Child Indicators Research最新文献

Practices to promote the right of children to participate in the classroom can benefit from picture books that encourage children to be involved in different settings that reflect the qualities of participation. This study aims to examine the effects of the processes planned regarding children’s right to participation with picture books on preschoolers’ perceptions of their right to participate in the classroom. The study employed a pretest–posttest design, a quasi-experimental research design with a control group. A random sampling method was employed to determine the study sample. The sample consisted of a total of 42 children (21 in the experimental group and 21 in the control group), attending classes of 5-year-olds in a public kindergarten affiliated with the Directorate of National Education in a province located in the Inner Aegean region of Turkey. A “Personal Information Form” and the “Participation Right Scale in Preschool Classes” developed by Koran (2017) and Şallı İdare (2018) were used as data collection tools. Twice a week during eight weeks, the researcher conducted activities with children in the experimental group, which were prepared with picture books and integrated with classroom activities. As the data obtained in the study show a normal distribution, a two-factor ANOVA test was performed with measurements repeated in one factor, and the the t test for the dependent groups and intergroup comparisons. After the experimental study, it was determined that the children in the experimental group started to participate more in classroom activities and decision-making processes, whereas there was no change in the involvement of the children in the control group. Based on this result, to promote preschoolers’ right to participate in the classroom, teachers should place more emphasis on processes that are designed to use quality children’s books and that the use of such books is integrated with classroom activities.

Young people´s perspectives on service quality in Therapeutic Residential Care (TRC) are commonly excluded or overshadowed by those of adults which has led to calls for better youth self-report indicators of quality healthcare. In response, we performed a systematic review of peer-reviewed literature to identify the most important quality indicators for young people by reviewing the literature on their beliefs and experiences regarding TRC and building on the four-pronged parsimonious framework (setting, staffing, treatment approach, and safety) proposed by Farmer et al., (2017). Following PRISMA guidelines, a systematic literature search was conducted in March 2022. Of the 17, 815 records screened, 15 articles, composed of 15 samples were included. A total of five domains and 13 quality indicators were identified: 1) Setting; 2) Staffing (professional skills and access to specialist support [doctor/therapist]); 3) Treatment approach (effective transition and aftercare support, rest and time to think, life skills, behavioural improvement, access to education and farm animals as therapeutic aides); 4) Safety (staff actions and structure and stability), and 5) Milieu factor (trusting relationships, family involvement, and relationship continuity). These four domains provide a practical framework for better-oriented treatment. The additional domain identified as the milieu factor places the critical quality indicators of TRC (e.g., trusting relationships) from the perception of the youth themselves, at the centre of attention, and encourages services to assess the extent to which they have the milieu factor, so they can strategically adapt and be responsive to the needs of young people. Policy and service delivery implications are discussed.

Given the important limitations of direct (explicit) measures in psychological research with children, various scholars have focused on developing indirect (implicit) measures for different psychological constructs. However, children’s well-being has traditionally been assessed in an explicit and direct way. For this reason, the first goal of the present research was to develop a new instrument to assess children’s and adolescents’ well-being using the Implicit Association Test (WB-IAT-Y). The second aim was to examine the relation between direct and indirect well-being measures. In this study, 358 primary and secondary school students answered the WB-IAT-Y, the Psychological Well-being Scales, and the World Health Organization – Five Well-Being Index. Finally, an expert conducted a semi-structured interview with each participant, asking about satisfaction with life in the main domains for children (i.e., family life, friends, school, and overall life satisfaction). The WB-IAT-Y showed good internal consistency and adequate construct validity. Factorial analyses indicated that this measure acted as an indirect measure. As in previous research, the WB-IAT-Y correlated weakly with the two well-being direct measures, and it showed the strongest correlation with the semi-structured interview conducted by an expert. To conclude, the new WB-IAT-Y instrument is a useful measure to assess indirect well-being for youths. We suggest that it is important to evaluate children’s and adolescents’ well-being using both direct and indirect measures in order to assess conscious and unconscious processing of self-relevant information.

