Contemporary Children Research Articles

Imagination of modern preschoolers: new trends and actual problems

The article addresses the relevance of the problem of developing imagination in preschool children in the context of a digital society, considering the child's active engagement in the virtual world and their parallel life in online and offline spaces. Based on the analysis of scientific literature, the authors present a characteristic of imagination as the central formation of the stability period of preschool age, its role in the development and daily life of contemporary preschoolers. The article highlights the main functions of imagination and presents some approaches from classical child psychology and a number of modern researchers on the issue of imagination development at the early ontogenesis stage. The article reveals the close connection between imagination and play, as the leading type of activity for a preschool child, and the influence of new types of activities of contemporary children — watching video content and various digital games — on the process of imagination formation. It is stated that most modern preschoolers have a low level of development in role-playing games and, consequently, a generally low level of imagination development. The issue of decreased interest from parents and preschool educators in children's play activities is raised, leading to a lag in the development of imagination in contemporary children compared to their peers at the end of the 20th century. Thus, the authors highlight the importance of developing imagination in children starting from the end of early childhood, and also emphasize the necessity of creating age-appropriate conditions for the development of imagination in modern preschoolers.

ПОВИШАВАНЕ НА МОТИВАЦИЯТА ПРИ ПИСАНЕ ЧРЕЗ ВКЛЮЧВАНЕ НА СЕТИВНОСТТА НА УЧЕНИЦИТЕ – ОПИСАНИЕ НА КАРТИНА В ЧАС ПО АНГЛИЙСКИ ЕЗИК

Mastering a foreign language involves developing all competencies: reading, writing, listening, and speaking. Composing a text – writing competency – is not an easy task, especially when specialized vocabulary has to be included. Describing a piece of art further increases the level of difficulty. The lack of ability to understand and appreciate a painting can turn such an assignment into an overwhelming and tedious activity. Many of the contemporary children acquire the information they need through the internet. Furthermore any artwork can be easily found online. This deprives students of the opportunity to ‘feel’ the paintings and draw inspiration. This, in turn, leads to the perception that the task to describe a painting is artificial and meaningless. Here, the teacher’s role is crucial in finding a way to the students’ emotional intelligence and a source of inspiration. The feeling of freedom and the ability to make independent choices give children confi dence. The limitations of the closed space of the classroom, the small number of available pictures of paintings, identical for all students, and the lack of physical perception of a painting can be overcome by visiting an art gallery and providing students with the freedom of choice, responsibility for their decision, and the obligation to adhere to behaviour norms. The result is multiferous and leads to social engagement, emotional involvement, and active use of the appropriate vocabulary.

현대 동시의 해체론적 상상력 연구

현대 동시의 해체론적 상상력 연구

“Tiny luggages”: Immersive migrant childhoods and multi-sensory methods as disruptive and facilitative opportunities

Against the backdrop of the rise in child migrants across the world, this study advances understanding of the transformative potential of centralizing children’s stories and experiences through multi-sensory materials, producing accessible and creative ways to disrupt, counter, and draw critical attention to the impact and legacy of displacement. Focusing on two controversial historic migration/refugee schemes, Kindertransport and Windrush, this study integrates haptics with vision and audition, presenting contemporary children as co-producers/researchers, experts and “experiencers”, with former children’s objects, stories, memories.

Связь показателей памяти и внимания с использованием настольных и цифровых игр дошкольниками (на примере игры «Dobble»)

<p>The article presents the results of the project «The Impact of Digital Activity on the Development of Cognitive Functions in Preschool Age». The study was conducted from February to May 2023 at the Center for Interdisciplinary Research of Contemporary Childhood at MSUPE, involving 76 children from preparatory groups of kindergartens in Moscow. The following methods were used: the «Learning 10 Words» Method (A.R. Luria), D. Weksler's Subtest (the «Coding Method»), 3.    «Test of Intertwined Lines» (A. Rey's Test Modification), and the «Mark the Signs» Method (Pieron-Ruser Test). According to the obtained data, the digital version of the game «Dobble» has the greatest effect on the development of the studied parameters of memory and attention in preschool children. The obtained empirical data are consistent with the results of similar studies and are of interest to psychologists, educators, and parents in planning and conducting educational and play activities.</p>

The surveillance, gamification and datafication of children’s finance: a feature and tagline analysis of child finance apps

