Context Of Early Childhood Education Research Articles

Agentic playful pre-service teachers: positionings from teacher-initiated playful teacher to community-shared playful teacher

Play and playfulness are understood as basic and vital elements of early childhood education (ECE), and together with playful pedagogies, they perform a central role in Finnish ECE. In multidisciplinary research, children’s learning is generally understood through the inquiring process of play. However, playfulness, as opposed to play, has received relatively little scholarly attention, and educators’ use of playfulness has received even less. Playfulness is a vital part of life for both adults and children. At the same time, teachers’ behavior can influence the playfulness of a child; moreover, teachers’ own playfulness is critical for establishing warm and secure relationships with children. As such, the aim of this research was to explore pre-service teachers’ (PsTs’) understanding of agentic playfulness, particularly in the ECE context. Study participants included 159 PsTs; study data were gathered from PsTs’ written reflections regarding the use of playfulness in their future work. The results of qualitative analyses showed that the PsTs’ agentic playfulness mirrored a relational and tensious space consisting of three domains: teacher-initiated agentic playfulness, child-centered agentic playfulness, and community-shared agentic playfulness. Each domain revealed dimensions of the nature of PsTs’ orientation of their agentic playfulness. The results are discussed in relation to pedagogization of play, relational pedagogy community of learners, and teacher education supporting and developing future ECE teachers’ agentic playfulness.

Investigating the Measurement Invariance of the Caregiver-Teacher Report Form (C-TRF) Factors in a Norwegian Early Childhood Education and Care Context

The Caregiver-Teacher Report Form (C-TRF) is an instrument frequently used by researchers and clinicians to assess psychopathology in preschool children based on information from early childhood education and care professionals. However, the measurement invariance of this instrument has not been investigated. Thus, the aim of the current study was to investigate the measurement invariance of the C-TRF for (1) girls vs. boys, and (2) for children below the age of three years old vs. three years or older, as measurement invariance is a prerequisite for a meaningful comparison of latent means between groups. Based on reports of 2904 children from 353 early childhood education and care professionals, our results showed full scalar invariance for an adapted C-TRF model, which supports the applicability of the instrument. However, awareness of the factor Somatic complaints and items with out-of-range parameters is warranted.

Storytelling Podcast as an Alternative Learning Tool for Early Childhood Education: A TPACK-Based Reflection

Purpose – This article reports on a project to facilitate teachers’ digital skill improvement. The context of the project itself was the past COVID-19 pandemic, which paralized the education sector, including the closure of early childhood education (ECE) centers. While remote, online learning was highly recommended to face disastrous situation such as pandemic, in practice, especially at the ECE level, online learning faces complex challenges. On the other hand, teachers were not adequately prepared for online and digital learning. Design/methods/approach – This study combined developmental and conventional descriptive methods. The participants (15 people) were teachers, with various backgrounds of work experience (2 to over 7 years), with good internet access skills. Data and information were collected through observation, interviews, and documentation; followed by descriptive analysis. Findings – These teachers found that Podcasts could be an alternative and a variation of digital learning media. Making and using podcasts can also be an entry point in strengthening the integration of Technological and Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) in the ECE context. Research implications/limitations – While storytelling Podcast as ECE learning tool was used limitedly during the COVID-19 period, its uses may last beyond the pandemic time provided systematic integration of digital technology and skills associated with it into ECE sector is met. Practical implications – This study implies that storytelling podcasts can be an alternative learning tool in the situation where teacher-student face-to-face interaction is less possible. Originality/value – The emergency period prevented teacher-student direct contacts. This study contributes to providing an alternative to learning in an emergency situation. Paper type Research paper

The Perception of Workplace Safety and of Risk of Contagion among Preschool Teachers during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic had a major impact on early childhood educational contexts and on educators' working conditions. This study aims to examine the change over time in personal contribution to workplace safety and perception of risk of infection among preschool teachers after returning to in-person work during the third wave of the pandemic (spring 2021). Teachers' perceptions of workplace safety can influence their quality of work-life and, as a consequence, the quality of service offered to children. Data were collected using two questionnaires: at T0 (January) and at T1 (May). The results showed relations between organizational and personal actions to manage risk and fear of infection at work. Concern about COVID-19 contagion decreased over time (t = 5.53, p = 0.000) and perceptions of personal contribution to workplace safety related to COVID-19 improved: t = -2.18 p = 0.031. The decrease in these concerns illustrates how perceptions of ability to manage contagion and protect workplace safety of preschool teachers improved over time, despite the stability of the pandemic context in the first half of 2021. After the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, this study gives an account of some good practices and their perceived effectiveness in terms of safety for childhood educational contexts.

