Child-initiated Activities Research Articles

Encouraging Multicultural Education through Modern Outdoor Sustainable Set-ups for Early Childhood

Embracing a multicultural education by addressing effective strategies to benefit young childrens learning through applying an emergent curriculum and encouraging a hands-on discovery pedagogy is the objective of this study. Acknowledging and celebrating diversity through interaction and a play-based learning journey, throughout the Early Years, is the way forward, by providing the correct multiculturally oriented learning environment. Exploring diverse cultural approaches for learning through play and encouraging spontaneous child-initiated activities through interaction with the environment aims to enhance experience-based knowledge. Addressing individual learner variability in suitable and stimulating natural environments should encourage children to engage in meaningful, interactive, diverse learning experiences. According to recent research, multicultural learning platforms in the form of an outdoor, sustainable play area would encourage young children to achieve necessary life skills in a more dynamic, hands-on manner. This investigation sets out to explore successful possibilities of improving learning outdoor set-ups in our local schools. Using natural and sustainable materials to set up these outdoor play areas will offer our young children real life experiences while achieving the desired age-appropriate learning milestones.

A comparative study of ECEC practitioners’ perceptions of children’s well-being and their roles in South Korea and Norway

ABSTRACT This comparative study investigated how early childhood education and care practitioners in South Korea and Norway perceive the concept of children’s well-being and their own roles in supporting and facilitating children’s well-being. Data were collected through online questionnaires from 198 practitioners and analysed utilising chi-square analyses. The results showed that South Korean practitioners perceived the cognitive and economic domains as more important than Norwegian practitioners. Meanwhile, the practitioners from Norway perceived the social domain as more important than South Korean practitioners. Norwegian practitioners perceived physical needs, need for affection, and enjoyment as more important than Korean practitioners. Norwegian practitioners also monitored every child’s well-being and more actively encouraged positive interactions and child-initiated activities. Meanwhile, Korean practitioners perceived the need for safety as important and believed that environments were not safe enough for children’s health and well-being. These findings suggest that the educational approaches and sociocultural contexts of the two countries influence children’s well-being.

The Curriculum of Early Childhood Education: Indonesia and United Kingdom

This paper aims to investigate the curriculum of early childhood education in Indonesia and the United Kingdom (UK) and how they pertain to each other. Library research was conducted to gather information intended. The findings confirm that the curriculum of early childhood education in Indonesia applies curriculum 2013 which consists of aspect development of curriculum structure, and the learning process with a scientific approach. While the UK applies the curriculum according to the statutory Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) framework which recognizes the importance of play and a balance of adult-led and child-initiated activities. Moreover, there is a basic difference between these two curriculum aspects, which Indonesia includes the religious and moral values to the body of the curriculum, while the UK does not. However, both Indonesia and UK are closely similar which promotes a balance between the development of academic and literacy skills, socio-emotional development, and creative and physical development.

Head Start Classroom Features and Language and Literacy Growth among Children with Diverse Language Backgrounds

ABSTRACTResearch Findings: Using a nationally representative sample of Head Start recipients, this study compared Head Start classroom contexts and English language and literacy skill trajectories for Spanish-speaking dual-language learners (DLLs) and English speakers from preschool through kindergarten. It also examined whether Head Start classroom characteristics were differentially associated with skill development across groups, both concurrently in Head Start and longitudinally in kindergarten. Results indicated that classroom characteristics tended to be similarly associated with skills across language subgroups. Regardless of language status, children whose classrooms were instructionally supportive and not overly managed tended to have higher language and/or literacy skills in Head Start. Children whose Head Start classrooms had higher Emotional Support and were not overly managed had higher kindergarten language skills. Child-initiated activities were associated with higher language skills, whereas teacher-directed activities were related to higher literacy skills. DLLs benefited more from Emotional Support and child-initiated activities in some skills. Practice or Policy: If replicated, findings have practical implications for Head Start professional development and classroom practices. Specifically, teacher professional development might focus more intensively on improving Emotional and Instructional Support, and teachers and program administrators might consider allocating more time to child-initiated and teacher-directed activities to build specific skills.

Rural Parent Support of Child Health Behavior in the Home Environment: A Qualitative Study on an American Indian Reservation.

