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.
Nowadays, Artificial Intelligence (AI) literacy has become an emerging topic in digital literacy education research. However, it is still under-explored in early childhood education (ECE) since the AI curriculum for young children has just been designed in recent years. A scoping review was conducted to examine the thematic and content analysis of 16 empirical papers from 2016 to 2022. This scoping reviews evaluate, synthesize, and display 16 studies on AI literacy in early childhood education, including curriculum design, AI tools, pedagogical approaches, research designs, assessment methods, and findings. The discussion of the AI literacy implementation in ECE contributes to providing references for educators and researchers to design interventions to engage young children in AI learning. Further, we identified a set of challenges and opportunities of AI literacy. Several challenges included (1) lack of teachers' AI knowledge, skills, and confidence; (2) lack of curriculum design; and (3) lack of teaching guidelines. Although educators meet challenges at the beginning stage of developing AI instructional design for young children, AI learning could bring learning opportunities and foster young children's AI literacy in terms of AI concepts, practices and perspectives. We foresee that there will be a growing number of age-appropriate curriculum and tools for the ECE level. At the end, we also make some recommendations for future researchers and educators to improve AI literacy research and learning design in early childhood education.
This literature review covers articles and books about STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) in early childhood education. STEAM learning is considered to be an appropriate approach to answering the challenges of the 21st century as it integrates the hard and soft skills needed by children. It is exciting to note that in most articles, STEAM is a popular pedagogical method to improve creativity, problem-solving skills, scientific inquiry and critical thinking, and to provide other cognitive benefits. It is taught in integrated learning in early childhood education and is conducted through children’s daily observation. The literature also discusses that the impact of STEAM learning makes children more active and able to take initiatives in their own knowledge. Teachers who are influenced by the integrated professional development of STEAM positively influence children through their professional learning. Another finding from this review is that experience of STEAM can increase children’s self-confidence. In addition, STEAM learning is considered to be able to integrate the skills needed by children. STEAM encourages children to build knowledge about the world around them by observing, investigating and asking questions. This review aims to consider advanced learning in early childhood education through STEAM.
BACKGROUND: Immunising children saves 2–3 million lives every year, making it one of the most effective public health interventions. India’s childhood immunisation rates are steadily improving, but there are still significant differences between states. Tamil Nadu consistently has one of the highest rates of child immunisation, while Nagaland is below the national average. If we figure out the socioeconomic factors that contribute to this difference, we can guide context-specific strategies to improve coverage. OBJECTIVE: To compare the level and socioeconomic and geographic determinants of full immunisation coverage among children aged 12–23 months in Tamil Nadu and Nagaland using data from the fifth National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5, 2019-21). METHODS: A survey-weighted cross-sectional analysis was performed on 1851 children (Tamil Nadu: 1291; Nagaland: 560). To be fully immunised, a child had to receive BCG, three doses of DPT, three doses of OPV, and one dose of MCV. Weighted bivariate chi-square tests and multivariable logistic regression models were used to assess associations between full Immunisation and socioeconomic, demographic, and geographic characteristics. We performed sensitivity analysis by restricting to only children who possessed vaccination cards, to assess the robustness of our findings. RESULTS: Immunisation coverage was higher in Tamil Nadu (89.2%) than in Nagaland (57.9%). In bivariate analysis, maternal education was significantly associated with full Immunisation in both states, while wealth, residence, distance to health facility, and birth order were additionally significant in Nagaland, and residence and religion in Tamil Nadu.In multivariable analysis, maternal education remained the most consistent predictor in Nagaland (AOR=2.61; p=0.003) and Tamil Nadu (AOR=2.32; p=0.029). In Nagaland, distance to health facility was also significant (p=0.034), whereas in Tamil Nadu, urban residence (AOR=1.83; p=0.008) and religion (AOR=4.00; p=0.003) were associated with Immunisation status. Other variables were not significant after adjustment. CONCLUSION: The main factors for the differences in immunisation coverage between states are gaps in maternal education and access to healthcare. To increase vaccination coverage in states with lower coverage, it is crucial to enhance women's education, extend outreach to rural populations, and address socioeconomic barriers.
Yendouname Kandjoni, Samadou Tchakondo, Ayao Sangénis Assogba et al.
Abstract Digital storytelling blends the ancient art of storytelling with a range of contemporary tools to weave stories together with the author's narrative voice, including digital images, graphics, music and sound. Digital storytelling, as both a teaching method and a learning resource, has been applied in many innovative ways at all levels of education. Digital storytelling supports student learning and allows teachers to adopt innovative and improved teaching methods. Storytelling is a proven and popular pedagogy, while digital storytelling is relatively recent and still seldom used in the setting of early childhood education. Using a case study of a storytelling–art–science club in Jakarta, Indonesia, the researcher explored how and why digital storytelling is used in early childhood education. This club is one of the few organizations that use digital storytelling for teaching and learning programs in early childhood. Data were collected qualitatively using in-depth interviews with four teachers, document analysis, and twice-observations of storytelling activities in each session with 35 and 37 children. The collected data were analyzed using analytical memoing methods. The results indicate that teachers in this club used digital storytelling for several important reasons. They claimed that simple digital technology made storytelling more entertaining, captivating, engaging, communicative and theatrical. This study suggests that the ability of teachers to use digital technology should be enhanced; schools' information and communication technology (ICT) devices should be equipped; some funding should also be allocated by the government to modernize school equipment; while the curriculum should be tailored to meet technological developments, and provide opportunities for children to learn how to make good use of technology.
