Early Childhood Studies Students Research Articles

Enjoyment, confidence, and broader experiences of teaching mathematics to the under-fives: accounts from students of Early Childhood Studies

ABSTRACT This article examines Early Childhood Studies students’ enjoyment, confidence, and broader experiences of teaching mathematics to the under-fives. The underpinning, two-phase study took place in a university in England using online questionnaires and interviews, with this article focusing on the findings from the interviews. Drawing upon Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Theory (1979), this article builds on current knowledge by highlighting that students’ own broader experiences of mathematics at school and during childhood have shaped their emotional attitude to mathematics by exploring their enjoyment and confidence of teaching mathematics in comparison to other subjects. This has implications for the support and training in the teaching of mathematics of those in the early years workforce and for the course content of Early Childhood Studies degrees.

“It’s ok not to know what I want to do”: An exploration into the aspirations of Early Childhood Studies students

The importance of embedding employability skills in English Higher Education has received increased attention since the introduction of tuition fees and employers claiming that graduates lack the necessary skills for the workforce. This paper considers how these employability skills align with students’ aspirations, when there is uncertainty around their career trajectory, an area that appears unexplored in current literature. Using an interpretative approach this small-scale study (n=25) sought views of first year students within an HE institution in the East Midlands of England. This paper reports on students’ career aspirations and motivations for studying, and working in, the field of Early Childhood, at the commencement of their studies. Through questionnaires and semi-structured interviews, students reflected on their aspirations and motivations to follow this degree trajectory. This paper purports that students embark on this degree with a generic interest in working with children but are uncertain about career directions. They welcome the breadth of opportunities the degree could lead to. It is therefore argued that “it’s ok not to know what I want to do”. It is the role of academic and professional staff to embed a breath of opportunities for exposure to the range of career pathways available.

Book review:Successful Dissertations: The complete guide for education, childhood and early childhood studies students, edited by Caron Carter

Book review:Successful Dissertations: The complete guide for education, childhood and early childhood studies students, edited by Caron Carter

Young children’s views on play provision in two local parks: A research project by early childhood studies students and staff

This project collected the views of young children on play provision within two local parks through research conducted by Early Childhood Studies students and academics. Findings identified that traditional playground equipment and ‘risky’ play were important for children. Natural features and semi-permanent provision were valued, alongside the provision of mixed-age fixed equipment. Children were highly aware of health and safety, and they were very risk averse. Conclusions recognised constraints and limitations of collaborative working, including eliciting authentic voices of children.

Developing creativity in early childhood studies students

The study aimed to identify first year BA (Hons) Early Childhood Studies students’ perceptions of and confidence in, their own creativity, in an East Midlands university in the United Kingdom and to inform the teaching of a first year Play and Creativity module at the same institution. The Play and Creativity Module makes use of the ‘democratic’ definition of creativity (NACCCE, 1999) and Jeffrey and Wood’s (2003) concept of ‘teaching for creativity’ by encouraging students to engage in practical activities to develop skills and confidence in their own capabilities. Though there is plenty of research which explores these ideas within the field of early childhood there is less research which focuses on best practice in Higher Education. The study identified a clear improvement in students’ confidence in their own creativity and their confidence to implement the activities experienced in the module sessions within their own practice. Students developed a deeper understanding of the concept of ‘little’ c’ creativity’ (Craft, 2002) and the ‘democratic‘ definition of creativity (NACCCE, 1999) and recognised the importance of providing a wide range of opportunities and resources for children to develop creativity. The practical activities within the module also supported students’ professional skills such as team working, listening to others and the importance of collaboration and reflection on practice. In addition, the practical and procedural elements of practice ‘how to do with children’ was identified as being an area which was illuminated by completing the module and contributed to professional practice.

Every child mattered in England: but what matters to children?

‘Every Child Matters' under New Labour provided a framework for services for young children's care and education. It was pushed aside by the Conservative-led coalition and replaced by ‘More Great Childcare'. The UK as a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, therefore has obligations for legislation, policy and curriculum, specifically with regard to children's rights and participation. On the 25th anniversary of the United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child, in practice there may be different levels of participation employed to engage children's views in the development of policy about them. This project sets out to ask children about what ‘matters' to them. Ninety finalist Early Childhood Studies students worked as co-researchers in this project. Five themes are discussed highlighting the powerful thoughts and ideas of children. A range of ‘child-friendly’ methods were used to collect data from children including role-play, interviews, drawings and artefacts, and story-telling.

Adult Judgments of Children's Veracity: The Role of Parenthood and Interpersonal Sensitivity

Background: Previous research has shown that parents perform better than non-parents in correctly identifying deception in children’s testimony. Objectives: To test the efficacy of different professionals in determining if a child is being truthful controlling for parental status. Methodology: In an experimental study 4 groups of participants, police officers (n=45), teachers (n=42), social workers (n=44), and early childhood studies students (n=47), judged the accuracy of children’s testimony in video recordings of 5 different children. Results: Parents, particularly female parents, performed consistently at better than chance levels in correctly classifying children. Ethnicity had a negligible impact on performance. In addition those who performed best scored significantly higher on interpersonal sensitivity, and within parents those who correctly classified children scored higher on family sensitivity. Conclusions: There appears to be something about the skills acquired as a parent in interacting with children that might usefully inform the training of those who have to make judgements about children’s veracity.

Successful dissertations: the complete guide for education, childhood and early childhood studies students

Successful dissertations: the complete guide for education, childhood and early childhood studies students, by Mark O'Hara, Caron Carter, Pam Dewis, Janet Kay and Jonathan Wainwright, London, Conti...

‘Reflect’ – is this too much to ask?

This paper intends to highlight some of the findings from a Preparatory Pilot Project (PPP), which has acted as a catalyst for further research to inform my professional doctoral thesis. The overall aim of my research is to understand how reflective dispositions can be developed in Early Childhood Studies students in order to create a reflective learning community and culture. The objective of this PPP is to understand Early Childhood students’ perceptions of reflective practice. A small‐scale inquiry was undertaken which set out to establish how reasonable it is to expect first year Early Childhood Studies undergraduate students to demonstrate their understanding of the concept of reflection. This paper relates others’ views of reflective practice to the data collected through the method of focus group discussions. Students’ perceptions of reflection were used to establish why there was a difference between the expectations of tutors and the students’ approach to reflective practice. The findings suggest that a combination of reasons, including assumptions being made about students’ understanding of the concept of reflection; pedagogical cultural shifts challenging students’ transitions into HE; the recognition that self‐awareness and understanding of self as a learner is necessary; and the diverse nature of the Early Childhood field of practice all played a significant part in the divergence between tutor expectations and student performance.

A Report on the Post‐course Destinations, Reflections and Career Aspirations of the Early Childhood Studies Students who Graduated from University College Suffolk in 1996

This study surveyed the initial post‐course destinations, the retrospective perceptions on the validity of their degree course and the future career intentions of the Early Childhood Studies students who graduated from University College Suffolk in 1996. Data collection was via postal questionnaires. The majority of graduates had found employment or been accepted onto post‐graduate courses allied to their Early Childhood Studies Degree. They appeared to he satisfied with the relevance of the programme of study to their initial post‐course destinations. The course team, however, identified three issues for consideration when the curriculum and student experience are reviewed.