Young Children's Perspectives Research Articles

Accessibility of students through the Technological system in Private Schools

The current era and advancements in technology have facilitated communication, allowing individuals to stay updated about everyday events and maintain contact with their families. Currently, individuals are not facing a shortage of knowledge but rather an abundance of options when it comes to accessing information. In contemporary society, the majority of individuals, including young ones, find it difficult to conceive of a life devoid of the radio, television, telephone, and particularly the Internet. In its most comprehensive form, the mass media aims to disseminate information to a large audience. Our educational system is currently undergoing necessary reforms to keep up with the times. These reforms include updating curricula, programs, and textbooks, as well as incorporating modern teaching methods and technology, particularly electronic media like the Internet and audio-visual tools. These technological resources are essential for both students and teachers to acquire new knowledge in various fields of science and education. The rapid advancement of science and technology has significantly influenced the operations of educational institutions. However, it is important to acknowledge that this growth plays a beneficial role in modern teaching practices. However, recognizing that technological advancements have had detrimental effects on the lives and perspectives of young children, particularly those in early age groups, has sparked my curiosity about the influence of audio-visual mediums like the Internet, radio, and TV on children. My role as a mother and future educator drives this interest, as I consider the impact of these mediums on the education of future generations. Safeguarding the welfare of children is the collective responsibility of society. Therefore, it is imperative that we fulfill this duty diligently, both as members of society and particularly as members of educational institutions, where children receive the fundamental building blocks for their holistic development.

Do we listen to what makes children happy? A systematic literature review of voices of children aged 3–7 years in educational research

Research shows that children’s views and experiences are usually overlooked in discussions related to their own happiness and wellbeing. In fact, the largest international study to date on children’s wellbeing only included children aged 8-12. A review of reviews further reveals that no previous studies have focused on exploring factors that make children aged 3-7 happy. This research addresses this gap in the literature by conducting the first systematic review of international studies exploring young children's perspectives on happiness. The EPPI-Centre framework guided this systematic review of international research published covering almost a decade of research (2015-2024). This comprehensive approach aimed to provide an overview of the current research landscape to inform future research and policy decisions. Out of 2594 papers arguing to listen to children, only five focused on exploring children’s happiness and wellbeing from an interpretivist perspective. Results showed that there are studies listening to children’s voices, however, very limited studies genuinely explore what makes children happy. Factors contributing to children’s happiness and wellbeing include spending time with loved ones, receiving praise, achieving goals and engaging in sociodramatic play. Negative factors include feeling ignored, limited interaction with peers/friends and forced activities. Methodological limitations identified include unclear sample selection, regional bias, subjective data interpretation, and pre-determined prompts influencing children's responses. The findings can inform future research directions and policy decisions aimed at promoting children's happiness and well-being in schools. As such, this paper provides a unique insight and makes an original and significant contribution to the field.

"Daddy comforts me"-Young Swedish children's perspectives on their family relations before and after their parents' participation in a parenting programme.

Despite extensive research assessing parenting support, there is a lack of knowledge about the perspectives of the youngest children. In this study, we explored changes in preschool children's emotional and relational experiences at home before and after their parents participated in a parenting intervention, the Triple P parenting programme. Nine children in total were interviewed, aged 3-6 years, whose parents participated in a group parenting intervention. The interviews were conducted during the first and final group sessions attended by the children's parents. Data were analysed qualitatively, using a longitudinal approach, resulting in a deductive mapping of the children's statements onto four themes, based on the parenting intervention's main objectives. Further, changes in content for each of the four themes were assessed. Before the programme, children described conflicts with siblings, parents' negative emotions, and punitive parenting behaviours. After the programme, sibling conflicts remained, but parents' negative emotions decreased and parent threats and violence ceased. Positive family interactions and quality time increased, along with experiences of tenderness and being comforted. Parents also implemented new strategies such as verbal management and more comforting or soothing behaviours. Clinical implications of the results include promoting positive sibling relationships, emphasising parental self-regulation, encouraging empathy and reconciliation, and highlighting the importance of spending quality time with children. These findings contribute to a better understanding of children's perspectives and provide implications for clinical practice and future research.