The aim of this study was to determine the likelihood of children including a child of a different ethnic origin in their games. In focusing on 359 children aged six, eight, and twelve, the research sought to understand how the children categorized their views on this subject and whether the decision to include or exclude would change at the behest of peers, teachers, or parents. The study was inspired by the work presented by Walker et al. (2019), and five questions related to this topic were used as data collection tools. As a result of the deductive and inductive analyses, it was determined that most of the children believed that those from different ethnic origins should be included in play time. When the reasons for including children in games were examined, the answers given were generally connected the category of "Moral Justifications". For the children more prone to excluding peers of a different ethnicity, responses tended to find themselves in the "Cultural stereotypes/Personal characteristics" sub-category.

The COVID-19 pandemic affected youth positively and negatively through regulations related to social distancing and remote learning. The current study aimed to understand youth’s positive and negative emotional experiences of COVID-19 and how emotions were associated with internalizing problems and social support from teachers and classmates. Seven hundred and fifteen students in fourth to twelfth grade from a suburban school district in the Northeast (53.4% female; 93.3% White) were asked to complete a survey from March to May 2021 assessing their emotional experiences, internalizing problems, and sense of social support during COVID-19. Data were analyzed and interpreted using descriptive statistics and regression analyses, including moderation. Results indicated that students experienced more positive emotions (M = 7.47) than negative emotions (M = 6.99) during COVID-19, and females experienced more negative emotions compared to males and gender non-conforming students. Negative emotions were significantly and positively related to internalizing problems and positive emotions were significantly and negatively related to internalizing problems for females. Additionally, high teacher and classmate support moderated, or buffered, the relation between negative emotions and internalizing behaviors. Further research is needed to better understand the positive and negative emotional experiences of COVID-19 among racially and ethnically diverse youth.

Abstract

We aimed to investigate the developmental trajectories of the sense of community in South Korean children over time and explore potential variations in these changes among different cohort groups. For these purposes, we using latent growth curve modeling and performed multigroup analysis involving two separate cohorts (elementary 4th cohort, N = 2,092, female 47.4%, age 13–16; middle 1st cohort, N = 2,350, female 50.0%, age 13–16). The results showed that the recent generation demonstrated a stronger sense of community compared to the past generation. The differences between cohorts can be explained to several factors, such as South Korea's focus on public education, which promotes community unity, and the gradual diminishing of regional constraints associated with the notion of communities in the country. Gender, self-esteem, smartphone dependency, life satisfaction, parental affection and interference, income, social relationships, and various activities were found to be associated with the trajectory of sense of community changes. Based on these results, we discussed the implications.

Abstract

This study investigates school dropout, particularly the shift to open high schools in Türkiye during the pandemic, through a multi-stakeholder lens. Using grounded theory, data was collected via semi-structured interviews with 12 students, 15 teachers, and 20 school administrators. Results reveal a model linking themes: predictive reasons for transferring to open high school, both pandemic-related and unrelated, positive/negative consequences of the transition, pandemic’s impact on formal education continuity, essential open high school skills, and strategies to reduce such preferences. Findings highlight the sway of exam-focused education on open high school interest, regardless of COVID-19, and emphasize the need for equitable education amidst Türkiye’s pandemic challenges. Theoretical implications may infer the necessity of approaching school dropout as a multilayered dynamic issue within the cultural context. The implications also may convey the significance of policies and systems not only to reduce the rates of school dropout but also critically unpack underlying reasons to make improvements.

