Early Childhood Education Journal最新文献

In early learning settings, multiple modes of communication are used to help young children convey meaning. These modes, or multimodal literacies, include signs, images, gestures, sounds, speech, movements, and actions. This study adds a deeper understanding of the strategies educators in Alberta use to support multimodal literacies. I conducted a multiple case study with eight educators at two childcare centers. To collect data, I utilized video walk-throughs whereby educators showed me around their playrooms digitally, interviews with early childhood educators, and pedagogical documentation in the form of learning stories collected from educators to further my understanding of how multimodal literacies are supported in early childhood settings. This research revealed that educators use multiple strategies to support multimodal literacies, including an emergent curriculum using the co-inquiry model of observation, reflection, and planning next steps. Implications include the need for early learning and childcare educators to use a broad view of multimodal literacies and a co-inquiry model first to observe the children’s multimodal literacies, then reflect on their observations, and then nurture or extend these literacy practices.

Laboratory schools were developed more than one hundred years ago on university campuses. The roles, structure, mission, and history of university-based laboratory schools uniquely position them to respond to the needs of their communities and provide resources and leadership for the field. All lab schools have different strengths and resources to support growth and innovation, address issues in the field, and provide leadership to address challenges and opportunities; in collaboration with others they hold the potential to multiply the impact of work conducted independently. This practical article seeks to clarify the role of university laboratory schools while highlighting the responses of five early childhood laboratory schools in the United States to current challenges, illustrating ways that lab schools serve as valuable resources to the field of early childhood education. Together, these schools represent different state and local contexts, serve different populations, and have different programmatic structures. As we seek to address current challenges in early childhood education, we remind others to look to laboratory schools as valuable resources and partners for envisioning new possibilities for the field.

A multicentre cross-sectional study of early childhood teachers (ECTs) from one large Australian not-for-profit early childhood organisation in preschool (3–5 years) classrooms, was conducted. This study was part of a quasi-experimental online Mathematics Professional Learning Program intervention aimed at developing ECTs’ mathematical pedagogical content knowledge; we report on ECTs’ (n = 325) pre-program survey scores, investigating their beliefs and confidence around mathematical pedagogy and their beliefs of preschoolers’ mathematical abilities. Scores were high, especially for confidence in pedagogical knowledge and pedagogical ability in helping children learn mathematics, and several survey constructs were significantly inter-related. However, more than half of the ECTs did not agree that most children enter preschool with some mathematics abilities, and confidence in their own mathematical abilities in areas of numeracy and spatial awareness varied. Mathematics focussed Environmental Rating Scale, Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale—Extension (ECERS-E) and Sustained Shared Thinking and Emotional Wellbeing (SSTEW) scale, item scores were evaluated for a representative subgroup of ECTs (n = 102) and overall showed minimal (3 out of 7) quality learning environments. Mathematical beliefs and confidence had a weak association with mathematics focused ECERS-E scores and no association with SSTEW scores. The results show that while beliefs and confidence were high, they did not predict the quality of the preschool learning environment. ECTs may be unaware of the specific mathematical content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge required to effectively teach mathematics to preschool children and develop children’s complex mathematical thinking. Implications for professional learning are discussed.

Playing in nature-based places supports early childhood development. In previous years, studies have shown the benefits of nature play for healthy child development, including language development. For early childhood teachers it is insightful to learn together how to develop language education in nature that is supportive of their student’s language development. The aim of this study is to investigate how early childhood education (ECE) teachers make nature-based places function as language learning environments in EC language education. The study took a collaborative action-based research approach and worked in communities of practice (CoP). In these communities, 55 teachers across five schools gathered six times. Based on the analysis of the shared conversations we defined the supportive aspects of nature-based places and related them to the expected outcomes of early childhood language education. We also described the professional changes they made to be able to teach language in nature. These changes were summarized in a model that informs early childhood teachers how to include the pedagogical and linguistic function of nature-based places to work towards the outcomes of EC language education.

Promoting high levels of physical activity and reducing sedentary behaviour in early childhood is essential for children’s health and wellbeing. However, despite existing recommendations, pre-service early childhood educators do not receive adequate training to promote physical activity and reduce sedentary behaviour among young children in childcare settings. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of the TEACH e-Learning course in enhancing physical activity and sedentary behaviour-related self-efficacy, knowledge, and behavioural intentions among a sample of pre-service early childhood educators (ECEs) across Canada. For this study, a quasi-experimental design was used, with participants (175 intervention, 117 comparison) recruited from 19 English-speaking Canadian colleges and universities offering pre-service ECE programs. The intervention group completed a 4-module e-Learning course on physical activity and sedentary behaviour, including subtopics on risky play and screen time. Data were collected at baseline, post-intervention, and 3-month follow-up using validated questionnaires. Changes in outcomes (e.g., self-efficacy, knowledge, behaviour intentions and control) were examined using linear mixed-effects models. Significant improvements were observed in the intervention group’s task self-efficacy (d = 0.54), knowledge of physical activity and sedentary behaviour guidelines (d = 0.66), and intentions to promote physical activity and reduce sedentary behaviour (0.38 ≤ d ≤ 0.44) post-intervention compared to the comparison group. However, these gains were not sustained at the 3-month follow-up. Perceived behavioural control showed limited improvement, and the intervention did not significantly impact intentions to avoid screen time. The TEACH e-Learning course improved short-term self-efficacy, knowledge, and behavioural intentions related to physical activity and sedentary behaviour among pre-service ECEs. However, the results of this study have shown that there are factors affecting desired outcomes that can not be adequately resolved through short-term training. Integrating such courses into pre-service training programs could enhance ECEs’ competencies in promoting physical activity, benefiting children’s long-term health. Further research should explore more long-term strategies to promote retention of increases in self-efficacy, knowledge and behavioural intentions related to physical activity and sedentary behaviour among ECEs.

