Early Childhood Education School Research Articles

Gender socialization and supportive school settings for elementary-aged LGBTIQ+ children

Despite a breadth of research, policy, and legislation, significant barriers to inclusion continue to persist for LGBTIQ+ children across many educational settings, particularly among Early Childhood Education (ECE) and elementary school spaces. This work aims to address the vulnerabilities of LGBTIQ+ children in school spaces by highlighting the socialization of heteronormativity and cisnormativity in ECE and elementary settings as a key intervention point for children’s mental health. Through a narrative literature review, we identify the current realities experienced by many gender and sexually diverse students in schools, including the impact of overlapping systems of oppression (i.e., homophobia, transphobia, racism, and sexism) putting queer students at increased risk of harmful mental health outcomes, along with a review of literature on protective factors that have been shown to mitigate these risks. Lastly, we discuss key whole-school interventions in the socialization of cisheteronormative gender in elementary school spaces, which include rights-based frameworks for students, inclusive curricula, and policies. We posit that these universal strategies provide both upstream and responsive support to the mental health needs of all students, including LGBTIQ+ children. Through this study of key literature, and integration of theory on the socialization of gender, we aim to provide educators and school administrators with tools to better support the wellbeing of LGBTIQ+ children and youth now and into the future.

School Electricity Consumption in a Small Island Country: The Case of Fiji

Electricity consumption in buildings is one of the major causes of energy usage and knowledge of this can help building owners and users increase energy efficiency and conservation efforts. For Pacific Island countries, building electricity demand data is not readily accessible or available for constructing models to predict electricity demand. This paper starts to fill this gap by studying the case of schools in Fiji. The aim of the paper is to assess the factors affecting electricity demand for grid-connected Fijian schools and use this assessment to build mathematical models (multiple linear regression (MLR) and artificial neural network (ANN)) to predict electricity consumption. The average grid-connected electricity demand in kWh/year was 1411 for early childhood education schools, 5403 for primary schools, and 23,895 for secondary schools. For predicting electricity demand (ED) for all grid-connected schools, the stepwise MLR model shows that taking logarithm transformations on both the dependent variable and independent variables (number of students, lights, and air conditioning systems) yields statistically significant independent variables with an R2 value of 73.3% and RMSE of 0.2248. To improve the predicting performance, ANN models were constructed on both the natural form of variables and transformed variables. The optimum ANN model had an R2 value of 95.3% and an RMSE of 59.4 kWh/year. The findings of this study can assist schools in putting measures in place to reduce their electricity demand, associated costs, and carbon footprint, as well as help government ministries make better-informed policies.

Interpersonal Relationship and Job Satisfaction among Early Childhood Education Teachers in Edo State, Nigeria

The study examined interpersonal relationship and job satisfaction among early childhood education teachers in Edo State. Three research questions were raised for the study and one of the research questions was formulated into hypothesis. The study is descriptive research and adopted a descriptive survey design. The population of this study comprises all the one thousand and twenty-one (1021) public early childhood education schools and one thousand two hundred and sixty-three (1263) early childhood education teachers in Edo State. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to select a sample of one hundred and two early childhood schools and one hundred and twenty-six early childhood teachers in the three senatorial districts of Edo State. A questionnaire (IRJSAECETQ) which was validated with a reliability coefficient of 0.88 was used to elicit data from the respondents. The research questions were analyzed using mean and standard deviation while hypothesis was tested using Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient. The findings from the analysis of the study revealed that the level of interpersonal relationship among early childhood teachers is low; the level of job satisfaction among early childhood education teachers in Edo State is also low. The findings also revealed that there is a positive and significant relationship between interpersonal relationship and job satisfaction among early childhood education teachers in Edo State. Based on the findings, the study recommended that the level of interpersonal relationship among early childhood teachers, pupils and the school authorities should be improved upon by establishing and maintaining effective and frequent communication among the early childhood education teachers, head teacher, and pupils as it has been proven in this study that there is a significant relationship between interpersonal relationship and job satisfaction among early childhood teachers Keywords: Interpersonal relationship, Job satisfaction, early childhood education, early childhood education teachers.

