162 research outputs found
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Family experiences of engagement in inclusive childcare programs for toddlers
Get PDFPrevious research has explored family engagement experiences and practices in childcare programs. The purpose of this study was to explore family members’ experiences related to their engagement in decision-making processes across various inclusive, toddler childcare programs. Five early educators and eight parents participated in the study. Four parents had a child with a diagnosed disability or developmental delays, were at-risk for developmental delays, and/or received speech, occupational, or physical therapy. Eligible early educators participating in the study taught toddlers (18 to 30 months) in a private, faith-based, or university childcare program. A semi-structured interview style was used to collect family participant responses. The early educators’ inclusive practice indicator rubric scores previously collected from the larger grant funded project were used to triangulate data. Through a phenomenological qualitative design, this study gained a better understanding of families’ decision-making experiences, facilitators and barriers that may impact family engagement, and opportunities early educators have provided or not provided to encourage family engagement in inclusive, toddler childcare programs
‘What are the goals of kindergarten?’ Consistency of teachers’ and parents’ beliefs about kindergarten goals
Get PDFThe teachers’ perceptions of the curriculum or their beliefs about how children learn can influence the quality of the teaching activity and its final outcome. Furthermore, the importance of an extended cooperation and mutual understanding between the actors involved (kindergarten teachers – parents) seems to be a crucial issue in order to establish a supportive framework. The research is structured in two dimensions. We seek the beliefs of kindergarten teachers (K-teachers) and parents, as well as their mutual perceptions of each other’s beliefs, i.e., K-teachers for parents and parents for K-teachers, about the importance of kindergarten goals. The study was conducted in Greece, specifically in the region of Central Macedonia, in June 2021, after the re-opening of schools due to the Covid-19 pandemic. A sample of 330 K-teachers and 419 parents from public and private schools responded to closed-ended questionnaires, rating –on a 5-point Likert scale- the importance of 14 Kindergarten goals. We found that K-teachers generally underestimated parents’ beliefs about kindergarten goals relative to their own beliefs and overestimated parents’ beliefs about the ‘academic’ curriculum goals; a trend that was not confirmed by the parallel survey of parents’ beliefs. In contrast, parents appeared to express a more balanced perception between their own beliefs and those they perceived K-teachers to hold. We also found evidence of differentiation between private and public schools. According to the findings, a harmonized perception of kindergarten goals by K-teachers and parents in private versus public schools is apparent
Contact with nature and executive functions: A pilot study with Spanish preschoolers
Get PDFIn the last decades, studies have suggested that contact with nature might impact positively on children’s Executive Functions (EF), although results are not consistent across studies. The present research aimed to explore a set of contextual factors (family socioeconomic status, residential area, and contact with nature) and their relations with preschoolers’ EF. Specifically, the research proposed to examine whether there were differences in preschoolers’ EF between rural/urban environments, to analyze the relation between exposure to natural surroundings and EF, and the potential interaction between contact with nature and family socioeconomic status in explaining children’s EF. A total of 56 preschoolers (30 boys, 26 girls) aged 4-6 years (M = 4.86, SD = .82) participated in the study. Families reported children’s contact with nature and EF through validated questionnaires. Results suggested that rural/urban environments were not related to children’s EF, but preschoolers who had more contact with nature exhibited higher Working memory skills. Moreover, mothers’ lower education was related to more difficulties in preschoolers’ Working memory when they have less contact with nature, but spending more time in natural surroundings seems to buffer that negative relation between lower maternal education and children’s EF. These preliminary findings highlight the relevance of the exposure and contact with nature for early childhood years
Parenting styles and the connection with nature: A look into a nature program
Get PDFCurrently, there seems to be a decline in direct experiences of nature, with a consequent decrease in connection with nature, which could unavoidably result in negative consequences, especially in what concerns children. With the goal of narrowing this ever-growing gap, as well as raising awareness for the importance of outdoor spaces/nature as promoters of development and learning, the Invisible Limits Project (IL) was founded. Thus, the present investigation aimed to better understand the enrollment motives, sociodemographic variables, parenting styles and Nature Relatedness (NR) of parents who enrolled their children in IL, as well as to analyze these same variables and identify parent profiles based on NR and frequency of nature contact, while additionally attempting to ascertain the role of contact with nature as a predictor of NR, all in an effort to rethink and improve existing educational offers. The investigation follows a comparative typology, counting 286 total participants, divided into an experimental group (n=135) - comprised of those who enrolled their children in IL - and a control group (n=151), to which the previous criterion did not apply. For the statistical analysis of the collected data, IBM SPSS Statistics v25, jamovi v1.6, JASP 0.16.1.0 and MaxQDA v2020.4 were used. In what pertains to the results, the main reason for parents to enrol their children in an educational experience in nature was the promotion of contact with nature. Additionally, there were no observable differences between groups, regarding both parenting styles and NR. Concomitantly, frequent contact with nature (both during childhood and throughout life) was determined to be a predictor of a higher NR. In view of the results and in view of the current climate changes, as well as life’s sustainability on the planet, further studies are required, in order to better understand one’s connection with nature
Children’s experiences outdoors: Education and community contexts
