Augmented Reality (AR) flashcards have emerged as an important educational resource for language learning. However, there is limited research on its application in early childhood education. This article aims to explore the technology’s value in early childhood education by comparing it with traditional paper flashcards. To that end, a study was conducted in which 98 children, aged between 5 and 6 years, and four teachers, all from a Macau kindergarten, took part. One group of children had animal-related vocabulary using AR flashcards, while another group used traditional flashcards. To measure the effectiveness of the two approaches, the children underwent pre- and posttests on their vocabulary and the teachers were interviewed. For the data analysis, paired-sample t tests and independent-sample t tests were utilized, and the level of effect was measured. The results showed that both AR and traditional flashcards could significantly improve children’s vocabulary learning and that there was no significant difference in effectiveness between the AR and traditional flashcard methods. The teachers indicated that the children enjoyed the AR learning activities, but that there were certain challenges associated with using AR flashcards in a kindergarten setting.
Technology education has become increasingly important during the last few decades. Previous studies, however, have paid insufficient attention to technology education for young children aged 3–8 years, compared to research in other age groups. This study presented a comprehensive overview of technology education in early childhood education studies, including curriculum, tools, research methods, and learning effects. The study found that technology education in ECE has grown fast as a result of technical breakthroughs, greater research funding, and increasing international interest in this field. Based on a systematic review approach, we confirmed the research focused on themes such as curriculum, robotics, programming, attitudes, and opinions between 2003 and 2021. This review examined 25 research papers on technology education in early childhood education. This study also indicated that future research directions, including comparing robot learning to traditional learning, using robots to improve students’ skills, thinking and problem-solving abilities, and assessing the effectiveness of using robots in learning and teaching. This study offers a holistic view of technology education research in early childhood education and provides future researchers with directions.
INTRODUCTION: Like many countries globally, childhood immunisation coverage is below government targets in the Philippines and has worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases. This study aimed to identify the social and behavioural drivers of routine childhood immunisation and preferred caregiver information sources to improve uptake in the Philippines. METHODS: A quantitative, cross-sectional study, as part of a larger mixed-methods study, was undertaken in three regions in the Philippines with low immunisation coverage in 2023. Data on Behavioural and Social Drivers (BeSD) of immunisation, preferred information sources and vaccination status of children under 5 years were collected, analysed and reported according to the WHO BeSD framework. RESULTS: The study included 653 caregivers and 950 children, with 65% of children fully immunised, 31.8% partially immunised and 2.5% being zero-dose or having received no vaccines. Key reasons for complete vaccination included the protection vaccines offer, healthcare worker recommendations and vaccines being free of charge. For partial vaccination, top reasons were intercurrent illness, inaccessible vaccination sites and parental belief that the child was too young to receive vaccines. The most common reason for non-vaccination was also intercurrent illness. The predictors of complete vaccination were older age of caregivers (46-59 years) (prevalence ratio (PR)=1.29; 95% CI 1.12 to 1.48) and low concerns about vaccine safety (PR=1.13; 95% CI 1.03 to 1.25). Other Christian denominations, compared with Catholics, were less likely to have fully immunised children (PR 0.82; 95% CI 0.69 to 0.97). Preferred vaccine information sources included the Department of Health, healthcare workers and mass media. CONCLUSIONS: We found that only 65% of children were fully immunised in 2023, with both access and acceptance factors impacting uptake of routine childhood vaccines. Improving service accessibility and education of healthcare workers on vaccine safety and effectiveness and more targeted messaging from health authorities and mass media about the benefits of vaccination could increase uptake in the Philippines, with learnings from this study applicable globally.
Paulyn Jean Acacio-Claro, Maria Margarita M Lota, Evalyn Roxas et al.
With the rapid technological development of society brought on by Artificial Intelligence (AI), the demand for AI-literate workers will increase in the future. It is critical to develop the next generation's AI competencies and educate them about how to work with and use AI. Previous studies on AI were predominantly focused on secondary and university education; however, research on the Artificial Intelligence curriculum in early childhood education is scarce. Due to the lack of conformity on the standardisation of AI curriculum for early childhood education, this study examines the AI curriculum for kindergarten children using the framework which consists of four key components, including (1) aims, goals, objectives, or declarations of outcome, (2) subject matter, domains, or content, (3) methods or procedure, (4) evaluation and assessment. We recommend that AI literacy be achieved by three competencies: AI Knowledge, AI Skill, and AI Attitude. The employment of a social robot as a learning companion and programmable artifact was proven to be helpful in assisting young children in grasping AI principles. We also discovered which teaching methods had the most greatest influence on students' learning. We recommend problem-based learning for future AI education based on the findings.
Game-based learning has gained popularity in recent years as a tool for enhancing learning outcomes in children. This approach uses games to teach various subjects and skills, promoting engagement, motivation, and fun. In early childhood education, game-based learning has the potential to promote cognitive, social, and emotional development. This systematic review and meta-analysis aim to summarize the existing literature on the effectiveness of game-based learning in early childhood education This systematic review and meta-analysis examine the effectiveness of game-based learning in early childhood education. The results show that game-based learning has a moderate to large effect on cognitive, social, emotional, motivation, and engagement outcomes. The findings suggest that game-based learning can be a promising tool for early childhood educators to promote children's learning and development. However, further research is needed to address the remaining gaps in the literature. The study's findings have implications for educators, policymakers, and game developers who aim to promote positive child development and enhance learning outcomes in early childhood education.
Augmented Reality has been widely used in various level of education such as higher-level education, secondary education (lower/upper secondary level), primary education, and in informal learning.However, the implementation in early childhood education is still limited.By using library research methodology, the objective of this paper is to investigate the existing work of augmented reality in early childhood education between 2009-2018.Based on the results, it shows that the publication of augmented reality in early childhood education increased slowly within these past ten years.It has been found that the main advantage of augmented reality is to enhance motivation.Early literacy has been found to be the most used topic with sampling less than 30 children.Finally, 'Marker-based' augmented reality has been widely used with mobile devices and in term of data collection methods, 'Test' has been used the most in this field of research.
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.
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.
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.
Computational thinking education has become an increasingly popular topic among practitioners and researchers. However, rare is known how to effectively teach and learn computational thinking in early childhood education. To address this knowledge gap, this systematic review examined 26 studies on the teaching and learning of computational thinking in early childhood education from 2010 to 2022. The content knowledge, tools, pedagogical design, assessment methods, and learning outcomes were analyzed. Results indicated that, with age-appropriate instructional design, children could develop early concepts and skills of computational thinking, as well as other related skills such as communication, collaboration, and problem solving. Across the studies, we found that most studies used quantitative research methods, with direct assessment and observation being the most. Several challenges were identified: (1) achieving a deeper learning of computational thinking; (2) a lack of valid and reliable computational thinking assessments for children with a wider age range; (3) selecting appropriate learning tools; and (4) designing age-appropriate activities for young learners. Although with these challenges, computational thinking education could bring new learning opportunities and enhance children's computational thinking skills, as well as other non-cognitive skills such as critical thinking, body-material interaction, and hand-eye coordination. This systematic review informs future endeavors in theorizing a digital learning framework that can integrate computational thinking into early childhood education.
