Preschools Research Articles

The ESSENCE-Q: Can specialist supervision improve scoring agreement across specialist and public health nurses/nursery teachers?

This study aimed to explore whether the supervision of community public health nurses (PHNs) and nursery school teachers (NSTs) by a specialist, familiar with Early Symptomatic Syndromes Eliciting Neurodevelopmental Clinical Examinations (ESSENCE), improved the agreement of ESSENCE-Questionnaire (ESSENCE-Q) scoring, across raters. A PHN, two NSTs, and a speech-language pathologist (SLP), familiar with ESSENCE, independently assessed 32 children. The ESSENCE-Q results were divided into the first (child 1-18) and second groups (the 19th child and the following children). Changes in score discrepancies were analysed for ESSENCE-Q cutoff scores and total ESSENCE-Q scores across raters. The SLP scores were used as a reference to evaluate sensitivity and specificity. The total ESSENCE-Q scores of the PHN and NSTs showed higher concordance in the second group (p < 0.05). Comparisons of the differences between the PHN/NSTs and SLP in total ESSENCE-Q scores showed a significantly smaller difference in the NSTs' scores in the second group (p < 0.05). The findings suggest that specialist supervision may lead to a better agreement between PHN and NSTs regarding ESSENCE-Q scores.

‘I'm rewriting the law’ when children bring literacy into nursery school

AbstractBased on an analysis of three literacy events in nursery schools, this article focuses on how literacy forms part of children's social practices and co‐creates the language environment in the nursery and how place, affect and materiality play a key role in children's multimodal and embodied meaning‐making around literacy. The analysis is based on ethnographic fieldwork in two nursery schools, in which we followed different children through their days in order to explore how they used language in different contexts, what characterised their language practices and what appeared to encourage and constrain their desire to express themselves. It shows how the written word means much more to children than knowledge about the structure of books and identification of letters and how children draw on their own experience and include the place and the available materials in their joint meaning‐making processes. Against this background, we argue for the need for a reconceptualisation of what literacy is and can be in a nursery school context and for a discussion of the implications of this for teaching literacy.

Meningkatkan Kemampuan Memahami Bacaan Al-Quran melalui Penerapan Metode Mind MAP pada Siswa Pendidikan Anak Usia Dini Qur’an An-Najah Bogor Jawa Barat

PAUDQu An-Najah is an educational institution for pre-primary school children. This research aims to analyze improving the ability to understand reading using the mind map method in early childhood at PAUDQu An-Najah Bogor. The method used in this research is the Participatory Action Research (PAR) method, namely research that actively involves all relevant parties (Stakeholders) in reviewing ongoing actions (where their own experiences are the problem) in order to make changes and improvements to better direction. With characteristics, problem, solution, transformation, and model.. From the results of action research through the application of the mind map method, student learning outcomes increased from before and after applying the mind map method by 35.7 percent, so that in an effort to improve student understanding learning outcomes towards the ability to read the Qur'an, it is necessary to apply the mind map method in learning to read the Qur'an regularly and continuously

Elemental Profiling, Pollution and Health Risks Assessments of Classroom Dust from Selected Nursery and Kindergarten Schools Ogun State, Nigeria

Knowing the concentration of elements in children’s classroom dust and the associated ecological and health risks is essential in preventing and controlling possible elemental poisoning. Dust samples were collected from 37 nursery and kindergarten classrooms across three local government areas in Abeokuta, Nigeria, and assessed for elemental concentrations using X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrophotometry. The hazard and the cancer risk indexes were estimated using the geo-accumulation index (Igeo) and health risks posed to children. The highest mean concentrations (mg/kg) of Ca, Fe, K, and Ti ranged between 4034.22–15995.09, 1758.95–2409.62, 5146.66–8996.75, and 730.96–1140.38, respectively. About 33.33% of the monitored metals displayed Igeo values within the moderately polluted and extremely polluted categories in Abeokuta South and North. All the monitored locations were strongly polluted with Ca, Fe, K and Ti, including arsenic at Abeokuta South. Metals with high pollution (Cf &gt; 6) were Ca, Fe, Co, As, K, Ti and Ge in Abeokuta South. Ca, Fe, Co, As, K, Sc, Ti and Ge in Abeokuta North; and Ca, Fe, As, K, Sc, Ti and Ge at Odeda. Arsenic levels were 128.42 (considerable), 2934.27 (very high) and 179.33 (high) for the ecological risk factors. Dust samples for Abeokuta South and North posed the least and greatest ecological risks, respectively, and the risk potentials of arsenic across all the locations were in the ecologically risky ranges. However, hazard indexes &lt; 1 were recorded across the monitored sites, indicating no immediate non-carcinogenic health risks, while cancer risks for Co, Ni, As, and Cr were &lt; 1.0E−04, respectively, depicting no significant carcinogenic risk. This study concluded that the levels of elements monitored do not pose any health risk to the children but are of concern to the ecosystem. Therefore, policies on locating schools in areas with minimum anthropogenic pollution should be formulated and continuous cleaning of classroom surfaces should be encouraged.

