162 research outputs found
Sort by
Caregiver involvement in support services for a child with hearing loss?
Full text linkFamily-centered practices are considered one of the crucial components of services offered to children with hearing loss in early intervention. These practices aim to empower caregivers to support the language development in children with hearing loss through family-centered early intervention. In Turkey, early intervention practices are commonly provided under the supporting services provided by Private Special Education and Rehabilitation Centers (PSERCs). However, there is limited information regarding the ways of involving caregivers in the support service process and about the content shared to empower them. This research was designed as a holistic single case study based on a qualitative approach to examine how caregiver involvement is achieved in support services in PSERC for pre-school children with hearing loss in Turkey. Data obtained through observations, semi-structured interviews, documents (Audiogram, activity items, etc.), and researcher diaries were analyzed inductively. Results demonstrate that a range of practices, such as informational notes, quarterly meetings, and debriefings are implemented at the focal PSERC. However, it found that the only practice that was consistently followed was debriefings. Although the content shared in the debriefings was seemingly supportive for the language skills of children with hearing loss, the information caregivers needed was diverse. The results clearly demonstrate that current attempts to involve caregivers at PSERCs lack family-centered practices. A more comprehensive approach is required to improve services at PSERCs and make them truly family-centered. Further research is crucial to this end
Child citizenship and participation: Bottom-up level change from professional conversations with children
Full text linkHart\u27s (1992) \u27Innocenti Essay on Child Participation\u27 advocated for increased involvement of young people as active participants in societal decision-making. This paper provides a historical overview of active child citizenship initiatives, using applied research insights from \u27bottom-up\u27 approaches and conversations with children and professionals. It explores how current practices exemplified through three case studies can enhance genuine child participation and citizenship. The case study analysis examines the conversational processes involving children in problem-solving and decision-making within their communities. Through these examples, the paper highlights practical strategies for meaningfully engaging children as stakeholders and empowering them as active citizens whose voices substantially influence matters impacting their lives
Re-defining silence in unvoiced dialogues in storying-play: The sound of affects
Full text linkThis article chronicles three stories selected from a post-intentional phenomenological study conducted by the first author. The authors aim to investigate affective connections in children’s silent play by addressing three research questions: (a) How do children engage in dialogue with the teacher, their peers, and the material environment without words? (b) What emotions are produced in silent play? and (c) What changes in children’s affective connections occur through silence? We drew on the notion of intentionality in post-intentional phenomenology to illuminate meanings of the phenomenon for individuals about what they felt and experienced. With a focus on intentionality, we delved into the ways children meaningfully communicated with others and connected to the environment in their unspeaking moments. We also took on a posthuman notion of intra-actions to rethink silence as an inaudible yet sensible sound communicated between children and things. The prior studies showed that children’s silence was a mode of expression. Through storying the silent play-stories, we offered two alternative meanings of silence––intra-active communication with people and things and inaudible inner wellbeing, in addition to a mode of nonverbal expression as identified in prior studies. The findings are significant in enriching and renewing our understanding of children’s silence in inclusive ECE environments. Silence is re-defined as a mode of embodied communication and affective connections. This article invites researchers and educators to genuinely “listen” to children’s stories, even in silent play
Promoting decoding among young students with Swedish as a first and second language within a response to intervention model
Full text linkMany young students with Swedish as their second language need support to acquire reading ability. There is a need for evidence-based reading instruction in early reading education for students with Swedish as their first or second language. Therefore, the current study investigated whether early reading education based on a Response to Intervention (RTI) model with a focus on decoding skills can promote reading ability among young students with Swedish as their first or second language. In Grades 1 and 2, 113 students with Swedish as a first and Swedish as a second language were followed. Applying the RTI model, teachers used evidence-based reading instruction in the whole class. Besides, additional instructions were provided in small groups and individually for students with weak decoding. Results of the study showed that the additional instruction provided within the RTI model had the potential to promote decoding, but to a different extent among students with Swedish as their second language. The importance of differentiated instruction, early monitoring and support, a bilingual approach in reading education for second language students, and collaboration between teachers are discussed
Outdoor activities promoting mental and physical health and well-being in Sámi Early Childhood Education and Care institutions
Full text linkThis article explores the current situation of outdoor play for children in Sámi Early Childhood Education and Care institutions (ECECs) in Norway. The main objective is to discover how Sámi ECEC practices contribute to outdoor play and learning in early childhood education and community contexts by addressing the following research questions: How do Sámi ECEC staff emphasize outdoor activities and play in their daily practice, and how can these activities be regarded as a way of promoting mental and physical health and well-being? The sample comprises practitioners from seven Sámi ECEC institutions (ECECs) participating in focus-group and individual interviews. The main focus of the interviews was on Sámi ECECs as health-promoting arenas, and outdoor activities appeared to be important in this context. Stepwise-Deductive Induction was used as a qualitative research strategy in the analysis. The staff underline the importance of letting children attempt to be autonomous when it comes to physical and practical activities. They point to the importance of knowing the children and encouraging autonomous achievements. Traditionally, Sámi upbringing places emphasis on doing handicraft and daily work together with the children. The staff describe doing such daily outdoor activities as harvesting, handicraft, and food preparation together with the children as a way of maintaining Sámi culture. The main conclusion is that outdoor activities are important for promoting, experiencing, and contributing to Sámi pedagogy and children’s well-being in the Sámi ECECs
