Children's Learning Research Articles

Meningkatkan Motivasi Belajar Anak Usia 5-6 Tahun Melalui Program Kerjasama Guru Dan Orang Tua Di TPQ Baitussalam

Nuru Alfiah. Increasing the learning motivation of children aged 5-6 years through the Teacher and Parent Collaboration Program at TPQ Baitussalam, South Bekasi. Bekasi: Bekasi: Sekolah Tinggi Ilmu Keguruan dan Ilmu Pendidikan Panca Sakti Bekasi. 2024. This research aims to determine the increase in learning motivation of children aged 5-6 years through the Teacher and Parent collaboration program at TPQ Baitussalam Bekasi. This research uses the Classroom Action Research Method (PTK) which uses the model from Kemmis & Taggart. This research method aims to improve children's learning motivation and parents' thoughts in motivating children's learning. During the research, this classroom action research was carried out in two cycles to see an increase in children's learning motivation, where each cycle consisted of planning activities, action implementation, observation and reflection. The subjects of this research were 10 children aged 5-6 years. This research was carried out at the Tpq Baitussalam located in Bekasi. The data collection technique used in this research was complete participant observation, which means that in carrying out data collection, the researcher was fully involved in the learning. The research results show that through the teacher and parent collaboration program, children aged 5-6 years can increase the learning motivation. Classroom action research was carried out after seeing the pre-cycle situation, namely 45% had not developed yet. Cycle I showed that 60% of children developed as expected and in cycle II there was a very significant increase, namely 86% of children whom developed very well. This research provides an important meaning in choosing the right way to increase early childhood learning motivation through collaboration between teachers and parents.

Can 3-year-old children learn verbs using an educational touchscreen app?

IntroductionResearch demonstrates that children can learn nouns using touchscreen apps, however there has been less attention to whether apps can also promote verb learning. In addition, only a few studies have investigated the role of adult-child co-use for facilitating language learning from touchscreen apps.MethodIn the present study, 3-year-old children were taught three novel verbs in a live condition or with an app. Children in the app condition either used the app in a child-led interaction or an adult-led interaction. Children's verb learning was assessed using a three-choice pointing task.Results and discussionOnly children in the live condition showed evidence of verb learning and performed above chance, and there were no differences in performance by children in the app conditions. Children therefore did not show evidence of verb learning from our experimental app. Further research therefore needs to investigate different strategies for adult-child co-use and the role of different app features for supporting children's verb learning from apps.

Development of a Children’s Educational Dictionary for a Low-Resource Language Using AI Tools

Today, various interactive tools or partially available artificial intelligence applications are actively used in educational processes to solve multiple problems for resource-rich languages, such as English, Spanish, French, etc. Unfortunately, the situation is different and more complex for low-resource languages, like Kazakh, Uzbek, Mongolian, and others, due to the lack of qualitative and accessible resources, morphological complexity, and the semantics of agglutinative languages. This article presents research on early childhood learning resources for the low-resource Kazakh language. Generally, a dictionary for children differs from classical educational dictionaries. The difference between dictionaries for children and adults lies in their purpose and methods of presenting information. A themed dictionary will make learning and remembering new words easier for children because they will be presented in a specific context. This article discusses developing an approach to creating a thematic children’s dictionary of the low-resource Kazakh language using artificial intelligence. The proposed approach is based on several important stages: the initial formation of a list of English words with the use of ChatGPT; identification of their semantic weights; generation of phrases and sentences with the use of the list of semantically related words; translation of obtained phrases and sentences from English to Kazakh, dividing them into bigrams and trigrams; and processing with Kazakh language POS pattern tag templates to adapt them for children. When the dictionary was formed, the semantic proximity of words and phrases to the given theme and age restrictions for children were taken into account. The formed dictionary phrases were evaluated using the cosine similarity, Euclidean similarity, and Manhattan distance metrics. Moreover, the dictionary was extended with video and audio data by implementing models like DALL-E 3, Midjourney, and Stable Diffusion to illustrate the dictionary data and TTS (Text to Speech) technology for the Kazakh language for voice synthesis. The developed thematic dictionary approach was tested, and a SUS (System Usability Scale) assessment of the application was conducted. The experimental results demonstrate the proposed approach’s high efficiency and its potential for wide use in educational purposes.