Knowledge on Oral Hygiene Maintenance of Children Aged 6 to 9 Years Attending at the OPD of a Tertiary Care Dental Hospital in Dhaka City

Background: Knowledge from pre-primary school about the prevention of dental caries is better before the disease process has starte. Objective: The purpose of this study was to observe the knowledge of oral health maintenance among the children of 6 to 9 years old such as regular tooth brushing, uses of oral hygiene aids and dental attendance to maintain their good oral health for a life time. Methodology: This cross-sectional study conducted in Dhaka Dental College and Hospital, Bangladesh study was carried out from October 2019 to September 2020. A total of 175 participants children aged 6-9 years attending at the OPD with dental Caries in Dhaka Dental College Hospital were the study population. The study population were Included Children aged 6 to 9 years in Dhaka dental college and hospital who were available and wished to participate. The questionnaire was used in this study pre-tested before the data collection, data was collected using semi-structured questionnaire by face-to-face interview. Results: A total of 175 participants children aged 6 to 9 years attending at the OPD with dental Caries in Dhaka Dental College Hospital were the study population. The knowledge according to the correct method of tooth brushing to keep healthy teeth which were significant with their age and education. The study revealed the knowledge according to the correct method of tooth brushing to keep healthy teeth which were not significant among both gender (P=0.000038) and level of education (P=0.00001). The knowledge according to cleaning teeth and mouth after each meal to keep healthy teeth which were significant only with their age (P=0.00027) and same as knowledge according the to relation of food or drinks with healthy teeth which were significant with their age(P=0 .00729) and education significant level (P=0.001185), the knowledge according to poor oral health causes of dental problem which were significant with their education level (P=0.002524) and knowledge to the necessity of dental check-up at least once in year which were significant with their age(P=0.04237) and education level (P=0.002524). Conclusion: In conclusion, it is found that a significant association between the education level and age of children have good knowledge of oral health hygiene to prevent dental caries among the young children who are more prone to develop the diseases. Bangladesh Journal of Medical Microbiology, January 2023;17 (1):15-20

Microbiological analysis concerning the antibacterial effect of atomized Ionless® hypochlorous acid water in a nursery school environment

IntroductionIn daycare centers, infants come in close contact with each other, and contact, droplet, and mouth-to-mouth infections may occur owing to sharing of toys. Additional effective disinfection methods should be considered aside from wiping with disinfectants—including alcohol or sodium hypochlorite solution—for environmental disinfection of daycare centers. We aimed to examine the usefulness of hypochlorous acid water atomization in the effective disinfection of the classroom environment and toys at a nursery school. MethodsEnvironmental cultures of the nursery and toys were prepared to evaluate the species and bacterial load and to assess the contaminated areas. Staphylococcus aureus petri dishes were placed at high-frequency contact sites, and hypochlorous acid water was atomized to achieve a 0.03-ppm atmospheric chlorine concentration. After the atomization, the amount of S. aureus bacteria on the Petri dish and the changes in bacterial count isolated from the environment and toys were evaluated. ResultsHypochlorous acid water atomization was performed for 5 h to avoid condensation. After a 3-h atomization, ≥99.99% of S. aureus was eliminated on petri dishes; furthermore, a significant disinfection effect was observed on environmental bacteria at least 1 h after atomization. For rubber and textile toys, the significant disinfection effect was observed 1 h after atomization, and for plastic toys, the effect was observed 3 h after atomization. ConclusionsHypochlorous acid water atomization is a useful strategy to disinfect nursery school classrooms.