Background. Obesity rates are disproportionately high among rural and American Indian (AI) children. Health behaviors contributing to child obesity are influenced by parents at home. Engaging parents remains a challenge, particularly among low-income and ethnic minority families. Aims. The aim of this study was to learn how AI parents living on a rural AI reservation support and engage with their children’s nutrition and physical activity behaviors at home. Methods. Parents with children ages 6 to 12 years living on one, rural AI reservation participated. Focus groups and interviews were conducted, using a 14-question moderator’s guide. A systematic, iterative content analysis was applied to the transcripts. Results. Twenty-five parents (52% AI or Alaska Native) participated in 3 focus groups (n = 17) and interviews (n = 8). Themes related to enhancers included role modeling and whole family and child-initiated activities. Barriers included resources, child safety concerns, driving distances, and competing family priorities. Themes related to strategies for change included opportunities for peer learning from other local families, creating fun, program support for all supplies and incentives, and incorporation of storytelling and multicultural activities. Discussion. This study advances knowledge to promote parental engagement with child health behavior in the home, including unique themes of inclusiveness, culture-focused, and intergenerational activities. Conclusion. Results may inform interventions seeking to engage parents living in rural and AI reservation communities in home-based child behavior change efforts.

English

Even though previous research points to the significance of kindergarten teachers’ practices which consider the nature of children and how they learn, there is still limited research regarding how learning activities impact children’s development. To address this gap in literature, a qualitative multi-case study into teachers’ perceptions of classrooms practices of four kindergarten teachers’ in two Ghanaian schools, Tata and Kariba, were carried out over a six-months period. One research question guided the study, namely, ‘what kinds of learning activities do teachers engage kindergarten children. The sources of data comprised transcripts of audiotaped semi-structured individual interviews, pair-based interviews and field notes of classroom observations. Both within the case and across case interpretive analyses were constructed. The study revealed that teachers in both rural and urban settings described child-initiated and teacher-initiated activities they believed impacted children’s development in diverse ways. Key words: Learning activities, cognitive constructivist theory, development, children, Piaget, spirituality.

An investigation of preservice early childhood teachers’ adoption of ICT in a teaching practicum context in Hong Kong

ABSTRACTThe research reported here investigated the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) by 15 Hong Kong preservice early childhood teachers (PSTs) who had completed a course regarding the use of ICT in early childhood settings as they participated in their first-year teaching practicum. The study examined the preservice teachers use of ICT and their ability to integrate ICT into their teaching practices. The research took place in 7 preschool settings across the Hong Kong Special Administration Region (SAR). The results indicated that preservice teachers used ICT mostly in the context of a teacher-directed approach to learning. The contexts allowed for few child-directed activities and very few child-initiated activities. Similarly, when the preservice teachers incorporated learning activities that used ICT, they initiated and directed most of the activities. The findings from this study indicate that school factors, such as school-level curriculum, ICT infrastructure, and the mentor-teacher’s teaching philosophy exerted a powerful influence on the way that preservice teachers were able to use ICT in their teaching practicum.

Child-Initiated Pedagogies: Moving Toward Democratically Appropriate Practices in Finland, England, Estonia, and the United States

The Convention on the Rights of the Child calls for children to be treated as human beings with a distinct set of rights, instead of as passive objects of care. They can and should be agents in their own lives. Child-initiated pedagogy recognizes this by respecting children's individual and collective views, interests, and motivations. Instructional practices that support child-initiated activities promote children's self-determination and their cognitive and social development. By allowing young children to choose their own pursuits and learning explorations, take ownership of planned activities to adapt them to their own purposes, and incorporate their own experiences into learning opportunities, educators are moving toward implementation of democratically appropriate practices. The authors of this article examine how child-initiated pedagogy manifests in the different contexts of Finland, England, Estonia, and the United States.

Full- Versus Part-Day Kindergarten for Children With Disabilities

Despite the vast body of research examining the relationship between full-day kindergarten attendance and children’s outcomes, little is known about the effects of full-day kindergarten on children with disabilities (i.e., students with 1 of the 13 categories of disabilities recognized under federal law). This study fills this research void by examining whether full-day kindergarten participation predicts differences in achievement and social-emotional outcomes for children with disabilities. Using a national data set of kindergarten students from the 2010–2011 school year (ECLS-K:2011) and employing propensity matching, this study finds that relative to part-day kindergarten (PDK), full-day kindergarten (FDK) attendance is associated with higher achievement scores but also with higher frequencies of internalizing behaviors and lower incidences of self-control at the end of the kindergarten school year. The relationships between FDK attendance and outcomes varied by type of disability classification, such that significant achievement effects emerged only for children with learning and communication disorders. In addition, less time spent on child-initiated activities was associated with higher mathematics scores for children in FDK programs but not for children in PDK programs. Policy implications of the results are discussed.

