As a new development in China's educational reform, the growth of vocational undergraduate education has garnered significant attention from various sectors of society. This paper uses the "A Brief History of Early Childhood Education" course as an example to explore the curriculum design of undergraduate early childhood education programs through literature review, case analysis, and survey methods. The teaching design of the "A Brief History of Early Childhood Education" course provides reference and inspiration for the curriculum reform of undergraduate early childhood education programs, aiming to cultivate more early childhood education professionals with noble ethics and solid professional skills.
We present a conceptual analysis, grounded in empirical data, of how young children’s creative play is framed by the ‘pedagogic culture’ within which the child is playing. Drawing on data from a research study with the broad aim of documenting children’s creative play in Western play-based early childhood education, we gathered exploratory qualitative observations, self-initiated iPad video diaries and researcher-led activities to describe children’s creative play. We adapted the Analysing Children’s Creative Thinking Framework as a starting point for coding and the analyses focused on three contextual cues within the pedagogic culture – space, interpersonal collaborations and materials. We ground our discussion in a contextualist theoretical frame to demonstrate that in isolation, each contextual cue presents a degree of framing to children’s creative play. When analysed as a synergy of contextual cues, however, we begin to see that the dynamic make-up of each of the contexts, and the interplay among them, create a ‘pedagogic culture’ that transforms children’s creative play. We present ‘stories’ of each pedagogic culture that we observed, to describe how children’s creative play manifested within each culture.
Religious tolerance is a supporter of social harmony and brings a country to a better life. Instilling tolerance in early childhood is a challenge for early childhood educators. This study aims to describe the transformation of religious tolerance values by teachers in early childhood education. This research is a type of qualitative case study research model with researchers as observer participants. This research produces the following findings, that (1) transformation of tolerance values among religious communities, is explicitly not taught in Early Childhood Education (ECE) on the grounds that all students are of the same religion, (2) transformation of tolerance of values among religious students taught through learning integrated with other lessons, (3) although explicitly the values of tolerance among religious students are not taught, but the values of togetherness such as greeting, sharing something that is owned, and helping the needs of other students are taught by practicing at the same time. Keywords: Early Childhood Education, Tolerance Values in Religion References: Adams, K. (2019). Navigating the spaces of children’s spiritual experiences: influences of tradition(s), multidisciplinarity and perceptions. International Journal of Children’s Spirituality, 24(1), 29–43. https://doi.org/10.1080/1364436X.2019.1619531 Adams, K., Bull, R., & Maynes, M. L. (2016). Early childhood spirituality in education: Towards an understanding of the distinctive features of young children’s spirituality. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 24(5), 760–774. https://doi.org/10.1080/1350293X.2014.996425 Atamturk, N. (2018). The role of English as a foreign language classes in tolerance education in relation to school management practices. Quality and Quantity, 52, 1167–1177. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-017-0575-7 Banerjee, K., & Bloom, P. (2015). “Everything Happens for a Reason”: Children’s Beliefs About Purpose in Life Events. Child Development, 86(2), 503–518. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.12312 Bano, M., & Ferra, E. (2018). Family versus school effect on individual religiosity: Evidence from Pakistan. International Journal of Educational Development, 59(August 2017), 35–42. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedudev.2017.10.015 Coleman, E. B., & Eds, K. W. (2011). Religious Tolerance, Education and the Curriculum. In Religious Tolerance, Education and the Curriculum. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6091-412-6 Elza, Y., Handini, M. C., & Abdurrahman, M. (2018). The Effects of Storytelling Method with Audiovisual Media and Religiosity toward Clean and Healthy Living Program Behaviour ( CHLB ) of Early Childhood. International Journal of Multidisciplinary and Current Research, 6(June), 547–552. Ene, I., & Barna, I. (2015). Religious Education and Teachers’ Role in Students’ Formation towards Social Integration. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 180(November 2014), 30–35. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.02.081 Ergun, S. J., & Rivas, M. F. (2019). The effect of social roles, religiosity, and values on climate change concern: An empirical analysis for Turkey. Sustainable Development, 27(4), 758–769. https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.1939 Faas, D., Smith, A., & Darmody, M. (2018). Children’s Agency in Multi-Belief Settings: The Case of Community National Schools in Ireland. Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 32(4), 486–500. https://doi.org/10.1080/02568543.2018.1494645 Firdaus, E. (2018). The Learning of Religious Tolerance among Students in Indonesia from the Perspective of Critical Study. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, 145(1). https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/145/1/012032 Ganjvar, M. (2019). Islamic Model of Children’s Spiritual Education (CSE); its influence on improvement of communicational behaviour with non-coreligionists. International Journal of Children’s Spirituality, 24(2), 124–139. https://doi.org/10.1080/1364436X.2019.1624254 Granqvist, P., & Nkara, F. (2017). Nature meets nurture in religious and spiritual development. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 35(1), 142–155. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjdp.12170 Heiphetz, L., Lane, J. D., Waytz, A., & Young, L. L. (2016). How Children and Adults Represent God’s Mind. Cognitive Science, 40(1), 121–144. https://doi.org/10.1111/cogs.12232 King, U. (2013). The spiritual potential of childhood: Awakening to the fullness of life. International Journal of Children’s Spirituality, 18(1), 4–17. https://doi.org/10.1080/1364436X.2013.776266 Kirschenbaum, H. (2019). Models of Values Education and Moral Education in the Era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. 8(2), 103–109. Lehtonen, M. (2019). The Development of Religious Tolerance: Co-operative Board Games with Children and Adolescents. IATL Reinvention: An International Journal of Undergraduate Research, 2(2). Retrieved from https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/cross_fac/iatl/reinvention/ Łowicki, P., & Zajenkowski, M. (2019). Empathy and Exposure to Credible Religious Acts during Childhood Independently Predict Religiosity. International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 00(00), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1080/10508619.2019.1672486 Maussen, M., Bader, V., Dobbernack, J., Modood, T., Olsen, T. V., Fox, J., & Vidra, Z. (2012). Tolerance and cultural diversity in schools Comparative report. Amsterdam. Miedema, S., & Bertram-Troost, G. (2008). Democratic citizenship and religious education: Challenges and perspectives for schools in the Netherlands. British Journal of Religious Education, 30(2), 123–132. https://doi.org/10.1080/01416200701830970 Moore, D. . (2007). Overcoming Religious Illiteracy: A Cultural Studies Approach to the Study of Religion in Secondary Education. US: Palgrave Macmillan. Niculescu, R. M., & Norel, M. (2013). Religious Education an Important Dimension of Human’s Education. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 93, 338–342. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2013.09.200 Pandya, S. P. (2019). Spiritual education programme (SEP) for enhancing the quality of life of kindergarten school children. Pastoral Care in Education, 37(1), 59–72. https://doi.org/10.1080/02643944.2018.1562493 Parekh, B. (2019). Ethnocentric Political Theory. Ethnocentric Political Theory, 263–284. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-11708-5 Sari, A. D. P., & Indartono, S. (2019). Teaching Religious Tolerance Through Social Studies Education Based On Multicultural Approach. 323(ICoSSCE 2018), 214–219. https://doi.org/10.2991/icossce-icsmc-18.2019.40 Scheiner, P. (2015). Crossings and Crosses: Borders, Educations, and Religions in Northern Europe. Boston/Berlin: Walter de Gruyter Inc. Scott, K. (2014). Inviting young adults to come out religiously, institutionally and traditionally. Religious Education, 109(4), 471–484. https://doi.org/10.1080/00344087.2014.924790 Stockinger, H. (2019). Developing spirituality–an equal right of every child? International Journal of Children’s Spirituality, 24(3), 307–319. https://doi.org/10.1080/1364436X.2019.1646218 Thibodeau, R. B., Brown, M. M., Nancarrow, A. F., Elpers, K. E., & Gilpin, A. T. (2018). Conceptual Similarities among Fantasy and Religious Orientations: A Developmental Perspective. Journal of Cognition and Culture, 18(1–2), 31–46. https://doi.org/10.1163/15685373-12340021 Tratner, A. E., Sela, Y., Lopes, G. S., Ehrke, A. D., Weekes-Shackelford, V. A., & Shackelford, T. K. (2017). Individual differences in childhood religious experiences with peers. Personality and Individual Differences, 119, 73–77. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2017.06.045 UNESCO. (2015). Second UNESCO Forum on Global Citizenship Education: Building Peaceful and Sustainable Societies (Paris, 28-30 January 2015). Final Report. (January), 1–22. Retrieved from http://www.unesco.org/new/fileadmin/MULTIMEDIA/HQ/ED/pdf/FinalReport-GCED_21April.pdf Uzefovsky, F., Döring, A. K., & Knafo-Noam, A. (2016). Values in Middle Childhood: Social and Genetic Contributions. Social Development, 25(3), 482–502. https://doi.org/10.1111/sode.12155 Van Der Walt, J. L. (2014). Towards an instrument for measuring religious tolerance among educators and their students worldwide (Potchefstroom Campus-North-West University). Retrieved from https://www.driestar-educatief.nl/medialibrary/Driestar/Engelse-website/Documenten/2014-VanderWalt-Measuring-religious-tolerance-in-education.pdf Yulianti, E., Sutarto, J., & Sugiyo. (2019). Sentra Nasima Learning Strategies to Enhance Religious Nationalist Characters in Kindergarten. Journal of Primary Education, 8(69), 238–247.
Tjipto Sumadi, Elindra Yetti, Yufiarti Yufiarti et al.
This article brings together two long-term collaborators with a focus on early childhood policy, curriculum, and practice in Kenya in the context of pastoralist childrearing, culture, and the transition to preschool in Turkana, Kenya. The first author is an Indigenous Turkana scholar who has done work on early childhood education in pastoralist traditional cultures and the second author has done research and volunteer work in Kenya for three decades with a focus on changing childrearing, early childhood policy, and disability and inclusion. In this article, we foreground issues of Indigenous culture and ways in which the new Kenya early childhood curriculum is inclusive and creates openings to strengthen this emphasis, as well as missed opportunities to do so. The first author shares work from a study on childrearing practices in Turkana communities and the transition to formal preschool, and both authors discuss environmental issues facing the community with potential for early childhood practices consistent with sustainability and cultural relevance. We discuss pastoralist children’s everyday cultural knowledge and children’s learning styles to argue for an inclusive early childhood curriculum in Kenya.
In the field of early childhood education, the purpose of this research was to better comprehend and manage problematic behaviors. The quantitative method was utilized in order to acquire data from the fifty instructors who were working in early childhood education environments. The prevalence of problematic behaviors, instructors' confidence in confronting them, and the use of evidence-based interventions to support children's social-emotional development were all analyzed using descriptive statistics. According to the findings, difficult behaviors are relatively prevalent in early childhood education; however, educators typically feel confident in their ability to address them and are using evidence-based interventions to support the development of children. On the other hand, the research underscored the necessity of continuing training and assistance in order to encourage favorable outcomes for all children who participate in early childhood education. The findings add to our knowledge of how teachers handle problematic behaviors in the classroom and have significant repercussions for both future research and practice in the field of early childhood education.
There is a lack of Black male teachers working with young children in early childhood education (ECE). This qualitative research investigated 23 Black male participants’ beliefs about challenges to recruiting Black males to teach in ECE (birth-fourth) and recommendations to increase the number of Black males in ECE. Black masculinity identity theory was used as the lens to understand the sociocultural context participants provided. From the data, several themes emerged from participants’ experiences: challenges to recruitment (i.e., presence, financial, and systematic obstacles in society) and recommendations for change (i.e., recruitment, alternative approaches, encouraging educational paths, and valuing personal interaction).