Purpose Children’s finances are increasingly digitised through the emergence and development of a range of finance applications, or apps, for managing chores, saving and spending. This paper aims to offer a preliminary scoping study of these child finance apps in the nascent consumer research area of children’s FinTech. Design/methodology/approach This paper undertakes a qualitative analysis of the design features and marketing taglines of child finance apps to explore their role in the digitisation of children’s financial literacy, consumer socialisation and economic agency. Findings The present analysis reveals five key design functions of child finance apps: chore management; child savings; payment and spending systems; parental control features; and banking and finance features. Furthermore, three key child consumer themes emerge from the analysis of these child finance apps: gamification of child household labour; surveillance of children’s consumer participation; and datafication of children’s financial lives. Originality/value To date, there is little research into the increasingly popular use of child chore, consumption and financial management apps, and thus a research gap or problem is that we do not yet have sufficient understanding of how finance apps operate through their design and marketing to influence the financial conditions of contemporary childhoods. This study is significant in bringing theories of surveillance, gamification and datafication from digital platform studies to the fields of childhood studies, children’s consumer research and child FinTech studies. The findings suggest that child finance apps use gamification features to encourage children’s financial learning, surveillance features to enable parenting care in children’s financial development and datafication to exploit children’s financial data within the finance industry. This study is clearly limited to the app environment, and so future work should investigate the use and perceptions of these apps in more detail using more situated social research methods with families and children.

Aerobic Capacity in Contemporary Children and Children with Cerebral Palsy

Aerobic Capacity in Contemporary Children and Children with Cerebral Palsy

Электромагнитные поля сотовой связи как факторы риска негативного воздействия на центральную нервную систему детей и подростков (обзор). Часть 1. Моделирование. параметры электроэнцефалографии и сенсомоторных реакций

It is quite relevant to investigate possible outcomes of exposure to radio frequency electromagnetic fields (RF EMF) since contemporary children and adolescents have become active users of the most advanced technologies. They are especially susceptible to electromagnetic factors; therefore, it is necessary to have a proper insight into outcomes of such exposures for the body. The central nervous system (CNS) is one of the main targets under exposure to RF EMF. In most cases, users hold mobile phones close to their heads thereby directly exposing their brains to RF EMF. As the analysis of literature data has shown, there are few studies in this area; however, proposed options for assessing the impact of RF EMF on children and adolescents are very diverse. This part of the review focuses on various types of modeling. These are not only phantom, voxel models or the finite difference method but also new approaches such as distribution matrices, Monte Carlo simulations and an integrated radio frequency model based on the results of magnetic resonance imaging of the brain and other methods. The review provides the results obtained by investigating encephalography under exposure to RF EMF created by mobile communication devices. They are rather contradictory; however, changes in the bioelectrical activity of the brain are detected in most cases, in particular, a decrease in the alpha rhyme. Since the characteristics of sensorimotor reactions quite clearly reflect the power relations in the cerebral cortex, we analyzed changes in the parameters of simple auditory-motor and visual-motor reactions in children and adolescents who were mobile communication users. In addition, the review covers the results of changes in working capacity, fatigue, the duration of an individual minute and the reproduction of a given rhythm.

Electromagnetic fields of cellular communication as risk factors able to produce negative effects on the central nervous system of children and adolescents (review). Part 1. Modeling. parameters of electroencephalography and sensorimotor reactions

It is quite relevant to investigate possible outcomes of exposure to radio frequency electromagnetic fields (RF EMF) since contemporary children and adolescents have become active users of the most advanced technologies. They are especially susceptible to electromagnetic factors; therefore, it is necessary to have a proper insight into outcomes of such exposures for the body. The central nervous system (CNS) is one of the main targets under exposure to RF EMF. In most cases, users hold mobile phones close to their heads thereby directly exposing their brains to RF EMF. As the analysis of literature data has shown, there are few studies in this area; however, proposed options for assessing the impact of RF EMF on children and adolescents are very diverse. This part of the review focuses on various types of modeling. These are not only phantom, voxel models or the finite difference method but also new approaches such as distribution matrices, Monte Carlo simulations and an integrated radio frequency model based on the results of magnetic resonance imaging of the brain and other methods. The review provides the results obtained by investigating encephalography under exposure to RF EMF created by mobile communication devices. They are rather contradictory; however, changes in the bioelectrical activity of the brain are detected in most cases, in particular, a decrease in the alpha rhyme. Since the characteristics of sensorimotor reactions quite clearly reflect the power relations in the cerebral cortex, we analyzed changes in the parameters of simple auditory-motor and visual-motor reactions in children and adolescents who were mobile communication users. In addition, the review covers the results of changes in working capacity, fatigue, the duration of an individual minute and the reproduction of a given rhythm.

