Childhood Education Research Articles

Clinical presentations and patterns of neuro-developmental disorders in a health facility in Ghana: implications for the health and educational sectors

Background: Neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD) are a heterogeneous group of disorders with life-long implications for cognition, behaviour, emotions, academic performance, social well-being, and future career. Early identification and interventions yield a better outcome. Yet, there is a gap in knowledge about the range of NDD that exists in Ghana among laypersons, health, and education professionals. Objective: This study examined the clinical presentations and patterns of NDD in a clinical psychological clinic of a quasi-governmental hospital in Ghana. Methods: Using a retrospective chart review design, secondary data were extracted from eligible psychological reports of children managed at the clinic from January 2012 to December 2018. Results: Most children(62.96%, n = 85/135)were aged 6-13 yr. at the time of establishing a diagnosis. They had been referred from private schools (49.62%, n = 67/135) because they were doing poorly academically (38.51%, n = 52/135) or exhibited some behavioural problems (22.22%, n = 30/135). Most of them had been born at term by spontaneous delivery (58.51%, n= 79/135) but went through traumatic delivery and suffered perinatal complications (32.6%). There was a significant association between birth asphyxia and labour complications (p <0.0001), gestational age (p< 0.008), mode of delivery (p < 0.016), and cerebral palsy (p< 0.018). Almost forty percent had comorbid neurodevelopmental disorders. Conclusion: Findings from this study have implications in the prevention and early identification of NDDs. Parental education must be intensified during antenatal care and childhood educators must be trained to identify NDDs to enable early referral for diagnosis and intervention.

Competencia digital docente en Prácticum desde la autoevaluación

Se atiende a la competencia digital docente en el Prácticum de la Facultad de Educación de la Universidad de Murcia planteando tres objetivos: explorar el uso del aula virtual en el Prácticum, identificar las herramientas más utilizadas y analizar el impacto en la actividad. El proceso docente, de las asignaturas de Prácticum de los grados de Educación Infantil, Primaria, Educación Social y Pedagogía, actúa como sujeto muestral (n = 5) con 36 estudiantes. Se utiliza un enfoque cualitativo descriptivo con informes de autoevaluación ad hoc de la profesora. Los resultados indican que el tiempo dentro del aula virtual no alcanza en docencia, organización, evaluación, planificación y gestión el 40%. La herramienta más utilizada es “Mensajes Privados” con uso de aplicaciones externas al entorno virtual institucional. El porcentaje de días de uso con respecto al total trabajados es bajo. Se precisa de tutoría virtual incidiendo en la competencia digital docente.

Encontros entre deficiência, infância e formação docente: Contribuições para enfrentar a medicalização da educação no presente

This work builds a space to problematize a research and extension Brazilian project,developed since 2016, focusing on in-service teacher training on the matter of disability, inclusionand classroom aid practices. The discussions presented emerge from disability studies intertwinedwith narratives related to early childhood education practices from the 2019 meetings’ participants. Aknowledge of experience was acquired through both classroom experiences and demedicalization studies allowing us to question the ways we think about the relations between disability, childhoodand teacher education and to confront the logic of medicalization, by approaching other perspectives.The analysis of school practices shows the strength of biomedical model invading the relationshipbetween adults and little children and, thus, brings to presence the need to challenge the hegemonicview with the social model of disability. This perspective enables us to question the production ofdiagnosis generated before actual encounters with the children. The analysis of the fragments presentedreveals growth, movements, tensions and overcomings. At the end, some questions are presented onmedicalization of childhood in education in pandemic times.

Interprofessional versus monoprofessional case-based learning in childhood cancer and the effect on healthcare professionals\u2019 knowledge and attitudes: study protocol for a randomised trial