Optimizing Classroom and Activity-Based Character Education: A Comprehensive Guide to Best Practices and Implementation Strategies in Early Childhood Education

This research aims to provide an exhaustive investigation into the best practices and implementation strategies inherent to classroom and activity-based Character Education Programs within the context of early childhood education. The study meticulously outlines critical variables such as careful program planning, diverse learning strategies, active student participation, and the pivotal role of teacher support. Results reveal five essential best practices and implementation techniques: meticulous planning, utilization of varied learning approaches, encouragement of active student involvement, ongoing program evaluation, and alignment with extant literature. Furthermore, the study emphasizes the integral function of teachers as both instructors and environmental architects. Implications extend to educational practitioners and policymakers by offering a robust program design, implementation, and assessment framework. Despite the comprehensive scope, limitations include the specificity to early childhood contexts, calling for broader research into varied educational levels. The study thereby contributes a nuanced perspective to existing literature and is an indispensable resource for stakeholders in education.

The significance of practicum work communities for students’ professional development – Perceptions of Finnish ECE teacher students

ABSTRACT Practicums as part of teacher education are important for teacher students’ professional development. Co-operative teachers support students’ learning during practicums, but in the early childhood education (ECE) context the work community of the ECE center is also seen as an essential part of the practicum environment. This study investigated ECE teacher students’ perceptions of the practicum work community’s significance for their professional development. The data were collected by focus group interviews (N = 8) involving teacher students (N = 20) during their final practicum period. The data were analyzed by using qualitative content analysis. The results revealed that students perceived the work community as an environment for their learning and well-being, and as an enabler of students’ participation and agency, as well as a form of support for mentoring. These factors were seen to influence the students’ perception of an ECE teacher’s profession and the versatility of students’ opportunities to practice the skills expected of an ECE teacher. In addition, these factors were considered important for building confidence in professional competence and commitment to the ECE field. The results highlight the importance of improving practicum work communities’ functioning, interaction atmosphere, and understanding on their significance in practicum in supporting student teachers’ professional development.

International Perspectives on the Dynamics of Pre-Service Early Childhood Teachers’ Digital Competences

Researchers and society in general seem to be conflicted regarding the use of digital technology in early childhood education (ECE). Some are focusing on the positive aspects of using digital technology, while others are critical and position it as an enemy of early childhood practice. It has been argued that digital technology is not appropriate for young children’s cognitive, physical, social and emotional development. Nevertheless, supporting and developing young children’s beginning digital competence is implemented in curricula and teacher education globally. The need for teachers’ professional digital competence (PDC) is increasing according to the development and increased use of digital technology in society as a whole, including in the field of education. The field of research has, to a large extent, been focused on primary and secondary education, and there is a lack of research on PDC in ECE. To gain insight into the dynamics of PDC in ECE, we investigated a range of ECE contexts by including different international perspectives in a comparative study of pre-service early childhood (EC) teachers transitioning to being in-service teachers. The survey was conducted in eight different nations (Norway, Slovenia, Portugal, Poland, Turkey, Ukraine, England and Jordan) and resulted in 772 responses from pre-service teachers in the last year of their education. The paper discusses these international perspectives, considering the differences found between nations. It also investigates the dynamics of PDC, understood in this article as comprising attitudes, skills and knowledge. Following this, it also investigates how these dynamics are affecting the pre-service teachers’ expectations related to their future application of digital tools as teachers to be. The results indicate large differences between nations for both single items and multi-item scales. At the same time, the dynamics of digital practices across nations reveal that attitudes, digital skills and knowledge are statistically strong predictors of pre-service teachers’ future use of educational digital technology (EDT). This indicates both similarities and differences across nations and could serve as insight regarding the development of teacher programmes and the importance of including all aspects when developing pre-service teachers’ PDC. This article, due to its limitation, will not elaborate in depth on contextual differences, and further qualitative research is needed to understand the complexity related to educational culture and practice.

