Early Childhood Education Journal最新文献

The early childhood period has lasting effects on physical and mental health. Most U.S. families rely on daily non-parental care for children under five, highlighting the importance of integrating family preferences with educator practices through reciprocal family engagement (RFE). Systems change initiatives are promising to promote RFE due to the potential to realign early childhood systems (ECS) to meet family preferences and promote positive outcomes/in The i3 we are a village grant: Successes, challenges. However, there is little research on systems-level RFE strategies. We held two focus groups with eight informants involved in RFE activities in an ECS initiative and asked informants about enablers and barriers to systems building RFE. We performed a thematic analysis using a phenomenological approach, and identified three themes: building team cohesion, capacity building and reach, and resources and capital. Our findings suggest that ECS leaders looking to enhance programmatic RFE strategy could employ relational techniques to affirm flexibility in RFE duties, model open communication, appreciate existing skills, and provide opportunities to expand skills. ECS-building may benefit from an RFE approach but should be met with bureaucratic buy-in for RFE to succeed on a structural level.

The early years of childhood represent a critical time frame in emotional development. This qualitative study sought to elucidate the impact of parental relationships and parents’ emotional intelligence on young children’s development of emotional intelligence capacity, as well as changes in this development when a dyadic clinical intervention was applied. The study setting was a children’s psychiatric clinic in Israel. Participants were five preschool non-clinically diagnosed children (3 girls, 2 boys, aged 5–6) and their parents (1 father, 4 mothers) and five preschool clinically diagnosed children (3 boys, 2 girls, aged 5–6) and their parents (5 fathers, 4 mothers) (N = 20). Clinically diagnosed children and parents received a dyadic intervention; non-clinically diagnosed children and parents did not. The methodological framework was rooted in phenomenology. We gathered data using semi-structured interviews and applied thematic analysis to dissect the complex interplay between parents’ emotional intelligence and relationship with their children, and the children’s emotional development. Initial findings pointed to a nuanced improvement in the emotional expression abilities of clinically diagnosed children post-intervention, implying the efficacy of the intervention and suggesting the importance of integrating parental education on emotional intelligence and responsive strategies as part of child-focused interventions. This could foster children’s emotional growth and enhance parent-child relationships, contributing to a holistic strategy for fostering emotional intelligence in early childhood.

In this study, we analyze activities in which early childhood education and care (ECEC) teachers, together with pairs of children, engage in digital storytelling activities with a tablet application. The participating teachers and children speak more than one national language, and the activity has been pursued with the intention of supporting children’s full use of their various semiotic repertoires. Theoretically informed by a sociocultural perspective, the notion of semiotic repertoires here refers to not only national languages, such as English and Swedish, but also other semiotic means for communication such as sign language, gestures, and drawings. With the purpose of addressing how ECEC can be responsive to children’s repertoires of semiotic means of communication, the research question asked is: How are various semiotic repertoires introduced and responded to in the storytelling activities? The results consist of a differentiation and specification of the meaning of responsivity in the context of semiotic repertoires. The implications for children’s participation in developmental activities and the ambition of creating socially just ECEC institutions are discussed.

Early childhood professionals play a critical role in the lives of the children they work with, and their psychological well-being significantly impacts this relationship. Over recent years, societal changes, coupled with new policy, has increased the demands and pressures faced by these professionals. Therefore, the current mixed methods study set out to explore the well-being of early childhood providers (i.e., owner, owner-managers) in Ireland. In total, 489 participants completed the anonymous online survey, which included the WHO-5 questionnaire and an open-ended question that explored reasons for any stress experienced in the previous 2-week period. Almost 60% of participants scored 50 or lower and over 20% scored 28 or lower, indicating poor well-being and potential depression. The majority of participants reported feeling stressed in the 2-week period prior to completing the survey and frequently cited work-related issues as being the source of their stress. The major themes that emerged were burden of administration, overwhelming financial pressure, and staffing issues. These findings indicate that early childhood providers would benefit from bottom-up and top-down assistance to positively support their well-being. This is vital if they are to thrive in their professional roles and provide high quality, transformative experiences for our children.