BackgroundInterprofessional education in childhood cancer is a multifaceted field involving multiple healthcare professionals with general and specialised knowledge and skills. Complex treatment, care and rehabilitation require continuous professional development and maintenance of healthcare professionals’ competencies in their field of expertise. However, limited knowledge exists in comparing interprofessional and monoprofessional education. Only a few randomised studies have evaluated the effectiveness and efficiency of interprofessional education.The objective of this single-centre, investigator-initiated cluster randomised trial is to study the effect of interprofessional versus monoprofessional case-based learning on healthcare professionals’ knowledge of gastrointestinal side effects and attitudes towards team collaboration.MethodsThis study will randomise healthcare professionals to participate in either the experimental interprofessional group or the control monoprofessional group of case-based learning. The topic of the case-based intervention will be gastrointestinal side effects, one of six categories identified in a three-round Scandinavian Delphi study as relevant for interprofessional education in childhood cancer.The primary outcome is the self-reported questionnaire Assessment of Interprofessional Team Collaboration Scale. Secondary outcomes are measured by the self-reported questionnaires Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale Questionnaire, Safety Attitudes Questionnaire, and knowledge will be evaluated using a multiple-choice quiz.Participants will receive the self-reported questionnaires about 2 weeks before and 1 month after the intervention. On the day of the intervention, participants will answer a multiple-choice quiz before and after the case-based learning.Linear mixed models will be used to compare differences between the two groups in mean scores postintervention, adjusting for preintervention scores.DiscussionThis study will provide insight into the differences between interprofessional and monoprofessional case-based learning and how it affects healthcare professionals’ knowledge of gastrointestinal side effects and attitudes towards team collaboration.Trial registrationThe intervention was registered at Clinical Trials.gov: NCT04204109 on December 102,019 and with the National Committee on Health Research Ethics: H-19087506 December 112,019 and the Danish Data Protection Agency: P-2019-637 October 152,019.

Effective interventions for potentially modifiable dementia risk factors: Their costs and cost‐effectiveness

AbstractBackgroundThe potential economic value of interventions to prevent dementia is unknown. We modelled this for potentially modifiable dementia risk factors.MethodWe searched PubMed and Web of Science from inception to July 2018 and included interventions that (a) successfully targeted any of nine pre‐specified potentially modifiable risk factors (hypertension, diabetes, hearing loss, obesity, physical inactivity, social isolation, depression, cigarette smoking and less childhood education), (b) had robust evidence that the intervention improved risk or risk behaviour and (c) are feasible in an adult population. We established when in the life‐course each intervention would be delivered. We calculated dementia incidence reduction from: annual incidence of dementia in people with each risk factor; population attributable fraction for each risk, corrected for risk factor clustering, and how effectively the intervention controls the risk factor. We calculated the discounted value of lifetime health gain (including reduced dementia mortality) and impact on cost (including NHS, social care and carer costs) per person eligible for treatment. We estimated annual total expenditure on the fully operational intervention programme in England.ResultWe found effective treatments for hypertension, stopping smoking, diabetes prevention and hearing loss. Treatments for stopping smoking and provision of hearing aids reduced cost. Treatment of hypertension was cost‐effective by reference to standard UK thresholds. The three interventions when fully implemented would save £1·863 billion annually in England, reduce dementia prevalence by 8·5% and produce QALY gains. The intervention for diabetes was unlikely to be cost‐effective in terms of impact on dementia alone.ConclusionThere is a strong case for implementing the three effective interventions on grounds of cost‐effectiveness and quality of life gains, as well as for improvements in general health. While some people will decline or discontinue interventions, there is considerable room for the interventions to remain cost‐saving or cost‐effective even if adherence is lower.

Becoming a Super-Masculine “Cool Guy”

In this article the author builds on the arguments articulated by Raewyn Connell in her seminal work The Men and the Boys (2000) by summarizing and analyzing a case study of an adolescent boy who was identified at school as a “wimp” and who eventually engaged in sexual violence. Such subordinated boys rarely are—if at all—discussed in childhood education, sociology, and feminist literatures on violence. The synopsis reveals the interrelationship among in-school bullying, reflexivity, embodiment, and the social construction of dominant and hegemonic masculinities through the commission of adolescent sexual violence. The analysis demonstrates the continued relevance of Connell’s work, and the author builds on and expands on Connell’s formulation through, in particular, an examination of reflexivity, dominant masculinities, different types of hegemonic masculinities, and intersectionality.

Analysis on Research Trend of Storytelling in Early Childhood and Elementary Mathematics Education

Analysis on Research Trend of Storytelling in Early Childhood and Elementary Mathematics Education

The sociocultural context of pediatric pain: an examination of the portrayal of pain in children's popular media.