The ‘Gentle Recitation’: Writing Trauma in Contemporary Children's and Young Adult Literature

Trauma signifies the collapse of personal, social, and cultural meaning systems that causes a rupture to the bond that unifies the individual and the society. While narration of such devastation has been deemed impossible, and its presence in children's and young adult (YA) literature has been debated at great length, writers have attempted, nevertheless, to narrate the ‘unspeakable’ and ‘unrepresentable’ through memoirs and fiction for adults as well as children. Through the study of a select list of titles for children and young adults on the contemporary suffering and displaced populations of Syria and Palestine, this article aims to study the narration of trauma for young readers. It evinces the narrative strategies employed by authors to strike a balance between the two extremes of suffering and optimism. In doing so, it establishes that YA fiction authors construct a niche narrative that offers the realism of trauma through a safe distance.

Outcome of children and young adults with localized extremity rhabdomyosarcoma treated on Children's Oncology Group trials.

10006 Background: Extremity rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) accounts for 15-20% of patients with localized RMS. The long-term survival and associated prognostic factors of extremity RMS patients treated on the contemporary Children’s Oncology Group (COG) trials have not been reported. Methods: Patients with localized extremity RMS enrolled on the D9602, D9803, ARST0331 and ARST0531 COG trials were analyzed. The Kaplan-Meyer method estimated event-free (EFS) and overall survival (OS). The Log-rank test and Cox regression were used to estimate the prognostic significance of age at diagnosis, sex, race, tumor site & size, IRS group, stage, histology, FOXO1 fusion status, anaplasia, lymph node involvement, delayed primary excision (DPE) and radiation on survival. Results: We identified 159 patients with localized extremity RMS; 108 (68%) were < 10 years at diagnosis, 84(53%) had primary tumor > 5 cm, and 35 (22%) and 98 (62%) had IRS group II and III disease. Histology was alveolar in 106 (67%), and 43 (27%) had regional lymph node involvement on imaging or pathology. Seventeen were treated on low-risk (LR) studies D9602 (N = 10) and ARST0331 (N = 7), whereas 142 were treated on intermediate-risk (IR) trials D9803 (N = 85) and ARST0531 (N = 57). Eighty patients (50%) underwent primary surgical excision and 121 (76%) received radiotherapy. DPE was attempted in 60 patients (38%), resulting in an R0 (microscopically negative) margin in 48 (80%). Relapse/progression occurred in 52 patients: metastatic 26 (50%), local 22 (42%), and combined 3(6%). The 5-year EFS and OS of the whole cohort were 62.6% (95% CI: 54%-71.2%) and 78.7%% (95%CI: 71.4%-85.9%). LR patients treated on D9602 and ARST0331 trials had comparable 5-year EFS (70% vs. 71.4%, p-0.90) and OS (90% vs. 85.7%, p-0.54), respectively, while IR patients had significantly better 5-year EFS (68.9% vs. 51%, p-0.023) and OS (86.2% vs. 64.4%, p-0.007) on D9803 trial than ARST0531 trial. The 5-year EFS and OS of IRS group III patients with DPE with R0 margins were comparable to IRS group II patients (70.4% vs. 66.6%) & (86.5% vs. 84.6%), respectively. On univariable analysis, age at diagnosis and sex were associated with EFS, while age at diagnosis, sex, tumor size, IRS group, stage and fusion status were associated with OS (p < 0.05). None of the analyzed factors demonstrated independent statistical association with EFS, whereas female sex was the only factor independently associated with OS [Hazard ratio (HR): 0.4, 95% CI 0.20-0.85)]. Conclusions: IR localized extremity RMS patients treated on ARST0531 had suboptimal outcome. Survival of IRS group III patients with R0 DPE was comparable to IRS group II patients. Females with localized extremity RMS had better OS than males. Clinical trial information: NCT00354835 ; NCT00003958 ; NCT00075582 ; NCT00002995 .