Child immunisation is one of the most cost-effective public health interventions, yet households in India continue to bear out-of-pocket expenditure (OOPE) despite the availability of free vaccines under the Universal Immunisation Programme. This study examines the incidence and magnitude of OOPE for child immunisation across states, religions, social groups, wealth quintiles, and provider types using a two-part model framework. The first part estimates the probability of incurring any OOPE, while the second part analyses the conditional amount spent among households reporting expenditure. Results reveal stark urban–rural disparities, with urban households consistently spending more when costs are incurred. Wealth gradients are pronounced: richer households spend substantially more, particularly in urban areas, while poorer households often report negligible expenditures, potentially reflecting access barriers. Social and religious stratification further shapes expenditure patterns, with minorities and upper-caste households facing distinct burdens. The choice of provider emerges as the strongest determinant: households using private facilities are overwhelmingly more likely to incur OOPE and spend significantly more than those relying on government services. These findings underscore the need to strengthen public provision, reduce indirect costs, and embed equity monitoring into immunisation policy to achieve universal, financially sustainable coverage.
Abstract Introduction: There is increased coverage of vaccines under Universal Immunization Programme to tackle vaccine-preventable diseases; however, urban India faces several challenges in childhood vaccination. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 229 parents or primary caregivers of children under 5 years of age who reside in the urban slum of Malwani, Mumbai, from June to August 2021. Data were collected using a pre-validated, semi-structured questionnaire. Results: Out of 229 children, 98 (42.8%) were girls and 131 (57.2%) were boys. Majority were in the age group 0–1 year ( n = 167, 72.9%). Around 145 parents (63.3%) knew the benefits of immunisation, 193 parents (84.3%) thought that immunisation is essential for children and 171 parents (74.7%) knew the immunisation schedule of their children. A large proportion of children, i.e., 76.4% (175/229), got delayed immunisation and 35.4% (81/229) had missed their scheduled immunisation. Conclusions: Healthcare-related factors and lack of awareness in parents are the prime reasons for both delayed and missed immunisation. Strengthening the urban healthcare delivery system, especially in urban slums and active community participation, will help to increase child immunisation coverage.
Dattaprasad Avinash Sawant, Siddhant Rane, Anuradha Kunal Shah et al.
Artificial intelligence (AI) tools are increasingly being used in the field of early childhood education (ECE) to enhance learning and development among young children. Previous proof-of-concept studies have demonstrated that AI can effectively improve teaching and learning in ECE; however, there is a scarcity of knowledge about how these studies are conducted and how AI is used across these studies. We conducted this scoping review to evaluate, synthesize and display the latest literature on AI in ECE. This review analyzed 17 eligible studies conducted in different countries from 1995 to 2021. Although few studies on this critical issue have been found, the existing references provide up-to-date insights into different aspects (knowledge, tools, activities, and impacts) of AI for children. Most studies have shown that AI has significantly improved children's concepts regarding AI, machine learning, computer science, and robotics and other skills such as creativity, emotion control, collaborative inquiry, literacy skills, and computational thinking. Future directions are also discussed for researching AI in ECE.
The role of parents in early childhood development is a crucial factor in the process of child growth and development. In the context of limited face-to-face learning, this research will discuss the extent of parents' responsibilities in accompanying children to learn, as well as the urgency of parents' role in children's development from a developmental psychology perspective. The research method used is qualitative with analysis referring to trusted literature such as journals, books and other references. The research results show that parental responsibility and the strategies implemented by them are the main keys in dealing with psychological aspects of child development. Parental involvement during the learning period has a significant impact on child development. The factors that influence it involve internal and external elements in the child's environment.
In 1983, the Indonesian government established Pos Pelayanan Terpadu (Integrated Health Post) – commonly known as Posyandu, an outreach programme for improving mothers’ and children’s health, including immunisation. However, child immunisation coverage is still far below national and world targets. There is also wide variation among regions, with low rates found in areas outside Java. This study aimed to explore mothers’ experiences in immunising their children through Posyandu in East Nusa Tenggara, and West Sumatera, two provinces located outside Java Island. Fifty-three mothers were involved in six Focus Group Discussion (FGDs). The discussions were recorded and transcribed verbatim in the original language. The transcripts were translated into English, coded with Nvivo, and analysed for common themes. This study showed that the success of the immunisation programme through Posyandu relied on the role of community-based health workers. Their ability to integrate with the community increased people’s trust. This trust encouraged mothers to immunise their children, despite their limited knowledge about immunisation. The other barrier often encountered by the mothers in immunising their children was that the fathers did not allow them to do so. Therefore, collaborative work with the whole community is needed to improve the performance of an outreach programme.
Anna Wahyuni Widayanti, Pauline Norris, James Green et al.