Pain (eg, needle injections, injuries, and chronic pain) is highly prevalent in childhood and occurs in social contexts. Nevertheless, broader sociocultural influences on pediatric pain, such as popular media, have not been empirically examined. This study examined how pain is portrayed and gendered in children's popular media. A cross-section of children's media targeted towards 4- to 6-year-old children was selected based on popularity, including 10 movies and the first season of 6 television shows. Pain instances were extracted and coded using 2 established observational coding systems assessing sufferer pain characteristics and observer responses (eg, empathic responses). Findings identified 454 instances of pain across the selected media. Violent pain (ie, intentionally inflicted) and injuries were most commonly represented, whereas everyday, chronic-type, and procedural pains were infrequently portrayed. Pain instances were more commonly experienced by boy characters, who also expressed greater distress; yet, observers were more responsive (eg, expressed greater concern) towards girl characters' pain. Overall, observer responses to pain were infrequent, with observers witnessing but not responding to nearly half of pain instances. Observers who did respond expressed an overall lack of empathy towards sufferers. These findings reveal a very narrow depiction of pain presented in children's popular media, with an overall underrepresentation of pain, numerous maladaptive portrayals of pain, and gender differences in both sufferer and observer responses. This study underscores the need for further research to inform how children's popular media is perceived by parents and children and how media may be transformed and harnessed for effective pain education in childhood.

Baśniowe przestrzenie działania z perspektywy przyszłych nauczycieli

The aim of the article is to present meanings associated with fairy tale places by teacher candidates. The research data came from interviews with 57 early childhood pedagogy students, analysed through a qualitative method. The competences of candidates for teachers in perceiving the symbolism of places, wandering, world layout, reveal not only the level of cultural and literary knowledge (because they are a “showcase” of previous school experiences of fairy-tale themed lessons), but also indicate their future strategies for designing children’s activity based on fairy tales. These strategies may turn out to be so durable and resistant to change that they might survive university literary education and remain the starting point for students’ teaching practice. The research shows that the fairy tale can remain in them as the starting point for fun or a “background” for science, mathematics and language.

Planejamento de ensino na educação infantil: percepções de professores de Educação Física escolar

Este estudo discute como professores de Educação Física escolar compreendem e elaboram o planejamento de ensino na Educação Infantil. Trata-se de uma pesquisa qualitativa realizada com cinco professores de Educação Física, diplomados pela mesma instituição de ensino superior, que atuam na Educação Infantil da rede pública de um município da Região do Vale do Taquari/RS. As informações foram coletadas por meio de entrevistas semiestruturadas, cuja análise de conteúdo originou dois pontos de discussão: (i) planejamento de ensino: das dúvidas à desvalorização do plano de trabalho e (ii) planos de aulas: da busca por atividades às críticas sobre o Ensino Superior. Em conclusão, os professores percebem o planejamento de ensino como documento de fins burocráticos, cuja elaboração é marcada pela escolha de objetivos e seleção de atividades práticas e brincadeiras prontas. Nesse caso, desconsiderando o caráter político e utópico do planejamento e reduzindo o curso de graduação a uma formação técnico-instrumental.

Resistir para/com a infância continuar a existir: Transcrição de 21 lives sobre infâncias e Educação Infantil na pandemia de Covid-19