String Figuring young children's perspectives of quality in English early childhood education and care

AbstractQuality in early childhood education and care (ECEC) is a contested concept and has generally been conceptualised by inter‐related indicators such as staff qualifications, educational environment, policy or child‐to‐staff ratios. There has been a more limited emphasis on how young children might perceive and experience quality. This empirical paper employs a research‐creation methodology in combination with feminist materialist theory, notably Haraway's String Figuring, to consider how quality manifests in young children's lifeworlds. Data from non‐participant observations in 17 English ECEC settings were collected and analysed by focusing on child‐led activities where agentic and autonomous engagement with objects, matter, resources, space and places were observed. This resulted in the identification of a series of ‘knots’: security, space(s), material objects, autonomy and other children. We present examples of these knots in six vignettes and propose that these are manifestations of young children's experiences of their educational environments. The knots developed from our analysis recognise how quality was manifested where children felt secure by exploring their chosen spaces. This led to children having autonomy over their play, both alone and with other children. We demonstrate how String Figuring can provide an opportunity to develop a deeper understanding of the complex and nuanced nature of young children's lifeworlds in various ECEC settings, and argue that the identified knots can provide situated and contextual ways to recognise young children's experiences of quality. By doing so it is possible to develop new knowledge that advances theoretical and professional practice conceptualisations of quality.

Young children's perspectives of time: New directions for co‐constructing understandings of quality in ECEC

AbstractChildren's relationship with time in preschools is an under‐researched area. Young children rarely know how to measure time using a clock, but their experiences of time may contribute to understanding children's well‐being and debates about quality in preschools. This paper brings together two empirical exploratory studies conducted in preschools in Iceland and Croatia, respectively, and is based on participatory research methods that highlight young children's perspectives on their sense of time. First, the paper provides examples of young children's understanding of the sequence of events in preschools. Most days were marked by regular routines, such as mealtimes, circle time and outdoor activities. These stepping stones were seen as providing a rhythm for the day. Children's conversations and drawings indicated an embodied sense of time that is subjective, relational and situational. Second, questions have been raised about the impact of different time practices on young children's everyday lives in preschools. In some cases, the management of time appeared to have unintended consequences for factors relating to quality in preschools. Adherence to daily visual schedules could lead to fragmented days with fewer opportunities for uninterrupted play than time management based on ‘flow’. The subjective nature of children's sense of time is complex, and shared understandings between adults and children are not guaranteed. Careful and imaginative listening is required in order to deepen understandings on this topic. This could, in turn, support teachers to further consider the impact on children's daily experiences of preschool when planning based solely on ‘clock time’.

Young children's perspectives on treatment and care: A qualitative study using narrative and play-based interviewing

PurposeTo explore young children's (age 3–6 years) own experiences and perceptions of treatment and care when living with a chronic illness. Design and methodsThe study employed a qualitative research design using a narrative and play-based interview approach. Individual face-to-face, narrative and play-based interviews were conducted with eight young children age 3–6 years with type 1 diabetes or cystic fibrosis. The play sessions took place at the home of the children and were video recorded. Interpretative phenomenological analysis was used to analyse the data and frame the study. ResultsOur analysis identified six main themes: 1. Children understood illness through their bodily experience of treatment and care, 2. Children's experience of care and treatment ranged from a feeling of powerlessness to a sense of agency, 3. Children depended on their parents to provide comfort, advocacy and protection, 4. Children's perceptions of treatment and care were inherently related to their experiences of familiarity, interpersonal relationships and trust, 5. Children with type 1 diabetes did not perceive that they played an active role during consultations, and 6. Children associated medical treatment with receiving tangible rewards or positive feedback. ConclusionChildren expressed a need to feel safe and build agency. They experienced this through participation and interpersonal relationships with healthcare professionals. Practice implicationsWe should prioritize the establishment and implementation of age-appropriate psychosocial care practices that support young children in participating, forming relationships, and building trust.

Talking with Kindergartners about Children's Rights:

During my dissertation research, I conducted a project in 2 kindergarten classrooms, exploring children's rights from the perspectives of young children. Together, we created comics about their ideas by exploring two concepts that are fundamental to children's rights - listening and sharing.