The aim of this study is to explore changes in subjective well-being (life satisfaction and positive affect), as well as psychological well-being among Romanian adolescents over a 4-year period using data from the Children’s Worlds project (Waves 2 and 3). Participants were 12-year-olds (N = 1,504 in 2015; N = 1,145 in 2019). The findings indicated a decline in positive affect and psychological prosperity with the passage of time, while life satisfaction remained constant. To investigate factors influencing the decline, we examined the relationships between well-being and the amount of time adolescents spent in their free time (leisure and duties), as well as their satisfaction with their free time. Leisure activities predicted both well-being measures over time. Duties predicted subjective well-being at both waves but only predicted psychological well-being in Wave 3. Satisfaction with free time predicted both well-being approaches only in Wave 3. The findings suggest that factors related to free time do not contribute to declines in well-being, as they show positive associations with subjective and psychological well-being. The declines likely stem from other unexplored variables, underscoring the need for additional research on contributors to the well-being of Romanian adolescents, particularly following disruptions like the COVID-19 pandemic.

Abstract

Enhancing the nutritional status is essential for fostering human resource development and attaining sustainable development. The objective of this study is to analyse the temporal change in the opportunity to access adequate nutritional outcomes (Normal height for age, Normal weight for age, and Normal weight for height) for children under the age of five in India. The analysis of the study is based on three sets (2005–06, 2015–16 and 2019–21) of National Family Health Survey (NFHS) data, at both the national and sub-national levels. It used the Human Opportunity Index (HOI), D-index, Shapley decomposition of D-index and time decomposition of HOI to examine temporal change in the opportunity to access adequate nutritional outcomes. At the national level, HOI increased in all three nutritional opportunities from 2005–06 to 2019–21, owing to the increase in coverage rate and decline in D-index. On the contrary, a sub-national analysis for the same period finds HOI to increase in all major states only in the case of Normal height for age and Normal weight for age. Whereas, states such as Punjab, West Bengal, Assam, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Goa, Maharashtra and Gujarat saw negative change in HOI for normal weight for height. Estimates from Shapley decomposition of D-index indicated that mother's education, wealth, social group, and access to toilet had major contribution to the unequal distribution of opportunities across all survey years. Further, the time decomposition of HOI revealed that the equalisation effect, which is the heart of the principle of equal opportunity, did not play a prominent role in expanding access to opportunities. Even a negative equalization effect is observed in Jammu & Kashmir, some states of the northeast, and even the rich states like Karnataka and Maharashtra. The study suggests a multi-pronged approach to address challenges, including increasing coverage and decreasing inequity in accessibility. Possible solutions include augmenting spending, minimizing leakages, and guaranteeing the delivery of services to the final recipients. A nuanced balance between "equality of outcomes" and "equality of opportunity" is needed.

Abstract

Research on happiness in preadolescence and adolescence has been limited regarding the sources of happiness. The present study aims to explore such sources in preadolescents and adolescents through a multi-method and multi-informant approach. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 77 family triads: children (age range: 11–19; M = 13.90, SD = 2.70; 61% female), mothers (M = 47.50, SD = 4.35), and fathers (M = 50.53, SD = 5.30). The triads were asked to define happiness from children’s perspective, describe what makes children happy, and indicate children’s levels of happiness. Using quantitative data, preadolescents exhibited higher individual happiness levels than adolescents, and fathers reported higher levels of children’s happiness than mothers. Through Thematic Analysis, five primary sources of happiness emerged: Social relationships, Family relationships, Personal interests, Achievement, and Entertainment. Social relationships was the most recurring theme across the narratives of both preadolescents/adolescents and parents. The second most recurring theme was Personal interests for preadolescents/adolescents and Family relationships for parents. Parents notably more frequently mentioned Achievement than children. Males displayed a higher propensity to report the Entertainment theme than females, while females reported the Family relationships and Social relationships themes more frequently. Preadolescents exhibited a higher occurrence of the Entertainment and Family relationships themes than adolescents. Regarding the concordance of themes between children and their parents, low overall levels of agreement were observed, all below 40%. The highest levels of concordance were found between mothers and fathers rather than between parents and children. The results could provide valuable insights to parents and educators on how to help youth promote their happiness.