AIM: We review methods and outcomes of a novel parenting intervention, Family Nurture Intervention (FNI), that promotes early mother-infant autonomic co-regulation and emotional connection in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). METHODS: FNI involves individualised mother-infant calming sessions combined with maternal emotional expression. Two parallel group randomised controlled trials have evaluated FNI. The first, recruited 150 preterm newborns (26-34 weeks GA) and their mothers, randomised into two groups: FNI (n = 78) and Standard Care (SC) only (n = 72). Dyadic, infant and maternal outcomes were assessed at discharge, 18-months and 4-5 years corrected age. The second,recruited 135 infants from two level 4 NICUs (FNI n = 66, SC n = 69) with similar outcomes assessed at discharge/term equivalent. RESULTS: Relative to SC, FNI infants showed improved development and relational health through 5 years. At term age, FNI infants had better autonomic regulation and more mature brain activity and cortical connectivity on EEG. FNI mothers also reported fewer anxiety and depression symptoms post-discharge. At 18-month, FNI infants obtained higher cognitive and language scores, and lower attention and social behaviour scores than SC infants. CONCLUSIONS: FNI improves the early life development and relational health of high-risk preterm infants. Further research is important to assess its efficacy in other high-risk populations and contexts.
Lianne J. Woodward, Robert J. Ludwig, Alice Kim Gong et al.
This article explores the integration of digital literacy in early childhood education (ECE) and its implications for young learners. As technology becomes increasingly embedded in daily life, digital literacy is critical for fostering the cognitive, social, and emotional development of young children. Thus, this article examines how digital tools, when used appropriately, can enhance key skills such as creativity, problem-solving, and critical thinking. However, challenges related to screen time, access to resources, and teacher preparedness complicate the effective implementation of digital literacy in ECE settings. This article also highlights the need for balanced pedagogical approaches that combine digital tools with traditional play-based learning. Furthermore, it emphasizes the importance of professional development for educators and equitable access to technology for all children. By addressing such factors, this article argues that digital literacy can be an invaluable asset in preparing children for success in a technology-driven world.
As a new development in China's educational reform, the growth of vocational undergraduate education has garnered significant attention from various sectors of society. This paper uses the "A Brief History of Early Childhood Education" course as an example to explore the curriculum design of undergraduate early childhood education programs through literature review, case analysis, and survey methods. The teaching design of the "A Brief History of Early Childhood Education" course provides reference and inspiration for the curriculum reform of undergraduate early childhood education programs, aiming to cultivate more early childhood education professionals with noble ethics and solid professional skills.
We present a conceptual analysis, grounded in empirical data, of how young children’s creative play is framed by the ‘pedagogic culture’ within which the child is playing. Drawing on data from a research study with the broad aim of documenting children’s creative play in Western play-based early childhood education, we gathered exploratory qualitative observations, self-initiated iPad video diaries and researcher-led activities to describe children’s creative play. We adapted the Analysing Children’s Creative Thinking Framework as a starting point for coding and the analyses focused on three contextual cues within the pedagogic culture – space, interpersonal collaborations and materials. We ground our discussion in a contextualist theoretical frame to demonstrate that in isolation, each contextual cue presents a degree of framing to children’s creative play. When analysed as a synergy of contextual cues, however, we begin to see that the dynamic make-up of each of the contexts, and the interplay among them, create a ‘pedagogic culture’ that transforms children’s creative play. We present ‘stories’ of each pedagogic culture that we observed, to describe how children’s creative play manifested within each culture.
