Early Primary School Research Articles

Investigating the Association between Algorithmic Thinking and Performance in Environmental Study

Presently, computational thinking (CT) is considered necessary for adapting to the future. Concurrently, the COVID-19 pandemic has accentuated the demand for strengthening Environmental Education as a means to improve sustainability and stimulate environmental protection and public health. Having in mind that CT does not concern only technocrats but also applies in solving everyday problems, we introduce the novel idea of the synergistic learning of CT and Environmental Study. Thus, our research aim is to explore the correlation between algorithmic thinking (AT), as a fundamental CT competency, and educational achievements in the Environmental Study course during the early primary school years. Towards this end, we implemented a quantitative research study, employing an innovative assessment framework we propose. The adoption of cluster sampling eventuated in a sample of 435 students. The exploitation of ordinal logistic regression analysis and machine learning method validated the correlation of the two fields and pointed out that AT levels constitute a predictive factor for performance in the Environmental Study course and vice versa. These results support the novel idea of concurrently cultivating environmental consciousness and CT and build a robust base for future studies that will focus on providing an ecological reflection on CT activities.

SIGNS OF LEARNING

Australia’s education system has historically been premised on state and territory-based curricula, until the development of a national curriculum in each learning area, released in stages from 2014. This paper will discuss the curriculum development process for the Auslan curriculum in the Languages learning area, which delivered an endorsed blueprint for the formal teaching and learning of Auslan in Australian schools from 2017. Unique features of the curriculum will be outlined, such as the dual-pathways for first and second language learners of Auslan, and the different sequence entry points, specifically designed to meet the needs of deaf children in both the early primary school years, as well as those who are late learners of a first language, entering secondary school with limited spoken and/or signed language later in childhood. The paper will provide an overview of the structure and content of the curriculum and the nature of the learners, and conclude with some of the opportunities and challenges arising from this initiative, such as the ongoing lack of quality resources that exist for its day-to-day implementation in schools nation-wide.

Littératie en français et inclusion des langues des élèves à Mayotte : outils pour la formation des enseignants du premier degré

Dans cette contribution, nous interrogeons les apports de la didactique du plurilinguisme dans la formation des professeurs des écoles à Mayotte. Après avoir exposé les contours de l’enjeu de la littératie en français dans ce territoire insulaire ultramarin et du contexte sociolinguistique, nous nous appuyons sur les résultats de la mise en œuvre de deux outils de la didactique du plurilinguisme : la biographie langagière et la comparaison des langues. Ils permettent d’identifier des gestes professionnels contextualisés et un continuum praxéologique de la formation vers la classe plurilingue.

Generalist Primary School Teachers’ Preferences for Becoming Subject Matter Specialists

Traditionally Australian primary school teachers have been viewed as generalists responsible for instruction across all content areas. Adopting self-determination theory as a lens, the aim of the study was to explore the extent to which generalist primary school teachers are interested in becoming subject matter specialists. Questionnaire data were collected from 104 early years primary school teachers. Findings suggest that two-thirds of these generalist teachers expressed an interest in specialising in either English, mathematics, and to a far lesser extent, science, such that they would be responsible for exclusively teaching this subject. Preferences for specialisation were based on teachers’ self-perceived content and pedagogical expertise and/ or their enjoyment of teaching in this content area. By contrast, the one-third of teachers who would choose to remain generalists referred to the value in a variety of teaching experiences, teaching from a whole child perspective and content integration. Implications for educational policy are discussed.

Assessing the argumentation ability of pre-service teachers. Case study concerning the chemical dissolution process

The scientific argumentation ability of pre-service teachers (PSTs) in the early stages of education is essential as they will provide students with their initial grounding in the scientific knowledge. A total of 133 pre-service Early Childhood (PSEC) and Primary (PSP) School teachers undertook an argumentation activity concerning how the dissolution process takes place. The design of this activity is as a clear example of the different levels of complexity of the argumentation ability in science. The results show that PSTs consolidated the categories identification of evidence and construction of warrant. However, the abilities to provide a counter-critique and construct a comparative argument are still not consolidated. The Mann-Whitney U test did not show any significant differences between groups with high levels of difficulty. In contrast, we found statistically significant differences for the identification of evidence in favour of PSPs.