APLINKOSAUGINĖS NUOSTATOS: BŪSIMŲJŲ ANKSTYVOJO UGDYMO MOKYTOJŲ POZICIJA

It is important to focus on the environmental awareness of pre-service teachers, as their decisions as future professionals can have an impact not only on the environment, but also on the education of the next generation. On the other hand, it is also useful for teachers to be aware of trends in students' environmental attitudes in order to be able to emphasise one or other of the sustainable development goals in the context of the curriculum. The main research question is what environmental attitudes have been developed by pre-service preschool, pre-primary and primary school teachers. The study is a mixed-method (qualitative and quantitative) pilot study. The study was carried out between January and March 2023. The participants were 136 university students, pre-service pre-school, pre-primary and primary education teachers (pre-service early childhood teachers). The survey instrument used a 22-item scale. The statements were scored using an interval 5-point Likert scale. The quantitative data obtained from the survey were analysed using descriptive statistics. The mean, standard deviation and significance index of the statements were calculated. Environmental attitudes, like any other attitudes, influence human behaviour. Students have learned these behaviours from their parents and teachers since they were children. What they have expressed in this study is the result of many years of education and experience. Students are very clear about the importance of recycling, they are in favour of preserving biodiversity, conserving heat, responsible consumption in general, etc. It is likely that pre-service teachers, having developed environmental attitudes and skills in practical environmental activities, will base their future professional life on these values and will transfer their experience to their learners in new contexts. Environmental attitudes are becoming increasingly important as the ideas of sustainable development and sustainable living are reflected in the curriculum guidelines for pre-school education (2023) and in the pre-primary and primary curricula (2022). Students' attitudes towards environmentalism reflect their relationship with the environment, and the high significance indexes (Sis) suggest that synergies are developing in the human-nature system. However, this calls for a new in-depth study of environmental attitudes. Keywords: environmental attitudes, early education, human behaviour, pre-service teachers, science education.

Dynamic interdependence of comfortable thermal conditions and energy efficiency increase in a nursery school building for heating and cooling period

The paper studies the influence of building function and orientation, level of thermal insulation on energy efficiency and occupant thermal comfort dynamic interdependence. Energy state dynamic modelling of the typical preschool educational facility (Kyiv, Ukraine) was carried out with different levels of thermal comfort in each of the zones, taking into account occupants' activity, metabolism, clothing, etc. The research was conducted for the heating and cooling periods, taking into account the operational peculiarities of the building. Increasing the thermal resistance from the base version to the Swedish norms reduces energy consumption by 32% for the heating period, compared to the base version. The introduction of intermittent heating leads to a reduction of energy consumption by 14%, compared to the base version. Intermittent heating and ventilation and increased thermal protection to Swedish standards can reduce energy consumption by 42%. The investigation of comfort indicators revealed that during the transition period when the heating is turned off, electric heating of the premises is required to maintain the comfort conditions, which increases the heating energy consumption by 18%. Three different options for children's clothing in the summer period to avoid feeling cold were investigated.

Forbidding and valuing home languages – divergent practices and policies in a German nursery school

ABSTRACT This study analyses practices regarding home languages in a nursery school from a multilingual district in Germany, and the language policies and discourses that become visible in these. First, the context is outlined of Early Childhood Education and Care for multilingual children in Germany; then, the concepts of practices, discourses and language policies are set into relation with each other. After an outline of the ethnographic research design, data are presented from participant observation and analysed with the help of Grounded Theory. Practices and policies of teachers, children and the researcher in a nursery group are explained that either forbid the home language Turkish or value it in accordance with discourses that consider multilingualism a deficit, respectively an asset. The practices of valuing Turkish have the side effect of co-constructing a ‘Turkish speaking’ identity with a child who is not a speaker of Turkish. The researcher unwittingly participated in this construction of a linguistic identity, which exemplifies the entanglements of research in this field. Both practices and policies of forbidding and valuing home languages generate a dichotomy between ‘German’ as the norm and ‘Turkish’ as different. This paper contributes to understanding how nursery teachers and children deal with multilingual contexts.

Keys to Responsive Feeding in Early Education: Systematic Observation of Pikler-Lóczy’s Educators’ Behaviour During Breakfast

AbstractThe responsive feeding style has been researched to date using indirect techniques, mainly in family contexts. This style supports children’s capacity for self-regulation, which is why the present study aims to directly and systematically observe the method in a school context, focusing specifically on the behaviour of two educators working at the Emmi Pikler Nursery School during breakfast time with two different groups. The observation instrument used was a field format created ad hoc that measures two basic dimensions in said behaviour: instrumental and relational. A total of 25 sessions were recorded and a lag sequential analysis was performed to detect behavioural patterns during the care activity. The results reveal a common pattern shared by both educators in both dimensions (instrumental and relational) that includes key elements of group-based responsive feeding.