The appeal of jigsaw puzzles lies in their varying levels of difficulty and thematic diversity, which engage children across developmental stages. This study investigated the effects of puzzle difficulty and thematic content on preschoolers’ jigsaw puzzle performance and examined the role of inhibitory control, a key cognitive function. Employing a mixed design, the study assessed 94 children aged 4 to 6 years, categorized into three age groups, across three puzzle themes (vehicles, animals, and characters) and two difficulty levels (high and low). Participants completed six types of puzzles, inhibitory control tasks, and a sustained attention task. A three-way repeated measures ANOVA revealed that puzzle performance was significantly influenced by age, puzzle difficulty, and theme. Notably, 4-year-olds showed less sensitivity to puzzle difficulty, while 6-year-olds excelled in character-themed puzzles. Hierarchical regression analyses and a mediation effect test revealed that both age and inhibitory control significantly predicted puzzle performance, with inhibitory control partially mediating the effect of age on puzzle performance. These findings underscore developmental differences in puzzle-solving abilities among preschoolers and highlight the importance of inhibitory control. The results have implications for designing educational materials and interventions that align with preschoolers’ cognitive development.

Natural everyday situations can offer valuable opportunities for children to develop mathematical ideas. However, as children enter school with widely varying levels of achievement in mathematics, not all children seem to benefit equally from embedded math learning opportunities. To help children take advantage of these opportunities, early childhood (EC) teachers seem to play a significant role in fostering children’s mathematical learning. Previous research suggests that both the teacher’s knowledge and their feedback significantly influence the extent to which children learn. However, most studies on feedback rely on experimental research designs and do not examine naturally occurring feedback in situations involving embedded math learning opportunities. Thus, the influence of EC teachers’ mathematical pedagogical content knowledge (MPCK) and their naturally given feedback on children’s mathematical learning remains underexplored. This paper investigates the effects of naturally given feedback and the MPCK of N = 48 EC teachers on the mathematical development of N = 140 children. Results indicate that process-related feedback positively impacts children’s mathematical development, while other kinds of feedback (e.g., person-related) and teachers’ MPCK do not demonstrate significant effects. These findings highlight the importance of integrating process-related feedback into professional development (PD) programs for EC teachers to enhance their ability to provide effective feedback.

At the José Asunción Silva District Educational Institution and with the support of the ONDAS-COLOMBIA program, qualitative ethnographic research was developed from a horizontal perspective; in this research, 75 children from 4 to 7 years old became coinvestigators to address the violence in their environment and contribute to the construction of a school as a territory of peace. The information was collected through “mica” focus groups, interviews, cartography and observation. The children subsequently analyzed the data via the metaphor of a tree that collects ideas on its leaves, categorizing the information obtained themselves, while the teachers performed a content analysis. To build a territory of peace, it is essential to first identify the actions that cause war or conflict and then focus on those that promote peace. Actions that children identified as generating conflict included the following: interactions with older children, yelling, pushing, and fear. On the other hand, key actions for the construction of peace include the support of close people (family, colleagues and teachers), play, being guardians of the Earth, and hugging as a symbol of reconciliation. A territory of peace is a safe setting in which children can be calm, have fun, learn and share with others. Finally, through this process, young children were able to improve skills such as interest, curiosity, the constant formulation of questions, the design and application of instruments to collect information, the analysis of information and the dissemination of results. investigative skills that allow them to understand the environment.

Obesity prevention should begin in early childhood, when children are learning nutrition and physical activity behaviors. Early childhood education (ECE) teachers’ ability to encourage children’s healthy eating and activity is related to their knowledge and self-efficacy. This study evaluated the effects of the Healthy Child Care Georgia intervention on teachers’ nutrition-related knowledge and self-efficacy. After in-depth training, teachers incorporated 30 hands-on activities into their curriculum and made improvements to classroom policies for six weeks. Teacher knowledge and self-efficacy were measured with the Confidence about Nutrition and Activity (CAN-Teach) survey before, immediately after, and 4 weeks after the intervention. Teachers in the immediate-intervention group implemented activities immediately after training. Teachers in the control/delayed-intervention group served as controls for the immediate-intervention group, and completed a second CAN-Teach assessment after the immediate intervention. Teacher knowledge and self-efficacy in the improved between baseline and the end of the intervention for both groups. These improvements persisted at the 4-week follow-up. Teachers in the control/delayed-intervention group did not show improvements in self-efficacy during the control period (between baseline and the end of the immediate intervention), but did show improvements between baseline and the end of implementing the delayed intervention. The HCCG intervention shows evidence of improving teachers’ knowledge and self-efficacy related to early obesity prevention. In-depth teacher training and one-on-one nutrition coaching are effective strategies to increase teacher knowledge and self-efficacy related to nutrition and physical activity.

In this case study, we explore how early childhood education and care (ECEC) teachers can foster children’s participation in conversations about natural science and mathematics and what factors influence it. Data consisted of 29 conversations between ECEC teachers and children. The results showed that eight of the conversations were open dialogues in which the teachers and children participated equally. In 19 of the conversations, the ECEC teachers led the conversation, and the children, to various degrees, were active and engaged participants. Two conversations were led by the children. The results showed that the children participated more actively in conversations about natural science than mathematics, and that multisensory artifacts and physical activities enhanced their participation in the conversations. The study suggests that ECEC settings should provide more opportunities for multisensory experiences and physical activities, and that teachers need more guidance on how to explain concepts and phenomena, within natural science and mathematics, to children of different ages.