Developing an autistic child assessment model through art therapy on concentration ability in inclusive early childhood education: A case study in Indonesia

The aim of this study is to produce a product in the form of an assessment model for autistic children through art therapy to improve their concentration ability in inclusive early childhood education schools. This research is conducted as a Research and Development (R&D) exploration employing the ADDIE model, which involves (1) analyzing the need for implementing assessments in the field, (2) designing assessment models based on the results of field analysis, (3) developing the assessment model through validation and revision towards a product that is ready for trial, (4) implementing assessment models for autistic children in five inclusive early childhood education schools in Surakarta to test the feasibility of the model, and (5) evaluating to determine the final product. The population consists of autistic students from inclusive early childhood education schools in Surakarta. Research instruments include interviews/observations, questionnaires, tests, and product validation instruments. Data analysis was conducted to observe the mean difference between the two samples using a t-test. Based on the independent sample test, a significance value (2-tailed) of 0.019 was shown. In other words, autistic children who undergo assessment with an art therapy approach exhibit better concentration skills compared to autistic children who undergo assessment without the application of the art therapy approach.

ENHANCING EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION IN SAUDI ARABIA: UTILIZING GAMIFICATION FOR ENGAGING AND EFFECTIVE LEARNING

Gamification, integration of game elements and principles into non-game contexts, has emerged as a promising educational strategy worldwide. In context of Saudi Arabian schools, known for commitment to innovation and excellence, potential of gamification to transform traditional teaching methods into engaging learning experiences is of particular interest. This comprehensive study, conducted within positivist research paradigm, and employed cross-sectional research design and quantitative survey research method. It collect data from representative sample of 565 early childhood teachers & utilized statistical analyses, including ANOVA, correlation analysis, multiple regression analysis, & MANOVA, to examine impact of gamification. Results revealed that gamification strategies could be effectively integrated, but teacher training and resource support were central. The gamification positively influenced student engagement and motivation, with variations across grade levels and types of early childhood education schools. The study underlines standing of localized research & offers recommendations to enhance the successful implementation of gamification in Saudi Arabian early childhood education schools, contributing to improved educational outcomes and experiences.

Outdoor learning across the early years in Australia: Inconsistencies, challenges, and recommendations

AbstractIn this article, we explore inconsistencies in the implementation of outdoor learning across Australian early years’ education. The benefits of outdoor learning justify regular employment of this pedagogical approach in both early childhood education and primary school settings. Early childhood education services provide daily outdoor learning opportunities as required by Australian national policy documents. However, Australian primary schools are not subject to such requirements and teachers often face challenges regarding outdoor learning, thus regular implementation in primary classes can be a low priority. As children in the year before school and the first year of school have similar learning and developmental needs, we argue that the benefits of outdoor learning should be available to all children across the early years. We also recommend regular outdoor learning in the first year of schooling to promote continuity as children transition from early childhood education to primary schools.

‘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.

Engaging stakeholders to inform policy developments in early childhood education and outside school hours care

The application of engagement strategies to ensure democracy of decisions is increasingly valued and adopted by governments to ensure trust in the process and ownership of the outcome. This paper describes the approach and methods used to engage early childhood education and care (ECEC) and outside school hours care (OSHC) stakeholders in the contemporizing and updating of Australia’s national Approved Learning Frameworks (ALFs): Belonging, Being and Becoming: The Early Years Learning Framework for Australia (EYLF) and My Time Our Place: Framework for School Age Care (MTOP). Theoretical underpinnings of a robust stakeholder engagement strategy ensured a range of methods were developed to communicate with and encourage participation by the diversity of stakeholders who are invested in ECEC and OSHC in Australia – broadly defined as approved providers, teachers, educators, families, children and young people, regulatory authorities and other professionals who provide support and advice. A mixed-method, sequential 3-Stage design was developed to gather the insights, responses, and perspectives of stakeholders who provided, worked in, used, attended, or supported ECEC and/or OSHC settings. Stakeholder feedback included survey ratings and written comments, focus group and panel discussions, educator documentation and video-diaries, and the writings, talking, and drawings of children and young people. Evaluation methods focus on the number, diversity, and depth of stakeholder responses. In conclusion, we reflect on the usefulness, benefits, limitations, and effectiveness of our approach to participatory engagement to inform government policy development and decision making.