Religious tolerance is a supporter of social harmony and brings a country to a better life. Instilling tolerance in early childhood is a challenge for early childhood educators. This study aims to describe the transformation of religious tolerance values by teachers in early childhood education. This research is a type of qualitative case study research model with researchers as observer participants. This research produces the following findings, that (1) transformation of tolerance values among religious communities, is explicitly not taught in Early Childhood Education (ECE) on the grounds that all students are of the same religion, (2) transformation of tolerance of values among religious students taught through learning integrated with other lessons, (3) although explicitly the values of tolerance among religious students are not taught, but the values of togetherness such as greeting, sharing something that is owned, and helping the needs of other students are taught by practicing at the same time. Keywords: Early Childhood Education, Tolerance Values in Religion References: Adams, K. (2019). Navigating the spaces of children’s spiritual experiences: influences of tradition(s), multidisciplinarity and perceptions. International Journal of Children’s Spirituality, 24(1), 29–43. https://doi.org/10.1080/1364436X.2019.1619531 Adams, K., Bull, R., & Maynes, M. L. (2016). Early childhood spirituality in education: Towards an understanding of the distinctive features of young children’s spirituality. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 24(5), 760–774. https://doi.org/10.1080/1350293X.2014.996425 Atamturk, N. (2018). The role of English as a foreign language classes in tolerance education in relation to school management practices. Quality and Quantity, 52, 1167–1177. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-017-0575-7 Banerjee, K., & Bloom, P. (2015). “Everything Happens for a Reason”: Children’s Beliefs About Purpose in Life Events. Child Development, 86(2), 503–518. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.12312 Bano, M., & Ferra, E. (2018). Family versus school effect on individual religiosity: Evidence from Pakistan. International Journal of Educational Development, 59(August 2017), 35–42. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedudev.2017.10.015 Coleman, E. B., & Eds, K. W. (2011). Religious Tolerance, Education and the Curriculum. In Religious Tolerance, Education and the Curriculum. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6091-412-6 Elza, Y., Handini, M. C., & Abdurrahman, M. (2018). The Effects of Storytelling Method with Audiovisual Media and Religiosity toward Clean and Healthy Living Program Behaviour ( CHLB ) of Early Childhood. International Journal of Multidisciplinary and Current Research, 6(June), 547–552. Ene, I., & Barna, I. (2015). Religious Education and Teachers’ Role in Students’ Formation towards Social Integration. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 180(November 2014), 30–35. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.02.081 Ergun, S. J., & Rivas, M. F. (2019). The effect of social roles, religiosity, and values on climate change concern: An empirical analysis for Turkey. Sustainable Development, 27(4), 758–769. https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.1939 Faas, D., Smith, A., & Darmody, M. (2018). Children’s Agency in Multi-Belief Settings: The Case of Community National Schools in Ireland. Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 32(4), 486–500. https://doi.org/10.1080/02568543.2018.1494645 Firdaus, E. (2018). The Learning of Religious Tolerance among Students in Indonesia from the Perspective of Critical Study. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, 145(1). https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/145/1/012032 Ganjvar, M. (2019). Islamic Model of Children’s Spiritual Education (CSE); its influence on improvement of communicational behaviour with non-coreligionists. International Journal of Children’s Spirituality, 24(2), 124–139. https://doi.org/10.1080/1364436X.2019.1624254 Granqvist, P., & Nkara, F. (2017). Nature meets nurture in religious and spiritual development. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 35(1), 142–155. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjdp.12170 Heiphetz, L., Lane, J. D., Waytz, A., & Young, L. L. (2016). How Children and Adults Represent God’s Mind. Cognitive Science, 40(1), 121–144. https://doi.org/10.1111/cogs.12232 King, U. (2013). The spiritual potential of childhood: Awakening to the fullness of life. International Journal of Children’s Spirituality, 18(1), 4–17. https://doi.org/10.1080/1364436X.2013.776266 Kirschenbaum, H. (2019). Models of Values Education and Moral Education in the Era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. 8(2), 103–109. Lehtonen, M. (2019). The Development of Religious Tolerance: Co-operative Board Games with Children and Adolescents. IATL Reinvention: An International Journal of Undergraduate Research, 2(2). Retrieved from https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/cross_fac/iatl/reinvention/ Łowicki, P., & Zajenkowski, M. (2019). Empathy and Exposure to Credible Religious Acts during Childhood Independently Predict Religiosity. International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 00(00), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1080/10508619.2019.1672486 Maussen, M., Bader, V., Dobbernack, J., Modood, T., Olsen, T. V., Fox, J., & Vidra, Z. (2012). Tolerance and cultural diversity in schools Comparative report. Amsterdam. Miedema, S., & Bertram-Troost, G. (2008). Democratic citizenship and religious education: Challenges and perspectives for schools in the Netherlands. British Journal of Religious Education, 30(2), 123–132. https://doi.org/10.1080/01416200701830970 Moore, D. . (2007). Overcoming Religious Illiteracy: A Cultural Studies Approach to the Study of Religion in Secondary Education. US: Palgrave Macmillan. Niculescu, R. M., & Norel, M. (2013). Religious Education an Important Dimension of Human’s Education. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 93, 338–342. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2013.09.200 Pandya, S. P. (2019). Spiritual education programme (SEP) for enhancing the quality of life of kindergarten school children. Pastoral Care in Education, 37(1), 59–72. https://doi.org/10.1080/02643944.2018.1562493 Parekh, B. (2019). Ethnocentric Political Theory. Ethnocentric Political Theory, 263–284. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-11708-5 Sari, A. D. P., & Indartono, S. (2019). Teaching Religious Tolerance Through Social Studies Education Based On Multicultural Approach. 323(ICoSSCE 2018), 214–219. https://doi.org/10.2991/icossce-icsmc-18.2019.40 Scheiner, P. (2015). Crossings and Crosses: Borders, Educations, and Religions in Northern Europe. Boston/Berlin: Walter de Gruyter Inc. Scott, K. (2014). Inviting young adults to come out religiously, institutionally and traditionally. Religious Education, 109(4), 471–484. https://doi.org/10.1080/00344087.2014.924790 Stockinger, H. (2019). Developing spirituality–an equal right of every child? International Journal of Children’s Spirituality, 24(3), 307–319. https://doi.org/10.1080/1364436X.2019.1646218 Thibodeau, R. B., Brown, M. M., Nancarrow, A. F., Elpers, K. E., & Gilpin, A. T. (2018). Conceptual Similarities among Fantasy and Religious Orientations: A Developmental Perspective. Journal of Cognition and Culture, 18(1–2), 31–46. https://doi.org/10.1163/15685373-12340021 Tratner, A. E., Sela, Y., Lopes, G. S., Ehrke, A. D., Weekes-Shackelford, V. A., & Shackelford, T. K. (2017). Individual differences in childhood religious experiences with peers. Personality and Individual Differences, 119, 73–77. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2017.06.045 UNESCO. (2015). Second UNESCO Forum on Global Citizenship Education: Building Peaceful and Sustainable Societies (Paris, 28-30 January 2015). Final Report. (January), 1–22. Retrieved from http://www.unesco.org/new/fileadmin/MULTIMEDIA/HQ/ED/pdf/FinalReport-GCED_21April.pdf Uzefovsky, F., Döring, A. K., & Knafo-Noam, A. (2016). Values in Middle Childhood: Social and Genetic Contributions. Social Development, 25(3), 482–502. https://doi.org/10.1111/sode.12155 Van Der Walt, J. L. (2014). Towards an instrument for measuring religious tolerance among educators and their students worldwide (Potchefstroom Campus-North-West University). Retrieved from https://www.driestar-educatief.nl/medialibrary/Driestar/Engelse-website/Documenten/2014-VanderWalt-Measuring-religious-tolerance-in-education.pdf Yulianti, E., Sutarto, J., & Sugiyo. (2019). Sentra Nasima Learning Strategies to Enhance Religious Nationalist Characters in Kindergarten. Journal of Primary Education, 8(69), 238–247.
Tjipto Sumadi, Elindra Yetti, Yufiarti Yufiarti et al.