Chaotic or crowded? The role of physical household environment in children’s learning during the COVID-19 pandemic

Household chaos and crowding are known to significantly influence children's development; however, their relative contributions remain less clear. Furthermore, previous research has primarily focused on children's socioemotional and cognitive development, with limited attention to the learning process. This study explores the relation of household chaos and crowding with children’s learning behaviors and emotions during the COVID-19 pandemic in Hong Kong. A sample of 262 parents and their primary school-aged children were recruited in Hong Kong. Both parents and children completed separate online questionnaires. Structural equation modeling revealed that while household chaos was correlated with crowding, it was specifically chaos, rather than crowding, that negatively related to children’s learning behaviors. Importantly, the direct relationship between household chaos and children's learning behaviors remained significant even after accounting for family socioeconomic status (SES) and parents’ involvement. This study enhances our understanding of the relation of physical environment with children's learning, emphasizing the distinct role of household chaos, separate from crowding and family SES.

A routine within a routine: Can bedtime yoga improve sleep for the whole family?

Parents often point to bedtime as a source of frustration, yet early bedtimes and sufficient sleep are important for children's development, learning, and behavior. ObjectivesThis pilot study aimed to assess the feasibility and preliminary effectiveness of a yoga-based bedtime routine in a sample of parent-child dyads from a rural community. MethodsUsing a waitlist control study design, children aged 2–5 years and their parent were randomized to either intervention (yoga) or control (bedtime story) groups. Pre- and post-intervention measures included the CHAOS, CSHQ, and FNPA scales. Height, weight, and waist circumference were measured by trained staff, while sleep and physical activity were tracked using accelerometry. ResultsOf the 15 dyads that completed all assessments, 13 (81.2%) completed at least 16 yoga sessions. CSHQ scores improved in both groups (Cohen's d 0.42 vs. 0.52 for intervention and control, respectively), and FNPA scores improved in the intervention group (Cohen's d = 0.4). The number of sessions completed was inversely correlated with changes in CHAOS score (r = −0.74, p = 0.003). DiscussionThese findings suggest that a yoga-based bedtime routine is feasible for families with 2-5-year-old children, with good adoption and adherence. Improvements in sleep and household chaos measures indicate that a yoga routine may be slightly more effective than a story-based one. This study provides preliminary support for further research on a yoga-based bedtime routine in a larger sample.

Developing Concepts of Authenticity: Insights From Parents' and Children's Conversations About Historical Significance.

The present study investigated children's understanding that an object's history may increase its significance, an appreciation that underpins the concept of historical authenticity (i.e., the idea that an item's history determines its true identity, beyond its functional or material qualities, leading people to value real items over copies or fakes). We examined the development of historical significance through the lens of parent-child conversations, and children's performance on an authenticity assessment. The final sample was American, 79.2% monoracial White, and mid-high socio-economic status (SES) and included 48 parent-child pairs: 24 with younger children (R=3.5 to 4.5 years) and 24 with older children (R=5.5 to 6.5 years). Parent-child pairs discussed three books we created, with three storylines: a museum (culturally authentic) storyline, a clean-up (personally authentic) storyline, and a control storyline. Across measures, conversations suggested that authenticity may begin as a "placeholder concept" that is initially rooted in a broad appreciation for the significance of old objects and only later filled in with specifics. This placeholder initially directs children's learning about authenticity by linking, in an unspecified way, the value and significance of objects to their past. For example, we found that young children appropriately appealed to history (vs. perceptual or functional features of objects) in contexts regarding authentic objects but struggled in determining which objects were more significant on the post-test assessment, suggesting that they attend to object history but are not yet sure how histories matter for making authenticity judgments. We also found some evidence that directing children's attention toward conceptual information related to object history may in turn direct them away from material or perceptual considerations, as seen in trade-offs in parents' and children's conversations. Together, this exploratory report offers many new avenues for work on the development of authenticity concepts in childhood.