Museums Thinking About Early Childhood Education: Present Role and Perspectives

ABSTRACT The relationships between museums and schools have been strengthened in recent years but little previous research has studied the activities that museums offer for children from 0 to 6. The present article analyses the role of early childhood education in museums’ programs in Catalonia. A total of 118 museums and 296 activities have been analyzed and categorized. Results show that the activities that museums offer for early childhood education schools are limited. Guided visits and workshops are the most representative activities, and the majority of them are focused on the age range from 3 to 6. Future studies can deep in the age range from 0 to 3 in order to improve the relationships between early childhood education and museums.

Feeding difficulties in preschool children at an early childhood education school

Feeding difficulties in preschool children at an early childhood education school

A Systematic Review of Early Childhood Education and Primary School Readiness for Transition Through Play-Based Pedagogies

This systematic review is based on studies that explored school readiness and transition through play-based pedagogies in Early Childhood and Primary Education. Relevant literature involved global literature whose search was conducted by independent researchers following the keyword string, which included among others, stakeholders’ roles in school readiness, transition, and play-based pedagogies. The literature search was done from May to August 2022 following the Preferred Reporting Item for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Protocols (PRISMA). Twenty peer-reviewed studies were identified, appraised, and included in the review. Findings from international literature showed that teachers’ implementation of play-based pedagogy revealed a significant and positive relationship to all domains of children’s holistic development. Learner assessment for school readiness and transitioning from pre-primary to primary through play-based pedagogies included academic, social, and personal learning during periods of play. The types of play-based assessments for school readiness identified included: (1) withdrawal assessment, (2) observational assessment, (3) embedded assessment, (4) teacher questioning/interview, (5) Photographs/videos and (6) documentation walls. While literature showed a positive connection between parental involvement and a child’s readiness for school including successful transition from preprimary to primary school, there was limited evidence pointing specifically to the influence of parental involvement in play-based pedagogies for school transitioning.

Scripts de Gênero e as Performances das Crianças que Reverberam no Contexto da Educação Infantil

ABSTRACT Gender Scripts and Children’s Performances that Reverberate in the Context of Early Childhood Education – Based on Gender Studies and the Sociology of Childhood, this article seeks to understand and analyze the strategies that children establish to deal with the gender scripts addressed to them in everyday Early Childhood Education. The results of the analysis show that they seek more plural ways of living their experiences as girls and boys, even though they are educated based on binary concepts that try to impose a repeated control of children’s bodies. The research, of ethnographic inspiration, was developed based on participant observation with four-year-old children, in a public early childhood education school, in the Metropolitan Area of Porto Alegre/RS/Brazil.

Conceptual Playworld as a Method of Facilitating Learning Beyond Subject Matter in Elementary School

Children experience less time to play due to the focus on learning in early childhood education and earlier school starting times. Paradoxically, play is important for children’s learning and contributes to increased curiosity, wonder, and learning motivation. It is also important for children’s sense of belonging in society, social relationships, as well as physical and mental quality of life. In Norway, a new curriculum demands that pupils learn about increased life quality through interdisciplinary teaching but also suggests that play should be included in teaching to promote creative and meaningful learning. Research shows that teachers often let pupils play, but they have little experience and knowledge of how play can both promote learning and secure the quality of life of their pupils. One teacher educator and six student teachers constructed a “Conceptual Playworld” for 18 pupils in 2nd grade. The certified teacher acted as observer together with another teacher educator. Through interviews, we investigated what those who taught and observed experienced and observed. The results show that “Conceptual Playworld” is a method that seems to promote a holistic approach to learning where the pupils acquire social skills in combination with subject knowledge.

