Involvement Of Young Children Research Articles

SPIRE Project: Parental Involvement in Young Children’s ESL Reading Development

<p>Realising the clear dichotomy between schools and homes, the Malaysia government has now turned its attention to stakeholders and called for an increase involvement of parents, who are critical in transforming the education system.<strong><em> </em></strong>However, a clear line of demarcation continues to exist between the two prime educators of young children. Schools have yet to fully embrace the concept of active parental involvement, particularly in academic matters and have yet to design formalised programmes that provide avenues for active parental involvement. The six month Smart Partnership in Reading in English (SPIRE) formalised programme, which created a platform for non-native parents to play a more active role in developing early literacy skills in young children, particularly, reading skills in English language, was explored as an option. 25 non-native five year old children, 25 parents and the class teacher were involved in the programme. A rich ESL literacy environment was created both at school and homes by making a wide range of English storybooks and multimedia materials available for the children to be taken home. The parent-teacher partnership scaffold the children’s reading development. The teacher reads storybooks in school and the parents at home. Qualitative data gathered via interviews, home visits, meetings and informal conference provided evidence for parents’ positive attitudes towards reading English storybooks and towards being involved in their child’s reading development, a positive link between levels of parental involvement and reading development, and the plausibility of involving non-native parents through a formalised reading programme. The SPIRE programme explored in the Malaysian context can also be adopted in non English speaking countries for similar purposes.</p>

Mothers' Union Statuses and their Involvement in Young Children's Schooling.

U.S. schools often expect the educational involvement of parents, which may be facilitated when parents have partners, especially a partner also invested in the child. As such, parental involvement at school and at home could be a channel of the diverging destinies of U.S. children from different families. This study applied fixed effects modeling to the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Cohort (ECLS-K) to examine the link between mothers' union statuses and their involvement behaviors. Being partnered appeared to benefit mothers' school and home involvement when children were in the primary grades, with little evidence of an additional benefit from that partnership being marital. A biological tie between the male partner and the child only seemed to matter for mothers' school involvement. These patterns did not vary by family income, maternal depression, or maternal employment, but they were stronger when children were just beginning schooling.

Father involvement in young children’s care and education: exploring boundaries and starting conversations

This paper analyses the impact of a UK local authority initiative – Fathers’ Friday – aiming to involve fathers in their children’s education, which took place in 20 early years’ and primary school settings. Whilst the study involved a range of methods, in this paper interview data associated with practitioners’ perspectives of the initiative are used. Theoretically, Bernstein’s concept of boundary and related notions of classification and framing provide a framework for exploring fathers’ positioning, and Bernstein’s concept of ‘voice’ helps to explain how relations are repositioned, as fathers engage with settings through their participation in the initiative. The authors’ contention is that whilst an existing structure of social relations positions how settings and individuals can relate to one another, experiencing the Fathers’ Friday initiative under changed conditions produces a weakened boundary space for fathers, from which ‘conversations can start’. Children themselves form part of this process of redrawing weakened boundaries.

Biological monitoring involving children exposed to mercury from a barometer in a private residence

A small spill of approximately 3mL of mercury from a broken barometer in a residential setting resulted in blood values of 32μg/L in a boy of 9 months and 26μg/L in a girl of 2.5 years in samples collected within 6h after the start of the incident. A nanny who attempted to remove the spill had a blood mercury value of 20μg/L at the same time point. These elevated blood values were attributed to inhalation rather than dermal uptake or ingestion. Exposure was aggravated by the use of a vacuum cleaner in an early attempt to remove the spill and incomplete decontamination of involved persons, leading to a continuation of exposure. Over a period of three months general cleaning was followed by targeted cleaning of hot spots until the indoor air mercury levels reached a median value of 0.090μg/m3 with a range of 0.032–0.140μg/m3. Meanwhile the family was staying in a shelter home. Human biological monitoring (HBM) was motivated by the complex exposure situation and the involvement of young children. Initially high blood values triggered alertness for clinical signs of intoxication, that (as it turned out) were not observed in any of the exposed individuals. Despite continued exposure from hair and clothes, within six weeks after the incident, blood levels returned to a background level normally seen in children. HBM contributed to reassurance of the parents of the young children that quick elimination of the mercury did not require medical treatment.