Examining the Value of Teachers' Guidebook to Field Activities in Kindergartens

Kindergarten teachers' guidebooks play an important role as a medium for teachers to carry out educational activities and guide children's learning and development. However, at present, kindergartens do not set specific selection criteria and evaluation standards when selecting teachers' guidebooks, and the issuance and selection of teachers' guidebooks are characterised by arbitrariness. Excellent teacher guidebooks should have the values of "re-selecting excellent culture", "reflecting the integrity of the elements of the five areas", "containing the concept of curriculum reform in the new era", and so on. An in-depth analysis of their values will help teachers to improve their training. An in-depth analysis of these values will help teachers to improve their pedagogical concepts and make teachers play their proper roles.

Tech Treasure Hunt: Promoting Children's Learning on How Algorithm Works at a Public Library

ABSTRACTPeople in this era are surrounded by data, but still, a lot of people do not fully understand what processes occur behind the scenes such as search and recommendation algorithms trained on data of varying forms. Even though not all children will become data scientists alike, enhancing such awareness and data literacy is essential for their critical thinking and becoming active agents in the 21st century. In this regard, as part of a design‐based project, this paper demonstrates our intervention—a summer program at a public library—where children and families learned about algorithms in playful ways and shows how they made sense with the concept of algorithms.

Associations Between Prenatal Vitamin D and Placental Gene Expression

BackgroundVitamin D is a hormone regulating gene transcription. Prenatal vitamin D has been linked to immune and vascular function in the placenta, a key organ of pregnancy. Transcriptome-wide RNA-sequencing can provide a more complete representation of the placental effects of vitamin D. ObjectiveWe investigated the association between prenatal vitamin D levels and placental gene expression in a large, prospective pregnancy cohort. MethodsParticipants were recruited in Shelby County, Tennessee in the Conditions Affecting Neurocognitive Development and Learning in Early childhood (CANDLE) study. Vitamin D (plasma total 25-hydroxyvitatmin D, [25(OH)D]) was measured at mid-pregnancy (16-28 weeks) and delivery. RNA was sequenced from placental samples collected at birth. We identified differentially expressed genes (DEGs) using adjusted linear regression models. We also conducted weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA). ResultsThe median 25(OH)D of participants was 21.8 ng/mL at mid-pregnancy (N=774, IQR: 15.4-26.5 ng/mL) and 23.6 ng/mL at delivery (N=753, IQR: 16.8-29.1 ng/mL). Placental expression of 17 DEGs was associated with 25(OH)D at mid-pregnancy, but only 1 DEG was associated with 25(OH)D at delivery. DEGs were related to energy metabolism, cytoskeletal function, and transcriptional regulation. We identified 2 WGCNA gene modules whose expression was associated with 25(OH)D at mid-pregnancy and 1 module associated with 25(OH)D at delivery. These modules were enriched for genes related to mitochondrial and cytoskeletal function and were regulated by transcription factors including ARNT2 and FOSL2. We also identified 12 modules associated with 25(OH)D in females and 1 module in males. Conclusions25(OH)D during mid-pregnancy, but not at delivery, is associated with placental gene expression at birth. Future research is needed to investigate a potential role of vitamin D in modulating placental mitochondrial metabolism, intracellular transport, and transcriptional regulation during pregnancy.

Listening to Teachers’ Feedback on How INSIGHTS Into Children’s Temperament Transforms Classroom Management Approaches

INSIGHTS is an evidence-based, comprehensive intervention that enhances the social-emotional development and academic learning of young children (aged 3–8 years) and their parents’ and teachers’ behaviour management skills. Children also learn problem-solving strategies to resolve dilemmas with parents, teachers, and peers. Qualitative interviews were conducted to explore teachers’ views on how INSIGHTS into Children’s Temperament transformed their classroom management approaches. The programme is underpinned by theoretical frameworks for temperament-based intervention: Goodness of Fit Model (2), which purports that the environment should be adjusted to align with the temperament of a child; and social learning theory. Both frameworks offer theoretical explanations on how the environment interacts with children’s temperament.