Engaging in vivid conversations is crucial for the social and cognitive development of young children and for building their understanding of science phenomena. In this regard, educators play a pivotal role in shaping interactions with learners by providing adequate scaffolds to promote sustained shared thinking. Tablet computers are considered to have substantial potential for supporting learning, particularly in enriching communication and collaboration, as well as in making science phenomena more accessible. However, there are concerns that increased screen time may lead to social isolation. To address this situation, the present multiple-case study explores the impact of using tablet computers’ video functionality on the quality of teacher–child interactions during a specific play-based learning scenario in the domain of science. The investigation, which employed a mixed-method approach, followed two individual teachers separately during 24 lessons each in a videographic setup and isolated 200 science content-relevant interaction episodes. These episodes were coded according to their interaction quality in an inter-rater agreement procedure using MAXQDA. High-quality interactions were defined as those episodes involving a deep, prolonged, intellectual and content-specific exchange between the teacher and at least one child, based on both teacher and children playing their active roles in the participation of the talk. The results indicated that using tablets in the specific play scenario under investigation was associated with teacher–child interactions of longer duration, variable scaffold quality among teachers, and increased verbal engagement from children. These results counter the concerns that the use of digital media might lead to screen-based isolation and suggest that tablet computers can be harnessed for valuable educational interactions.

The pursuit of a Ph.D. is a demanding journey that requires doctoral students to prioritize their well-being and be mindful of their response to pressure. Mindfulness practice has shown to be effective in reducing stress and enhancing overall well-being. The current study explores the impact of an 8-week mindfulness program on the well-being of Ph.D. students in early childhood education. Four participants engaged in daily mindfulness sessions and meditations using the Healthy Minds Program application. Results indicate that mindfulness practice had a positive impact on participants’ awareness and attention, emotional intelligence and regulation, stress and anxiety levels, and compassion levels. The findings suggest that mindfulness practice can be a valuable tool for doctoral students in managing the challenges of their program and supporting their emotional well-being. While this study yields promising results, it is important to acknowledge its limitations such as small sample size and mixed outcomes, which may limit our understanding.

This study examined factors associated with four domains of school readiness among 170 preschoolers from low-income families in seven Malaysian public preschools. Direct assessments of preschool children’s performance on a battery of tasks indicated proficient levels of readiness in approaches to learning, language and emergent literacy, and socioemotional development. Relative to other domains, children demonstrated lower levels of readiness and greater variability in cognitive development. Using a multi-level modelling approach, the duration of Early Childhood Education (ECE) participation was positively associated with improvements in language and emergent literacy while controlling for child and other contextual factors. However, duration of ECE participation correlated negatively with socioemotional development. Additionally, household wealth was a significant predictor of better academic outcomes in language, literacy, and cognitive development. This study underscores the importance of nuanced educational policies that address the duration and quality of ECE and the socioeconomic disparities that affect school readiness to ensure comprehensive developmental support for Malaysian preschoolers from low-income families.

This study explores award-winning nonfiction picture books from the last ten years (2013–2023) that feature collective action for social justice in early childhood education. Drawing from a critical content analysis of Orbis Pictus and Sibert Book Medal winners, we spotlight four books that showcase historical models of collective action. These texts challenge societal norms, inviting discussions on equity and fairness. Utilizing the Recognize, Ask, Do (ReAD) framework, we propose instructional strategies to equip educators in addressing unfairness and promoting collective action. Amid concerns of censorship, we empower educators to integrate quality literature that cultivates socially just mindsets. By emphasizing texts that promote collective action and social transformation, this study contributes to the discourse on equity and inclusivity in early childhood education, laying the groundwork for a more just society.

This study explores the impact of integrating social-emotional learning (SEL) into teacher training programs through children’s literature on the knowledge and attitudes of preservice teachers towards SEL. The research involved creating SEL-themed tote bags, developing lesson plans, and participating in an SEL book reading session to prepare future PreK-4 teachers to nurture essential SEL competencies for academic success. The research used convenience sampling to select undergraduate students in Early Childhood and Elementary Education courses for interviews. The findings provide valuable insights into how preservice teachers’ knowledge and attitudes shift towards the implementation of SEL activities in their future classrooms.

The prevalence of early childhood expulsion has been documented for close to two decades, with known disparities for children of color, children with disabilities, and children who have experienced trauma. While empirical data on the lasting impact of early expulsion events continues to emerge, there has been little research focused explicitly on how expulsion impacts caregivers (inclusive of any adult that sees themselves in a primary caretaker role for a young child that had experienced expulsion, such as mothers, fathers, grandparents, and foster parents). The purpose of this research study was to examine the experiences of caregivers of young children who experienced expulsion from an early childhood setting. We used a semi-structured interview to capture caregivers’ experiences pre and post expulsion (N = 26). We used a multi-step, collaborative analysis process to analyze the interview data using thematic and constant comparative methods. Initially, most caregivers reported a positive association with their children’s early education setting. However, despite a positive start, relationships with staff deteriorated, and eventually their children were expelled. In most incidents, caregivers described feeling caught off guard by these expulsions, with lasting negative impact for their family. Implications for research and policy are discussed.