Social class and Japanese mothers’ support of young children’s education: A qualitative study

The impact of social class backgrounds on young children’s educational experiences has attracted increasing attention in early childhood research. However, few longitudinal studies related to social class and parental involvement in young children’s education are available, especially in East Asian contexts. In this longitudinal qualitative study, I examined middle-class and working-class mothers’ beliefs related to education and processes through which they support their children’s education from preschool to second grade in Japan. Sixteen Japanese mothers were recruited from preschools and four in-depth interviews along with home visits were conducted over 3 years. Findings of this study demonstrated that both middle-class and working-class mothers hoped that their children would do well academically, but their beliefs related to parenting roles and development of the children’s learning interest differed. Such distinctive maternal beliefs affected their ways of supporting their children’s education in everyday contexts.

Home-Based Parental Involvement in Young Children’s Learning Across U.S. Ethnic Groups

Despite a growing body of research on school-based parental involvement, our knowledge of home-based involvement beliefs and practices, and how these vary across ethnic groups, remains limited. Our study addresses this gap by exploring how the meanings of educational achievement and parents’ roles in young children’s learning vary across ethnic groups. The aim of this study was to construct a detailed picture of the landscape of parental home-based involvement with children and to gain a deeper understanding of the beliefs, meanings, and goals underlying parents’ interactions. Forty-one middle-class Mexican American, African American, and European American mothers participated in semistructured interviews about their goals and interactions with their children in the domain of education. We identified seven themes across the interviews and constructed two cultural models of parental academic socialization: determination with intervention, more typical of ethnic minority group mothers, and trust and laissez-faire, more common among European American mothers.

Levels of well-being and involvement of young children in centre-based provision in

This article reports on a study that examined the levels of young children’s wellbeing and involvement in centre-based provision (birth to five years) at child, group and setting level1 in Free State, South Africa. The study was funded by the FlemishDepartment of Education and was executed in collaboration with the Free State Department of Education and the University of Free State. Nineteen settings were included in the study. The average setting was registered for 121 children (with ratio’svarying from 30 to 326 children registered). Foundation Phase students from the 2nd and 3rd year of study at the University of Free State collected data through observation tools designed by the Centre for Experiential Education at Leuven University, Belgium. The core instrument uses the Leuven scales for well-being and involvement. Results of the study indicate that overall scores for well-being and involvement are low, but also that there are huge differences between different groups and settings. Thus, indicating that early childhood education in centre-based provision makes a difference.

Parents' motivational beliefs about their involvement in young children's education

This study sought to assess Turkish parents' motivational beliefs, including their role activity and self-efficacy beliefs about their involvement in young children's education. The impact of demographic characteristics on these motivational beliefs was also explored. Parents' motivational beliefs about their involvement were measured by using the adapted Turkish version of the related Level 1 scales from the Hoover-Dempsey and Sandler's parent involvement model. The study was conducted with 374 participants who had a child in first or second grade in elementary school. Moreover, a demographic survey was developed and used as the second instrument. The results suggested that Turkish parents as a group tend to have positive motivational beliefs about their involvement in their young children's education. Multiple linear regression analysis results revealed that parents' monthly family income is the strongest predictor of their beliefs for involvement. It was also found that parents' educational backgrounds influence their self-efficacy beliefs about helping their children succeed in school.

Thinking of Children: Democratic Approaches with Young Children in Research

THIS ARTICLE EXAMINES THE research approach used in a case study of young children's involvement in a kindergarten environmental education program. Three key principles underpinned the research process. These principles were trusting relationships, respectful communication and democratic participation, and they were seen as ways to find solutions to ethical issues around children as participating partners in research. The approach allowed for children's voices to be heard and their contribution to the research valued. The premise of this approach is linked to a key principle of early childhood education for sustainability (ECEfS)—democratic participation which highly values the contribution that children make to discussions on environmental issues related to their lives and interests.

Fathers' involvement in young children's literacy development: Implications for family literacy programmes

Relatively few studies of family literacy programmes have investigated parents' experiences and whilst a number of such programmes have been specifically aimed at fathers, little is known about the involvement of fathers in programmes which target both mothers and fathers. This article reports fathers' involvement in a family literacy programme and their home literacy practices with their young children. The article provides a definition of family literacy and describes the context of the study, which was carried out in socio‐economically disadvantaged communities in a northern English city. Fathers' participation in their children's literacy was investigated through interviews at the beginning and end of the programme (n = 85) and home visit records made by teachers throughout the programme. Quantitative and qualitative analysis of these data indicate that, while fathers' participation in the family literacy programme was not easily visible, almost all fathers were involved to some extent in home literacy events with their children. During the programme, teachers shared information about literacy activities and the importance of children having opportunities to share literacy activities with their parents. Data indicate that fathers who were not mentioned by mothers as having been involved in their children's literacy were significantly more likely to be on a low income than those who were reported as being engaged with their children in home literacy activities. Fathers in the study were involved in providing literacy opportunities, showing recognition of their children's achievements, interacting with their children around literacy and being a model of a literacy user. Although involved in all four of these key roles, fathers tended to be less involved in providing literacy opportunities than mothers. While fathers and sons engaged in what might be described as traditionally ‘masculine’ literacy activities, fathers were more often reported to be involved with their children in less obviously gendered home literacy activities. The article concludes with discussion of implications for involving fathers in future family literacy programmes.