Greek early childhood educators’ knowledge of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder
Full text linkAs more children enter preschool programs, there is an increasing need for early education professionals to recognize and understand Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). This study examined 120 Greek early childhood educators’ knowledge of ADHD using a Greek self-report ADHD Knowledge Questionnaire (ADHD-KQ). All participants worked in infant/child centers operated by municipalities in Greece. Results point out early childhood educators’ lack of fundamental knowledge about the causes, symptoms/diagnosis, cognitive deficits, and interventions regarding ADHD. Among the personal and professional variables (years of teaching experience, age, and educational level) studied as predictors of overall knowledge about ADHD age was found as the only significant. Older participants seemed to have better knowledge regarding the basic aspects of ADHD. Results suggest greater efforts must be made to provide training specifically in the management of children with ADHD
How digital activities become (im)possible in Swedish school-age educare centres
Full text linkThis study explores how digital tools play a part in the practices of Swedish school-age educare centres (SAEC). The aim is to contribute knowledge about opportunities and/or obstacles in and with digital activities in SAEC practices. Data is produced using observations and conversations at five SAEC centres. The SAEC practice is found to be characterized by three different approaches to digital tools and their use: 1) A permeating practice, where digital tools are an integrated part of the whole day, 2) A happening practice, where digital tools are present on special occasions, and 3) A neglecting practice, where digital tools are absent. These differences can be connected to how teachers interpret their assignment but also to differences in competence, access, and interest in relation to digital tools. This entails that SAEC pupils are given unequal opportunities to develop digital skills
‘I\u27d rather learn outside because nature can teach you so many more things than being inside’: Outdoor learning experiences of young children and educators
No full textOutdoor and nature-based activities promote better health and academic outcomes for children. The school context represents a critical opportunity to support increased outdoor time. Yet, outdoor learning (OL) is not being implemented consistently across school contexts, therefore, many students do not receive the opportunity to participate. This study was designed to support increased uptake of OL and explores young children’s perspectives of learning within an outdoor context and explores how educators support OL opportunities within an early learning context. This research places a focus on children’s voices in order to emphasize their perspective of the learning experience and to highlight experiential child-led processes within OL. We collected semi-structured interviews with students, their parents and school staff who were involved in OL. An exploratory thematic analysis was applied using QSR NVivo. Findings that emerged were organized under two main themes: Nature as the teacher and Child-led exploration of nature. Nature as a teacher contained three subthemes: 1) Seasonal change influencing inquiry, 2) Engagement with other living things in nature and 3) Dimensionality of the outdoors as an element that enhances learning – experiential immersive learning. Child-led exploration of nature contained one subtheme: Learning driven by play. These findings can be used to advocate for increased uptake of OL in education and to provide guidance to educators regarding how to include OL within their practice to enhance equitable access for children
Young children as citizens: Learning from practice in the early childhood setting
Full text linkThis paper examines enactments of young children’s citizenship in early childhood settings in England, which is an under researched area, in this study young children are positioned as social actors, competent and capable of making decisions and enacting citizenship. Values, child rights and citizenship are interconnected and often inseparable in practice. A mixed methods multiple-case study was conducted in England across several early childhood settings in the private and independent sector. Our findings indicate that young children enact citizenship through micro acts embedded into their day-to-day activities; such acts are often spontaneous in response to events or interactions. These are often pro-social in nature comprised as behaviours such as helping or showing concern for others. Our findings give visibility to the distinctive ways in which young children may enact citizenship including, for example, physical expressions
‘When the body speaks back’: Socialization of body-mind dualism in body memories of Cold War childhoods
Full text linkStudies focusing on East Central Europe have generously explored collective memory (lieux de mémoire, monuments, ceremonies) and nostalgia for a past regime, but rarely have they examined memories as carried in child bodies. In this paper, we analyze selected Cold War childhood memories to explore events in which children’s bodies seemingly act out of control. As a part of socialization, children are taught to consciously control their bodies to fit in the societies they have been born to. With learning to control the body, children also learn that bodies are separate from their minds and that their minds can govern and regiment their body. However, bodies also slip up, avert, or simply remain unaffected by these attempts, in a way ‘speaking back’ to regulating forces, thus troubling the modernist assumption of the separation between the mind and body. The aim of the paper is to show the complexities and limits of socialist or any modern(ist) forms of socialization in which the concerted efforts of the mind are mobilized to govern the body. Moreover, the discussion of body memory and the highlighted mechanisms of how socialization efforts create bodily memories adds to our understanding of the effects of pedagogical intentions in education