“One time I fell, but I didn’t have to cry.” A qualitative study on everyday physical complaints in children

ObjectiveYoung children experience physical complaints, like abdominal pain or minor injuries from playing, almost every day. These experiences may shape how they deal with health issues later in life. While models exist to explain illness perception in adults, information is lacking on the perspective of young children. This qualitative study aimed to explore important themes in the experience of everyday physical complaints in four- and five-year-old children, using children as informants.Study design30 semi-structured interviews were performed in which four- and five-year-old children were questioned about their experiences with everyday physical complaints. The interviews were double coded using Atlas.ti and subsequently qualitative content analysis was used to define themes.ResultsAll participating children were able to elaborate on their experiences with physical complaints. Three themes emerged from the interviews: causes of complaints, appraisal of complaints, and implications of complaints. In their appraisal of complaints, four- and five-year-old children made a distinction between visible and invisible complaints and real or pretended complaints.ConclusionFour- and five-year-old children can already give details about their experiences with everyday physical complaints. They have developed ideas about the causes and implications of complaints and try to make an appraisal.

Examining young children's information practices and experiences: A child-centered methodological approach

Researchers interested in children and youth's engagement with information have developed participatory, multi-method approaches of collecting and analyzing data directly with children and youth. However, examples of this approach in studies specifically focused on young children in library and information science are scarce. This article describes the methodological approach used in a study of 5- to 7-year-old children's information practices and experiences related to their individual interests. Drawing on conceptual frameworks from both library and information science and childhood studies, this study used multiple methods of data collection in understanding young children's own perspectives of their information activities. Namely, data was collected through parent surveys, book discussions, poster activities, participant-generated photography using the mobile app PixStori, and photo-elicitation conversations. Participants also contributed to a child-driven content analysis of their photographs. Recommendations for researchers working with young children are provided.

What do young children have to say? Recognising their voices, wisdom, agency and need for companionship during the COVID pandemic

ABSTRACT The COVID-19 pandemic poses multiple challenges for young children in the modern world. Listening to, and capturing, the experiences and perspectives of young children on the pandemic are congruent with our sense of an inclusive, democratic society which values solidarity and the right to be heard, yet too often the voices of young children are excluded from consideration. This paper reports on a trans-national, qualitative study in which practitioners in England, Scotland and New Zealand have been trained in Foebelian storytelling techniques and rigorous documentation and analysis of children's narratives. These have beeen used in their pedagogy to encourage young children to express and explore their COVID experiences through their sequenced play narratives, which have been documented, curated and then analysed by their key practitioners in dialogue with a team of early year's researchers. The praxeological project is informed by Freirean theoretical concepts of empowerment, conscientization, agency and voice. An initial thematic analysis of the play narratives reveals children are expressing a desire to regain their daily life and routines, be with their friends, have extended time to play, be outdoors, and have authentic information. Practitioners and policy makers should consider these expressed needs from young children as they develop their COVID responses.

Bringing young children’s voices into programme development, randomized controlled trials and other unlikely places

AbstractInterventions aimed at improving children's lives are widespread and research evaluating these is central to policy decisions that affect their lives. Although there is an increasing move in intervention and evaluation research to include stakeholders’ perspectives this rarely extends to children's voices. As a psychologist committed to children's rights, this article explores my experiences of working at times on the fringes of my own discipline, drawing on wide‐ranging resources and collaborating with other disciplines. The article reflects on the challenges and opportunities of multidisciplinary research and bringing young children's perspectives into these places where they are rarely heard.

A visual methods approach for researching children’s perspectives: capturing the dialectic and visual reflexivity in a cross-national study of father-child interactions

ABSTRACT The paper presents a visual methods approach from a cross national methodological project that used digital visual technologies to examine young children's perspectives in father-child interactions. The approach combines capturing the dialectic with visual reflexivity. The notion of ‘capturing the dialectic’ specifically by analysing conflict to gather the child’s intention as their perspective, is underpinned by finding the contradictions in a situation of which children are a part. Visual technologies and in particular digital film does this, because it can identify difference, as it observes and captures the dialectic process. Researchers collected between 5–10 hours of film footage and twenty-four film elicitation interviews from young children and their fathers in twelve families within England, Hong Kong, Norway and India. In the study, participants took footage of routine father-child interactions chosen by the children; and researchers sampled the footage for situations of conflict and emotionally charged moments in order to capture the dialectic. Researchers then conducted film elicitation interviews with the children and fathers, which were recorded for the purpose of visual reflexivity. This visual methods approach can support social science researchers to address differences in representation and truth, for a better understanding of a young child’s perspective in cross-national projects.