The Grenada Learning and Memory Scale: Psychometric features and normative data in Caribbean preschool children.

Neuropsychological assessment of preschool children is essential for early detection of delays and referral for intervention prior to school entry. This is especially pertinent in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), which are disproportionately impacted by micronutrient deficiencies and teratogenic exposures. The Grenada Learning and Memory Scale (GLAMS) was created for use in limited resource settings and includes a shopping list and face-name association test. Here, we present psychometric and normative data for the GLAMS in a Grenadian preschool sample. Typically developing children between 36 and 72 months of age, primarily English speaking, were recruited from public preschools in Grenada. Trained Early Childhood Assessors administered the GLAMS and NEPSY-II in schools, homes, and clinics. GLAMS score distributions, reliability, and convergent/divergent validity against NEPSY-II were evaluated. The sample consisted of 400 children (190 males, 210 females). GLAMS internal consistency, inter-rater agreement, and test-retest reliability were acceptable. Principal components analysis revealed two latent factors, aligned with expected verbal/visual memory constructs. A female advantage was observed in verbal memory. Moderate age effects were observed on list learning/recall and small age effects on face-name learning/recall. All GLAMS subtests were correlated with NEPSY-II Sentence Repetition, supporting convergent validity with a measure of verbal working memory. The GLAMS is a psychometrically sound measure of learning and memory in Grenadian preschool children. Further adaptation and scale-up to global LMICs are recommended.

The Key to Successful Social Interactions

Autobiographical memory (ABM) is memory for past personal experiences and is foundational to the development of many cognitive processes. As such, ABM and social learning are developmentally intertwined and functionally dependent, and impairments in each are well-documented in autism. Evidence suggests that elaborative reminiscing (ER) causally and positively impacts neurotypical children’s ABM and social learning. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a new caregiver-mediated ABM intervention that adapts the principles of ER in ways that align with best practices for supporting social learning in autistic children. Participants were 26 caregiver-child dyads; all children (ages 6–15 years) had a diagnosis of autism. We hypothesized that: (1) caregivers would demonstrate improvements in ER across three phases of study (pre-treatment, post-treatment, and follow-up) and (2) children would demonstrate improvements in supported and unsupported ABM and social learning. Results indicated that caregivers demonstrated increased elaborativeness at post-intervention, and that this was maintained at follow-up. Additionally, children demonstrated improvements in supported memory and some measures of social learning at post-intervention, and this was maintained at follow-up. Children also showed improvements in unsupported memory at post-intervention; however, this was not maintained. Results suggest that caregivers of autistic children can be trained to use ER, and that ER is associated with the development of supported memory in autistic children across a wide range of ages. Clinical applications include supporting social learning and connection in autism using ER.

Examining Parents' Views on Parental Involvement in Preschool English Teaching

This study aims to examine parents' views on parental involvement in preschool English language teaching. Today, as parents realize their roles, they have started to play a more active role in their children's educational process. In this period when children need their parents' support the most, parents need to turn this situation into an opportunity and contribute to their children's foreign language acquisition process. For this reason, this study examined the views of parents on their participation in this process in the preschool period, which is considered to be very important in terms of foreign language acquisition. It is predicted that this study will shed light on parents' thoughts about their participation in the preschool foreign language education process and will benefit the studies to be carried out to make English language teaching more effective in the preschool period. In this study, the case study design, one of the qualitative research designs, was used to obtain parents' views on their involvement in preschool English language teaching. A total of 15 parents, consisting of eight fathers and seven mothers, whose children received preschool English education in different schools in Afyonkarahisar province in Turkey, voluntarily participated in the study. In this study, the parents' opinions about their involvement in English language teaching were obtained through semi-structured interview forms. As a result of the study, it was found that although almost all the parents adopted the view that parental involvement was necessary when the situation of supporting their children's English learning at home was examined, it was found that they could not support their children in their English learning process due to limited time, insufficient English level, the view that school alone is sufficient and similar reasons. It is concluded that parents who thought that their English level was insufficient for their children's participation in the English language learning process, remained passive in this process and were not informed about how they could participate in the foreign language teaching process of their children.

