Child Practice Research Articles

‘This is not a weapon’: Rethinking children's worlding practices with Karin Murris

This article draws on the concept of the posthuman child presented by Murris in her book The Posthuman Child, where the child is not understood as an object of study (‘i’ and ‘I’), nor as a subject (‘ii’ and ‘I’), but as a phenomenon (‘iii’). ‘iii’ constructs reality from intra-action with all the human and more-than-human surrounding elements. This research seeks to overcome the adult/child, nature/culture, or body/mind binaries. As opposed to the adult need (‘I’) in which the construction of meanings has a representational character, ‘iii’ carries out a non-representational worlding. In order to carry out our analysis, we conducted three diffractive readings of an event that took place in an Early Childhood Education school with 4- and 5-year-old children, thinking with Murris’ ‘i’, ‘ii’, and ‘iii’. This event facilitated the inclusion of all the agents involved, human (children and adults) and more-than-human (space, environment, materials, etc.). In our analysis, we seek to overcome the epistemic injustice pointed out by Murris. Our article highlights the need on the part of the adult (‘I’) to understand the child's graphic expression not as a representational end product, but as a product resulting from learning (a drawing), arising from intensities and concretised in a material-discursive practice carried out by the child as a phenomenon (‘iii’). This leads us to rethink the learning spaces at school with a need to generate decolonised spaces in which children's freedom to create worlds prevails, generating new knowledge from/in/through intra-actions with other more-than-human agents.

Feeding Practices, Parent Perceptions, and Diet Diversity in a Sample of Children Aged 0-5 Years from Western Sydney, Australia: A Mixed Methods Study.

(1) Background: Sub-optimal feeding practices and dietary intakes in childhood are associated with poor health outcomes in adulthood. This mixed methods study aims to profile feeding practices, parent perceptions, and dietary diversity in a sample of children aged 0-5 years (n = 29) from Western Sydney, Australia. (2) Methods: In 2019, semi-structured interviews were conducted with parents, exploring their child's feeding practices. An online quantitative survey was used to assess children's feeding history. Nutrient intakes and dietary diversity scores were assessed using an online 24-h dietary recall. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics and one-way ANOVA, while qualitative data were analysed using inductive thematic analysis. (3) Results: The analysis showed that 27.6% of children were exclusively breastfed until 6 months of age and that 62.1% of children were introduced to solids before 6 months. Over 60% of children achieved minimum dietary diversity. The thematic analysis identified four themes, including mothers' feeding choices, mothers' perceptions of their children's diet, influences on feeding choices, and mothers' personal experiences. (4) Conclusions: The feeding history of over half the children in this sample indicated non-compliance with Australian and WHO infant feeding guidelines. The thematic analysis revealed various possible influences on parent feeding choices that can be used to inform targeted support.

A Study of the Effectiveness of Educational Strategies and Practices for Children in a Multicultural Context

A Study of the Effectiveness of Educational Strategies and Practices for Children in a Multicultural Context

Literacy practices in childhood from a posthumanist perspective: A systematic review

The posthumanist perspective implies a change in the consideration of the non-human and more-than-human in literacy practices from an ethical-onto-epistemological approach. This research is a systematic review that aims to understand how literacy studies with a posthuman lens host literacy practices at a young age from the relational-material language model, in a broad domain where the human, more-than-human and non-human are connected. This is developed according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) method, with a selection of 15 research articles from the WOS and Scopus databases. This review highlights the (re)conceptualisation of children's literacy practices from the understanding of the role of the human, non-human and more-than-human, that materials and discourse and literacy practices are indivisible and give rise to the configuration of new narratives - integrating movement, sound, digital, space, time, improvisation, sensations and affections, etc. - and the challenge to the humanist assumptions of literacy practices.

Growing up in a Ukrainian Bilingual Community: Families’ Daily Practices and Educational Environment

The article analyses the language situation in Ukraine before the beginning of Russian military aggression in February 2022. The data reflect the language practices of Kyiv families with preschool age children. The sociolinguistic study shows the use of different languages, primarily Ukrainian and Russian, in families raising children of this age group. The author traced the correlation between parents' language behaviour and children's language practices. This article examines bilingualism in the context of the daily language practices of children and families. The author pays attention to the sociolinguistic aspects of the Ukrainian language used in the formal and non-formal communication of Kyiv's preschool children.