Dysphonia—A rare early symptom of Ehlers–Danlos syndrome?

Ehlers-Danlos syndrome is a connective tissue disorder characterized by joint hypermobility, skin hyperextensibility and cutaneous fragility. It usually presents in young adults and is rarely diagnosed in children. Voice involvement in young children, to our knowledge, has not been reported in the literature. We present two cases with dysphonia from birth and an eventual diagnosis of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. The syndrome and its relevance to voice pathology are discussed. We suggest that Ehlers-Danlos syndrome should be considered as an underlying diagnosis in atypical presentations of dysphonia in young children.

Ripples of action: Strengthening environmental competency in an early childhood centre

Ripples are ever increasing circles of movement that gather momentum and spread beyond the point where they're initiated. Each ripple has its own momentum, yet when it touches another it increases momentum, changing form and pattern as it continues to spread. In this article we use this metaphor to explore the idea that when an early childhood centre becomes a place where young children, parents, and teachers undertake environmental actions and practices, this strengthens collective and individual environmental competency. Our thinking has arisen out of a research project we undertook in a two-teacher kindergarten that has focused on an environmental curriculum for several years. In particular, we were interested in competencies that might be evident in the way the children, teachers, and families engaged with environmental actions and practices. Setting the scene In the last decade the early childhood education sector has become increasingly vocal about the importance of young children's involvement in environmental education, with the underlying knowledge that our world needs all of its citizens to live in a more just and environmentally sustainable way. In general, the predominant focus in early childhood education is on teachers providing experiences to engage young children with the natural world, based on the premise that these experiences underpin the development of values and an ethic of care towards the environment (New South Wales Environment Protection Authority, 2003; Palmer, 1995; Tilbury, 1995; Wilson, 1996). As Brownlee (2004, p. 9) so aptly states, between the two of you [child and teacher], in your love affair with life, you'll be growing curiosity and belonging, intellect and understanding and you will be keeping the spirit of wonder very much alive. Certainly, many of us who work in early childhood education recognise how children's intrinsic motivation to explore the world is driven by a human need to be connected to our world. These connections with the natural world enrich and sustain the essence of who we are as human beings for the rest of our lives (Wilson, 1996). Agenda 21, a comprehensive blueprint for environmental action launched at the United Nations' 1992 Earth Summit, challenged governments to reorient education systems to promote ethical ways to sustain life on our planet. This led to demands for governments to ensure that the education sector takes a more critical, participatory approach in society, addressing both social and environmental injustices (Fien & Tilbury, 2002). With renewed urgency, numerous environmental projects began in the schooling sector, focused on children and young adults working towards solutions for local environmental issues with their teachers, families, and communities. In New Zealand the publication of the Guidelines for Environmental Education in New Zealand Schools (Ministry of Education, 1999), the funding of regional environmental education coordinators, and the development of Enviroschools have been influential in spearheading some of these changes in the primary school sector (Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, 2004). Some early childhood services also began to actively respond to the challenges presented by Agenda 21. The 2003 New South Wales Environment Protection Authority report on early childhood environmental education likened it to a patchwork of green: teachers in early childhood centres scattered across Australia were implementing exemplary environmental practice. It was beginning to happen in New Zealand too. Like the Australian experience it was driven by dedicated teachers in individual early childhood centres. At Hand in Hand, an inaugural early childhood environmental conference in Christchurch in 2006, teachers discussed ways that traditional early childhood approaches to environmental education could be expanded to take a more transformative, collaborative approach with young children, parents, and communities. …

The Use of Music CDs and DVDs in the Home with the Under-Fives

THIS ARTICLE REPORTS ON parents' perceptions of the way music CDs and DVDs were used with children under the age of five in the home environment. This was part of a study that explored the musical practices of parents with children at home. A survey was sent to parents in three preschools, asking about parental music background, young children's involvement in music programs, types of music children were exposed to in the home, and frequency of musical activities conducted in the home. Following the survey, focus groups were conducted to further tease out trends that emerged in the survey. One of the trends was the reliance parents placed on music CDs and DVDs in providing music for their children. The use of these materials in the home is discussed, as are implications for parents and early childhood educators.

