Early Childhood Research Research Articles

Rethinking content design for Small 3cp Units

A new early childhood course at the University of New England (UNE) has been developed with a combination of 3cp and 6cp units. The 3cp units were developed with consideration to the UNE early childhood student cohort. Research on current early childhood students indicated that they are working full time alongside their studies in early childhood environments, and they can find the transition from TAFE to University difficult. The course was designed so that students started their degree with the 3cp units, with the aim to build their confidence and competence in academic skills, and include relevant and practical content that could be applied within their early childhood context. The purpose of this pecha kucha is to provide an example of practice in development of smaller credit point units across a whole course. The learning design team and early childhood team at UNE worked collaboratively on the new course design. As the early childhood team had a full-time teaching load while content development was also a priority, early childhood researchers were engaged to write content. We wanted to design the 3cp units with a consistent approach across the course and with a similar pedagogical flavour. Traditionally, we also noticed that when creating unit content and assessment, content writers often focused on the ‘hours’ model of developing to 150 hours per unit (for a 6cp unit). The challenge was to consider the right amount of content for 3cp units for our student audience. We needed to shift thinking from the ‘hours’ model to ensure that the development of 3cp content was led by the learning outcomes and assessment requirements, with content being scaffolded into this, also known as backwards design (Davis et al., 2021). McEwan et al. (2023) identify that in academic development and curriculum design, it is necessary to provide a balance between theory and practice. So, we developed a guidance note for staff who were writing content, and a corresponding template in which to develop the content. The guidance note encouraged staff to think differently from the hours model, and encouraged content writers to think practically about the various tasks they were asking students to complete. For example, we researched average reading speeds in online environments and how this may impact the length of time to read and comprehend topic notes. We also developed a consistent structure for content within the 3cp units that we thought would be reasonable. This was the starting point for content writers to develop content. The benefit of this is that most 3cp units have approximately the same amount of content and number of topics, aiming to create a consistent student experience. We are currently conducting research to determine the effectiveness of the 3cp units, and if they are targeted appropriately for students to help them transition from TAFE to University, and if they find the workload too much or too little. This research may also be relevant for the development of other short courses in higher education institutions.

Context matters: The importance of investigating random effects in hierarchical models for early childhood education researchers

This paper highlights the importance of examining individual, classroom, and school-level variables simultaneously in early childhood education research. While it is well known that Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM) in school-based studies can be used to account for the clustering of students within classrooms or schools, less known is that HLM can use random effects to investigate how higher-level factors (e.g., effects that vary by school) moderate associations between lower-level factors. This possible moderation can be detected even if higher-level data are not collected. Despite this important use of HLM, a clear resource explaining how to test this type of effect is not available for early childhood researchers. This paper demonstrates this use of HLM by presenting three analytic examples using empirical early childhood education data. First, we review school-level effects literature and HLM concepts to provide the rationale for testing cross-level moderation effects in education research; next we do a short review of literature on the variables that will be used in our three examples (viz., teacher beliefs and student socioemotional behavior); next we describe the dataset that will be analyzed; and finally we guide the reader step-by-step through analyses that show the presence and absence of fixed effects of teacher beliefs on student social outcomes and the erroneous conclusions that can occur if school-level moderation (i.e., random effects) tests are excluded from analyses. This paper provides evidence for the importance of testing for how teachers and students impact each other as a function of school differences, shows how this can be accomplished, and highlights the need to examine random effects of clustering in educational models to ensure the full context is accounted for when predicting student outcomes.

Critical Issues in Measuring and Teaching Social Problem-solving in Early Childhood Research

Young children’s social-emotional competence is predictive of their later success in school. Social problem-solving is a key component of social-emotional competence. While there is research to suggest we can effectively support young children in developing social problem-solving skills, further work is needed to advance our understanding of how to operationalize, measure, and provide interventions on social problem-solving skills. It is particularly important to understand how to support social problem-solving skills in children with disabilities and diverse functional repertoires. We outline critical issues related to operationalizing, measuring, and teaching social problem-solving and propose 19 recommendations for addressing these critical issues. We suggest future directions for research in social problem-solving centering around four key questions.

