Montessori education was developed over 100 years ago, and persists as a marginal ‘niche reform’ of the standard model. Here I discuss two unresolved dichotomies in early childhood education – the tension between work and play, and between structure and freedom. I explain how Montessori collapses and thereby resolves the dichotomies, and does so in a contemporary theoretical frame – one that is dynamical rather than linear. I next describe the origins and functioning of Montessori preschool environments, outcomes from the most methodologically sound studies to date, and impediments to Montessori’s more widespread adoption. I also show how Montessori is a culturally responsive pedagogy, and conclude by return to the dichotomies and how Montessori makes sense for the modern era.
BACKGROUND: Polio, a debeilitating and potentially life-threatening disease, continues to pose a risk to young children globally. While vaccination offers a powerful shield, its reach is not always equal. This study explores socioeconomic and geographical inequalities in polio immunisation coverage among two-year-olds in Sierra Leone between 2008 and 2019. METHODS: The study utilised data from the Sierra Leone Demographic Health Survey rounds conducted in 2008, 2013, and 2019 to examine polio immunization coverage among two-year-olds. The World Health Organisation Health Equity Assessment Toolkit software calculated various inequality measures, including simple difference, ratio, population-attributable risk, and population-attributable fraction. An inequality assessment was conducted for six stratifiers: maternal age, maternal economic status, maternal level of education, place of residence, sex of the child, and sub-national region. RESULTS: Polio immunization coverage among two-year-olds in Sierra Leone increased from 48.7% in 2008 to 77.1% in 2013, then declined to 61.2% in 2019. No significant inequalities were observed based on maternal age, child's sex or maternal educational level. Coverage was higher among children of mothers from the poorest households, and in rural areas. However, the main inequality identified was subnational inequality. CONCLUSION: The initial increase in coverage followed by a decline underscores the need for sustained efforts to maintain and improve immunization rates, particularly in the Western, Northwestern, and Northern provinces, where significant subnational inequalities exist. The absence of disparities related to maternal age, child sex, and education suggests that traditional demographic factors may not be the primary barriers to immunization; instead, geographic and socioeconomic contexts play a more pivotal role. This indicates that targeted interventions should focus on improving access to vaccination services in underserved areas, potentially through community outreach and mobile vaccination units. Additionally, the better coverage among children of poorer mothers and those in rural areas highlights the importance of understanding local dynamics and leveraging community strengths to enhance immunization uptake.
Gamification has emerged as a transformative pedagogical strategy in early childhood education, fostering cognitive and social skill development through interactive and reward-based learning mechanisms. This study investigates the impact of gamification on kindergarten students' cognitive and social skills using a mixed-method experimental design involving 150 children (ages 4–6). Participants were divided into an experimental group (n=75) exposed to a gamified learning environment and a control group (n=75) following traditional instructional methods. The study employed pre-test and post-test assessments alongside Structural Equation Modeling-Partial Least Squares (SEM-PLS) for quantitative analysis, while qualitative insights were obtained through classroom observations and teacher interviews. Findings reveal that problem-solving skills significantly influence attention (β = 1.00, p < 0.001), whereas memory skills have no statistically significant effect (β ≈ 0, p = 0.50) . Post-test results indicated that students in the gamified group showed substantial improvements in problem-solving (Pre: 60.1 → Post: 82.3, p < 0.001) and attention span (Pre: 55.4 → Post: 79.8, p < 0.001) compared to the control group**. Additionally, 88% of teachers reported enhanced student motivation, and 95% of children found gamified learning more engaging than conventional approaches. These results underscore gamification's efficacy in enhancing problem-solving skills, attention, and motivation among young learners. The findings highlight the importance of integrating adaptive gamification frameworks into early education curricula to optimize learning experiences. This study contributes to the growing body of research on digital pedagogical strategies and offers valuable insights for educators and policymakers seeking to implement evidence-based gamification interventions in early childhood education.
OBJECTIVES: To estimate geographical variations of child immunisation at the regional level in Senegal, to identify individual and contextual factors that could explain these regional discrepancies, and to measure their effects. METHODS: Data come from the 2015, 2016 and 2017 Senegalese Demographic and Health Survey, a national survey targeting women aged 15-49, with a questionnaire focusing on health and reproductive issues including their children's immunisation status. We restricted the analysis to children aged 12-23 months (n = 4955) and conducted a multilevel logistic regression to assess individual and contextual factors associated with complete immunisation coverage. RESULTS: The complete immunisation coverage rate of children was estimated at 68% and ranged from 41% in the region of Kedougou to 83% in the region of Dakar. The inter-regional variance was significantly different from zero (P = 0.006) in the empty multilevel model. It decreased by more than half (57 %) after adjusting for individual factors but remained significantly different from zero (P = 0.010). Regional variations of complete immunisation rates drastically decreased and were no longer statistically significant (P = 0.343) after adjusting for the following regional factors: population density, density of hospitals, literacy rate and proportion of health facilities with an antenatal care service. CONCLUSIONS: Regarding health policies designed to improve childhood immunisation and to reduce related inequalities, our results highlight the need to take into account both individual and contextual factors, with a focus on rural and deprived areas where children are at higher risk of incomplete immunisation.
Sébastien Cortaredona, Rokhaya Diop, Valérie Seror et al.