Early Childhood Education in Brazil: Child Rights to ECE in Context of Great Disparities.

One of the world's largest countries, Brazil's national policies on early childhood are some of the most progressive and comprehensive in the world. Notable themes in Brazil's early childhood system include the national protection of children's rights, the integration of children's development, starting at birth, into the national education system, and universal preschool education. These rights are juxtaposed against a highly devolved political structure in the context of significant socioeconomic, racial/ethnic, and geographic disparities. As a result, there is variability in access to quality early childhood settings. This case study explores access to quality early childhood education (ECE) for children aged four to six years. We describe the economic and policy contexts of ECE in Brazil, with emphasis on the role of ECE in addressing regional, racial/ethnic, and economic disparities.

Child temperament is associated with energy intake and its day-to-day variability among preschoolers-Results from a cross-sectional DAGIS study.

Although research has linked children's temperament with weight outcomes, the associations between temperament and dietary outcomes, particularly energy intake, remain understudied. Furthermore, little is known about how temperament is associated with diet in the early childhood education and care (ECEC) context, which is an important environment for many children. This study examined whether temperament is associated with mean energy intake and its day-to-day variability. In addition, the associations were examined separately in the contexts of home and ECEC. The study used data from 505 Finnish children from a cross-sectional DAGIS study conducted in 2015-2016. Parents reported their child's temperament with a questionnaire and food consumption with a food record for two weekdays (outside daycare hours) and one weekend day. Early educators at an ECEC centre reported the child's food consumption during the daycare hours on the same weekdays as the parents kept food records at home. Associations were examined with linear regression models. Children with higher surgency had a higher mean daily energy intake. When examined separately at home and in the ECEC centre, the association was found only in the ECEC centre. Children with higher negative affectivity had greater day-to-day variability in energy intake. This association, however, was not observed when examined separately at home and at the ECEC centre. The results indicate that temperament may shape children's energy intake. Moreover, the role of the ECEC context in children's eating may be different depending on a child's temperamental dispositions, which warrants further research.

Educator perspectives on embedding Acknowledgement to Country practices in early learning centres in Australia

This article explores the practices of ‘Acknowledgement to Country’ in Australian early childhood education contexts. Acknowledgement is a process of seeking out and honouring local Aboriginal Country and knowledge and investing in local resources of language, art, stories, nature and songs. Twenty educators across six early learning centres participated in semi-structured interviews to explore the experience, processes and resources that supported the implementation of Acknowledgement practices. Acknowledgement practices were not limited to a daily protocol but embedded in each centre’s physical place and programming. Wanting to be respectful yet fearing offending Aboriginal people, most educators expressed feelings of uncertainty and under-confidence about what to do. Developing relationships with local Aboriginal people and identifying resources were also concerns. Acting from the heart with good intentions was regarded as a way forward together, with commitment, resources and a strong distributed pedagogical leadership culture, where educators felt supported to take small yet foundational steps.

Psychometric Properties of the Student-Teacher Relationship Scale-Short Form in a Norwegian Early Childhood Education and Care Context

The Student-Teacher Relationship Scale-Short Form (STRS-SF) is one of the most frequently used instruments globally to measure professional caregivers’ perceptions of the relationship quality with a specific child. However, its psychometric properties for children younger than 3 years of age enrolled in early childhood education and care (ECEC) centers are largely unknown. Thus, this study aimed to investigate and evaluate the factorial validity of the STRS-SF and measurement invariance across children’s gender and age by combining two large Norwegian community samples ( N = 2900), covering the full age range of children enrolled in ECEC (1–6 years olds). Our findings indicate promising psychometric properties for the STRS-SF; thus, its applicability is supported for both younger and older children indiscriminate of their gender. However, some caution is advised when comparing latent means between older and younger ECEC children because professional caregivers interpret the STRS-SF differently based on children’s age.