Moments of togetherness: humour and playful interactions in the toddler peer group

ABSTRACT Toddlers often use humour to engage their peers in acts of playful interactions as they build a sense of togetherness through a ‘mutual we’. In this paper, we discuss the findings of a study where the aim was to examine the embodied strategies toddlers use to engage their peers in interactions that are playful and full of humour. The study is an ethnomethodological study using conversation analysis (EMCA) to examine interactions that were video recorded over a nine-month period in an childhood education and care (ECEC) setting in Iceland. The findings explore how toddlers use humour connected to their available environmental resources to recruit other children into their play and explore social conventions and rules within their setting. These findings contribute to the growing body of early childhood research that positions this young age group as competent and imaginative in co-creating moments of togetherness, building the ‘mutual we’ within their peer group.

Student experiences of agile-blended learning in emergency online education: insights from a participatory case study

PurposeThis study examined the implementation of an agile-blended learning (ABL) approach in a master-level early childhood research course and assessed its impact on the learning experience. The purpose was to understand how incorporating ABL concepts affected flexibility, learner autonomy, collaboration and technology mediation, the core principles of ABL.Design/methodology/approachA participatory case study methodology was employed to gather insights from 40 students regarding their experiences in the redesigned research course. Data were collected through interviews, observations and document analysis. Qualitative data were thematically analyzed and quantitative data descriptively analyzed.FindingsABL fostered flexibility, convenience and learner autonomy. However, students desired richer interpersonal interactions. Technological integration enhanced learning, but social presence was lacking.Research limitations/implicationsThe study was limited to a specific master-level early childhood education course and focused on a particular group of students. Further research is needed to examine the generalizability of the findings in different educational contexts and student populations.Practical implicationsRecommendations include ongoing professional development and support systems to optimize ABL realization. Sustaining ABL practices necessitates flexible, empowering institutional structures.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the literature by exploring the potential of ABL in the context of early childhood research education. It provides empirical evidence of the benefits of ABL for increased flexibility, learner autonomy, collaboration and technology mediation. The case study design adds to the originality by offering insights into the practical implementation of ABL in an educational setting.

Invisible and fluid walls in early childhood nature learning: collecting data through video

ABSTRACT Background The forest school and nature kindergarten approach to early childhood education and care (ECEC) has been established for well over 50 years in the United Kingdom and across parts of Europe including Scandinavia. One example where the nature kindergarten approach has recently taken a foothold is the Australian ‘bush kinder’. Bush kinders are gaining popularity in the delivery of ECEC to four- and five-year-old Australian children. They provide children an opportunity to learn through a play-based experience, often with the child leading their learning, supported by the educator. This longitudinal research project examining STEM teaching and learning in bush kinders began in 2015 with further data collection occurring in 2017, 2020 and 2023. Purpose The study sought to explore the challenges of using video as a data source in ethnographic research in the context of wide open, natural environments such as nature reserves, forests, beaches and paddocks. It asked the question: ‘What ethical dilemmas arise when using video to collect data in early childhood research?’ Method The study focused on the teaching and play activities of around 20 educators and 200 four- to five-year-old children across four Australian bush kinders. Influenced by an ethnographic research tradition that emphasises researcher participation and observation, the paper presents two vignettes, which explore the use of video in recording the experiences of teachers and children in the bush kinder environment and the dilemmas that arise. Findings The use of video creates a dual data collection situation. First, videoing can take place from behind an ‘invisible wall’, where the researcher remains distant from the research subjects being studied. Second, the researcher can move through a ‘fluid wall’, closer to the events they are capturing on video, at times, becoming a participant in the study. Conclusions This paper offers a contribution to the methodological discourse on the use of video as a data collection method within ethnographic research in ECEC outdoor settings. In drawing close attention to the ways in which videoing can occur, it provides a framework that could be helpful to other researchers engaged in designing and carrying out ECEC research in diverse outdoor settings.

Understanding the caring professional dispositions of the early childhood education teacher assistants in Chile

Despite their crucial global importance in the daily work within classrooms, teacher assistants are barely addressed in early childhood education (ECE) teaching policy and research. In this context, little is known about features of their role – more commonly studied in the case of lead teachers – such as their professional dispositions. This paper analyses the discourses of a group of Chilean ECE teacher assistants about their dispositions, exploring possible intersections and dissonances of an ethics of care and mainstream technical practice approaches in ECE. Sixteen assistants from two ECE centres located in an urban suburb of Santiago de Chile took part in focus groups and interviews, and their discourses were analysed through a Reflexive Thematic Analysis. Findings show that teacher assistants address their role by producing a discourse informed by an ethics of care, but also drawing marginally on a mainstream technical perspective. The findings may help inform future ECE teaching policy in Chile, embracing new approaches to ECE professionalism that foreground caring practices and acknowledge the diversity of the workforce.