The overall interest in the present paper is equal early childhood education (ECE) in terms of educating multilingually. Instead of monoglossic bilingual education directed to some children, or monoglossic monolingual education directed to children despite language background, education for recognising and creating multilingual practices for all children is reasoned in terms of global early childhood education (GECE). The reasoning is grounded on a sociocultural understanding of learning, research on holistic multilingual education and the concept of play-responsive teaching. In the paper, a framework with principles for GECE – ECE characterised by multifaceted language ecology – is put forward. The principles concerning (i) conditions, (ii) learning contents and (iii) teaching tools are formulated to provide premises for and to be evolved through empirical research. The paper contributes to the contemporary challenge of implementing multilingual teaching approaches. Legitimising multilingual teaching in practice is considered a question for research in collaboration with teachers and professional development.
BACKGROUND: Child health and gender inequalities are significant global public health issues that demand immediate action, particularly in South and Southeast Asian (SSEA) countries where both challenges are prevalent. This study examines the association between women's empowerment and child vaccination coverage in 11 SSEA low- and middle-income countries. METHODS: Using population-level cross-sectional data from Demographic and Health Surveys across 11 SSEA countries, we developed an Individual-Level Women's Empowerment Index (ILWEI) based on three dimensions of women's empowerment: decision-making autonomy, attitude towards intimate partner violence and social independence. A three-stage mixed-effect individual participant data meta-analysis was employed to assess the association between ILWEI and childhood immunisation coverage. RESULTS: In India, 81.28% of women reported participation in three to four decision-making areas, followed by 62.07% in Bangladesh. Full immunisation coverage ranged from 32.43% in Afghanistan to 63.30% in Bangladesh. The association between women's empowerment and vaccination coverage varied across South and Southeast Asia, with the strongest positive associations observed in Pakistan. However, mixed or negative associations were found in countries such as India and Timor-Leste. CONCLUSION: Our findings indicate that in several SSEA countries, including Pakistan, Cambodia, the Philippines and Afghanistan, higher levels of individual women's empowerment are positively associated with an increased likelihood of childhood immunisation coverage. However, in countries such as India, Myanmar and Timor-Leste, higher women's empowerment was associated with lower odds of childhood immunisation, highlighting potential contextual or systemic barriers that may hinder vaccination uptake. This underscores the critical role of women's empowerment in enhancing childhood vaccination intake while also emphasising the need for targeted interventions to address country-specific challenges. Coordinated, multifaceted strategies are essential to empower women and thereby support the immunisation of children across regions.
Abdul Ghani Khatir, N.M. Mujeeb Rahman, Tolulope Ariyo et al.
This paper examines processes of datafication in early childhood education (ECE) settings for children from birth-five years in England and how this relates to increased formalisation. Unusually, ECE in England includes a standardised curriculum and formative and statutory assessments; thus it has been described as subject to both datafication and ‘schoolification’, a term used to describe the adoption of school-like practices and values in ECE. Using interview data from ECE settings over the last decade and a theoretical framework drawing on Foucault and Deleuze, the paper sets out the ways in which settings in schools and nurseries are subject to the demands of data, and how this produces data-driven subjectivities for both teacher and child. These developments are then linked to aspects of ‘schoolification’ including more formal teaching, a focus on literacy and mathematics, and use of ‘ability’ grouping.
Background: Immunisation services does not reach over one third of urban poor children. There is clear cut difference of children completely immunised in the low as compared to high standard of living index in urban areas. This difference is more marked in low performing states like Rajasthan and this difference as compared to better performing states like Kerala. Such inter-state differentials indicate the importance of extra focus on low performing states like Rajasthan. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 550 children aged 12-23 months in an urban slum of a district in southern Rajasthan. Along with the immunisation coverage, determinants associated with incomplete immunisation was assessed. The child's immunisation was ascertained using the immunisation cards/Mamta cards or in whom cards not available WHO recall method was used. The Chi-square test was used to find out statistical significance. Results: Of 550 children studied, 417 (75.8%) were fully immunised, 117 (21.3%) were partially immunised and 16 of them were non immunised (2.9%). When the determinants of incomplete immunisation were assessed, all were found statistically significant. Conclusion: The present study concluded that immunisation coverage is lower than that of the target. The factors thought to have influenced immunisation such as religion, family composition, education of mother and gender of child were discovered to be statistically significant.
Many low-income and minority children in the United States and globally are at risk of poor educational trajectories and, consequently, diminished life courses, because their households and neighborhoods lack resources to adequately support learning and development prior to formal schooling. This review summarizes evidence on center-based early childhood education (ECE) for three- and four-year-olds as a means of assuring school readiness in cognitive and socioemotional skills. While the details of ECE programs merit further research, it is clear that ECE can benefit children, especially those most disadvantaged, with additional societal benefits and positive long-run economic returns. Universal ECE is not a cure-all, and its success requires ongoing alignment with subsequent education and attention to child household and community conditions. Because resource deprivation is concentrated in low-income and minority communities, publicly funded universal ECE can also be a powerful instrument for the promotion of social equity.
Despite the enormous benefits of vaccination, global immunisation coverage progress has stalled and remains suboptimal in many countries. In this commentary, we review the recently published update of the World Health Organization and United Nations Children's Fund Estimates of National Immunization Coverage. We highlight trends in which, despite substantial gains made in improving immunisation coverage at the global level, there remain numerous challenges with reaching and sustaining optimal coverage. We contextualise the trends by exploring plausible supply- and demand-side root causes. Based on these, we stress the need for targeted, context-appropriate strategies for reaching and maintaining optimal immunisation coverage.
Chukwudi A Nnaji, Ayomide Owoyemi, Uchenna Anderson Amaechi et al.