Partindo da emergência de considerarmos as crianças e suas infâncias nas propostas voltadas à Educação Infantil, nesse cenário de educação não presencial no contexto da pandemia, nesta publicação da seção ‘Outras linguagens’, da revista Zero a Seis, reunimos transcrições de falas extraídas de vídeos ao vivo (lives) transmitidos pelo Youtube no período de abril a julho de 2020. As lives foram localizadas a partir de uma pesquisa prévia realizada pela pesquisadora Natalia Francisca Cardia dos Santos, publicada na edição especial “Covid-19: Educação em tempos de pandemia”, da Revista Olhar de professor, e selecionadas usando como critério tratarem de temáticas relacionadas à Educação Infantil em tempos de Covid-19, sob a ótica da defesa das crianças e das infâncias, com aporte na Pedagogia da infância e na Sociologia da infância. Avaliando ser essencial possibilitar uma visão interseccional da conjuntura social e política que permeia a educação e as políticas educacionais, incluímos também em nossa seleção algumas lives em que foram abordados temas como racismo na Educação Infantil, relações de gênero e a relação entre feminismo e políticas públicas de educação para a Educação Infantil, transmitidas até o mês de agosto do mesmo ano. Vivemos um tempo sem precedentes, em que temas importantes como estes estão sendo discutidos, estudados e refletidos conjuntamente por meio de telas de computador e compartilhadas em mídias sociais, que, embora se apresentem como uma estratégia legítima de mobilização, implicam risco de que percamos a preciosidade dessas trocas e análises em meio ao tempo e à lógica da velocidade digital. Ao nos lançarmos ao desafio de mergulhar em outras linguagens, juntamente com as(os) quarenta e nove pesquisadoras(es) que aceitaram o convite de se juntarem a nós, reunimos diálogos de vários lugares do Brasil, com registros transcritos pelas(os) próprias(os) autoras(es), fiéis do que foi dito naquele momento, salvo algumas alterações efetuadas em palavras necessárias para possibilitar a compreensão do que foi explicitado e cortes de trechos mais longos, e/ou exemplos tornando a estrutura da escrita/leitura mais objetiva e compacta, mas preservando o conteúdo, que permanecem com as marcas de oralidade e da contextualidade espaço-temporal de quando foram transmitidos ao vivo, e organizados por data da transmissão. Deste modo, ensejamos que as próprias falas transcritas deem conta de localizar os acontecimentos nessa delimitação cronológica, funcionando como uma espécie de retrospectiva do que foi discutido acerca de Educação Infantil no mencionado recorte de tempo. Temos certeza de que, ao conferirmos materialidade às lives, que somam tantos olhares e pontos de vista dessa temática, compusemos um acervo documental em múltiplos eixos, e daqui seguimos com a esperança de que a união da força da palavra dita à palavra escrita seja instrumento potente e relevante para quem arrisque, neste ou em outro tempo, sonhar e viver a educação em prol de uma vida mais cidadã para todas as pessoas, resistindo e ousando com a infância, para continuar a existir em tempos de Covid-19 e no que vier a partir desse período. “Queremos um mundo onde sejamos socialmente iguais, humanamente diferentes e totalmente livres” (Rosa de Luxemburgo)

Ailelerin Erken Çocukluk Bakımı ve Eğitimi Dönemi Eğitim Harcamaları

Araştırmada, ailelerin erken çocukluk bakım ve eğitimi (EÇBE) döneminde yapmış oldukları eğitim harcamalarının ortaya konulması amaçlanmıştır. Araştırmanın çalışma grubunda Kastamonu il merkezinde 2017-2018 öğretim yılında çocuklarını kamu ve özel EÇBE okullarına gönderen 192 aile yer almaktadır. Araştırma tarama modelinde açıklayıcı bir araştırmadır. Araştırmanın verileri anket yolu ile toplanmıştır. Verilerin çözümlenmesinde betimsel istatiklerin yanı sıra, nonparametrik testlerden Kruskal Wallis H testine başvurulmuştur. Araştırmada, çocuklarını kamu EÇBE okullarına gönderen ailelerin ortalama 3.411,1 TL, çocuklarını özel EÇBE okullarına gönderen ailelerin de ortalama 6.222,4 TL harcama yapmış olduğu belirlenmiştir. Ailelerin EÇBE eğitim harcamaları üzerinde çocuğun cinsiyeti, çocuğun kiminle yaşadığı, baba eğitim, baba meslek, baba çalışma durumunun belirleyici olmadığı ancak, çocuğun devam ettiği okulun mülkiyeti, okula ulaşım türü, anne eğitim düzeyi, anne meslek, anne çalışma durumu, aile geliri ve hanedeki kişi sayısının belirleyici olduğu gözlenmiştir. Farklı aile yapılarında, EÇBE eğitim harcamaları üzerinde neden anne ile ilgili değişkenlerin daha belirleyici olduğu veya olmadığının sosyal, ekonomik, kültürel boyutlarda sorgulayan bir araştırma yapılması önerilmektedir.