Project Approach to Learning in Early Childhood Education

<p><em>This paper deals with Project approach to learning in early childhood education. It draws on the fluid and continuous relationship in learning and teaching with renewed insights. It highlights the context for an emergent curriculum through child-initiated activities that are extended</em><em> </em><em>by teachers appropriately and innovatively. The intent of the paper is to portray children’s learning through an approach that involves them.</em></p><p><em>This is a qualitative research paper.</em><em> </em><em>It provides for the context where in project approach was used in an ECE center in India; a narrative of the field notes of an exemplar project topic;</em><em> </em><em>interspersed with discussion on the insights drawn from developmentally appropriate activities;</em><em> </em><em>and concludes with its bearing on advances in</em><em> </em><em>teaching.</em></p>

Just your average hero

Our third article explores how a different type of character can be used to explore the seven areas of learning via both adult-led and child-initiated activities and with the use of cleverly placed resources.

Superhero supporters

Our second ‘hero’ article explores how classic characters can be used to explore the seven areas of learning via both adult-led and child-initiated activities and with the use of cleverly placed resources.

Navigating Policy and Trying out New Ways of Teaching: Teachers and Children Becoming Experts

How can teachers engage in new ways of teaching that demonstrate student achievement beyond required standardized testing? This article by teachers for teachers shares one team's experience engaging in documentation with children via ongoing projects. Teachers shifted how they viewed assessment, used assessment tools and negotiated the curriculum and standards to which they must adhere in their district. Teachers found that, when they provided children with learning experiences that extended over the course of several days and incorporated time for inquiry-based exploration and child-initiated activities, they saw expertise where they had not seen it before. In addition, this article considers the challenges of alternative forms of assessment in a climate of high-stakes testing and curriculum implementation. Teachers as a group are particularly susceptible to the pressures of testing policy. Thinking about navigating policy as a necessary part of teaching might be a way for professionals to frame their work as they adopt new stances towards teaching and learning.

Observing young children's creative thinking: engagement, involvement and persistence

This paper looks at young children's creative thinking as inferred through observations of their activities. A total of 52 episodes of child-initiated and adult-initiated activities in 3- to 4-year-olds in an English Children's Centre were analysed using the Analysing Children's Creative Thinking (ACCT) Framework. Results showed that activities such as gardening and construction were as valuable for supporting creative thinking as ones traditionally associated with creativity, for example, music and painting. Outdoor play of all kinds and socio-dramatic play were particularly effective contexts. All adults played a significant role in facilitating children's initial engagement in activities, and at supporting their speculative thinking and use of prior knowledge. Teachers were often more successful than other adults in supporting the acquisition of new knowledge. Child-initiated activities featured the highest levels of involvement, and were associated with trying out and analysing ideas, flexibility and originality, imagining and hypothesising. This was particularly evident in group or pair play. Children were also more persistent in child-initiated activities. Evidence of risk-taking behaviour was low, although more apparent in child-initiated activities than adult-initiated activities, or activities in which adults were present.

Ecological Features of Preschools and the Social Engagement of Children With Autism

One way to support the social engagement of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) is by identifying features of natural environments that increase the likelihood of social interaction. This descriptive study was an examination of the (a) social engagement of 68 preschoolers with ASD in classrooms, (b) ecological features of classrooms that promoted social engagement, and (c) relationships between social engagement and ecological features using the Code for Active Student Participation and Engagement–Revised, an ecobehavioral observational system. Overall, children without ASD were most likely to be socially engaged with peers in the Books and Food/Snack classroom areas, when participating in book or large motor behaviors, in small groups with peers or large groups with an adult, and during child-initiated activities. Implications for practice and future research are highlighted.

