Children & Society最新文献

Danish children spend a significant part of their daily lives in kindergarten. During the critical developmental period in early childhood, a targeted focus on health promotion can contribute to a foundation of long-term well-being. Since most Danish children aged 1–6 years attend daycare facilities, the kindergarten represents a physical, pedagogical, and social environment that contributes to monitoring and regulating children's behaviour in general and their participation in health-promoting activities. However, studies on the child's perspective in relation to kindergarten health promotion are limited. Applying a symbolic interactionist framework, field notes from 37 days of participant observations were analysed to explore 3–6-year-old children's perspectives on physical activity practices in two kindergartens. The findings show how the institutional structuring of time, space and rules contributes to a social order that codefines children's room for action and physical activity. In negotiating this social order, some children have the necessary prerequisites to thrive within and influence this order, whereas others experience rejection and exclusion. These findings are relevant in terms of improving health promotion practices in kindergarten settings and reducing inequality in health among Danish children.

Orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) go through adverse experiences which may lead to them being placed in children's homes. Such experiences can threaten their resilience and rights. As such, children's homes should provide conducive environments to facilitate OVC's resilience and promote their rights. This study used a qualitative approach which was informed by a phenomenological design. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect data by purposively sampling 20 participants from one children's home in Johannesburg, South Africa. Using conceptual content analysis, findings showed that for some children, the children's home enabled their resilience and promoted their rights while for some it threatened both. Based on the study's findings, the implications, future research possibilities and recommendations are presented.

Institutional care often carries a negative reputation due to its perceived adverse effects on children and young people. However, it remains a significant form of alternative care in China. In Xiangxi, childcare institutions, known as ci'aiyuan, have been further expanding by involving wider populations in recent years. However, little knowledge is known about this new practice. This study sought to explore lived experiences in one such institution by involving 14 young people who were 15–18 years old and lived in ci'aiyuan at the time of data collection. Through face-to-face semi-structured interviews, the findings revealed three overarching themes. Living in ci'aiyuan has impacted young lives through (i) providing more supportive relationships in their social networks, (ii) increasing their self-perceived social support and (iii) facilitating positive life trajectory shifts for certain individuals. The findings present a softer and more compassionate aspect of institutional reality, even though this represents a minority experience, challenging the dominant criticisms typically directed at institutional care. However, this study maintains that continued efforts are needed to address the complexities and challenges associated with such care settings.

The societal context of community is of critical importance in understanding its effect on pedagogic practice in ECEC, and yet, the role of community in ECEC is taken for granted by both scholars and practitioners. Little is known about the attitudes of ECEC educators towards their communities and how they affect children. This research examines the perspectives of Israeli ECEC educators from three ecologies: Urban, village and kibbutz and the way in which they are expressed in their practice. Semi-structured interviews with 24 educators were conducted and analysed thematically. Israeli educators from all three ecologies were characterised as viewing community focused on children yet moving beyond the kindergarten itself, standing in contrast to the commonplace among teachers elsewhere in the world, where community involvement is limited to parents helping their children with academic tasks. Other findings reveal two central themes: Family involvement and the overall conception of community which point to differences among educators in the three ecologies. Regarding family involvement, urban educators limited and controlled parent participation, while their village and kibbutz colleagues were more inclusive by integrating children into the life of the wider community. Regarding concepts of community, urban educators understood community in a utilitarian sense while village and kibbutz educators understood community as an essential building block of the kindergarten program for the benefit of children with mutual support and obligation between the ECEC setting and the surrounding community. The research findings shed light on the significance of the interplay between the wider community and ECEC and the importance of developing educational models that are sensitive to local cultural contexts.

In Aotearoa New Zealand (henceforth referred to as Aotearoa) a range of housing supports are aimed at improving homeownership rates and making both private rental and public housing more available. Despite these “supports”, a large number of children, adolescents and young people are experiencing housing insecurity or severe housing deprivation. Housing intersects with health, education, state care and welfare to influence a range of outcomes for children, therefore this paper addresses the critical issue of access to housing supports for children and adolescents. Through Official Information Act requests and a review of existing housing sector data, we found 323,257 children within the housing support system in Aotearoa New Zealand, with Māori (Indigenous People of Aotearoa) children disproportionately represented. We describe how children are largely unaccounted for in housing support system data, and this invisibility therefore challenges the understanding of the extent, inequities, and impact of the housing sector on children. We argue the urgent need for transformative policies centred on children, embedded in Te Tiriti o Waitangi (the Treaty of Waitangi), to ensure all children have access to stable, healthy, and secure housing for a brighter future.