PRIMARY SCHOOL STUDENTS’ DIFFICULTIES IN WRITING ARGUMENTS: IDENTIFYING CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR SCIENCE TEACHING

In science education, the improvement in students’ ability to construct arguments at the primary school level has been reported. Although these studies have identified difficulties in arguments written by primary school students, they do not indicate areas that require improvement in teaching methods. This study aims to explore the possibility of improvement in early primary school students’ ability to construct arguments and identify the types of difficulties encountered. Sixty-seven Japanese third-grade students (9–10 years old) were taught to write arguments as specified by Zembal-Saul et al. (2012). The students were given two writing tasks before and after the lesson. To examine the students’ written arguments, each component of claim, evidence, and reasoning was scored based on a rubric. On comparing the scores of the pre-test and post-test writing tasks, it was found that 27 out of 67 students still had difficulty writing arguments during the post-test. An analysis of the students’ writing revealed four types of difficulties: ‘Incompleteness of components’, ‘Inappropriateness of components’, ‘Confusion between evidence and reasoning’, and ‘Confusion between claim and evidence’. This study offers insights pertaining to teaching implications and research recommendations. Keywords: difficulties in writing arguments, elementary/primary school, explanation construction, small-sample quantitative study

Barriers and enablers in the implementation and sustainability of toothbrushing programs in early childhood settings and primary schools: a systematic review

BackgroundUntreated dental caries negatively impacts a child's quality of life including overall health and wellbeing, growth and development, social interaction ability, and school attendance. School-based toothbrushing programs have been recognised as an effective intervention to reduce the burden of dental caries. However, limited information is available to understand the real-world enablers and challenges in the implementation and sustainability of toothbrushing programs. This review aims to understand the barriers and enablers in the implementation and sustainability of toothbrushing programs in early childhood settings and primary schools.MethodsFive electronic databases [i.e., CINAHL (EBSCO), Medline (EBSCO), EMBASE (Ovid), Web of Science, and PsycINFO] and backward citation chasing were performed. The last updated databases searches were conducted in May 2022. Studies reporting on barriers and enablers in the implementation and sustainability of toothbrushing programs in early childhood settings or primary schools were included in the review. The methodological quality of included studies was assessed by using Joanna Briggs Institute [JBI] and mixed methods appraisal tool [MMAT] critical appraisal tools and results were reported in accordance with PRISMA guidelines.ResultsA total of six studies met the eligibility criteria and were included in the review. Toothbrushing programs in early childhood settings and primary schools were mostly implemented under the supervision of staff and teachers. A positive attitude of the staff, the flexibility of toothbrushing sessions, involvement of community volunteers and parents were a few of the identified enablers. However, the timing of the communication of the program, inadequate transfer of information among staff, frequent staffing turnover, lack of parental support, and staff feeling overburdened while acting as pseudo parents were frequently reported as barriers.ConclusionThe results of this systematic review identify key enablers and barriers for toothbrushing programs in early childhood settings and primary schools which need to be considered for developing oral health promotion initiatives.

Enhancing visibility of local African languages in South Africa through learning to read

ABSTRACT This article examines the visibility of an African language, isiZulu, in the public domain of education in South Africa. It explores synergies and disjunctures in language use and exposure for children across the continuum from home to ECD centre and early primary school, and how they affect children’s competence in reading in two languages by Grade 4. Our qualitative cross-sectional study finds isiZulu is visible in the homes, communities and at each grade level, along with other African languages; but use of, and exposure to, these African languages varies widely. In most homes, while storytelling is common, little reading is done; educational settings, in contrast, are print-rich environments, displaying isiZulu and English and making English highly visible very early on. Teaching of reading in both languages is done at a very slow pace, using restrictive pedagogies, and with little continuity across Grades, but enables Grades 3 and 4 children to read simple, connected text in both isiZulu and English. The article calls for language appropriate, specialised reading teaching that strengthens learners’ language and reading development bilingually, and increases and consolidates the visibility of the African language in the curriculum.