Evaluation of Selected Heavy Metals in Indoor Dust and Interior Painted Walls of Nursery Schools in Nairobi County, Kenya

School playgrounds found in painted environments have become death chambers for millions of innocent children who unknowingly ingest toxic metals. The objective of this study is to determine the levels of the heavy metals in paint chips from painted interior walls and indoor dust samples from 14 selected nursery schools in Nairobi County. The paint chips and indoor dust samples collected were digested using the Environmental Protection Agency method SW846 3050B then analyzed using Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrometry. Iron (Fe) had the highest concentrations in both the paint chip from interior walls and the indoor dust while Cadmium (Cd) had the lowest concentration followed by Chromium (Cr), Lead (Pb) and Zinc (Zn) respectively. 50% of the nursery schools had Lead (Pb) concentrations that exceeded the 90 µg/g limit set by KEBS. For Cadmium (Cd) and Chromium (Cr), the concentration in the nursery schools and the indoor dust was below the 200 µg/g used in Germany. Generally, the correlation between the various metal pairs for the samples analyzed showed a non-significant correlation with exception of Lead - Iron (Pb-Fe) and Chromium - Cadmium (Cr-Cd) for the indoor dust samples from pre-schools. The t-tests carried out show that levels of the heavy metals in the paint chip did not differ significantly with the levels in the indoor dust for nursery schools at 95% confidence level.

Intertextuality and the advance of mathematisation in young children’s inscriptions

ABSTRACT A fundamental question in early childhood mathematics concerns the relationship between young children’s own informal signs and the formal abstract symbolic language of mathematics. This study presents research investigating the genesis of mathematical semiosis from a Vygotskian cultural-historical (social-semiotic) perspective. In this study we look at the premature stages of dealing with quantity and their relationships. Our aim is to reveal the interweaving of young children’s sign-use and to consider the role of intertextuality in mathematisation. Longitudinal, ethnographic data were gathered from case studies of seven children aged 3–4 years in an inner-city nursery school in England, documenting observations of their spontaneous pretend play. The data are interrogated through interpretive analysis and show that some graphical signs moved between individuals’ texts, also borrowed from others including the teacher, and woven together. Children’s progressive understandings of mathematical sign-use appear to be attained in part through intertextual exchanges in social and culturally meaningful contexts, such as pretend play.

A descriptive study on the potential transmission of COVID-19 to hospitalized patients from a nursery school affiliated with it

IntroductionDuring the epidemic of the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2, nosocomial transmissions from healthcare workers (HCWs) to patients occur frequently. The influence of COVID-19 on hospitalized patients from nursing schools affiliated with the hospitals is a concern but it had not been well studied. MethodsWe here describe COVID-19 outbreaks at the nursery school affiliated with an acute-care hospital, during the surges of the Omicron variants on the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 children as well as for the patients who were judged to be the close contacts of patients of COVID-19 by contact investigation by PCR testing. ResultsA total of 36 children and five caregivers were diagnosed with COVID-19 during the study period. Of the 206 preschoolers who had close contact with the infected persons, only 16 became positive (7.6%). Secondary transmission from the 36 preschool children to the parents as HCWs occurred in 19 (61%) out of 31 parents. Three hospitalized patients were judged to have unsafe contact with the infected HCWs but this did not result in their infections, making a total of zero transmission from the nursery school to the hospital. ConclusionsChildren at the nursery school are potential reservoirs for nosocomial transmissions at the affiliated hospital, but multiple practical measures might have prevented them to occur.

O2A3-03 Gaze behavior of pool lifeguard in pool monitoring at nursery school

O2A3-03 Gaze behavior of pool lifeguard in pool monitoring at nursery school

Sharing Food Can Backfire: When Healthy Choices for Children Lead Parents to Make Unhealthy Choices for Themselves

Many consumers are caregivers and, as part of caregiving, frequently make food choices for their dependents. This research examines how food choices made for children influence the healthiness of parents’ subsequent self-choices. Whereas prior work focuses on choices for the self (others) as based on self-needs (other-needs), the authors theorize when and why self-choices involve consideration of other-needs. Five studies, including a nursery school field study, test the effect of choosing healthy food for a child on the healthiness of parents’ self-choices, focusing on the role of anticipating potentially sharing self-choices with one's child. Potential sharing increased parents’ likelihood of making an unhealthy subsequent self-choice if they first made a healthy choice for their child. This effect was driven by parents’ present-focused parenting concerns about whether one's child would eat and enjoy healthy options chosen for them. This effect was mitigated when parents instead had future-focused parenting concerns. Additionally, this effect was mitigated after making an initial choice for the child that was (1) unhealthy or (2) healthy but relatively liked by the child. This research contributes to understanding how choices for others shape choices for the self and offers important marketing and policy implications.