A Nature’s Way—Our Way Pilot Project Case Assemblage: (Re)Storying Child/Physical Literacy/Land Relationships for Indigenous Preschool-Aged Children’s Wholistic Wellness

Physical literacy (PL) is gaining more attention from educational policy-makers, practitioners, and researchers as a way to improve health and wellness outcomes for children and youth. While the development of PL is important for early years children, there is limited attention in the literature that explores the political, cultural, and social discourses imbued in colonialism that implicate how PL is actualized in Indigenous early childhood education (ECE) contexts. This case assemblage explores how the culturally rooted, interdisciplinary, and community-based PL initiative, Nature's Way-Our Way (NWOW), negotiated movement with three early childhood educators in the pilot project with an early childhood education centre (ECEC) in Saskatchewan, Canada. Through postqualitative approaches to research, this case assemblage adopts new materialist methodologies to show how the natural order of knowing in movement was disrupted through moments of rupture generating stories of PL to encompass radical relationality with land. As land becomes a vital and lively part of PL storying, it can function as an important protective factor for Indigenous preschool-aged children's wholistic wellness.

Time and Temporality in Early Childhood Education and Care Work

ABSTRACT We explore time and temporality within the work life context of Finnish early childhood education and care professionals. Temporality is a key element of education, since development and learning are always a matter of time and change. Furthermore, interpretations of time play a complex role in the work practices of educational institutions. Discursive analysis of focus group discussions shows that professionals must cope with several temporal dimensions. Even though the long-term orientation based on educational objectives is well recognized, as is the importance of moments of encounter with the individual child, time resource management dominates discussions. Thus, in everyday practices the pedagogical activities must be constantly adapted to changing time resources. This makes work unpredictable, creating an imbalance between the temporal dimensions. Results indicate that time and temporality interpretations are significant, as they affect the work conditions of professionals as well as the quality of early childhood education and care.

Reconceptualizing Activism through a Feminist Care Ethics in the Ontario (Canada) Early Childhood Education Context: Enacting Caring Activism

While early childhood education (ECE) in Ontario has always had a vibrant social activist community, it is characterized by tensions within and between individuals and institutions at the minor (childcare centres, post-secondary ECE programs) and major (mainstream media, public policy) levels. ECE activism is further complicated by the fact that it often feels impossible/unsustainable within our existing patriarchal, neoliberal political structure. In this paper we, four ECE activists and leaders, turn to feminist care ethics (FCE) to reflect on our own activism experiences and imagine a different way of doing and sustaining activism in ECE. We insist that activism be understood as a relational process that bridges major and minor spaces (and everything in between) in a way that cares about, for, and with all those involved. We enthusiastically invite other to join us on this journey, exploring and navigating the beautiful awkwardness, discomfort, tension, and possibilities in caring for and with each other in major and minor political spaces.

A Content Analysis of Articles in the Turkish Early Childhood Education Context

The aim of this study was to examine articles from the field of early childhood education published in Turkish academic journals. Descriptive and methodological characteristics of the articles were scrutinized along with investigation and categorization of their research topics. 822 articles from 62 journals, published between 2008 and 2018 were examined via content analysis. Findings showed that almost half the articles were designed as quantitative studies (n = 407). In complement, the three most common research methods were identified as surveys, (n = 123), experimental studies (n = 102), and correlational studies (n = 96). Accordingly, the most widespread choice of sample group was children (35.6%). Additionally, 43.5% of the articles did not clarify their sampling methods. Furthermore, the most studied research topics included educational subjects (n = 424). Amongst the sub-categories of educational research, special education, and inclusion were the most prevalent at a rate of 10.1%.

Inside Out: A Scoping Review on Optimism, Growth Mindsets, and Positive Psychology for Child Well-Being in ECEC

Early social and emotional development is foundational for children’s health, education, well-being, and later adjustment in society. It is also a cornerstone of positive psychology—the exploration of human flourishing at an individual, community, and societal level. Habitual explanatory styles (e.g., mindsets and optimistic thinking) have an impact on human well-being and development and are often acquired during early childhood. These explanatory styles may be influenced by regular interactions with significant adults outside of the family setting. However, few studies have focused on the relationship between optimism, mindsets, and well-being of children in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) contexts. This scoping review systematically explores and maps out the literature on optimism, growth mindsets, and positive psychology with young children in ECEC. It identifies literature reporting qualitatively or quantitatively on theory or programs and interventions including optimism, growth mindset, and positive psychology in young children, reporting or implying a mechanism of change for the well-being of young children, and published between 1995 and 2021.