Spinal muscular atrophy: Surviving respiratory failure, intensive care and pursuing creatively fulfilled life.

Spinal muscular atrophy is a congenital condition associated with mutations in the SMN1 gene. Patients have normal intellectual development, but the natural history is progressive respiratory failure resulting in premature death. Diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy type 2 in early primary school, the wheelchair-bound girl developed severe pneumonia on one occasion, when she became critically ill and was admitted to the paediatric intensive care unit with multiorgan dysfunction, requiring mechanical ventilation and high inotropic support. Parents and the patient expressed strong desire for full respiratory and intensive care support to be given. Survived the episode, she is wheelchair ambulatory and continues to pursue a creative artistic career. Children with SMA and their families need to be supported by a comprehensive multi-disciplinary team to manage this illness. Pediatricians and healthcare givers must provide up-to-date health advice on COVID-19 prophylaxis and management to special groups of patients with respiratory and neurological risks.

Receptive Vocabulary of Children With Bilateral Cochlear Implants From 3 to 16 Years of Age.

Objectives:The vocabulary of children with cochlear implants is often smaller than that of their peers with typical hearing, but there is uncertainty regarding the extent of the differences and potential risks and protective factors. Some studies indicate that their receptive vocabulary develops well at first, but that they fail to keep up with their typical hearing peers, causing many CI users to enter school with a receptive vocabulary that is not age-appropriate. To better understand the receptive vocabulary abilities of children with cochlear implants this study explored age-related differences to matched children with typical hearing and associations between vocabulary skills and child-level characteristics.Design:A retrospective cross-sectional study with matched controls was conducted at the Norwegian national cochlear implant center at Oslo University Hospital. Eighty-eight children (mean age 8.7 years; range 3.2 to 15.9; 43 girls, 45 boys) who had received bilateral cochlear implants before 3 years of age were compared with two groups of children with typical hearing. One group was matched for maternal education, sex, and chronological age, the other group was matched for maternal education, sex, and hearing age. Receptive vocabulary performance was measured with the British Picture Vocabulary Scale.Results:Cochlear implant users’ receptive vocabulary was poorer than that of age-matched children with typical hearing (M = 84.6 standard points, SD = 21.1; children with typical hearing: M = 102.1 standard points, SD = 15.8; mean difference −17.5 standard points, 95% CI [−23.0 to −12.0], p < 0.001; Hedges’s g = −0.94, 95% CI [−1.24 to −0.62]), and children with cochlear implants were significantly more likely to perform below the normative range (risk ratio = 2.2, 95% CI [1.42 to 3.83]). However, there was a significant nonlinear U-shaped effect of age on the scores of cochlear implant users, with the difference to the matched typical hearing children being largest (23.9 standard points, on average) around 8.7 years of age and smaller toward the beginning and end of the age range. There was no significant difference compared with children with typical hearing when differences in auditory experience were accounted for. Variability was not significantly different between the groups. Further analysis with a random forest revealed that, in addition to chronological age and hearing age, simultaneous versus sequential implantation, communication mode at school, and social integration were predictors of cochlear implant users’ receptive vocabulary.Conclusions:On average, the receptive vocabulary of children with cochlear implants was smaller than that of their typical hearing peers. The magnitude of the difference was changing with age and was the largest for children in early primary school. The nonlinear effect of age might explain some of the ambiguity in previous research findings and could indicate that better intervention is required around school entry. The results emphasize that continuous monitoring and support are crucial to avoid far-reaching negative effects on the children’s development and well-being.