Religious Feeling : Worship Practice Experience for Children Aged 5-6

Children's worship practices organized at school and at home should be based on the awareness of religious feelings. The importance of children's awareness of religious feeling is the main reason for success in children's religious and spiritual development. This study aims to analyze children's worship practice preferences and the emotional expressions shown towards these preferences. This research is a descriptive qualitative research. The number of respondents was 32 children with different school backgrounds, namely, Public kindergarten, Privat Kindergarten and Islamic Privat Kindergarten. Data collection was done with picture-based interviews (worship practices, worship partners and emotional expressions). As a result, most children chose prayer and read Quran as their preferred worship practices. The most chosen worship partner is a friend. The majority of children received motivation to worship from their peers. The enthusiasm for intensive worship is shown during the month of Ramadan, where children together with their friends worship at the mosque. Religious feelings is formed from children's worship habits such as prayer, read Quran, fasting and alms. The most chosen expression of emotion is very happy with the majority reasons are being happy to worship with friends.

Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Children (5 to 14 Years) in Relation to Predisposing Factors and Prevention of Soil-transmitted Helminth Infections in South West Region, Cameroon

Soil-transmitted helminths (STHs) diseases are among the group of Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD). STHs infections are a significant public health problem globally with children being the most affected group. This study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice in relation to predisposing factors and preventive measures for STHs among children 4 to 15 years in Mutegene community.
 It was a cross-sectional study, involving 250 school children of both sexes. A systematic random sampling method was used to collect data. Basic demographic data was obtained from the class registers. A structured questionnaire was used to collect information on personal bio-data, characteristics of their home and school environment in relation to helminthes transmission and prevention. Data was analysed using SPSS version 21 and Chi-square test. 
 The results showed that 44.4 % (n=109) of the participants had good knowledge of parasitic worms, and 62.0 % (n=155) of the participants knew how to avoid getting infected with worms. Soil-transmitted helminth infection was present in Mutengene community with an overall prevalence of 3.6% and the species present included A. lumbricoides, T. trichiura, and hookworms. Participants who indicated that they played out-doors had the highest prevalence (2.8%, n=7) closely followed by those who usually played in water (2.4%, n=6) and thirdly, by those who always put dirt in their mouth (2.0%, n=5).
 At the end of the study, the researchers ecommended that health education should be given through community radios and televisions as a means of making the people understand the mode of transmission and methods of prevention of STH infection in order to eliminate STHs.

Retracted: Evaluation of the Effect of Aesthetic Education Practice in Children’s Picture Books Based on Data Mining Technology

Retracted: Evaluation of the Effect of Aesthetic Education Practice in Children’s Picture Books Based on Data Mining Technology

Understanding the Perspectives and Usability of Digital games for Children with Intellectual Disabilities

Typically, the digital games are used as a medium for teaching students having intellectual disabilities, and it helps the student to enhance their learning skills and to understand their surroundings. Intellectual disability is a neurological disease that manifests as a deficit in an individual's mental and adaptive functioning during childhood. Moreover, the computer-assisted training has been shown to be the most effective method of instruction for children with disabilities in terms of conceptual learning, academic accomplishment, and skill-based development. Traditionally, some existing research works are done in this field for analyzing the effectiveness of digital games. Accordingly, the main contribution of this research work is to determine the perception of special educators and usability of digital games in educational settings for children with intellectual disabilities. By identifying the needs for their design and use in those children's classes, this study intends to further illuminate how to employ digital games in education as a contribution to improving educable intellectually impaired children's teaching and learning practices. In addition, a case study is conducted in this work using a closed-ended questionnaire on a sample of 60 special educators, handling Children with Intellectual disabilities. According to this case study analysis, the quantitative analysis suggest that special educators have a strong need to use digital games to optimize learning for children with intellectual disabilities and to promote digital inclusion. Based on the outcomes, it is inferred that the digital game based learning could be more helpful and beneficial for the student with intellectual disabilities in real time.

Development and validation of a measure assessing children's creative practice ability in music

Developing students' creative practice ability in music helps them to participate in and understand society and culture. However, existing measures of musical creativity have only addressed creativity without focusing on practice. This study presents the design and validation of a measure for assessing children's creative practical ability in music (ACCPAM) in schooling contexts. The measure consists of six tasks encompassing various aspects of musical creative practice. Five factors were used to assess students' musical creative practice behaviors: Musical Completeness, Musical Richness, Musical Personality, Musical Affectivity, and Musical Culturality. Scoring criteria and rubrics were established for each dimension to ensure reliable and valid assessment. The measure was evaluated by experts (N = 5) and pilot-tested with a sample of students (N = 50) and teachers (N = 2) who scored their tasks with ACCPAM utilized. The results showed satisfactory content validity, discriminant validity, and inter-judge reliability, with some areas for improvement. The measure provides a comprehensive and reliable instrument for musical creative practical ability assessment. Future research could incorporate qualitative interpretations of individual factors along with quantitative measurements, expanding evaluation methodologies and incorporating peer perspectives.

