Young Children's Perceptions Research Articles

Canadian early childhood educators’ perceptions of young children’s gender-role play and cultural identity

This article investigates early childhood educators’ perceptions of children’s gender-role play and the impact their cultural background plays in their gender identity and play behaviors. Through qualitative in-depth interviews, early childhood educators in Canada ( n = 40) were asked questions relating to their experiences with children from various cultural backgrounds, how cultural diversity impacted a child’s gender identification, and who early childhood educators felt struggled more with gender identity. In general, respondents felt that cultural background could have an impact of gender identification, and that while boys and girls both struggle with gender identity, girls had the added stress of competing with popular culture expectations of gender type behaviors.

Knowledge, Attitudes, and Oral Health Practices of School Children in Davangere.

ABSTRACTAims: The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge, attitude, and behavior of school children towards oral health.Settings and design: Descriptive study.Materials and methods: School children (n=700) aged between 10 to 14 years in a Davangere school were recruited into this study. The subjects completed a questionnaire that aimed to evaluate young school children’s behavior, knowledge, and perception of their oral health and dental treatment.Statistical analysis: The results were statistically analysed and percentage was calculated.Results and conclusion: The participant oral hygiene habits (such as tooth brushing) were found to be irregular, and parent role in the oral hygiene habits of their children was limited. The study population showed higher awareness of caries than periodontal conditions. The children in this study also recognized the importance of oral health. The results of this study indicate that Comprehensive oral health educational programs for both children and their parents are required to achieve this goal.How to cite this article: Vishwanathaiah S. Knowledge, Attitudes, and Oral Health Practices of School Children in Davangere. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent 2016;9(2):172-176.

Construct validity of the pictorial scale of Perceived Movement Skill Competence

ObjectivesThe Pictorial Scale of Perceived Movement Skill Competence (PMSC) assesses young children's perceptions of movement skill competence: 12 perceived Fundamental Movement skills (FMS; based on the Test of Gross Motor Development 2nd edition TGMD-2) and six Active Play activities (e.g. cycling). The main study purpose was to assess whether children's movement perception scores fit within the imposed constructs of Active Play and FMS by testing the latent structure and construct validity of the PMSC. DesignConstruct validation study. MethodsParticipants were part of the Melbourne Infant Feeding, Activity and Nutrition Trial (InFANT). The latent structure of the PMSC responses was tested through confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and Bayesian Structural Equation Modeling (BSEM). Internal consistency was conducted using polychoric correlation-based alphas. ResultsThe 303 children (boys 53.1%, n = 161) were aged 4–5 years (M = 4.7, SD = 0.46). The final model had an 18 item 3-factor solution with good fit indices (using CFA and BSEM). Factors were: Active Play (Bike, Board Paddle, Climb, Skate/Blade, Scooter, and Swim), Object Control – Hand Skills (Bounce, Catch, Hit, Throw), and FMS skills with a leg action (Gallop, Hop, Jump, Leap, Run, Step Slide, Kick, Roll). Alpha reliability values were: Active Play (0.78), Object Control-Hand Skills (0.76) and FMS-Dynamic Leg (0.84). ConclusionYoung children can distinguish between movement perceptions. The factors reflect the hypothesized structure in terms of FMS being distinguished from Active Play. Further research should investigate how and if these constructs change in children over time.

Young Children's Perception of Diagrammatic Representations

Diagrams and pictorial representations are common in children's lives and require abstraction away from visual perception. In three experiments, we investigated 4- to 8-year-olds’ comprehension of such representations. In Experiment 1 (N = 80), children were shown photographs of geometric objects and asked to choose the corresponding line drawing from among sets of four, or vice versa. Results showed considerable developmental progression, especially around age 6. Experiment 2 (N = 16) ruled out that 4-year-olds’ difficulties were due to problems with the visual matching task itself. Experiment 3 (N = 32) showed comparable performance for matching diagrams to 3D objects rather than to photographs. Findings suggest increasing understanding of diagrammatic representations around the time of school entry.

Starting small: Revisiting young children's perceptions of social withdrawal in China.

In this reply to the commentaries by Xinyin Chen, Charissa Cheah, Yiyuan Xu, and Dawn Watling, we further discuss the conceptual and methodological challenges that arise when attempting to study beliefs about social withdrawal (1) in the unique cultural context of China and (2) in the unique developmental age period of early childhood.