Employing Mobile Technologies to Investigate the Association Between Abstraction Skills and Performance in Environmental Studies in Early Primary School

In the modern digital era, the impressive development of mobile technologies has entailed the reformation of orientations, dispositions and stances in education, changing the dominant approaches to learning. In this article, we introduce the novel idea of the synergistic development of computational thinking skills and environmental awareness in the early primary school years, by employing mobile technologies.

Urban Public Food Procurement in Kiambu and Machakos Counties as a Driver of Food and Nutrition Security and Sustainability: A Literature Review and Case Studies

Urban public food procurement can address malnutrition and improve the beneficiary experience at public institutions whilst reshaping food systems to be healthier and more sustainable. We reviewed grey and peer-reviewed literature on urban public food procurement in Kiambu and Machakos counties in Kenya. From the literature, we selected programmes for case study research through stakeholder interviews and targeted literature searching. We searched 11 databases and reviewed 23 relevant articles. The case studies involved early childhood education centre and primary school feeding, hospital food provision, and COVID-19 responses. We found that actionable data and public–private partnerships are enabling factors. Similarly, multistakeholder involvement and governance increase coordination. However, budget constraints threaten programme stability. Procurement criteria focused on nutrition, food quality, and community development, but did not explicitly include environmental sustainability. We linked case studies to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, and 12. By developing, improving, and scaling public food procurement, urban governments in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) can reach the most vulnerable whilst improving farmer livelihoods, creating business opportunities, and addressing environmental concerns. This paper contributes implementational insights in Kenyan urban contexts by highlighting opportunities for local and regional policymakers in LMICs and their partners to strengthen public food procurement.

Parents’ Perception of Early Vocational Entrepreneurship Education in Ekiti State

The study investigated parental perception of early vocational entrepreneurship education in Ekiti state. Being a descriptive survey research, the population consisted all the parents of pupils of the 1,278 public and private primary schools in Ekiti State. The study population is parents/guardians of (142,224) pupils. The multi–stage sampling technique was employed. A self-designed questionnaire titled “Questionnaire on Parental Perception of Early Vocational and Entrepreneurship Education (QPPEVEE)”, validated by experts and tested for reliability with a coefficient of 0.85 was used for the study. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The study revealed that parents have positive perception of early vocational and entrepreneurship education. It was concluded that early introduction of vocational and entrepreneurship education into the pre-and primary schools will improve entrepreneurship perception and intentions among children, and consequently, among older people. It was concluded that parents’ perception of the value and benefit of vocational entrepreneurship will go a long way to influence children in taking vocations later in life. It was recommended, among others, that there should a policy statement on the inclusion of vocational entrepreneurship education in the curriculum of pre- and early primary schools; and effective implementation of policy should be enforced by all stakeholders – parents, teachers, school and students. Keywords: Perception, Early Vocational/Entrepreneurship Education, Parents, Early Childhood. DOI: 10.7176/JEP/13-7-09 Publication date: March 31 st 2022

The interrelationship between pre-primary and early primary school teachers’ learning in the professional community and burnout: a person-centered approach

ABSTRACT Teacher learning is crucial in terms of good quality education in early years and, respectively teachers’ professional communities are crucial for teacher learning. The meaning of engagement in collaborative learning and resources available in professional community are emphasized in educational reforms. In this study, we explored teachers’ perceptions of the resources for learning within their professional community in terms of knowledge sharing, the professional recognition received and a constructive work climate in the beginning of national curriculum reform. Individual variation in these factors was explored using latent profile analysis with a sample of 272 pre-primary and early primary school teachers. Moreover, association with the experience of burnout symptoms was examined. Three distinct profiles were identified: High fit; High recognition; Moderate knowledge sharing and fit. The results showed that teachers in the High fit profile experienced less cynicism towards the professional community. The study sheds light on the role of the recognition received from co-workers and a constructive and enabling work climate for the increased capacity to construct shared knowledge in the context of curriculum reform, and for buffering experienced cynicism.