Refleksi Praktik Pembelajaran Literasi Baca Anak Melalui Pelatihan Metode Read Aloud Bagi Pengelola Taman Baca Masyarakat Di Kota Metro

The aim of this research is to reflect on children's literacy learning practices through read-aloud method training for managers of community reading parks in metro cities. The method used is narrative inquiry. The instruments used were open questionnaires, interviews, and document analysis. The data analysis technique used is that, because this research is qualitative, the validity and reliability of the data need to be met. Thus, researchers use four criteria: credibility, transferability, dependability, and confirmability. The results of this research are that there is an increase in knowledge and skills, a positive impact on children's literacy, and increased collaboration in the community. Literacy activists are expected to be able to improve their competency in reading aloud through the training of trainers.

Child and Maternal Factors Associated with Feeding Practices in Children with Poor Growth.

The development of adequate growth and healthy eating behaviors depends on nutritious food and responsive feeding practices. Our study examined (1) the relationship between maternal concern about child weight or perceived feeding difficulties and their feeding practices, and (2) the moderating role of child temperament and maternal mental health on their feeding practices. A cross-sessional study included mother-child dyads (n = 98) from a tertiary growth and feeding clinic. Children had a mean age of 12.7 ± 5.0 months and a mean weight-for-age z-score of -2.0 ± 1.3. Responsive and controlling feeding practices were measured with the Infant Feeding Styles Questionnaire. Spearman correlation and moderation analysis were performed. Maternal concern about child weight and perceived feeding difficulties were negatively correlated with responsive feeding (r = -0.40, -0.48, p < 0.001). A greater concern about child weight or perceived feeding difficulties was associated with greater use of pressure feeding practices when effortful control was low (B = 0.49, t = 2.47, p = 0.01; B = -0.27, p = 0.008). Maternal anxiety had a significant moderation effect on the relationship between feeding difficulty and pressure feeding (B = -0.04, p = 0.009). Higher maternal concern about child weight and perceived feeding difficulties were associated with less responsive satiety feeding beliefs and behaviors. Both child effortful control and maternal anxiety influenced the relationship between weight and feeding concerns and the use of pressure feeding practices.

Subterfuge: a parental strategy for mediating young children’s digital media practices in Azerbaijan

ABSTRACT The present study introduces the ways in which parents mediate young children’s digital media practices in Azerbaijan, a former Soviet country. This study reveals a new parental mediation strategy – subterfuge, which refers to parents’ indirect communication about digital media restrictions with their children. With this approach, parents blame digital devices or internet connectivity for limiting children’s access. Using the strategy, parents prefer indirect interference with their children's digital practices to avoid upsetting or confronting them. The strategy is explained through parental ethnotheories – parents’ cultural beliefs and values about childrearing. The study calls for adding parental ethnotheories to research on parental mediation in digital environments. Findings presented here originated in a study involving five families with a five-year-old child through family visits and the living journals method developed specifically for this study.

Making Germs Visible – Assessing the Impact of a School-Based, Low-Cost Intervention on Hand Hygiene Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Children in Rural India

Handwashing with soap at critical moments is one of the most important factors in controlling the spread of germs and preventing the spread of infection. The objective of this study was to determine the effectiveness of a low-cost, school-based intervention that simulated germs and their spread on hand hygiene knowledge, attitude and practice of primary school children. Five hundred and sixty-two students from 28 rural schools were enrolled in this pre-posttest study. Endline data was collected 4 weeks after conducting the intervention at baseline. The mean scores for knowledge, attitude and practice improved significantly after the intervention (p < .05). Significant positive gains were also observed in children’s understanding of germs, the associated illness threat and washing hands with soap as a prevention mechanism. The present study suggests that entertainment-education-based interventions have the potential to improve hygiene behavior among children while being low-cost.