Playful structure: a novel image of early years pedagogy for primary school classrooms

Playful structure is a new pedagogic image representing a more balanced and integrated perspective on early years pedagogy, aiming to blend apparent dichotomies and contradictions and to sustain and evolve play-based practice beyond Year 1. Playful structure invites teachers and children to initiate and maintain a degree of playfulness in the child’s whole learning experience, even when the learning intentions demand a supportive structure. Thus, playfulness becomes characteristic of the interaction between adult and the child and not just characteristic of child-initiated versus adult-initiated activities, or of play-time versus task-time. The paper is based on intensive observations and interviews with teachers in Northern Ireland who participated in a play-based and informal curriculum. This paper explains how playful structure rests on complementary processes of infusion of structure into play-based activities and infusion of playfulness into more structured activities, illustrated by cameos. ‘Infusion’ suggests the subtle blending process that allows apparent dichotomies and contradictions to be resolved in practice.

Home literacy environment of pre‐school children with intellectual disabilities

For pre-school children, the home literacy environment (HLE) plays an important role in the development of language and literacy skills. As there is little known about the HLE of children with intellectual disabilities (ID), the aim of the present study was to investigate the HLE of children with ID in comparison with children without disabilities. Parent questionnaires concerning aspects of the HLE were used to investigate differences between 48 children with ID, 107 children without disabilities of the same chronological age and 36 children without disabilities of the same mental age (MA). Furthermore, for the children with ID, correlations were computed between aspects of the HLE and children's non-verbal intelligence, speech intelligibility, language and early literacy skills. From the results of the multivariate analyses of variance it could be concluded that the HLE of children with ID differed from that of children in the chronological age group on almost all aspects. When compared with children in the MA group, differences in the HLE remained. However, differences mainly concerned child-initiated activities and not parent-initiated activities. Correlation analyses showed that children's activities with literacy materials were positively related with MA, productive syntax and vocabulary age, and book orientation skills. Also, children's involvement during storybook reading was related with their MA, receptive language age, productive syntax and vocabulary age, book orientation and rapid naming of pictures. The amount of literacy materials parents provided was related to a higher productive syntax age and level of book orientation of the children. Parent play activities were also positively related to children's speech intelligibility. The cognitive disabilities of the children were the main cause of the differences found in the HLE between children with ID and children without disabilities. Parents also adapt their level to the developmental level of their child, which may not always be the most stimulating for the children.

Social Participation of Children with Disabilities in Inclusive Preschool Programs: Program Typology and Ecological Features

The purpose of this study was to examine the social participation of young children with disabilities in inclusive preschool programs. One hundred forty-three preschool-aged children with disabilities were observed in classrooms representing four organizational contexts: community-based, Head Start, public school, and blended. Children's and adults' social behavior was positive across settings, and children in blended programs engaged in significantly more positive social behavior with adults. Peer social engagement did not differ across organizational contexts. Activity initiator was an ecological variable that affected children's social engagement in that children engaged in significantly more interaction with peers in child-initiated activities and significantly more interaction with adults in adult-initiated activities.).

Getting into a routine

It is widely recognised that effective early learning practices need a balance of both adult and child-initiated activities. Monica Wiltshire describes how a daily routine can ensure this balance is maintained.

A discussion of individual variability, in activity‐based interventions, using the niche concept

Activity-based intervention has been defined as a child-directed, transactional approach that uses logically occurring antecedents and consequences to develop functional and generative skills by embedding intervention of children's individual goals and objectives in routine, planned or child-initiated activities. In this approach, clear goals and objectives that are functional and embedded in a play activities or routines are developed. The teacher mediates the child's environment to facilitate learning with the child directing the teacher on the pace, duration spent on the objective. Learning and development in this framework occur through both a carefully planned environment and adult facilitation. Progress made by a child using this approach focuses on observational data that describe if the child is able to respond in functional and generative ways. While activity-based interventions are usually provided for a group of children, progress is measured by describing individual children's responses. Individual variations in the children's progress, despite exposure to the same interventions are an area that is seldom discussed. This article aims to explore the niche concept and its application to explaining this variation between individuals. Four children participated in this single-subject, multiple-probe study across four participants. A 3-week long activity-based aided language stimulation programme was developed. The effect of the programme was determined by describing the individual participants understanding of the 24 targeted vocabulary items. The results of the activity-based language programme are presented and the variability among the participants is discussed using the niche concept. The role of the niche concept in individual development is described and the implications thereof are discussed. Finally, activity-based intervention research is placed in a systems perspective and possible outcome measures of this intervention are discussed from a multidimensional ecological perspective.