유아의 지각-운동 및 기본운동기술 관점에서 바라본 실외놀이터 시설 실태에 관한 연구

본 연구는 실외놀이터가 유아의 지각-운동 및 기본운동능력을 발달시킬 수 있는 매개체로서의 역할을 하고 있는지 기존 실외놀이터 시설의 실태를 분석하고 사회적인 인식을 알아보는데 있다. 이러한 연구의 목적을 달성하기 위하여 문헌연구와 수정델파이 분석(modified Delphi technique)이 연구방법으로 채택되었으며, 20명의 유아와 실외놀이터에 관한 전문가가 본 연구 델파이 조사에 참여하였다. 현재 실외놀이터에 속한 놀이시설들과 지각-운동 및 기본운동발달과의 관련성을 분석한 결과, 대부분의 실외놀이터 시설들이 지각-운동 영역에서 2개, 기본운동발달 영역에서 2개 요소와는 관련성이 있는 것으로 나타 나였고, 지각-운동 영역에서 4개, 기본운동발달 영역에서 1개 요소와는 관련성이 거의 없거나 매우 적은 것으로 나타났다. 이러한 연구결과를 토대로 기존에 설계된 놀이터환경에서는 이용자의 다양한 지각-운동 및 기본운동능력들이 발달되기가 어려움이 있음을 알 수 있으며, 이용자를 위한 새로운 관점의 실외놀이터 설계가 필요하다는 제언으로 본 연구를 마무리 하였다,

The aim of the game: A pedagogical tool to support young children's learning through play

Abstract Understanding what and how young children learn through their play is central to the enactment of the dominant, play-based early childhood education and care. This paper presents data from a case study of 28 young children's perspectives on learning through play. Application of a cultural-historical analysis method showed how these perspectives may be understood according to Vygotsky's writing on learning through play. This paper suggests “the aim of the game” is a useful way to understand young children's perspectives on their learning through play. The resultant understanding may facilitate educators' observation of and engagement with free play to maximise learning, without disrupting their autonomy – an indispensable feature of play for young children.

Exploring abstract, physical, social and embodied space: developing an approach for analysing museum spaces for young children

ABSTRACTThis paper describes a collaboration between museum staff and university researchers to develop a framework for analysing museum spaces from the perspective of young children. The resultant APSE (abstract, physical, social and embodied) framework draws on spatial theories from childhood studies and architecture to consider children’s museum visiting from a spatial perspective. Starting with space not only foregrounds the role places, objects and bodies play in how experiences are constituted, but also resists linearity and predictability of mainstream educational policy discourses about young children’s learning. As place, children and objects entangle together, they design and make one another. We draw upon Massey’s description of the ‘chance of space’, in which people, objects and places become entangled in unpredictable and unknowable ways, to consider the potential of the APSE framework to offer alternative framings of children in museums.

‘Forest School is muddy and I like it’: Perspectives of young children with autism spectrum disorders, their parents and educational professionals

Background:Forest School was introduced in Sweden and elsewhere in Europe in the 1950s and became a part of the Danish Early Years curriculum in the 1980s as a way of supporting children to understand the natural world while learning academic and practical skills. Since the introduction of the first Forest School in the United Kingdom (UK) in the early 1990s its popularity has been increasing.Method:The context of the study was an inner city special school catering for children with severe, profound and multiple learning difficulties or autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The aim was to explore the views of young children with ASD, parents and educational professionals about their Forest School experience. Four children, their parents and two educational professionals participated. All of the children had a primary diagnosis of ASD and additional severe learning difficulties. Thematic analysis of the data was carried out.Findings:Common themes which emerged were learning outcomes and the benefits of engaging in challenge and risk-taking. Additional common themes were experiencing success (parents/professionals) and the opportunity to make friends (children). When asked how Forest School made them feel the children were able to articulate or depict a range of subtly differentiated emotions.Conclusions:The indications from this small-scale, exploratory study are that Forest School has the potential to offer positive academic, social and practical experiences to young children with ASD. The need for larger scale research is indicated and the employment of flexible and creative methodologies is recommended.