Translation and Validation of the Kaufman Domains of Creativity Scale on a Croatian Sample of Early Childhood and Preschool Education Students

The current literature describes creativity as a domain-specific phenomenon. According to Kaufman’s five-factor model, creativity can manifest in the following distinctive domains: Self/Everyday, Scholarly, Performance, Mechanical/Scientific and Artistic. The purpose of the present study was to validate the Croatian version of the Kaufman Domains of Creativity Scale. The scale was administered to a sample of early childhood and preschool education students (N = 222). The results of the exploratory factor analysis showed that certain Self/Everyday tasks did not load on any of the scales, whereas some music-related tasks separated from other Performance tasks into a separate factor. These results could be explained by the characteristics of the convenience sample recruited for the study. The confirmatory factor analysis of the five-factor model and goodness-of-fit tests yielded results that are as satisfactory and consistent as previous validations. The Kaufman Domains of Creativity Scale is therefore considered to be a potentially feasible scale for assessing creativity as a domain-specific phenomenon. Additional research is needed to confirm the validity of the Croatian version of the scale with a representative random sample.

Infant-toddler care in Singapore: Journey towards quality

In Singapore, early childhood care and education has evolved according to the nation’s needs since its independence in 1965. From a welfare scheme to custodial care, early childhood care and education is now recognised as a critical part of children’s learning and development. Over the years, the government has progressively implemented policies to raise the quality of early childhood care and education and while increased efforts have been effective, there is still a gap between policy and practice. This article reviews the policies and frameworks throughout the history of early childhood care and education, with a focus on infant toddler care and examines some of the alignment and gaps. It identifies two key areas for improvement – staff to child ratio and teacher quality for quality infant toddler care. In the current staff to child ratio, an ‘educarer’ oversees 5 children between 2 and 18 months. This indicates that the educarer needs to be well trained for this role to cater to a wide range of learning and developmental needs. However, the quality of teacher training has been disparate and was only harmonised in 2017. This suggests that the quality of educarers is still uneven in the sector. In terms of qualifications, educarers only need to fulfil the minimum level of teacher certification, which means that the youngest children in their most formative years are being taught and cared for by the least qualified educators ( Bull and Bautista, 2018 ). Cognisant of these issues, this article proposes recommendations to address issues of manpower allocation and teacher quality.

Literary Education in early childhood: contradictions between what is promised and what is delivered

ABSTRACT This article presents the results of a comprehensive survey, carried out with 520 early childhood teachers from 68 Early Childhood Education (ECE) institutions located in the western region of the state of São Paulo, Brazil. The research aimed to verify the effects of the National School Library Program- PNBE – in the formation of readers. The PNBE was a government public policy to promote reading practice with young chiuldren from the beginning of the basic schooling stage (0–5 year-olds). Contradicting the intentions of the proposers of this policy, which was intended to distribute books and encourage reading, the research data indicate minimal circulation of Children’s Literature texts in institutions and the lack of knowledge of this material among educational managers. The outcome also points to the weaknesses in the initial and continued training of teachers as mediators of early childhood literary reading practices. The reflection presented in this paper points out the existing gap between what is proposed by public reading policies and actual practices implemented in schools concerning Literary Education in Early Childhood.

The effect of mindfulness-based interventions on inattentive and hyperactive–impulsive behavior in childhood: A meta-analysis

Current research has reported the beneficial effects of mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) on general domains of cognition and behavior among children. The present study is the first meta-analysis with controlled studies investigating the pre-post change effects of MBIs on two widely experienced behaviors in childhood education, namely inattentiveness and hyperactivity–impulsivity. With a special developmental focus on the early years, a total of 21 studies with 3- to 12-year-old children were included in the meta-analysis. Results indicated that MBIs decreased children’s overall inattentive and hyperactive–impulsive behavior with a small but significant effect size (k = 21, g+ = .38, p < .001). However, this overall positive effect was only significant when teachers rated children’s behavior and nonsignificant when parents and children themselves were the informants. Additionally, MBIs showed a moderate effect in reducing inattentiveness and hyperactivity–impulsivity for children at risk for such behavior. In conclusion, results indicate that MBIs, which are relatively easily applied in educational practice, have the potential to decrease inattentive and hyperactive–impulsive behavior and might contribute to children’s overall better functioning at school.

