Child immunisation is regarded as one of the most essential public health interventions for reducing morbidity and mortality among children. Despite several public healthcare initiatives, a considerable proportion of children are yet to be covered under vaccination service in India. This study attempts to examine the association between maternal exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV) and childhood immunisation in India. Data were drawn from the fourth round of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-4), conducted in 2015–16. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression models were employed to assess the associations. About 65% of sample children aged 11–23 months were fully vaccinated. After adjusting for socio-demographic factors, women’s exposure to emotional IPV was significantly associated with a lower likelihood of full immunisation (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]: 0.74, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.61–0.90) among children. However, physical and sexual IPV had no significant association with childhood immunisation status in the adjusted analysis. The findings suggest preventive measures against domestic violence to reduce the risk of poor child healthcare services. Furthermore, efforts should be taken for effective reproductive and child healthcare programmes, especially among socio-economically vulnerable women and children, to improve child vaccination coverage.
The aim of the study reported in this paper was to identify the value that makerspaces can have in early childhood education (ECE). Drawing on data from research on makerspaces in four early childhood settings in a northern city in England, part of an international project on makerspaces in the early years (“Makerspaces in the Early Years: Enhancing Digital Literacy and Creativity” or MakEY), we identify three key principles that are integral to this provision: maker agency, maker funds of knowledge, and postdigital maker play. The paper identifies that makerspaces lead to the development of skills and knowledge that will become increasingly important in societies that are becoming highly technologized.
Jackie Marsh, Elizabeth Ann Wood, Liz Chesworth et al.
Early childhood education institutions are referred to preschool, nursery school and practicum schools that educate young children. Preschool curriculum was developed for children in the preschool education institutions to provide a rich learning experience and to help healthy growth. Creativity is fundamental for the preschool curriculum and can be defined as a procedure to create original things. Preschool teachers should provide children with materials to trigger their imagination, should provide opportunities to imagine and to explain their ideas, should appreciate children's individuality, and should encourage their different viewpoints. They also should encourage children to participate in creative games, should care about children's new products, and value them. Moreover, children's creativity should be appreciated, and children should be given confidence. In this study, it is aimed to investigate the creativity of children in the preschool. A simple causal design with pre-and post-test with a single group was used in the study. The participants consisted of 184 children (96 boys, 88 girls) enrolled in preschool and nursery schools belong to Ministry of Education located in Ankara during the 2014-2015 academic year. Figural Creativity Form A and B of Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking were used as pre- and post-tests. The results showed that preschool curriculum increased children's creativity in a positive way.
Routine vaccines are critical to child health. The COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted essential health services, particularly in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs). We reviewed literature to determine the impact of COVID-19 on service delivery and uptake of routine childhood immunisation in LMICs. We reviewed papers published between March 2020 and June 2022 using a scoping review framework, and assessed each paper across the World Health Organisation health system strengthening framework. Our search identified 3,471 publications; 58 studies were included. One-quarter of studies showed routine childhood immunisation coverage declined (10% to 38%) between 2019 to 2021. Declines in the number of vaccine doses administered (25% to 51%), timeliness (6.2% to 34%), and the availability of fixed and outreach services were also reported. Strategies proposed to improve coverage included catch-up activities, strengthening supply chain and outreach services. Re-focusing efforts on increasing coverage is critical to improve child health and reduce the likelihood of disease outbreaks.
Milena Dalton, Benjamin Sanderson, Leanne J. Robinson et al.
This paper monetizes the life-cycle intragenerational and intergenerational benefits of the Perry Preschool Project, a pioneering high-quality early childhood education program implemented before Head Start that targeted disadvantaged African-Americans and was evaluated by a randomized trial.It has the longest follow-up of any experimentally evaluated early childhood education program.We follow participants into late midlife as well as their children into adulthood.Impacts on the original participants and their children generate substantial benefits.Access to life-cycle data enables us to evaluate the accuracy of widely used schemes to forecast life-cycle benefits from early-life test scores, which we find wanting.
Jorge Luis García, Frederik Bennhoff, Duncan Ermini Leaf et al.
