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.
This article will discuss the beneficial sides of an early childhood education.Early childhood education plays a crucial role in laying the foundation for a child's cognitive, social, and emotional development. Research has shown that children who receive quality early childhood education are more likely to excel academically, exhibit better social skills, and have higher levels of self-regulation. Investing in early childhood education not only benefits individual children but also has long-term societal impacts, such as reducing crime rates, improving overall health outcomes, and narrowing the achievement gap. Prioritizing early childhood education is essential in creating a strong educational foundation for future generations.
Immunisation is the most cost–effective public health intervention. The vaccine prevents illness and death for millions of individuals every year. Children below five years of age are vulnerable and liable to get various diseases and disabilities which may lead to high mortality. I Immunisation is often a prerequisite for enrolment in school or daycare, it's important to keep your children up to date on their vaccines. There are some very rare and very mild side effects that can be the result of vaccinations. These side effects completely depend on the Immunisation you got, and how your specific body will react to it. The benefit of immunisation is that your child has the best possible protection against dangerous diseases.
Mr. Ramesh Kamalappanawar, Bimla rani, Susheel Kumar V Ronad
The development of programming skills is currently promoting from an early school age, trying to get children to take an active and creative role in the use of technologies. The objective of this article is to verify the repercussion of educational robotics activities on kindergarten students in the acquisition of computational thinking and programming skills. The research design is quasi-experimental, with pre-test and post-test measures, using experimental and control groups. The sample consists of 131 students from the second cycle of early education (between 3 and 6 years old), all from the same Spanish school. Computational thinking is measured through three dimensions: sequences (algorithms), action-instruction correspondence and debugging. The intervention sessions, as well as the structure of the challenges that were used in the pre- and post-test evaluations, were designed based on the reference program of robotics studies called “TangibleK”. The intervention, carried out doing learning activities using educational robotics resources, presents positive results in relation to the computational thinking skills achieved. The differences between the pre-test and the post-test in the experimental and control groups are statistically significant, in that children engaged in robotics program achieves a greater advance in the three dimensions of computational competence through this method. Actualmente se promueve el desarrollo de habilidades de programación desde una edad escolar temprana, tratando de que los niños adquieran un rol activo y creativo en el uso de las tecnologías. El objetivo de este trabajo es comprobar la repercusión del desarrollo de actividades de robótica educativa en la adquisición de habilidades de pensamiento computacional y programación en escolares de educación infantil. El diseño de la investigación es de tipo cuasi-experimental, con medidas pretest y postest, utilizando grupo experimental y control. La muestra la conforman 131 estudiantes del segundo ciclo de educación infantil (entre 3 y 6 años de edad) de un centro educativo español. El pensamiento computacional se mide a través de tres dimensiones: secuencias (algoritmos), correspondencia acción-instrucción y depuración. Las sesiones de intervención, así como la estructura de los retos que se utilizaron en las evaluaciones pre y postest fueron diseñadas tomando como base el programa de estudios en robótica denominado «TangibleK». La intervención, centrada en actividades de aprendizaje mediante recursos de robótica educativa, presenta resultados positivos en relación a las habilidades de pensamiento computacional logradas. Las diferencias encontradas entre el pre y postest en el grupo experimental son estadísticamente significativas y superiores a las presentadas en el grupo control, de modo que se concluye que los niños que realizan el programa de robótica consiguen un mayor avance en las tres dimensiones de la competencia computacional.
Ana García‐Valcárcel Muñoz‐Repiso, Yen Air Caballero González
Authors of this report evaluate the impact of an intervention that uses a behavioural science approach to increase vaccination coverage in Ethiopia by providing nonmonetary incentives to caregivers and health workers.
Zerihun Associates, Abebual Demilew, Mesay Girma et al.
BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted immunisation programs worldwide, reversing gains that had brought vaccine-preventable diseases largely under control. This study explored the impact of COVID-19 on the uptake of routine child immunisation services in South Africa. METHODS: We conducted qualitative research using in-depth interviews with 51 purposively selected parents/caregivers of children below the age of five who missed or delayed one or more scheduled immunisation doses in 2020-2022 and with 12 healthcare providers who provided public immunisation services during the pandemic. RESULTS: During the pandemic lockdowns, most caregivers perceived the risk of their child being infected with COVID-19 during a clinic visit as more salient than the risk of missing immunisation doses. Caregivers reported minimal exposure to routine immunisation communication, as well as shortages of routine vaccines for children at public health facilities, healthcare workers experienced anxiety and burnout. There was a post-pandemic shift to more active decision-making about immunisation, which had previously been an almost automatic behaviour, leading some caregivers to delay vaccinating their children. There was also evidence of a "bad vaccine" mental model among some caregivers regarding COVID vaccinations, which could lead to doubts about the safety of routine childhood vaccinations. DISCUSSION: The shift from default to active decision-making highlights a risk that routine immunisation will backslide in future pandemics. Governments should build resilient health systems at all levels and communicate clearly about the benefits and availability of RIs and the safety of vaccinations in general, alongside supply-side interventions. CONCLUSION: Routine immunisation is widely accepted in South Africa, driven by generational norms and provider recommendations. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many caregivers faced the dilemma of balancing COVID-19 exposure risk with the risk of their child developing a deadly VPD, leading to missed RI visits. This shift to active decision-making highlights a future pandemic risk. Governments should build resilient health systems and focus on understanding and engaging procrastinating and doubtful caregivers. Clear communication about RI benefits and vaccine safety is crucial, as misinformation can lead to distrust in new vaccines.
Children’s right to participate in all matters and decisions affecting them has gained recognition in society. Its promotion is recommended from an early age – namely, in early childhood education settings – and it is described as benefiting children, adults and the community in general. Given the complex and polysemic meaning of participation, different conceptualizations, models and perspectives have emerged. In this article, the authors provide a theoretical overview, describing relevant models, concepts and contributions from distinct perspectives and fields of knowledge – sociological, educational, developmental and sociocultural – as well as contributions from social policy. This overview is particularly relevant to inform research and practice about children’s participation in early childhood education.