Tensions, assumptions and situated ethics: attuning to the unpredictability of ethics in early childhood research participation

ABSTRACT Research in early childhood settings requires careful consideration of the impact on all children in the setting, whether participants or non-participants, and evolving ethical approaches in response to children’s needs. However, flexible approaches and, ‘in the moment’, ethical adaptations are not routinely reported as part of early childhood research. Drawing on examples from previous qualitative, observational research studies, conducted by members of The Open University early childhood research group, this article reflects upon and adds to some of the ethical challenges highlighted by Richardson, T. [2019. “Why Haven’t I got one of Those?’ A Consideration Regarding the Need to Protect non-Participant Children in Early Years Research.” European Early Childhood Education Research Journal 27 (1): 5–14] in an article for this journal. These include the impact of research on non-participating children, the influence of the researcher and research tools, expressions of dissent during research, and adapting iteratively. Six considerations for ethical attunement in early childhood research emerge, which could offer an ‘aide memoire’ for early childhood researchers and encourage more transparent sharing of unpredictable ethics in early childhood research.

"What’s time got to do with it?": The relationship with time in early childhood practice and research

This article discusses the relationship with time in early childhood practice and research. It is based on a 2-year study, Slow Knowledge and the Unhurried Child (2020–21). The study was underpinned by a concern about time pressures within the early childhood education and care sector and a desire to seek alternative narratives. This article explains the background to this research before outlining the concept of a slow pedagogy. Two main aspects of the study are discussed. First, “What do ‘slow practices’ look like?”, using the relationship with the natural environment and documentation as examples. Secondly, questions are raised about what slow and patient research can look like.

The expanding conceptions of child citizens in the early years: Perspectives from Chinese kindergarten teachers

Recognising children as active and competent citizens holds promise for early childhood research and pedagogies worldwide. Researchers in China have not previously explored young children’s citizenship in detail. The project that is the focus of this article sought to address this research gap. Moss’ critical approach and Chen’s Asia as Method were employed as the tools for theoretical analysis. This article draws from the first author’s doctoral study and explores data gathered from interviews with kindergarten teachers in selected Chinese kindergartens. The findings reveal the teachers’ expanding conceptions of child citizens and offer insight into the syncretism of Western and Chinese discourses in early childhood care and education. Finally, the value of intercultural reflexivity is considered.

The role of music in supporting young children’s holistic learning and wellbeing in the context of Froebel’s mother songs

Researchers have criticised the pragmatic focus on the value of music education for its contribution to the acquisition of children’s academic skills such as literacy and numeracy development in schools across the international contexts driven by neoliberalism. In the context of Froebel’s Mother Songs, this paper via documentary research focuses on a Froebelian approach to music education in early childhood context to counterpart the neoliberal pragmatism in educational landscapes. The Froebelian perspective brings in implications for early childhood practice, research and policy-making by addressing the important role of music in supporting young children’s holistic learning and wellbeing in responding to the neoliberal pressures on children and practitioners in the 21st century.

Meningkatkan Kemampuan Berpikir Kritis Anak Usia Dini melalui Pembelajaran Sains Kontekstual di RA Al-Hidayah

The capacity to assess arguments, examine data, and draw logical conclusions is known as critical thinking. Contextual learning is a technique to learning that works well for scientific education. The goal of the research was to enhance the critical thinking skills of young children at RA Al-Hidayah through contextual scientific instruction, as their critical thinking abilities are still poor. A classroom action research (PTK) design utilizing the Kemmis and McTaggart spiral model is employed in this study. Descriptive qualitative data analysis is the method employed. Group B is the early childhood research subjects. Ten kids served as the research subjects. Worksheets, interview instructions, and observation sheets were the equipment utilized in this study. The study's findings demonstrate how well this intervention works to help young children develop their critical thinking skills. According to this study, contextual scientific learning interventions have been shown to be successful in raising young children's critical thinking abilities across the board.

Social robots in research on social and cognitive development in infants and toddlers: A scoping review.