Re-imagining a synchronous linguistic landscape of public and school uses of Runyoro-Rutooro and Runyankore-Rukiga in early childhood education in Western Uganda

ABSTRACT Uganda’s ‘early exit’ language policy positions African languages ambiguously in public education provision. Runyoro-Rutooro and Runyankore-Rukiga are spoken in Western Uganda in public spaces where translanguaging happens as a matter of course. These languages are heard at pre-primary and lower primary levels but are superseded by English from primary grade 4. Teachers speak Rutooro, Rukiga and English to varying degrees but must negotiate the different priorities stipulated by the policy within this linguistic landscape as they teach reading to multilingual children. In so doing teachers create linguistic synergies and disjunctures between home, community and school. This exerts a toll both on teachers and on students’ capabilities to become proficient in spoken and written local language and English in both the dynamic present, and in the imagined future. This paper reports from a small-scale qualitative cross-sectional study of synergies and disjunctures in language use as children learn to read in local language and English across home, Early Childhood Education and primary school in two sites in Western Uganda. Findings suggest that mitigation of such cognitive wastage in young children by a ‘late-exit’ policy would support reading proficiency and encourage translanguaging practic es, creating synergies with the wider, public use of Ugandan languages.

Investigating the different facets of student engagement during augmented reality use in primary school

AbstractThis paper presents the results of a study into the different facets of student engagement during interactive augmented reality experiences presented on individual tablet computers to students in early primary school. The study was conducted as part of a pilot research project “SCOLLAm,” researching various approaches to learning with tablets in primary school in Croatia. To explore engagement in such an environment, an experimental approach based on an innovative digital lesson platform is taken, comparing augmented reality‐based digital lessons and multimedia‐based ones. In both approaches the contents are being shared, but presented differently, thus isolating augmented reality effects versus general technological intervention effects, an approach so far not explored in the early primary school context, but important, per existing literature. The data is analysed via video coding based on accepted engagement observational techniques and qualitative analysis. The results show that the AR‐based interactive learning experiences are in general more cognitively and overall engaging in the early primary school context, while having less non‐engagement or disengagement of the students than interactive learning experiences in multimedia digital lessons. Those findings are triangulated via teacher interviews and student focus groups, identifying likely reasons for such a difference, and examining how to best apply the results in everyday educational practice. Practitioner notesWhat is already known about this topic The effects of Augmented Reality Learning Experiences (ARLEs) on students’ knowledge and achievement are a common field of research interest by educational AR researchers. Student engagement is often used as proxy for student achievement as it has shown correlations with it, both generally and in ARLEs, and is thus also commonly of interest. It is difficult to isolate the effects of AR versus the effects of the fact that a technological intervention occurred in general; often requested in recent literature, it has so far been only done in two studies, in early childhood learning and university‐level education contexts. What this paper adds The paper presents an experimental study on engagement of students during ARLEs in early primary school (ages 7–8), one of the contexts most interesting to researchers, comparing lessons using the same contents in ARLEs and multimedia digital lessons, thus isolating AR effects from general technological intervention effects. The study shows ARLEs in this context providing more cognitive and overall student engagement, while having less non‐engagement or disengagement. Student focus groups, composed of students exposed to both AR and non‐AR lessons on tablets, explain this engagement by their perception of ARLEs as educational play. Implications for practice and/or policy With the building up of the corpus confirming engagement benefits, researchers and teachers can more confidently assume their presence when preparing ARLEs in primary school contexts, making for a stronger case for the use of ARLEs in this context. The findings, triangulated with teachers’ and students’ focus group feedback, support deploying ARLEs for review and reinforcement of learned contents. Not originally targeted, the findings give underlying empirical support for further research into AR Game‐based Learning, a developing field.