Specific phobias in children with moderate to severe intellectual disabilities: SPIRIT, an adaptation and feasibility study.

There is a lack of interventions for specific phobia in children and adolescents with moderate to severe intellectual disabilities. The objectives were to: (a) develop an intervention for specific phobia, together with an intervention fidelity checklist and logic model, and evaluate candidate outcome measures, together with parents/carers and clinicians; (b) describe treatment as usual; (c) model the intervention to determine the acceptability and feasibility for all stakeholders, judge the appropriateness of outcome measures, explore recruitment pathways, and examine the feasibility and acceptability of consent and associated processes; and (d) describe factors that facilitate or challenge the intervention. Phase 1a: using consensus methods, an Intervention Development Group was established who met to develop the intervention, review candidate outcome measures and contribute to the development of the intervention fidelity checklists and logic model. Phase 1b: a national online survey was conducted with parents and professionals to describe treatment as usual. Phase 2: a single-group non-randomised feasibility study was designed to model the intervention and to test intervention feasibility and acceptability, outcome measures and aspects of the research process. Phase 2: participants were recruited from National Health Service community child learning disabilities teams and special schools in England. Treatment was delivered in the child learning disabilities teams. Children aged 5-15 years with moderate to severe learning disability and specific phobia, and their parents/carers. The SPIRIT intervention comprised two half-day workshops and eight support sessions plus treatment as usual. The feasibility and acceptability of the intervention and research processes, recruitment, outcome measure completion rates and acceptability, and intervention adherence. Parents completed all of the outcome measures, with very low rates of missing data. The recruitment of sites and participants was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The intervention was successfully developed and modelled with 15 participants with moderate to severe learning disabilities and their parents. The intervention was judged to be feasible and acceptable by parents/carers and therapists. Parents/carers and therapists suggested minor intervention revisions. Randomisation was not modelled within this feasibility study, although the majority of parents and therapists indicated that this would be acceptable. The SPIRIT intervention and associated study processes were judged to be feasible and acceptable. The intervention requires minor revisions. The SPIRIT intervention should be tested further within a clinical trial. Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN34766613. This award was funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Health Technology Assessment programme (NIHR award ref: NIHR130177) and is published in full in Health Technology Assessment; Vol. 28, No. 64. See the NIHR Funding and Awards website for further award information.

Pädagogische Beziehungen aus Sicht von Lehrpersonen und kindliche Einflussfaktoren

The quality of the student-teacher-relationship undoubtedly has a significant influence on the child's development and learning processes. However, it is not independent of influencing factors on the part of the child. International studies have so far been able to identify a large number of factors influencing the quality of the teacher-student-relationship. Studies from German-speaking countries, on the other hand, have so far only been marginally represented. This cross-sectional study aims to investigate influencing factors of the child (attachment pattern, behavioral problems, gender and socioeconomic status) on the perception of relationship quality from the perspective of teachers with primary school children (N = 44). The results of the multivariate analysis of variance provide an indication that the relationship quality differs depending on the interaction of various child-related influencing factors. In particular, the socio-economic status in the present sample proved to be significant in interaction with the children's attachment pattern and gender. This has implications for a milieu- and gender-sensitive, attachment sensitive and responsive interaction with the children as the basis for a successful student-teacher-relationship.

Implications of Positive Effects of Early Childhood Education for Education Policy

Emerging research on the benefits of early childhood education has sparked interest in making preschool education universal to improve children's readiness for school and their subsequent achievement of social, economic, and professional success. The implementation of early childhood education (ECE) programs, which aim to prepare 4-year-old children for school, has resulted in an increase in public funding. This increase can be attributed to the positive effects of the ECE program on children, as demonstrated by the academic skills of the children measured, which fall within the national average. These abilities include the ability to read and write, speak and understand mathematics, and recognize patterns in numbers. "Investing as early as possible, from birth through age five, in disadvantaged families yields the highest rate of return in early childhood development." Thus, the community and local government are required to actively involved in managing preschool structures, enhance the supervision and management of early childhood education. Common challenges encountered recorded nearly half of all teachers acknowledged to having significant levels of stress and burnout over the previous several years, mental health issues, low compensation, etc. Furthermore, NIEER research findings reveals only five states Hawaii, Michigan, Rhode Island, Alabama, and Mississippi meet all ten national program quality standards, which include putting child development guidelines into practice and offering professional development to teachers. Thus, this paper recommends that when formulating schools' improvement strategies, the Department of Education should take into account the enrollment rate in early learning and kindergarten institutions. All early childhood professional development programs aim to improve children's learning in the behavioral, social-emotional, communicative, and cognitive domains over the long run through indirect means.