Dilemmas Related to Young Children’s Participation and Rights: A Discourse Analysis Study of Present and Future Professionals Working with Children

According to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), every child has the right to be heard and express their views in matters that concern them. Yet, participation is one of the most debated aspects of the UNCRC. Although children’s participation is a statutory requirement of Finnish early childhood education and care (ECEC) and schools, educators are often unfamiliar with how to meet the demands of participation. In this study, we examined what kinds of counter discourses about the realization of children’s participation could be differentiated in interviews with present and future education professionals who took part in a study program focusing on knowledge and skills regarding young children’s rights and participation. The data, which consisted of individual and group interviews with 31 participants, were analyzed with discourse analysis. Three counter discourses were identified: unrealized, adult-defined, and elusive participation. The discourses illuminated various dilemmas in children’s participation. Awareness of such dilemmas enables the development of pedagogical practices that enhance children’s wellbeing and rights.

VACCINE MISINFORMATION AND HEALTH RISKS IN BRAZILIAN DAYCARES

Amidst the prevailing vaccine misinformation today, there is an urgent need for new methods to verify, inform, and promote vaccination. One potential approach involves utilizing early childhood education institutions, such as preschools since every student must present an updated vaccination card for enrollment or re-enrollment. By instructing the school staff on how to verify vaccination records or conducting vaccination campaigns within schools, there is the possibility of improving vaccination rates. The study investigated vaccination coverage among children aged one to six years in public daycare centers in a municipality in the Vale do Paraíba region of São Paulo. A cross-sectional study was conducted, involving the collection of vaccination cards from two Municipal Early Childhood Education Schools (EMEI) in the area. The research considered children between the ages of one and six who were properly enrolled in the EMEIs during the data collection period, with exclusion criteria related to the illegibility of vaccination cards. Ethical clearance for data collection was obtained from the Research Ethics Committee involving human subjects, and informed consent was obtained from the children's guardians. Data were collected manually by analyzing copies of vaccination cards, and vaccination coverage was assessed based on the minimum 95% coverage recommended by the National Immunization Program (PNI) in Brazil. More than half of the analyzed vaccination cards (56.8%) were found to have outdated vaccination schedules. Several vaccines failed to achieve the recommended 95% vaccination coverage, including the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine, measles, mumps, rubella, and varicella (MMRV) vaccine, hepatitis A vaccine, varicella vaccine, and polio vaccine. In contrast, vaccines with adequate coverage included the Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine, pentavalent vaccine, rotavirus vaccine, pneumococcal vaccine, meningococcal vaccine, and others. The analysis also revealed a concerning decline in childhood vaccination coverage, posing a risk not only in terms of resurgent diseases but also to the country's future economic productivity. As Brazil's population ages, failure to ensure children's access to vaccination may hinder their neurological, psychomotor, and social development, negatively impacting the future workforce. In conclusion, leveraging early childhood education institutions for vaccination verification and campaigns presents a promising strategy to improve vaccination rates in the face of increasing vaccine hesitancy and misinformation.

PRÁCTICAS DE LECTURA Y LETRAMENTOS COMO CAMINOS HACIA UN PROCESO DE ALFABETIZACIÓN SIGNIFICATIVO

This article aims to bring to the discussion the practices of reading and the importance of teacher mediation in partnership with families of children aged 2 to 4 years in the context of literacy and literacy education. The work is linked to research conducted by the "Literacy Practices and Teaching and Learning Processes of the Mother Language" research group. The theoretical and methodological framework for this discussion is based on Bakhtinian, Vygotskian, and Freirean theories. Considering reading as the production of meaning and readings and rereadings of the world, this study seeks to highlight, through data and its analysis, the importance of reading practices in Early Childhood Education schools and the beginning of the literacy process.

Computer Hardware and Software Education for Teacher's Office of Insan Mulia Early Childhood Education School Tangerang

This community service proposed assistance from competent instructors to educate participants to get to know computer hardware and software, ranging from variations, and models, to supporting components based on the research approach method in the electrical engineering field. The training participants were ECE (Early Childhood Education) teachers of Insan Mulia PAUD School. This CS (Community Service) program aimed to educate the ECE teachers of the school to keep up with the advancement of computer technology. Thus, the contribution of this activity was to improve the quality of skilled labor and align with industry needs. Therefore, a Computer Hardware and Software Education activity was held at the Teacher's Office of Insan Mulia Early Childhood Education School in Tangerang. The Research and Community Service of Universitas Mercu Buana participated in this activity by carrying out the ICT (Information and Communication Technology) theme in the RMP (Research Master Plan), the long-term target is the development of wireless sensors and actuators, to the integration of system implementation. In conclusion, this activity produced new skills for Insan Mulia ECE School teachers in the knowledge of computer hardware and software as well as the installation of required computer devices that have operated very well.

EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATIONHEAD LEADERSHIP IN IMPLEMENTING ISLAMIC VALUES-BASED CHARACTER LEARNING

The research was conducted to determine the leadership of the Early Childhood Education head in instilling Islamic values-based character learning. The formation of character with Islamic values is learning given in early childhood to form a personality with good moral values following Islamic teachings. This study uses a descriptive qualitative approach. The design of this study is a multi-site design at two schools in Pamekasan Regency, namely Al-Uswah IT Kindergarten and Al-Ghazali Kindergarten. The two Early Childhood Education schools both apply character learning with Islamic values. The technique used by researchers in collecting data was conducting in-depth interviews with Early Childhood Education heads in two schools, participatory field observations, and documentation studies to support the completeness of the research data. The results of this study indicate that Al-Uswah IT Kindergarten and Al-Ghazali Kindergarten both apply character learning with Islamic values, namely responsibility, curiosity, discipline, independence, and respect for achievement. (1) this responsibility is proven by taking toys and storing their play equipment in a place that has been prepared; (2) curiosity is shown by the teacher conveying a material either by telling a story or otherwise so that it stimulates children to ask questions about things they don't understand and answer questions from the teacher; (3) discipline, children are educated to be disciplined in carrying out habits in a class by lining up before entering class, reading prayers as a habit before learning; (4) independent, children are accustomed to carrying out their needs without the help of the teacher, for example in storing their shoes or bags in a place provided by the school; and (5) appreciating achievement, the teacher provides motivation and encouragement to children by applauding their courage and the confidence to tell stories in front of the class or appreciate other achievements

The Effectiveness of Interactive Reading Models in Improving Early Students Language Skills

This study aims to examine the effectiveness of interactive reading models in improving early childhood receptive and productive language skills. The interactive reading model used in this study consists of the traditional, the attention-focused, and the mind-map interactive reading models. This study used an experimental research method with a pre-posttest design. The sample in this study was 500 participants, with a composition of 150 people each in the traditional, focused attention, mind-map methods, with an age range of 4-6 years from 5 early childhood education schools. The results showed that the three interactive reading models had the same effect and there was no significant difference in the contribution of the three models. It was noted that the three interactive reading models significantly improve early childhood language skills. This improvement was noted in the child's receptive vocabulary, reading, storytelling and listening abilities. The strategies used in the interactive reading model pay attention to several aspects, including semantics and word repetition. The semantic aspect makes students motivated to classify meanings that make students able to gain a lot of new vocabulary mastery. This strategy is carried out in every vocabulary teaching. From the result, it was concluded that the three interactive reading models contribute significantly to reading ability. This implied that combining reading models in improving early childhood language skills is effective over the other strategies.

Application of gamification in Early Childhood Education and Primary Education: thematic analysis

In recent years, interest in the application of gamification in education has increased. Gamification is intended to stimulate students' thinking through game techniques, involving them in problem solving. The main aim of this study is to implement a thematic analysis on the use of gamification in early childhood and primary students. To this end, a systematic review was conducted using the PRISMA model in the Web of Science database, following inclusion and exclusion criteria on quantitative and qualitative experimental and quasi-experimental studies that explore gamification in early childhood education and primary school. 24 studies were analyzed. The results show that the investigations are aimed at improving academic and collaborative skills and increasing motivation with positive results. Furthermore, most of the studies involve students between 10 and 12 years of age and are developed in science subjects supported by technological applications and gamified elements. In conclusion, it has been found that gamification has been applied in early childhood and primary education for many areas and objectives. Likewise, as a didactic strategy, it has brought significant improvements in academic performance, motivation and autonomy, which makes it advisable to continue deepening its application. Keywords: gamification, early childhood education, primary education, thematic analysis