Get PDFChildren’s right to play is enshrined in Article 31 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, 1990). The early childhood period is a time when children’s values and dispositions towards outdoor play and environments are formed. Children have an intrinsic drive and natural curiosity to explore the world around them and outdoor environments are a key context for this exploration. Outdoor play and learning provide significant benefits for all aspects of children’s development - physical, cognitive, social and emotional (Brussoni et al., 2015)
Fair distribution in early childhood: Stuck between friends and needy strangers
Get PDFChildren distribute resources to recipients differentially regarding various factors such as ‘need’ or ‘friendship’ (social closeness). The aim of this study is to examine the interaction between these two variables by presenting children with two recipients who are a friend and a stranger varying on the number of materials they need. A distribution task with four different scenarios (conditions) was applied to 25 children (Mage =62.16, 15 males) aged 4-6 years. Across scenarios of four experimental conditions, the amount of needed materials was manipulated between the friend and the stranger. The participants were asked to distribute resources to the recipients in each experimental session. Allocation of all resources to the needy recipient to eliminate the need in the expense of the friend meant ‘fair’ distribution; while the allocation of all resources to the friend meant ‘friend-favoring’. The results showed an interaction between ‘need’ and ‘friendship’ for their roles in allocation decisions. Children favored the friend when their friend is needier than the stranger and transferred the greatest amount of resources to the needy friend. In the condition that the stranger is needier, levels of friend-favoring decrease. The results indicated that preschool children have a tendency for favoritism but this preference weakens in presence of a needier stranger. Taken together, the findings suggest that children are capable of taking the two competing factors of friendship and neediness into consideration at a time and able to adjust their allocation to meet the needs of not only friends but also strangers. Preschool children’s preference to support fairness occurs together with their developing helping behavior and moral reasoning as well
Parenting young children with developmental disabilities: Experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S.
Get PDFHigh-stress events (e.g., natural disasters, political unrest, disease) significantly impact the lives of children and families. The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is one event that has brought numerous hardships to families and children with developmental disabilities (DD), likely exacerbating already heightened levels of stress. For this study, we interviewed mothers living in the U.S. (N = 14) of 2- to 8-year-old children with DD about how COVID-19 has affected their family life. The interviews examined how the pandemic impacted (a) their child’s educational, therapeutic, and medical services, (b) their stress and resiliency, and (c) their parenting role as an advocate, educator, and interventionist. The results of our thematic analysis of the qualitative data highlight four domains with themes that describe families’ experiences as indicated by the mothers interviewed. Voices of families are essential in the delivery of effective and ethical early intervention for young children with disabilities. Based on the data from these interviews with mothers, suggestions for family-focused intervention to support families during high-stress events are discussed. As the long-term effects of the pandemic remain unknown, suggestions for future research to continue to examine the impact of high-stress experiences on young children with DD and their families are also presented
Is there a place for children in the making of public policy? Insights from the research evidence
Get PDFArticle 12 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child stipulates that children have a right to express their views with this article being one of the most frequently cited principles in the convention. This scoping review summarises the existing research evidence on how children participate in the making of public policy. This paper concludes that a plethora of practical guidelines and gray literature are available addressing children as policy-making partners, but the empirical research around the subject is very rare. Children’s participation should be planned prior to any planned public policy reforms – and to be supported by appropriate academic research integrated into the different stages of the policymaking processes. If policymakers are willing to develop mechanisms for children’s participation in the policy cycle, children’s role and agency will be clarified. It seems that there is a need for new sensemaking in terms of how adults treat the value of children´s participation and how to include children in the policymaking process around the subjects that matter to them. Participatory practices should be co-created with children, not for them
Children’s participation in documentation processes in local outdoor spaces
Get PDFThis article describes a study that aimed to investigate how children perform and document Land Art in local places near their kindergarten and the visualization of their experiences through their drawings back in the kindergarten. Documentation is important for a kindergarten’s planning and evaluation of pedagogical practices and activities. Studies have shown that using visual methods, such as drawings and photographs created by children themselves, to provide information related to children’s perspectives, actions and attitudes is a way for children to communicate and make meaning of their experiences. Encounters with the natural world through the performance of Land Art offer children the opportunity to directly sense, interact with and know ‘the world of materials’. Children’s interactions correspond with natural materials and the environment. Participatory observation was used, following a group of twelve children, aged four and five years in a year’s period to their trips near a shoreline. Data consists of photographs, voice recordings, video, drawings, and narratives to explore ways children interact with and make meaning of place by performing Land Art. The results show that children’s photographs and drawings are ways to ‘communicate’ with their experiences and engage with, pay attention to and visualize their perspectives. The findings might have implications for new approaches to documenting children’s voices and experiences through performing Land Art and drawings
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