INTRODUCING ENGLISH LANGUAGE INTO PRESCHOOL EDUCATION – PARENTS' PERCEPTIONS

In the modern society that offers opportunities for intercul-tural communication, necessary for both adults and children of preschool and school age, acquisition and knowledge of the En-glish language appears to be inevitable. Lowering the age limit to the preschool children (even younger) to be exposed to and be acquainted with the English language became one of the consti-tuting elements of the contemporary children’s education. The paper investigates the attitudes of preschool children's parents towards the introduction of English language in the preschool education. The study has been conducted among 103 parents of the children who attended a non-state preschool institution “Reuda” in Novi Pazar. Data has been collected by the means of a questionnaire that comprised three subsections: parents’ socio-demographic profile, parents’ attitudes on the introduction of the English language in the preschool curriculum, as well as the question on the appropriate age of learning the English lan-guage. After the analysis and discussion of the data obtained it can be concluded that the parents expressed highly positive atti-tudes towards the introduction of the English language into the preschool curriculum. Moreover, the findings highlighted the three important factors that may have a significant impact on the effectiveness of the early foreign language acquisition: parents, preschool teachers and peers. Lastly, the parents considered the age of four and five as the most appropriate for learning a fore-ign language. Keywords:early language learning, preschool education, English language, parents’ attitudes

The Application of Xu Beihong s Aesthetic Education Thought in Contemporary Children s Ink Painting

The central idea of Xu Beihong s art education is to take science as the basic spirit and build a set of standardized.The art teaching system of learning rationality advocates the scientific rationality and logical thinking of art. Xu Beihong attaches great importance to the teaching of sketching based on modeling in his teaching practice, and proposes that the learning of plastic arts should be based on sketching, and the teaching idea of shape-based and student-oriented should be shape-oriented, student-oriented in training, which provides a sufficient theoretical basis for teaching.

Will the children have faith in the post-pandemic era? Investigating models of children’s faith formation in a world changed by pandemic experiences

ABSTRACT In a world significantly marked by the COVID-19 pandemic, we examine the modes of contemporary children’s faith formation and ask why these have not altered in light of so much societal change. What is the role and function of faith communities in nurturing a child’s faith in contemporary times? Almost fifty years ago, John Westerhoff first asked the question: ‘Will our children have faith?’ critiquing processes of children’s faith formation. This paper seeks to examine this same question, now in the context of widespread pandemic prompted self-evaluation of religious perspectives and practices. This study examines parental and church perspectives on modern-day children’s Christian faith formation, investigating the effectiveness of established paradigms. The tentative findings reveal significant disconnections regarding perceptions, expectations and roles of key players and an urgent need for revising of the established and dominant methods of the global church in their efforts to effectively nurture the faith of younger generations.

Использование настольных и цифровых игр дошкольниками: результаты опроса российских родителей

<p>The article presents the results of an empirical study conducted within “The Influence of Digital Activity on the Development of Cognitive Functions in Preschool Age” project. In order to compare the data on the use of board games and digital games, a special “Contemporary Children: Digital Games vs. Board Games” questionnaire was developed (O.V. Salomatova, Yu.A. Tokarchuk, 2023), intended for the parents of preschoolers. The survey was conducted from March to September 2023 and involved parents of children aged 3 to 7 years old (N=556). It was shown that parents consider board games to be a more preferable pastime for children than digital games. According to the survey, board games in most cases involve the presence of a gaming partner, while digital games are more often an individual activity. In comparison with board games, parents more frequently use digital applications as a means of monitoring their child's behavior or as a method of reward. At the same time, according to the survey, parents less often actively participate in the process of digital gaming, allowing children to play independently or under their supervision. Board games more frequently involve parents in the gaming process.</p>

Africa in the Eye of Contemporary African Child: A Psychoanalytical Reading of Noviolet Bulawayo’s <i>We Need New Names</i>

Even with the immense global innovations in technology and education, millions of children in most African nations are out of school. They are denied education due to greedy political leadership and irresponsible parenting in their respective nations. Zimbabwe is one of such African nations. The unfortunate predicaments of children in this nation many years after decolonization are dramatized in Noviolet Bulawayo’s We Need New Names. In this narrative, Bulawayo engages the technical elements of voice, action and settings to expose the vulnerability of contemporary Zimbabwean children. Through Darling, who is the child protagonistnarrator, we glimpse into the unfortunate realities of the contemporary Zimbabwean children: they are out of school, neglected, and starved, physically, emotionally and sexually abused amongst many other atrocities against them. Using the qualitative research method, as well as Sigmund Freud’s Psychoanalytical strand of Child Development Theoretical paradigm, this study has not only examined the various aspects of physical and psychological abuses of the contemporary African child, but has also discovered that these supposed future leaders can only access qualitative education, decent shelter, food and modern technology through migration to other developed climes, particularly the United States of America and Dubai, a journey from which they are not likely to return soon. This unfortunate development portends a bleak future for most of these nations and the continent at large.