Cognitive Cues are More Compelling than Facial Cues in Determining Adults' Reactions towards Young Children

Previous research has demonstrated the significant influence that both children's facial features (Lorenz, 1943) and children's cognitive expressions (Bjorklund, Hernández Blasi, and Periss, 2010) have on adults' perception of young children. However, until now, these two types of cues have been studied independently. The present study contrasted these two types of cues simultaneously in a group of college students. To this purpose, we designed five experimental conditions (Consistent, Inconsistent, Mature-Face, Immature-Face, and Faces-Only) in which we varied the presentation of a series of mature and immature vignettes (including two previously studied types of thinking: natural thinking and supernatural thinking) associated with a series of more mature and less mature children's faces. Performance in these conditions was contrasted with data from a Vignettes-Only condition taken from Bjorklund et al. (2010). Results indicated that cognitive cues were more powerful than facial cues in determining adults' perceptions of young children. From an evolutionary developmental perspective, we suggest that facial cues are more relevant to adults during infancy than during the preschool period, when, with the development of spoken language, the verbalized expressions of children's thoughts become the principal cues influencing adults' perceptions, with facial cues playing a more secondary role.

Adapting Japanese Lesson Study to enhance the teaching and learning of geometry and spatial reasoning in early years classrooms: a case study

Increased efforts are needed to meet the demand for high quality mathematics in early years classrooms. Despite the foundational role of geometry and spatial reasoning for later mathematics success, the strand receives inadequate instructional time and is limited to concepts of static geometry. Moreover, early years teachers typically lack both content knowledge and confidence in teaching geometry and spatial reasoning. We describe our attempt to deal with these issues through a research initiative known as the Math for Young Children project. The project integrates effective features of both design research and Japanese Lesson Study and is designed to support teachers in developing content knowledge and new approaches for teaching geometry and spatial reasoning. Central to our Professional Development model is the integration of four adaptations to the Japanese Lesson Study model: (1) teachers engaging in the mathematics, (2) teachers designing and conducting task-based clinical interviews, (3) teachers and researchers co-designing and carrying out exploratory lessons and activities, and (4) the creation of resources for other educators. We present our methods and the results of our adaptations through a case study of one Professional Learning Team. Our results suggest that the adaptations were effective in: (1) supporting teachers’ content knowledge of and comfort level with geometry and spatial reasoning, (2) increasing teachers’ perceptions of young children’s mathematical competencies, (3) increasing teachers’ awareness and commitment for the inclusion of high quality geometry and spatial reasoning as a critical component of early years mathematics, and (4) the creation of innovative resources for other educators. We conclude with theoretical considerations and implications of our results.

A Study on Young Children's Perceptions and Experiences of Happiness

The purposes of this study were to analyze individual interviews about how young children perceived the meanings of happiness and when they felt happy, to understand the characteristics of their thoughts and experiences of happiness, and to make plans to promote their happiness. The subjects included 274 young children aged 3-5 at two kindergartens and one daycare center in Seoul. The findings were as follows: first, young children explained the meanings of happiness with positive emotional states such as feeling good, loving, feeling glad, liking, having fun, and excited. A considerable number, however answered that they didn’t know. Secondly, young children felt happy when engaging in their favorite play, being together with their favorite person, having emotional supports, receiving presents, going to some special place, having their favorite food, their body and mind felt comfortable, and achieving what they wanted through efforts. Happiness is an essential factor for good and full life. It is necessary to provide young children with happy experiences so that they can maintain a happy life. There is a need for education to help them realize that true happiness comes from taking an interest in and making a contribution to the happiness of others beyond the pursuit of personal happiness and to increase their power of execution.

A Study on Young Children's Perceptions and Experiences of Happiness

A Study on Young Children's Perceptions and Experiences of Happiness

“Your Lunch Pail Is Silly!” Children’s and Teachers’ Views on Teasing

What is childhood like today? Is it a world fraught with endless joy, fun, and games, or are children experiencing a much different reality? A child’s social interactions can be a source of great enjoyment and are essential to early development. Conversely, young children routinely experience tension, ambiguity, and conflict as they navigate the complexities of these early social relationships. An ambiguous behavior such as teasing can be challenging for children to negotiate and understand. These often subtle jabs can be vague and involve conflicting meanings and interpretations. How children negotiate the complexities within teasing and the impact on teachers and classroom life is not readily known. This qualitative study explored the perceptions of young children and teachers of teasing within a framework of their “real-world” experiences. The article highlights the findings in relation to how children’s and teachers’ “storied” perceptions of teasing may be positioned and juxtaposed so that a deeper understanding of how teasing is practiced in schools can be realized.