Peran Vital Pendidikan Anak dan Dukungan Komunitas dalam Membangun Masa Depan Desa Karanganom

Indonesia's national development, based on Pancasila, aims to create a just and prosperous society with education as a key focus. In Karanganom Village, children's education is crucial despite challenges related to infrastructure and facilities. Active community involvement, including parental roles and additional programs such as Qur'an reading guidance, significantly improves educational quality. Family education is also vital for shaping children's character through habits and improvisation. Support from the community and local organizations like IPSENA enhances children's learning enthusiasm. However, challenges such as teacher shortages and time management issues need to be addressed with creative solutions and community cooperation for optimal educational outcomes.

How Mobile ECCE Practitioners Leverage a Variety of Learning Materials in Resource-Scarce Communities

This study explored how curriculum policies support that Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) practitioners need to leverage a variety of learning materials in resource-scarce communities to enhance children’s holistic development. Mobile ECCE practitioners face a challenge of limited resources especially in rural areas. Yet there is lack of professional training on the use of variety of learning materials in a resource-scarce communities. The study was underpinned by Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory to understand the significance of how mobile ECCE practitioners scaffold children's learning experiences by using various materials and tools, considering the underprivileged sociocultural context. A qualitative phenomenological design was adopted to examine mobile ECCE practitioners leveraging of a variety of learning materials in resource-scarce communities. Semi-structured interviews were used to gather data from twenty mobile ECCE practitioners in the rural communities from two mobile ECCE units of the Free State Province, South Africa. Prolonged engagement was used to validate the results. Interpretative phenomenological strategy was used to analyse data with the help of Atlas.ti. This study found that mobile ECCE practitioners employed innovative methods to adapt and improvise the use of existing materials to improve children’ holistic development. In light of this, it is recommended that practitioners need to integrate sociocultural context into their innovative methods improve the quality of ECCE in the face of resource constraints. Thus, novelty of this paper contributes to the curriculum and professional development in resource-scarce communities in rural areas.

PENDIDIKAN ANAK DALAM KELUARGA

The family environment is the first and main place for children's education. It is the family that forms the character that will continue to imprint on the child for the future. A good education system must show the conceptual order of the educational process in the family as a realization of parents' responsibility for their children's education. These aspects such as worship, behavioral teachings, and education that increase children's intellectual, emotional, and spiritual intelligence. The success of education in school is highly dependent and influenced by education in the family. Children who are in a family that is not harmonious (broken home) will have a bad impact on children's learning achievements, behavior, and even mentality

초임 유아교사의 페다고지 생성 과정 경험에 관한 내러티브 탐구: 공립 유치원 교사를 중심으로

This study aims to explore the experiences of novice early childhood teachers in the process of generating pedagogy in public kindergartens. Individual interviews and focus group discussions were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using narrative inquiry. The research results are as follows. First, all teachers experienced anxiety and growing pains in new situations but showed a strong desire for self-growth. Mentoring and experiences led to new perceptions of young children, shifting their educational practices toward play-based and child-centered approaches. Second, teachers naturally developed their pedagogy while implementing the curriculum, focusing on children's learning through play. They formed important relationships with senior teachers, peers, children, and educational materials, which influenced their practices. Based on the research results, we discussed the need to view and support novice early childhood teachers as being in the process of ontological ‘becoming’ through their unique practices. We also discussed the necessity of educational approaches that positively impact teachers' practices, in connection with early childhood teacher training programs and professional learning communities.