The posthuman condition: Insights for decolonising curriculum in childhood education

Background: Recent attempts to rekindle the decolonisation of education project in South Africa, is a reaction to perceptions that there are fundamental frailties in the existing curriculum. Childhood education is yet to take up the challenge in any substantive way.Aim: To explore the insights critical posthumanism might offer in attempting to address a comprehensive decolonial effort in early childhood education transformational initiatives.Setting: This essay is framed within the context of curriculum decolonisation and transformation work in early childhood education.Methods: This experimental think-piece, attempts to theorise early childhood education alongside critical posthumanism.Results: Staying true to posthuman ways of thinking, doing and becoming, we deliberately avoided presenting any determinist, neatly packaged ‘results’, in order to further open up the debate to include alternative ways of thinking and doing curriculum work in early childhood ecologies.Conclusions: Early childhood transformation initiatives, has to recognise the fundamental embeddedness of the existing school subjects in Western-Eurocentric humanist tradition. The effects of this canonical orientation are, that the tenets of Western-Eurocentrism remain unchallenged, that a racialised colonial education prevails in contemporary times, and that the centering of the adult human at the expense of the more-than-human, including child, is sustained. The nature-culture and child or adult dualisms prevail and, a consolidation of a deficit, sub-human construction of children, as immature, fragile and innocent. Critical Posthumanism suggests thinking anew.Contribution: An interrogation of the assumptions on which contemporary childhood education is based, and consideration for the advancement of posthumanist ways of thinking, doing, and becoming.

From strict socialism to social evils: Changing childhoods over three generations in urban Vietnam

AbstractOver the span of three generations, Vietnam's capital Hanoi, has transformed from a modest city grappling with food scarcity during the socialist subsidy era to a sprawling metropolis marked by gated communities and a widening wealth divide. Employing a child‐centric, multi‐generational family methodology, with members of 13 families across three generations, we explore the diverse childhood experiences shaped by these rapid urban transformations. Grandparents shared stories of unrestricted outdoor play despite challenging conditions, while parents noted a lack of academic pressures in their youth. Contemporary children enjoy access to new technology and consumer goods, but face important mobility restrictions due to parental and societal concerns. Our findings reveal that the Vietnamese context engendered distinctive childhood reflections for the two older generations, contrasting with childhoods in non‐socialist contexts during the same periods. Meanwhile, the contemporary Vietnamese state has crafted a ‘social evils’ discourse that shapes current childhood opportunities in specific ways. By being centered on urban Vietnam—a context vastly different from Global North‐dominated narratives in childhood studies—our study acts as a counterpoint that enriches the field with perspectives from a politically‐socialist state. Focusing on the unique childhood experiences within Hanoi's evolving socio‐spatial landscape, we advocate for more diverse understandings of childhood that respect varied realities across contexts.

A Report on C-E Translation of Children’s Literature: A Case Study of Gen Niao (Excerpts)

Gen Niao is a short story crafted by Cao Wenxuan, a distinguished contemporary writer in the realm of children’s literature. This story chronicles the maturation journey of a young protagonist named Gen Niao. Currently, there is no published translated edition of this book. This paper takes Gen Niao as an example to primarily explore the English translation of Chinese children’s literature. As international cultural exchanges deepen, English translation of contemporary Chinese children’s literature assumes paramount significance in facilitating cultural outreach. Due to the cultural and linguistic disparities between Chinese and English, translators often find it challenging to accurately and vividly convey the precise connotations of the source text, especially when the target audience is children. Hence, in order to convey the meaning of the source language as faithfully as possible, the author tackles the translation process from two aspects: lexical choices and syntactic structures. Based on the strategies of domestication and foreignization proposed by Venuti, the author primarily employs a strategy of domestication, supplemented by occasional foreignization to translate the selected passages, aiming to maintain fidelity to the original while ensuring readability for the target audience. By exploring strategies for translating Chinese children’s literature into English, this research encapsulates reflections and analyses concerning the practice of translating children’s literature, aiming to discover methods that can enhance the international impact of translated works and propel Chinese children’s literature towards global recognition.

The Child and the Imagination: Understanding and Responding to the World

This article discusses the use of the imagination in contemporary children's ministry models, drawing out conflicting approaches. Theological explanations of the imagination are then considered before proposing that the imagination has an input–output function. The input of the imagination works as a form of worldview glue giving it an eschatological, epistemological, and teleological function. The output of the imagination is a response to the input and therefore must be carefully managed.