Educational adequacy and educational equality: a merging proposal

ABSTRACT Proposals of distributive justice in childhood education are mainly divided in two camps: educational adequacy and educational equality. This paper shows that the compelling insights of both camps are complementary. I begin by distinguishing two kinds of views of educational adequacy. One identifies the thresholds of adequate education with essential capacities to be autonomous (John White) and to participate in public deliberation (Amy Gutmann). I defend the priority of these thresholds, but also their compatibility with other principles of justice that regulate educational inequalities above the thresholds. Another kind of adequacy view is posed by Elizabeth Anderson and Debra Satz. In their view, a just distribution of educational resources derives from the demands of relational equality. An adequate education should develop social, political, and civic equal relationships among children, and the adult citizens that they will become. The other camp of proposals of distributive justice in childhood education is educational equality. Its defenders, like Harry Brighouse and Colin Macleod, identify two prima facie reasons to offset inequalities in educational resources among children. I argue that these reasons are compatible with educational adequacy views. My central claim is that all-things-considered proposals of educational justice should contain the compelling insights of both camps.

Effective interventions for potentially modifiable risk factors for late-onset dementia: a costs and cost-effectiveness modelling study

The potential economic value of interventions to prevent late-onset dementia is unknown. We modelled this for potentially modifiable risk factors for dementia. For this modelling study, we searched PubMed and Web of Science from inception to March 12, 2020, and included interventions that: successfully targeted any of nine prespecified potentially modifiable risk factors (hypertension, diabetes, hearing loss, obesity, physical inactivity, social isolation, depression, cigarette smoking, and less childhood education); had robust evidence that the intervention improved risk or risk behaviour; and are feasible to enact in an adult population. We established when in the life course each intervention would be delivered. We calculated dementia incidence reduction from annual incidence of dementia in people with each risk factor, and population attributable fraction for each risk, corrected for risk factor clustering, and how effectively the intervention controls the risk factor. We calculated the discounted value of lifetime health gain and effect on cost (including NHS, social care and carer costs) per person eligible for treatment. We estimated annual total expenditure on the fully operational intervention programme in England. We found effective interventions for hypertension, smoking cessation, diabetes prevention, and hearing loss. Treatments for stopping smoking and provision of hearing aids reduced cost. Treatment of hypertension was cost-effective by reference to standard UK thresholds. The three interventions when fully implemented would save £1·863 billion annually in England, reduce dementia prevalence by 8·5%, and produce quality-adjusted life-year gains. The intervention for diabetes was unlikely to be cost-effective in terms of effect on dementia alone. There is a strong case for implementing the three effective interventions on grounds of cost-effectiveness and quality-of-life gains, as well as for improvements in general health. The interventions have the potential to remain cost-saving or cost-effective even with variations in dementia incidence and costs and effectiveness of interventions. Economic and Social Research Council.

Guardians of play: early childhood teachers’ perceptions and actions to protect children’s play from digital technologies

ABSTRACT This paper reports on the perceptions early childhood teachers hold about digital technologies, children and childhood and how their perceptions influence their pedagogical decision-making. Symbolic interactionism was the theoretical lens used to give insights and meanings to the early childhood teachers views, experiences and ascribed meanings. The findings revealed that early childhood teachers were concerned and challenged by children’s motivation to play with digital technologies, valued traditional early childhood pedagogies and conceptualised play as being exclusive of digital technologies. In response to the perceptions they held, early childhood teachers implemented protective measures to restrict and regulate children’s digital experiences.

Malaysian Early Childcare and Childhood Education (ECCE) Curriculum: Perspectives of Malaysian ECCE Educationists

Upon realising the importance of early childhood education for the nation’s development, Malaysian government began to enhance the quality of the ECCE curriculum through policies and legislation. Such developments are evident in the government agenda and several initiatives, including the National Key Result Areas (NKRA) in the 11th Malaysia Plan, the Government Transformation Programme (GTP) and the Education Blueprint 2013-2025. The quality of the ECCE curriculum in Malaysia has not yet received the required attention, as the focus continues to remain largely on achieving quantitative academic targets. This qualitative study examined educationists’ perspectives on the quality of current Malaysian Early Childcare and Childhood Education (ECCE) curriculum. The study employed a semi-structured interview protocols to probe the views from 11 Malaysian educationists. It concludes that educationists believe the documented Malaysian ECCE curriculum today is already aligned with the holistic child development philosophy, but the country may need a higher impact programs of teacher education and training, to produce qualified and competent teachers who would implement the curriculum effectively.