교사의 행위적 절단을 통해 바라본 어린이의 배움 탐구

This paper explored children's learning through the agential cuts of teachers. In order to approach the learning of children who are intricately intertwined with time, space, and materials, researchers attempted arbitrary separation through ‘agential cuts.’ The intensity of the affect was determined in the assemblage of all elements, including past memories, attitudes of listening to each other, and texts exchanged by researchers to respond to research questions. And the researchers' cuts were placed as “learning that starts from children's desires”, “emerging children’s culture and learning”, and “learning as a response to the world”. The discussion focusing on the assemblage of these agential cuts is as follows. First, children learn by encountering and reacting with the world's materials in a way that has never been done before, and by producing differentiation on their own. Second, teachers participate in the children's world and practice pedagogical actions through agential cuts to reach the uncertain learning of children who learn anew by creating differentiation every moment. These teachers' praxis can be seen as responding to ethical requests for entangled phenomena. This study is meaningful in that it has taken a step inside the phenomenon through agential cuts to approach the reality of learning that endlessly creates differentiation. It also show the new relocation that emerges from the relationship by crossing the boundaries of learning and teaching that creates differences will provide implications for the direction of early child teacher education.

Sick child's feeding practices and associated factors among mothers with sick children aged less than 2 years in Gamo zone, southern Ethiopia. Does the participation of fathers contribute to improving nutrition? A facility-based cross-sectional study.

Children's nutritional status can decline rapidly during or after a common childhood illness unless additional nutritional requirements associated with the illness are considered. Therefore, this study was aimed at assessing a sick child's feeding practices and associated factors among mothers who have sick children under 2 years of age in southern Ethiopia. A facility-based cross-sectional study design was employed from 1 April 2022 to 30 April 2022. Data were collected through the questionnaire, entered into an open data kit (ODK), and exported into Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25.0 for analysis. A systematic random sampling technique was used to select study participants. Bivariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses were used to identify factors associated with sick child feeding practices. An adjusted odds ratio (AOR) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) was used to determine the strength of the association. Statistical significance was declared at a p-value of <0.05. The overall magnitude of mothers' good sick child feeding practices was determined to be 45.0% (95% CI: 41.03, 48.97%). Being urban residents, being employed, having antenatal care (ANC) visits, having postnatal care (PNC) visits, counseling about child feeding, and fathers' involvement in sick child feeding increased the likelihood of sick child feeding practices by 4.4, 2.10, 2.31, 3.54, 2.11, and 2.54 times, respectively. Sick child feeding practices were associated with having antenatal or postnatal visits, counseling about child feeding, and fathers' involvement in sick child feeding practices. Therefore, strengthening infant and young child feeding practices by showing special concern for the father's involvement is important to improve mothers' sick child feeding practices.

Factors related to oral health behavior among primary schoolchildren in rural Armenia

Abstract Background Oral health (OH) of children is very important for their physical and mental health and wellbeing. OH is known to be tightly linked to OH behavior. There is lack of studies on children's OH behavior in rural Armenia. This study aimed to measure OH behavior among primary schoolchildren in two villages of Armenia and identify factors associated with their desired OH behavior. Methods A cross-sectional study among schoolchildren and their primary caregivers (parents) was carried out in 2022 in Sardarapat and Mrgashat communities of Armavir province, Armenia. Overall, OH status of 400 schoolchildren was assessed by a dentist, and their parents participated in a telephone interview. The survey questionnaire included items on parent's OH knowledge, child's OH behavior and nutrition practices, and family's socio-demographic characteristics. Multiple linear regression model was fitted to identify factors associated with child's OH behavior score. Results The mean age of children was 8.3 years, and the mean age of their caregivers was 33.6 years. Children's mean OH behavior score was 1.8 of the maximum of 5 (i.e. 36% score); nutrition practice score was 6.0 of 14, and parental OH knowledge score was 6.9 of 9. Factors positively associated with child's OH behavior in the adjusted analysis included child's nutrition practice score (B = 0.07; p = 0.026), parent's OH knowledge score (B = 0.12; p = 0.002), higher than secondary education of parent (B = 0.22; p = 0.042), and family's higher than average living standards (B = 0.48; p = 0.051). Conclusions The study identified that OH behavior of primary schoolchildren in rural Armenia was poor. It could be improved through increasing the knowledge of parents on child's desired OH behavior and nutrition practices. An unexpected finding was the lack of association between children's OH behavior and objective measures of their OH - plaque index and DMFT (number of decayed, missing due to caries and filled permanent and primary teeth). Key messages • Rural children’s OH behavior in Armenia was mainly poor. To address this issue, parents should be educated on correct child care practices including child’s oral health and nutrition behavior. • Further research is needed to explain the reason of the lack of association between objective measures of child’s oral health (plaque index and DMFT) and child’s OH behavior score.