This article brings together two long-term collaborators with a focus on early childhood policy, curriculum, and practice in Kenya in the context of pastoralist childrearing, culture, and the transition to preschool in Turkana, Kenya. The first author is an Indigenous Turkana scholar who has done work on early childhood education in pastoralist traditional cultures and the second author has done research and volunteer work in Kenya for three decades with a focus on changing childrearing, early childhood policy, and disability and inclusion. In this article, we foreground issues of Indigenous culture and ways in which the new Kenya early childhood curriculum is inclusive and creates openings to strengthen this emphasis, as well as missed opportunities to do so. The first author shares work from a study on childrearing practices in Turkana communities and the transition to formal preschool, and both authors discuss environmental issues facing the community with potential for early childhood practices consistent with sustainability and cultural relevance. We discuss pastoralist children’s everyday cultural knowledge and children’s learning styles to argue for an inclusive early childhood curriculum in Kenya.
In the field of early childhood education, the purpose of this research was to better comprehend and manage problematic behaviors. The quantitative method was utilized in order to acquire data from the fifty instructors who were working in early childhood education environments. The prevalence of problematic behaviors, instructors' confidence in confronting them, and the use of evidence-based interventions to support children's social-emotional development were all analyzed using descriptive statistics. According to the findings, difficult behaviors are relatively prevalent in early childhood education; however, educators typically feel confident in their ability to address them and are using evidence-based interventions to support the development of children. On the other hand, the research underscored the necessity of continuing training and assistance in order to encourage favorable outcomes for all children who participate in early childhood education. The findings add to our knowledge of how teachers handle problematic behaviors in the classroom and have significant repercussions for both future research and practice in the field of early childhood education.
There is a lack of Black male teachers working with young children in early childhood education (ECE). This qualitative research investigated 23 Black male participants’ beliefs about challenges to recruiting Black males to teach in ECE (birth-fourth) and recommendations to increase the number of Black males in ECE. Black masculinity identity theory was used as the lens to understand the sociocultural context participants provided. From the data, several themes emerged from participants’ experiences: challenges to recruitment (i.e., presence, financial, and systematic obstacles in society) and recommendations for change (i.e., recruitment, alternative approaches, encouraging educational paths, and valuing personal interaction).
The increase in childhood obesity requires the incorporation of nutritional competence into school programs through appropriate activities, starting in the early years. In addition, it is important to promote scientific and cognitive skills during childhood education. The main objective of this study was the implementation of an instructional sequence focused on the learning of skills such as observation, measurement, or interpretation of data related to plants, their germination, and their growth, as well as its relation with the development of food competence. To do so, a set of differentiated activities, organized into several stages, was designed, starting from simple and concrete situations and progressively increasing in complexity and abstraction. The aims were to express ideas about known fruits, vegetables, and legumes in order to expand them by learning new information through student-centered activities, in which children were able to practice and talk about science. The activities were carried out in a class of 24 students aged 4–5 years and data were compared with a control group. The results revealed that the children were motivated in all the activities, which provided an excellent opportunity to initially develop an interest in science and to start to develop food competence in the early years.
Luisa López‐Banet, José Antonio Miguélez Rosique, Marina Martínez‐Carmona et al.
Character education must be started from an early age through formal and nonformal education. The perception of the teacher to a science taught is very important. The aims of research are : (1) analyzing teacher’ perception towards character education in Early Childhood Education in Sunyaragi Village and (2) factors that influence character education in Early Childhood Education in Sunyaragi. This study used qualitative descriptive. The objects of this research were Play Group Annisa, Persil and Pelangi Sunyaragi. The techniques of data collection are Interview and observation; (a) Interviews are conducted to early chilhood teachers as many as 12 teachers, and (b) Questioner and (c) Observations are carried out to observe, know all activities organized by all components. To obtain accurate data, the researchers used data analysis techniques presented by Miles and Huberman namely: (a) Data Collection (b) Data Reduction, (c) Data Display , and (d) Conclusion (Drawing and Verifying ) The results of the study are (1) The teacher's perception of character values taught in the education process in Early Childhood Education Playing Group Annisa, Pelangi and Persil Sunyaragi are considered good, and (2) Factors that affect character education in Early Childhood Education are inhibition factors and supporting factors.