Child-addressed talk as an interactional resource

When parents come to pick up their children at a nursery school, teachers give them the day’s report in the presence of the children. Although the teachers mostly address their reports to the parent of a child, they occasionally address the child. This conversation analytic study documents the use of child-addressed talk (CAT) in nursery schoolteacher–parent interactions. I demonstrate that the use or non-use of CAT is a resource that a nursery schoolteacher may use to assign different participation roles to the child, and, by so doing, to forecast the (non-)seriousness of the incipient report. I further suggest that what amounts to a serious or non-serious matter is subject to interactional negotiation and that CAT is one of many resources that adult participants can use to negotiate and achieve agreement on the matter. Data are drawn from a corpus of Japanese conversations between nursery schoolteachers and parents recorded in Tokyo.

Metacognition in early years?

Amanda Hubball, deputy head at Alfreton Nursery School, discusses the importance of including metacognition in early years education and strategies for how settings can incorporate it.

Indonesian version of caries management by risk assessment mobile application “SKOR GIGI” in highly educated parents

Background: The Indonesian version of caries management by risk assessment (CAMBRA) is a common caries risk assessment for children aged 0–5 years. During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the frequency of dental visits have decreased, making it difficult to assess the caries risk in children. Smartphones and operating systems such as Android are expected to be useful for parents to assess the caries risk of their children. The education level of parents has an impact of its use. The research about the Indonesian version of CAMBRA Android–based application in children aged 0–5 years with highly educated parents has never been done in Indonesia. Purpose: To analyze the accuracy of Android–based application “SKOR GIGI” in assessing the caries risk of children aged 0–5 years by highly educated parents. Methods: This study was conducted in kindergarten, pre-primary school, and Dental Hospital of Faculty of Dentistry Universitas Indonesia with 37 highly educated parents as participants. Participants filled out the informed consent and SKOR GIGI application. Six days later, dentists filled out the Indonesian version of CAMBRA. The results of this study were statistically tested to see the sensitivity, specificity, and the comparison between the variables. Results: The sensitivity test of SKOR GIGI application showed 96.3%, specificity 100%, positive predictive value 100%, and negative predictive value 90.9%. The comparative test with McNemar showed a p-value of 1.000, which means there is no significant difference between the caries risk assessment of children aged 0–5 years using SKOR GIGI application and the Indonesian version of CAMBRA. Conclusion: SKOR GIGI application can be used to assess the caries risk of children aged 0–5 years by highly educated parents.

Parental Involvement as a Predictor of Pre-Primary School Learners’ Acquisition of Collaborative Competencies in Ganze, Kilifi County Kenya

Parental Involvement as a Predictor of Pre-Primary School Learners’ Acquisition of Collaborative Competencies in Ganze, Kilifi County Kenya

The role of nursery school teachers in early intervention with children with signs of ASD

In Brazil, daycare as a social and economic reality for many families is consolidated as a natural context for the child and complementary to the family, and places teachers as important partners within an integrated system that involves the care of children from zero to 3 years old in the promotion of their full development. The experiences lived in daycare are decisive and fundamental in the child development process, and teachers as agents of intervention must be alert to possible early signs of change in the child’s development. However, the practices of Brazilian daycare teachers have been little investigated with regard to school inclusion. In this sense, this research aimed to investigate the experiences of daycare teachers with children who present risk signs for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). This is a qualitative exploratory research, with the participation of 10 teachers from public daycare centers in a city in the state of São Paulo. The information was obtained through semi-structured interviews that followed a script previously defined by the researchers. Data analysis was carried out using thematic content analysis. The results pointed out that the teachers’ conceptions about development, permeated by their own ideas about education, care, family, and society, imply directly in their practices with the child and in the conduction of the case to other spheres. It was possible to verify the protagonism of the teachers who have in their effective practices care and play as intervention strategies in their actions. Gaps emerged regarding the communication between education professionals and the articulation between education and health. We identified the need for consistent intersectoral actions that favor the development of children who show early signs of ASD and value the role of the teacher in this process, also promoting inclusive educational practices.