This special issue of the European Journal of STEM Education is dedicated to STEM in early childhood education.Early childhood education with respect to STEM already starts in the womb, when the not-yet-born baby accustoms itself to the material world surrounding it (Smith and Gasser, 2005).Certain sounds become familiar and newborns can already discriminate their mother tongue from other languages.After birth, the force of gravity imposes itself on the child, forcing it down.This is the start of a yearlong struggle to rise, which becomes the source of many metaphors we all use to make sense of our lives.When things do not go our way, we feel down and depressed.When we succeed, we lift our hearts and enjoy high spirits.Consequently, teaching children the meaning of 'up' and 'down' is much easier than teaching them 'left' and 'right', as any parent and Kindergarten teacher will know.'Up' and 'down' are extremely meaningful and important to the child, whereas 'left' and 'right' are often quite arbitrary.Since we are subjected to gravity, we need flat feet and strong legs to cope with that force.We would notice it immediately when someone stands on its head and hands.But do you know which hand your colleague uses to pick up that cup of coffee?Children perceive and act before they can speak or think consciously.Experiences in and with the material world are the starting point of cognitive development.STEM in early childhood education is not explaining children the laws of gravity; it is guiding them to and through experiences in which gravity plays a decisive role.Or any other concept that is important to children's lives.Children are not yet interested in correct reproductions of true statements about the world.They first of all want to know what the things in the world afford them to do (Gibson and Pick, 2000).Can you eat it?Is it safe?The motor system will children help to act, and the sensory system will help them to correlate objects and phenomena in the world to their experiences.STEM in early childhood education is about rich material environments that children can explore.It is also about helping them with conceptual development, by drawing their attention to salient features and by suggesting words for 'this' and 'that'.Conceptual development starts with experiences that impose themselves upon the child and crave for attention and interpretation.Some things make sounds, some things flow, some things can be put in other things.The development of verbal language skills and vocabulary cannot do without this process, and the development of scientific concepts cannot do without the metaphorical use of words like 'up', 'in' or 'current' (Lakoff and Johnson, 1980;Browne, 2003).Words do not just come from personal, individual experience.They are suggested to the child from the social community in which it grows up.High quality interaction with adults, or older children, is as important for understanding the world and for healthy development as having the rich material experiences themselves.Learning about the material world is learning to play, is learning a language, is learning social skills, is learning to communicate (Van Oers, 2013;Vygotsky and Luria, 1994).Learning about the material world of course is also learning about STEM.STEM is about questions that can be explored scientifically; or about technological problems that can be solved through engineering and design.These questions and problems will take on sophisticated, often mathematical expressions in adult and professional life.They will build on previous experiences and conceptualizations.But when you unwrap all these layers of
Background: Ensuring high immunisation coverage and its acceptance among the beneficiaries are crucial for a healthy society. Hence, this study aimed to estimate vaccine coverage and barriers of immunisation among children of age 12–23 months in urban areas of Rishikesh, Uttarakhand. Aims: To estimate the immunization coverage rate among children of age 12-23 months in urban area of Rishikesh. Objectives: To identify the barriers towards immunization in children of age 12-23 months in urban area of Rishikesh. Materials and Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was done in urban areas of Rishikesh for 1 year, including 210 children, using the WHO's 30 × 7 cluster sampling technique to collect data on immunisation status. Results: About 92% of the children were fully immunised. Bacillus Calmette–Guérin has the highest coverage rate (99.5%), whereas the coverage was the lowest for the measles vaccine (93.8%). Full immunisation coverage was found to be statistically significant with the education of the respondent, socio-economic status (SES) of the family and birth order of the child. Additional vaccines uptake showed a significant association between SES of the family and the place of vaccination. Conclusion: There were significant variations in childhood immunisation coverage across socio-economic and demographic factors. These findings emphasize on the need for regular monitoring and evaluation of immunisation coverage to achieve the benefits of vaccination in all strata of society.
T. J. Asha, Mahendra Singh, Pradeep Aggarwal et al.
This study aims to review the scientific papers on Early Childhood Education for Sustainability (ECEfS) published between 2008 and 2020 and reveal changes in the area. This systematic review was carried out in two stages. In the first stage, a systematic review of papers on ECEfS was conducted according to the specified criteria, and all identified studies were evaluated descriptively. In the second stage, interventional research was evaluated, and their results were reviewed. It was seen that qualitative research methods were mostly preferred in the reviewed studies and most of them were conducted with children. It was determined that the most frequently discussed pillar is environmental. Moreover, the number of interventional research studies is limited. The research findings, it is thought that there is a need for future studies that use interventional, experimental and action research methods, holistically addressing pillars of sustainability.
Tülin Güler Yıldız, Naciye Öztürk, Tülay İlhan İyi et al.
OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to assess vaccination coverage and inequalities in childhood immunisation among children aged 12 months in Ethiopia. DESIGN: Performance monitoring for action Ethiopia implemented a nationally representative first-cohort longitudinal survey (2019-2021), collecting data at baseline, 6 weeks, 6 months and 1 year post partum to monitor reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health indicators. SETTINGS: The study was conducted from five Ethiopian regions: three predominantly agrarian (Amhara, Oromia and Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples), one pastoralist (Afar) and one urban (Addis Ababa). PARTICIPANTS: The weighted sample comprised 1888 participants for full vaccine coverage (FVC) and 1677 for both incomplete vaccine coverage (IVC) and dropout rate (DOR) between pentavalent-1 and pentavalent-3 vaccines. OUTCOME MEASURES: The vaccine coverage and inequalities were assessed using three indicators: FVC, IVC and DOR (between the first and third doses of the pentavalent vaccine). Key dimensions of inequality included maternal age, economic status, education level, place of residence and subnational regions. The analysis was conducted using Health Equity Assessment Toolkit Plus software, employing seven summary measures of inequalities: Difference, Ratio, Population Attributable Risk, Population Attributable Fraction, Slope Index of Inequality, Relative Index of Inequality and the Theil Index. RESULT: The study found that only 29.1% of 12-month-old children in Ethiopia had received full vaccination, whereas 67.2% had incomplete coverage and the DOR between the first and third doses of the pentavalent vaccine was 34.3%. Both simple and complex inequality measures revealed a high level of inequality in childhood immunisation indicators across wealth, education, place of residence and regions. FVC was higher among children of higher socioeconomic status and urban residence, whereas IVC and DOR were disproportionately higher among children from the poorest households, mothers with no education, rural residents and disadvantaged regions. CONCLUSIONS: Childhood immunisation coverage in Ethiopia remains low and marked by high inequality. Higher rates of incomplete vaccination and vaccine dropout are disproportionately concentrated among children from low socioeconomic backgrounds, rural residents and disadvantaged regions. These disparities reflect substantial health inequities in childhood vaccinations as they are unfair and avoidable with appropriate interventions. The study underscores that addressing socioeconomic and geographic inequalities could substantially improve the national immunisation coverage and accelerate progress towards universal health coverage targets.
Asebe Hagos, Mengistie Kassahun Tariku, Gezahegn Eshetu Mekuriya et al.
This paper is a series of thoughts and dreams about my grandson newly living nearby, one of his stuffed animals, and the links to nearby First Nations actions and concerns, all under the title of my own early childhood education.