Canadian female and male early childhood educators' perceptions of child aggression and rough-and-tumble play

This study investigated female and male early childhood educators' (ECEs) perceptions of young children's aggression and rough-and-tumble play in the Canadian early childhood classroom. Participants were drawn from a larger sample of ECEs who completed an online questionnaire regarding their perceptions of young children's behaviours in the classroom. This study involved n = 11 males from this sample and a matched subset of n = 11 females. Participants were presented with a series of vignettes depicting children displaying different types of aggression (i.e. relational, physical) as well as rough-and-tumble play, and completed a series of follow-up questions pertaining to their attitudes for each type of behaviour. Results showed compared to their female counterparts, male ECEs reported that both physical aggression and rough-and-tumble play held less negative social and academic implications for boys than girls. Educational implications for gender-inclusive, play-based early childhood programmes are discussed.

A Model and Measure of US Parents' Perceptions of Young Children's Parasocial Relationships

Children's parasocial relationships have been understudied, even though recent research suggests that children learn better from socially meaningful than from socially irrelevant media characters. This study articulates a model of parasocial relationship development among children and, in the process, establishes new measures of children's parasocial interactions and parasocial relationships. Parents of children ( ≤ 8 years old) completed an online questionnaire about their child's favorite media character. The measure of parental perceptions of children's parasocial relationships was composed of three dimensions: character personification, social realism, and attachment. The measure was then utilized as the endogenous variable in a model predicting parental perceptions of children's parasocial relationships. The model revealed that engagement with toy replicas of media characters, repeated media exposure, parent encouragement, and parasocial interactions were significantly related to parental perceptions of young children's parasocial relationships. The possible influence of parasocial relationships on children's potential to learn from media characters is discussed.

Writing and writers: the perceptions of young children and their parents

Over the past three decades early writing research has focused on the processes involved as children learn to write. There is now a powerful evidence base to show that children’s earliest discoveries about written language are learned through active engagement with their social and cultural worlds. In addition, the idea of writing development as an emergent process is well established. The study reported in this paper adopted case study methodology combined with an age-appropriate data collection technique in order to explore children’s perceptions of themselves as writers. A focused task using a hand puppet called Baby Bear was used to elicit children’s perceptions. The children’s parents were interviewed to elicit their perceptions of their children as writers. This small-scale exploratory study found that the children had clear perceptions about themselves as writers. There were important links between parents’ perceptions of their children as writers and the ethos for writing they created in the home. It was found that, overall, more positive parental perceptions were linked with more attention to the meaning of children’s writing. It is concluded that early years settings could usefully identify and compare children’s and parents’ perceptions of writing in order to enhance children’s writing development.

Children's talking and listening within the classroom: teachers' insights

Research suggests that social communication (verbal and non-verbal) plays a key role in students' and teachers' elementary-school experiences. Within the framework of sociocognitive developmental theory, this qualitative study investigates teachers' experiences and perceptions of children's talking and listening habits within the elementary-grade school classroom. Five Canadian elementary-school educators (three female, two male) discussed their perceptions of young children's talking and listening behaviours in the classroom. Results indicate that the actions of both talking and listening play a key role in students' and teachers' learning experiences in the classroom. Implications for inclusive and developmentally appropriate curriculum are discussed.

Exploring Place Through the Visual Arts: From the Real to the Ideal

It is said that children today are becoming increasingly disconnected from their environment. However, determining the extent of this disconnect by exploring young children's environmental perceptions, experiences and conceptualisations can be challenging, with children not always having the words to describe what they see, think or feel. To address this issue, methodologies have been developed that enable children to communicate through various art forms. Problems associated with arts-based research methods include that literate cultures little value on visual representations, with the assumption being that language is the most appropriate representational medium to express what one thinks, feels or senses. Even now, as the amount of published visual research increases, there remain remarkably few guides on how to do visual research methods and more importantly, how to interpret the visual. This paper describes a series of studies in which young children depicted places, through drawing, painting and collage, supplemented by stories and interviews. Their creations of place varied from the real (what they actually saw in their environment), to holiday spots, and hypothetical or imagined places. While children generally represented their places positively, they demonstrated a greater affinity for human made rather than natural objects within their environment.