Preschoolers' perceptions of neighborhood environment, safety, and help-seeking

Studies that focus on children's safety and well-being often focus on neighborhoods as the unit of analysis, as it is within these geographic confines that children spend much of their time. Such studies have shown that neighborhoods directly and indirectly influence children's safety and well-being. Much of this research has focused on census data and/or caregivers' perceptions of neighborhood characteristics. Less attention has been given to the neighborhood experiences and perceptions of children themselves, especially young children. The current study utilized two techniques for interviewing pre-schoolers (aged 4 and 5): individual interviews incorporating drawing and focus groups integrating a story and a puppet. The current study highlights the important of incorporating children's perceptions and offers new measures of doing so. In the current study, very young children were put in the center of the exploration and the findings stress that children's experiences in their neighborhood were geographically limited. They talked about their homes, preschools, and the playground. In part, this finding may be indicative of the lack of child-friendly spaces and resources for children in the neighborhood. In addition, the current study shed a light into children understanding and ability to discuss safety and help seeking, which are key concepts to any future planning of prevention and intervention efforts with children. Delve into the individuals to whom children said they turned for help revealed extremely limited list of family members, which raises concerns about the support networks available to the children and their families. This study suggests that the inclusion of young children's perspectives may facilitate programs and initiatives aimed at improving their safety and well-being by identifying sources of protections and threat from children's own perspectives.

Connection, special objects and congruence: the perspectives of young children from disadvantaged communities on participation in early childhood education settings

ABSTRACTThis study contributes to child voice research that seeks to understand the early childhood education and care (ECEC) experiences of young children. Forty-seven children from seven disadvantaged communities in NSW Australia, including urban, rural and remote areas, participated in a face-to-face interview guided by Ecocultural theory. The children were asked to describe their experiences of the routines and activities of the ECEC service they attended. Analysis of the qualitative data revealed three main themes: connectedness (the importance to children of feeling connected to their peers and carers); special objects (the importance of things from home and ownership) and congruence (the extent to which the centre reflected or contradicted their home environment). Discussion of these findings includes implications for practice.

Informational and fictional books: young children's book preferences and teachers' perspectives

ABSTRACTThis study investigated young children's preferences for books to read aloud. Participants included 142 children enrolled in 4 public kindergartens in the Şanlıurfa province of Turkey, their parents (142 parents), and teachers. Forty-nine 4-year-olds and 93 5-year-olds and their 9 teachers participated in the study. Parents filled out surveys; children participated in eight consecutive book selection sessions before read-aloud and after read-aloud; and teachers were interviewed. Results from both before and after read-aloud revealed that young children preferred informational books to fictional books. Prior to reading the books, children preferred informational books due to their subjects and fictional books due to their characters. Further, interview findings indicated that teachers believe informational books are more educational, promoting curiosity, and triggering further activities, and transferrable to real life. Young children would benefit greater exposure to informational books. Policy-makers would promote informational children's books and professionals working on children literacy should allocate more attention to informational children's books. More informational children's books would be produced and teachers and parents would consider them as part of child literacy. Teachers and parents would introduce informational books as a choice to their children.

English for What and for Whom?: Parental Dilemmas and Struggles with Their Children’s English Learning in Korea

This paper explores how ideas related to children’s learning are conceptualized and practiced by examining Korean parental perspectives. Many Korean parents’ high expectations for their children in education are based on a unique combination of Korean parenting and Korean social values. As a result, this paper reports on discussions of what Korean parents' think about their children’s English proficiency and preparation for global society. It also investigates their perspectives of young children’s English learning in such Korean contexts as their parental struggles and expectations in relation to different socio-economic statuses, regions, and children’s gender. This endeavor attempts to fully understand how young children’s education-in this case, English learning-is situated within the complex dialectic of Korean society in which the parents’ perspectives about social values and familial expectations are intertwined.