A Case Study of the Benefits of the Science Learning Partnerships in Early Years and Primary Education in England

This paper charts the recent history of the STEM Learning UK contracts with local Science Learning Partnerships (SLPs) and identifies what leadership has been made available to support the Early Years and Primary school sector. A case study approach is taken using ‘Super SLP’ hubs in England. Curriculum Hubs exist in core subject areas such as maths, English, science and computing. They have recently been expanded to include Behaviour Hubs. This forms the current DfE strategy of Teaching School Hubs (TSHs), i.e., to offer system support and a full career-length support for all stages of teacher-career and leadership development. This paper charts the changes to the Early Years (EY) and Primary teacher support networks, in science particularly, and examines what they provide and how this can be improved, and discusses, through session evaluation and feedback, what teachers have appreciated the most.

Reconstructing the transmission dynamics of varicella in Japan: an elevation of age at infection.

BackgroundIn Japan, routine two-dose immunization against varicella has been conducted among children at ages of 12 and 36 months since 2014, and the vaccination coverage has reached around 90%. To understand the impact of routine varicella vaccination, we reconstructed the epidemiological dynamics of varicella in Japan.MethodsEpidemiological and demographic datasets over the past three decades were analyzed to reconstruct the number of susceptible individuals by age and year. To estimate the annual risk of varicella infection, we fitted a balance equation model to the annual number of cases from 1990 to 2019. Using parameter estimates, we reconstructed varicella dynamics starting from 1990 and modeled future dynamics until 2033.ResultsOverall varicella incidence declined over time and the annual risk of infection among children younger than 10 years old decreased monotonically starting in 2014. Conversely, varicella incidence among teenagers (age 10 to 14 years) has increased each year since 2014. A substantial number of unvaccinated individuals born before the routine immunization era remained susceptible and aged without contracting varicella, while the annual risk of infection among teenagers aged 10 to 14 years increased starting in 2011 despite gradual expansion of varicella vaccine coverage. The number of susceptible individuals decreased over time in all age groups. Modeling indicated that susceptibility rates among pre-school children aged 1 to 4 years will remain low.ConclusionRoutine varicella vaccination has successfully reduced infections in pre-school and early primary school age children, but has also resulted in increased infection rates among adolescents. This temporary increase was caused both by the increased age of susceptible individuals and increased transmission risk among adolescents resulting from the dynamic nature of varicella transmission. Monitoring susceptibility among adolescents will be important to prevent outbreaks over the next decade.

Preschool and early primary school age children learning of computational thinking through the use of asynchronous learning environments in the age of Covid-19

This current study aims to examine through a literature review whether children of preschool and early primary school age can be taught distance computational thinking (CT) through asynchronous learning environments in the age of covid. Over the past few years in Greece, a sharp rise in computational thinking has been noted as both students and teachers feel the need to create more imaginative and interactive ways. The study results illustrate the significance of digital media in the educational process and the educator’s crucial role in using such digital tools in preschool and early primary school age. The cooperation between educators of preschool age and teachers of Information Technology could offer new dimensions and provide numerous benefits to the learning process. Distance learning programs could help teachers’ training process through properly structured material that corresponds more effectively to the learning of CT.

Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ) as Assessment Tool in Primary Schools: Perceived Influence on Students Writing Skills in Secondary Schools in Yaounde VI.

This study examines the influence of excess used MCQ as an assessment or test tool in senior primary schools on their writing competences in early secondary schools. The problem of this study emanates from the observed fall in writing skills among early primary school pupils in Yaounde V. Majority of the students who register in Form One do not know how to write well. The piloted and validated qualitative data analyses tool (interview guide) were used to collect data from 18 participants being 10 primary school class 5 and 6 teachers and 8 secondary school English teachers. The data was examined and the majority of the opinions sampled were considered and it indicated that: Junior secondary school students have unadorned writing challenges due to excess use of MCQ as assessment tools. They concede that it does not give the learner the ability to practice their own writing skills, thus, they turn to neglect it because it’s not much tested in the exams. We therefore recommend to the teachers that; they should employ a heterogeneous testing method in pupil’s exams.