언어 사용력(Speech Register)원리를 활용한 유아의 교육용 로봇 인식

본 연구의 목적은 유아교육기관에서 로봇을 경험한 만 5세 유아들의 로봇 인식을 조사하는 것이다. 연구의 이론적 배경은 언어 사용력(Speech Register) 이론이었으며 로봇, 친구, 인형을 대상으로 말투(Speech Tone) 비교를 하였다. 2-3년간 로봇을 경험한 3군데 유치원의 만 5세 유아 50명을 대상으로 인간에게 어울리는 자연스러운 말투와 단조로운 말투로 그림책을 읽어준 후 어떤 말투가 사람에게 어울리는 말투인지 유아들에게 질문하여 확인하였다. 그리고 인간에게 어울리는 말투가 로봇, 친구, 인형 중 어떤 대상에게 적합한지 선택하게 하였고 그 이유를 분석하였다. 연구결과, 사람에게 어울리는 말투는 86%의 유아가 인형보다 로봇에게, 74% 유아는 로봇보다 친구에게 그리고 68%유아는 인형보다 친구에게 어울린다고 인식하였다. 즉, 유아들은 로봇을 인공물보다는 인간에게 가까운 존재로서 중간자적 혼성물(hybrid beings)로 인식하고 있었다. 그리고 인식 기제는 인간 고유성(human uniqueness)인 인지적 특성이 반영된 결과였다. 그러므로 생물과 무생물의 이분법적 존재론적 인식 분류는 혼성물을 포함한 분류방식으로 대치할 필요성이 있음을 제안한다. The purpose of this study is to explore young children's perception of IrobiQ, the teacher assistive robot. Participants of this study were fifty 5 year olds attending 3 kindergarten centers who had experienced the robot for at least 2 years. The study was conducted based on the "the hypothesis of speech register". Each child was read a storybook by a researcher and asked to choose which one is more suitable to human speech tones and accents among a robot, a friend, and a toy. The findings of this study were that the children perceived a robot as a hybrid compound entity, not as a complete human though they perceived it closer to a human than an artificial thing. They were likely to use cognitive distinctions which is unique to human being, as the criteria to verify their answers. These results would suggest that the traditional binary ontological category(animate vs. inanimate) is reconsidered to include an hybrid entity.

How do Australian junior primary school children perceive the concepts of “healthy” and “unhealthy”?

Purpose – This paper aims to describe Australian children's perceptions of healthiness and sources of health knowledge in order to develop an understanding of young children's perceptions, knowledge and sources of influence to guide future behaviour change and health promotion strategies.Design/methodology/approach – One‐hour interactive focus groups were conducted in a South Australian primary school. Four small groups (n=28) of children aged five to nine participated in focus groups in which they were asked to discuss being healthy and their sources of health information as well as engaging in storying around the healthy or unhealthy behaviours of fictional characters.Findings – Children generally perceived themselves to be healthy. Perceptions of healthiness were equated with performing positive dietary (primarily eating fruit) and physical activity behaviours. Behaviours on an unhealthy day related to being sedentary and consuming “junk foods”. Commonly cited sources of health information included fam...

Reflecting on Field Studies in Teacher Education: Experiences of Student Teachers in Sweden

The aim of this article is to describe how field studies can be useful in teacher education. While participating in a specialty area called Play, learning and development, student teachers collected data about their own and young children's experience and perception of the outdoor environment. They observed, carried out interviews from a questionnaire, took photos, and drew pictures. After their own data collection, they were asked about their experiences of using these methods. The results showed that the student teachers were positive about the involvement of children, teachers, and parents in the data collection process. They also perceived that their knowledge had increased about children's ways of using the outdoor space. They did, however, find the questionnaire difficult to understand; and they thought it was hard to complete the assignment because of the time restraints. The authors conclude that field studies with varied methods are useful in teacher education. The way data were collected added to the student teachers' knowledge about children's outdoor environments and gave young children a chance to be involved.

Communication Competence and Feeling Caught: Explaining Perceived Ambiguity in Divorce-Related Communication

Attribution Theory's contention that perceptions of another person's behaviors explain relational closeness and psychological well-being was tested. Specifically, young adult children's perceptions of parents’ communication competence and the extent to which young adults felt caught between parents were tested as possible contextual moderators affecting the relationship between perceived parental ambiguity regarding divorce-related stressors and post-conversation relational quality and psychological well-being. Following a pre-conversation questionnaire, young adults and their parents discussed a divorce-related stressor, and then young adults reported their perceptions of parents’ ambiguity during the conversation, relational closeness, and psychological well-being. Perceptions of parents’ communication competence moderated the effects of perceived ambiguity on relational closeness. Feeling caught moderated the effects of perceived ambiguity on psychological well-being.

Princesses in the Classroom: Young Children Learning to be Human in a Gendered World

For well over fifty years, girls as princesses has been a staple of child-hood play. In 2000, The Disney Corporation released its "Princesses" line of merchandise - - eight princess-es marketed together as a group for the purpose of creating a single brand which can be more easily mass-pro-duced. As such, the princess industry has grown significantly in the last ten years. This paper explores the heavily marketed princess motif on the devel-opment of gender identity in young girls. The messages of simplistic and traditional, hyper-gendered perfor-mances are powerful and ubiquitous, and such fixations need not be encouraged in primary classrooms. Primary teachers in particular could use alternative and varied metaphors for gender roles when choosing books, stories, and learning activities for their classrooms, and they can cre-ate space for critical discussions regarding young children's percep-tions of gender roles. Because chil-dren appropriate cultural material to participate in and explore their world, mindful engagements with their teachers seem necessary.