Parental Involvement in Young Children's Computer Use and Cognitive Development

ABSTRACT Increasingly, young children are using computers; however, the role of the parent in facilitating this type of learning is not yet clear. This study investigates the relationship between parental involvement in computer use and cognitive development in their children. Parents of Head Start children who owned a computer (n = 136) reported on the frequency and type of involvement with their children while at the computer. Children of parents who reported active involvement with them on the computer had higher scores on cognitive measures than children with nonactive parental involvement. Additionally, a linear relationship was found between the number of active interactions and many of the subscales. Children of parents reporting all 4 types of active interactions scored higher on subscales of cognitive assessment (verbal, quantitative, general cognitive, and memory) than children with less parental involvement. This study shows that active parental involvement in young children's computer use is r...

Home‐based Parental Involvement in Young Children’s Education: Examining the effects of maternal education across U.S. ethnic groups

This study investigated the contributions of maternal education and ethnicity to three dimensions of home‐based parental involvement in young children’s education and development: parental expectations about educational attainment, children’s activities at home and outside the home, and family routines. Controlling for family background variables such as family size and structure, household income, and neighbourhood safety, we examined these relations in a nationally representative U.S. sample of 9,864 Asian American, African American, Latino American, and European American five‐year‐old children. Multiple regression models suggested that maternal education explained small to moderate amounts of variation in parental home‐based involvement, and was more strongly associated with these outcome variables than was income. Ethnicity significantly predicted additional variation in only two outcome variables: parental educational expectations and family discussions. Maternal education plays a unique role in explaining U.S. ethnic group variations in parental involvement in young children’s education.

American and Chinese parental involvement in young children's mathematics learning

This study compared the involvement of American and Chinese mothers in their 5- and 7-year-old children's number learning in their everyday experience and during mother–child interaction on mathematics tasks pertaining to proportional reasoning. Results indicated that Chinese mothers of both the 5- and 7-year-old children were more likely to teach mathematics calculation in their everyday involvement with children's number learning than their American counterparts. No differences were found in maternal instruction between American and Chinese mothers during the mother–child interaction on mathematics tasks. However, maternal instruction was related to Chinese children's learning of proportional reasoning but negligibly related to American children's learning of proportional reasoning.

Unsettling the Bedtime Story: Parents' Reports of Home Literacy Practices

This interview-based study on middle-class Australian parents' involvement in young children's literacy found that reading to children (particularly in the pre-school years) is a routine part of family life, a task shared between mothers and fathers. However, there were patterns of gender difference in the accounts. Mothers were more likely than fathers to emphasise the importance of the child's early exposure to books. They were also often reported to take a supervisory role in relation to their partner's story reading. Men were more likely to undertake reading at bedtime than at any other time and also more likely to report using various strategies to shorten the time spent on story reading. Fathers reading to sons appeared to take on a special significance related to masculine bonding and modelling.

Developmentally appropriate teacher-directed approaches: Images from Korean kindergartens

There is a general consensus that too many US children are entering school without essential readiness skills. However, there is a lack of consensus as to what constitutes readiness and a corresponding lack of consensus as to the type of early childhood experience that is most likely to prepare children for academic success. This paper offers a perspective, grounded in theory and practice, on issues of readiness and education during the preschool and kindergarten years. This perspective involves a view of human development that stresses the role of adult involvement in young children's learning and emphasizes the preschool years as atime for building cognitive skills that will serve as essential foundations for later academic learning. Images drawn from practice in Korean early childhood classrooms illustrate how teacherdirected activities may foster preschool children's development of these essential cognitive foundations in a developmentally appropriate manner.

Language as an indicator of risk in the prevention of drug use

Abstract Kenneth Burke argues that the symbols we use and the names we give to things are implicit plans of action. In this article we seek to create an awareness of the capacity language has to reveal those “plans of action”; that involve possible potential adolescent and preadolescent drug use. We contend that language has not been explored fully as a predictor of drug risk and, based on an analysis performed at the individual level and examined at the group level, extend language as a viable indicator of at‐risk individuals. In addition, we recommend that the metaphors and themes uncovered in the language of low‐and/or medium‐risk individuals be incorporated into drug prevention messages designed to dissuade the onset of drug involvement of young children and pre‐adolescents. If the “low‐risk”; metaphors and themes can be instantiated in the language of the target audience (the young children and pre‐adolescents), then perhaps, since language precedes attitudes and action, their “plan of action”; will ...