There is currently no systematic review of the growing body of literature on using social robots in early developmental research. Designing appropriate methods for early childhood research is crucial for broadening our understanding of young children's social and cognitive development. This scoping review systematically examines the existing literature on using social robots to study social and cognitive development in infants and toddlers aged between 2 and 35 months. Moreover, it aims to identify the research focus, findings, and reported gaps and challenges when using robots in research. We included empirical studies published between 1990 and May 29, 2023. We searched for literature in PsychINFO, ERIC, Web of Science, and PsyArXiv. Twenty-nine studies met the inclusion criteria and were mapped using the scoping review method. Our findings reveal that most studies were quantitative, with experimental designs conducted in a laboratory setting where children were exposed to physically present or virtual robots in a one-to-one situation. We found that robots were used to investigate four main concepts: animacy concept, action understanding, imitation, and early conversational skills. Many studies focused on whether young children regard robots as agents or social partners. The studies demonstrated that young children could learn from and understand social robots in some situations but not always. For instance, children's understanding of social robots was often facilitated by robots that behaved interactively and contingently. This scoping review highlights the need to design social robots that can engage in interactive and contingent social behaviors for early developmental research.

Looking back to move forward: reflecting on developmentally appropriate practice to advance equity in early childhood education

ABSTRACT The NAEYC DAP position statement and book are widely used as guides for implementing equitable early learning in settings serving children birth through age 8. Building on the spirit of Sankofa, which in translation from the Akan expresses, ‘It is not taboo to go back and fetch what you forgot’. this article documents the revision process for the position statement and highlights critical early childhood research on cultural contexts and equitable practices that particularly informed the fourth edition. Looking back to move forward and engaging in critical reflection is essential to DAP. This article outlines the extensive development process behind NAEYC position statements beginning with a historical understanding of DAP. We highlight the importance of feedback, as well as the diversity of thought behind the fourth edition of the position statement, which challenged old practices and illuminated new possibilities, eliciting both positive and negative critiques. We underscore that DAP, an imperfect living document, requires ongoing reflection. We conclude by encouraging critics of DAP and those defending it to do so with the understanding that research and scholarship must undergo updates/revisions, and DAP is no different. Thoughtful discussions are at the heart of DAP as anchored in intentional teaching.

Research on the Problems and Improvement Strategies of Rural Early Childhood Teachers' Health Education Competence

The health concept of the new era calls for the return and renewal of the identity of rural early childhood teachers, as health educators, what makes them competent in their professional roles? The health education ability of rural early childhood teachers has become an important factor affecting the physical and mental health of rural young children. This study points out that the development of rural early childhood teachers' health education ability is not balanced, rural early childhood teachers' health education curriculum resources development ability is weak, and it points to the lack of rural early childhood teachers' family health education guidance ability. Therefore, based on the analysis of the problem, we start by updating the concept of health education for rural early childhood teachers, establishing the evaluation system of rural early childhood teachers' health education ability, integrating the rural early childhood health education resources, and carrying out rural early childhood health education garden-based teaching and research. Therefore, based on the analysis of the problem, we put forward the strategies to improve the health education ability of rural kindergarten teachers from four aspects: updating the health education concept of rural kindergarten teachers, establishing the evaluation system of rural kindergarten teachers' health education ability, integrating rural kindergarten health education resources, conducting rural kindergarten health education garden-based teaching and research and reflection.

Abstract MP30: Sugar-Sweetened Beverages, Fruit Juices, and Whole Fruits Throughout Childhood and Adolescence and Glycemic Outcomes in Late Adolescence in Project Viva

Objective: To investigate sex-specific associations of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs), 100% fruit juices, and whole fruit intake throughout childhood and adolescence with insulin resistance and glycemic outcomes in late adolescence. Methods: We used data from Project Viva, an ongoing pre-birth cohort from eastern Massachusetts. We evaluated intake of SSBs, 100% fruit juices, and whole fruit at early childhood (median age: 3.1 yrs), mid-childhood (7.6 yrs) and early teen research visits (12.9 yrs) using food frequency questionnaires. We measured fasting blood glucose, insulin and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels in late adolescence (17.4 yrs). We estimated insulin resistance with the homeostasis model assessment for insulin resistance (HOMA-IR). We computed sex-specific linear regression models to estimate associations of average consumption of SSBs, fruit juice and whole fruit across the 3 childhood-early teen visits with late adolescence HOMA-IR, fasting glucose and HbA1c adjusting for demographics, socioeconomic status, mother BMI, child BMI z-score, and parental history of type 2 diabetes in early childhood (model 1), and additionally for lifestyle habits and diet quality in early childhood (model 2). Results: A total of 240 girls and 215 boys met eligibility criteria and had an outcome measure in late adolescence. Greater SSB intake throughout childhood and adolescence was associated with higher HOMA-IR, fasting glucose, and HbA1c in boys only (Figure). Also in boys, greater fruit juice intake was associated with higher HbA1c in late adolescence. Effect estimates in girls were of small magnitude and centered to the null, except for fruit juice and HbA1c with associations in the same direction as boys (Figure). We did not observe any association with respect to whole fruits for either sex. Conclusion: Findings suggest that SSBs and fruit juice consumption throughout childhood and adolescence are associated with less favorable glycemic traits in boys, suggesting greater risk of developing diabetes.

