conducted. Our analysis focused on the research question whether following the change of regime there was a change of attitude in the fields of social policy which could promote the improvement of the quality of life of children with disabilities and their families. On the other hand, do the benefits and services provided by the social care system support the integration, normalisation and self-determination of children with disabilities, as well as their upbringing in a family environment? The results of our analysis show that following the change of regime a slow change guided by the modern approach to disability began, which by continuously adding an element at a time attempts to help children with disabilities and their families. A Hungarian disability strategy which would thoroughly define a social policy adapted to the needs of those concerned is badly needed