The impact of parental oral health behaviors on the oral health of children

This review underscores the crucial role of parental oral health behaviors in shaping the oral health of children. It highlights the significance of parental knowledge, attitudes, and actions in influencing children's oral hygiene practices and overall well-being. Mothers, in particular, play a pivotal role in guiding their children's oral health habits. Parental oral health behaviors encompass a wide range of practices, including regular dental check-ups, proper oral hygiene routines, diet choices, and the avoidance of harmful habits like smoking and excessive sugar consumption. Active parental involvement in their children's oral care routines during their formative years is instrumental in establishing strong oral hygiene habits. Parents serve as primary role models and educators for their children, leading by example in maintaining good oral health practices. Encouraging parental engagement in oral health promotion programs is crucial for better oral health outcomes in future generations. Public health initiatives should emphasize the importance of parental involvement and provide resources and education to help parents instill sound oral health practices in their children. Recognizing the interconnectedness of oral health with overall well-being, it becomes evident that parental involvement is critical, especially for children who are vulnerable to oral health issues. Parents not only nurture and educate but also shape their children's oral health habits and attitudes. Additionally, contextual factors such as social, cultural, environmental, and economic conditions significantly influence family life and, consequently, oral health attitudes and behaviors.

Suboptimal movement behaviours among children under two years old in early childhood education institutions in urban China: A cross-sectional study.

Healthy movement behaviours in early life promote better physical health and facilitate psychological development. Early childhood education (ECE) institutions provide opportunities for caregivers to improve children's movement behaviour practices, but little is known about the current status of movement behaviours among infants and young children in urban China in this context. We aimed to investigate the movement behaviour status of children under two years of age via ECE institutions and compare movement behaviour practices and knowledge between children attending ECE classes and those not attending. We conducted the cross-sectional survey from 1 March to 30 April 2023 in Gymboree Play&Music, an ECE institution covering 31 provinces in China. We developed our survey instrument based on World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines to measure children's movement behaviour practices and caregivers' movement behaviour knowledge. We carried out the online questionnaire survey through Sojump, the largest professional online survey platform in China. We sent a quick response (QR) code to Gymboree Play&Music centres; the QR code was linked to a questionnaire intended for caregiver members and non-members coming for experience classes and activities. We surveyed 3355 primary caregivers, encompassing 504, 536, and 2315 children aged 0-5 months, 6-11 months, and 12-23 months, respectively. Overall, less than half of the children met recommendations in physical activity time (PAT) (19.2%), physical restraint (PR) (45.8%), and screen time (ST) (46.4%) during the last 24 hours. PAT, outdoor time (OT), and sleep duration (SD) in children aged 0-5 months were significantly lower than in the other two age groups, while ST was significantly higher than in the other two age groups during the last 24 hours (all P < 0.001). For children attending ECE classes, PAT, OT, and SD were significantly higher than those not attending ECE during the last 24 hours and the last two weeks (all P < 0.05). All indicators in the long-nursing care time (NCT) group were significantly higher than those in the short-NCT group, while there was no statistical difference in SD between the two groups (66.6% vs 65.6%; P = 0.558). The status of movement behaviours for children under two years old in urban China is not optimistic, especially for PAT, PR, and ST. Additionally, attending early childhood education classes and primary caregivers' daily nurturing care time are important for infants and young children to adhere to movement guidelines. Consequently, more ECE institution-specific practical strategies and educational materials are needed to promote compliance with movement behaviour guidelines.

From the Global North to the Global South: the contribution of equestrian sport and leisure to children’s informal learning

ABSTRACT The Global South has been largely excluded from equestrian sport and leisure debates. In particular, the equestrian experiences of children in developing countries have remained silent since most of the studies on equestrian sport and leisure have focused on the experiences of adults in the Global North. Despite the fact that equestrian sport and leisure are part of children’s practices in countries of the Global South, very little is known about the benefits of equestrian sport and leisure in early childhood education in developing countries. This research explores the contribution of equestrian sport and leisure to children's informal learning. From an ethnographic approach to children's equestrian practice in Mexico, the study reveals that equestrian sport and leisure contribute to developing socialization, teamwork, discipline, and interspecies communication skills in children. This paper contributes to incorporating countries from the Global South into the global debates on equestrian sport in general, and on children in sport and leisure in particular.