Towards attentive, playful arts-based methodology with children

This paper shares methodological insights from our research which sought to centre children in the production of knowledge during the 2020 global pandemic to consider how this can inform research with children beyond the crisis. Drawing on our longitudinal participatory arts-based research with 30 children aged 9–12 during 2020–22, the paper illustrates our response to the shifting research landscape which included navigating social restrictions to develop child-centred ways of working with socially distanced arts-based methods and technologies. The paper sets out key principles focused on foregrounding children’s ways of knowing and attentive seeing which underpinned our reframing of the research encounter from one in which adults are intent on extracting children’s ready-made thoughts to a space in which knowledge generation is recognised as a process of co-construction and engagement with children. Central to this process is our commitment to feminist care ethics and the application of principles from early childhood research and pedagogy which prioritise attentiveness to younger children’s rhythms and pace. Our aim, in setting out an approach which makes a space for playfulness with older children, is to elaborate the potential of slower, attentive methods and to offer a methodological framework to address to wider questions about what arts-based methods do.

Child-adult speech diarization in naturalistic conditions of preschool classrooms using room-independent ResNet model and automatic speech recognition-based re-segmentation.

Speech and language development are early indicators of overall analytical and learning ability in children. The preschool classroom is a rich language environment for monitoring and ensuring growth in young children by measuring their vocal interactions with teachers and classmates. Early childhood researchers are naturally interested in analyzing naturalistic vs controlled lab recordings to measure both quality and quantity of such interactions. Unfortunately, present-day speech technologies are not capable of addressing the wide dynamic scenario of early childhood classroom settings. Due to the diversity of acoustic events/conditions in such daylong audio streams, automated speaker diarization technology would need to be advanced to address this challenging domain for segmenting audio as well as information extraction. This study investigates alternate deep learning-based lightweight, knowledge-distilled, diarization solutions for segmenting classroom interactions of 3-5 years old children with teachers. In this context, the focus on speech-type diarization which classifies speech segments as being either from adults or children partitioned across multiple classrooms. Our lightest CNN model achieves a best F1-score of ∼76.0% on data from two classrooms, based on dev and test sets of each classroom. It is utilized with automatic speech recognition-based re-segmentation modules to perform child-adult diarization. Additionally, F1-scores are obtained for individual segments with corresponding speaker tags (e.g., adult vs child), which provide knowledge for educators on child engagement through naturalistic communications. The study demonstrates the prospects of addressing educational assessment needs through communication audio stream analysis, while maintaining both security and privacy of all children and adults. The resulting child communication metrics have been used for broad-based feedback for teachers with the help of visualizations.

Effects of Mindfulness-Based Practices on Children’s Self-Regulation: A Review on Early Childhood Research

Effects of Mindfulness-Based Practices on Children’s Self-Regulation: A Review on Early Childhood Research

Failure analysis and continual improvement in the engineering design process: Teacher roles in children’s problem-solving processes

STEM education, which means integrated thinking, attracts the attention of early childhood educators and researchers. Engineering education, which naturally serves STEM integration, contributes to children’s problem-solving skills with failure analysis and continual improvement habits of mind. Children need adult support in this process due to their developmental characteristics. This study focuses on the roles of teachers in situations where children fail to solve the problems they encounter in the engineering design process. In this direction, the research was carried out with a case study. The participants were 17 preschool teachers working in southwestern Turkey and 255 children in their classes. The data for the study were collected through observation and a semi-structured interview protocol. The data were analyzed by content analysis. According to the results, teachers facilitated failure analysis and continual improvement processes in the problems faced by children by encouraging them to rethink the problem, encouraging them to persist, and inviting communication and cooperation with friends. The findings highlight teacher encouragement as important in children’s failure analysis and continual improvement processes.