Young children co-constructing stories with teachers

Children’s story experiences are foundational to their social, emotional, and communication development. Viewed through a sociocultural lens, variability in the ways children and teachers interact during stories across diverse learning contexts is expected. This article explores the social and cultural knowledge demonstrated by children of different ages as they co-construct meaning multimodally during stories with teachers across two early childhood educational settings, in Canada and New Zealand. Teachers’ gestures, gaze, questions, and verbal and non-verbal affirmations centred on themes, characters, and actions as they co-created stories with children. Teachers’ mediating roles and practices supported and sustained children’s embodied actions, languages, and cultures. Teacher–child stories shared in this article highlight the value of everyday stories as contexts for extending children’s learning, and the multimodal nature of story interactions underpinning the co-construction of meaning in early childhood education contexts.

Cultural connections in early childhood: Learning through conversations between educators and children

This research aimed to explore the conversations between Aboriginal children and their educators in early childhood contexts. The research particularly focused on the relevance of these conversations for developing children’s identity. Participants were Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal children and educators, who participated in conversations in early childhood education and care (ECEC) contexts. Qualitative analysis of 26 interactions was conducted using an Indigenist approach. Analysis revealed a broad range of topics that were discussed in the interactions, with an overarching theme of social interaction and communication. Within this umbrella theme, educators focused on skill development and scaffolding children’s interactions and communication. This research highlights how educators in the ECEC context focus on developing children’s identity and skills through social interactions. Aboriginal educators integrated their cultural knowledge and experiences to develop Aboriginal children’s skills and scaffold their communication, in preparation for transition into a mainstream formal education system.

Movement guidelines for young children: Engaging stakeholders to design dissemination strategies in the Hong Kong early childhood education context.

Early childhood is a critical period during which patterns of movement behaviors are formed. The World Health Organization had endorsed guidelines for physical activity, sedentary behavior and sleep over a 24-h time period, which had been adopted by the Center for Health Protection of Hong Kong. This paper reports on stakeholder engagements that were conducted to inform the design of strategies to disseminate the guidelines in early childhood education (ECE) settings. Using a mixed-methods study design, we sought to (a) assess the stakeholders' levels of awareness and knowledge of the Hong Kong movement guidelines for young children and (b) identify the factors that influence the uptake of the said guidelines. We conducted an online survey of early childhood education teachers (N =314), twelve focus groups involving teachers (N = 18) and parents (N = 18), and individual interviews of key informants (N = 7) and domestic workers who provide care for preschool-aged children (N = 7). Descriptive statistics were used for the quantitative data, and thematic analysis was performed on the qualitative data using an inductive and semantic approach following a realist framework. Our findings show that teachers were aware of the movement guidelines for young children, but their knowledge of the specific guidelines was deficient; parents and domestic workers had limited awareness and knowledge of the guidelines. Uptake of the movement guidelines is enabled by parent engagement, activities in the ECE centers, home-school cooperation, and community activities for children. The challenges include the time poverty of parents, local curriculum requirements, limited physical spaces, social values, and pandemic-related restrictions. We recommend that dissemination strategies in the ECE context should deliver knowledge content and support stakeholders in mitigating the challenges associated with time, space, and social conditions.

Assessing children's psychosocial well-being: Norwegian early childhood education and care teachers’ challenges when completing a global screening tool

In this article, the authors illustrate some of the challenges and dilemmas that Norwegian early childhood education and care teachers experienced when completing a global screening tool (UPSI-5: Universal Psychosocial Indicator for 5 Year Old Boys and Girls) concerning the psychosocial well-being of five-year-olds as part of an international research project. Based on interviews with 31 teachers, the authors present in-depth analysis of the critical reflections of 19 teachers concerning the assessment forms. While previous research has criticized standardized testing and screening in early childhood education and care, there is a need for the critical voices of practitioners to be heard. The aim of this article is to illustrate which aspects teachers find challenging and how they respond when in doubt. The authors found that teachers’ assessments are inextricably linked to the early childhood education and care context, and the values, ideas and norms that are prevalent in Nordic early childhood education and care settings.