The increase in childhood obesity requires the incorporation of nutritional competence into school programs through appropriate activities, starting in the early years. In addition, it is important to promote scientific and cognitive skills during childhood education. The main objective of this study was the implementation of an instructional sequence focused on the learning of skills such as observation, measurement, or interpretation of data related to plants, their germination, and their growth, as well as its relation with the development of food competence. To do so, a set of differentiated activities, organized into several stages, was designed, starting from simple and concrete situations and progressively increasing in complexity and abstraction. The aims were to express ideas about known fruits, vegetables, and legumes in order to expand them by learning new information through student-centered activities, in which children were able to practice and talk about science. The activities were carried out in a class of 24 students aged 4–5 years and data were compared with a control group. The results revealed that the children were motivated in all the activities, which provided an excellent opportunity to initially develop an interest in science and to start to develop food competence in the early years.
Luisa López‐Banet, José Antonio Miguélez Rosique, Marina Martínez‐Carmona et al.
Character education must be started from an early age through formal and nonformal education. The perception of the teacher to a science taught is very important. The aims of research are : (1) analyzing teacher’ perception towards character education in Early Childhood Education in Sunyaragi Village and (2) factors that influence character education in Early Childhood Education in Sunyaragi. This study used qualitative descriptive. The objects of this research were Play Group Annisa, Persil and Pelangi Sunyaragi. The techniques of data collection are Interview and observation; (a) Interviews are conducted to early chilhood teachers as many as 12 teachers, and (b) Questioner and (c) Observations are carried out to observe, know all activities organized by all components. To obtain accurate data, the researchers used data analysis techniques presented by Miles and Huberman namely: (a) Data Collection (b) Data Reduction, (c) Data Display , and (d) Conclusion (Drawing and Verifying ) The results of the study are (1) The teacher's perception of character values taught in the education process in Early Childhood Education Playing Group Annisa, Pelangi and Persil Sunyaragi are considered good, and (2) Factors that affect character education in Early Childhood Education are inhibition factors and supporting factors.
Abstract Conceptual discourse and practice of religious education is considered effective as a means of internalizing character values as early as possible for the provision of children's lives in the future. This study describes the implementation of religious education in instilling character values in early childhood by using a survey method in 624 early childhood education in 33 provinces in Indonesia. The results of this study indicate that the majority of early childhood education leaders implement religious education policies in the institutions they lead with a calculated value of (93.37%). Then the implementation of religious education strengthens cognitive knowledge through material content about God by (99.84%), Prophets by (100%), holy books by (100%), houses of worship by (100%), and material content about morals by (100%) 100%). While the affective aspect of religious education includes material content about value planting (100%), planting the value of helping to help (99.84%). While the material that leads to the psychomotor aspect includes material about mutual respect (99.52%), and material about politeness (99.84%). The narrative of the survey results shows that religious education at the early childhood education level has been carried out in accordance with early childhood education standards, namely placing religious education as a means of internalizing character values through material content that strengthens the cognitive, affective and psychomotor abilities of early childhood. Abstrak Diskursus konseptual dan praktik pendidikan agama dinilai efektif sebagai sarana internalisasi nilai karakter sedini mungkin untuk bekal hidup anak ke depan. Penelitian ini menjelaskan implementasi pendidikan agama dalam menanamkan nilai karakter pada anak usia dini dengan menggunakan metode survei di 624 lembaga pendidikan anak usia dini yang ada di 33 Provinsi di Indonesia. Hasil studi ini menunjukkan bahwa mayoritas pimpinan pendidikan anak usia dini menerapkan kebijakan pendidikan keagamaan di lembaga yang dipimpinnya dengan nilai perhitungan sebesar (93,37%). Kemudian implementasi pendidikan agama cenderung memperkuat aspek kognitif melalui konten materi tentang Tuhan sebesar (99,84%), Nabi sebesar (100%), kitab suci sebesar (100%), rumah ibadah sebesar (100%), dan konten materi tentang akhlak sebesar (100%). Sedangkan pendidikan agama yang menekankan aspek afektif meliputi konten materi tentang penanaman nilai kejujuran sebesar (100%), penanaman nilai tolong menolong sebesar (99.84%). Sementara untuk materi yang mengarah ke aspek psikomotor meliputi materi tentang saling menghormati sebesar (99,52%), dan materi tentang kesopanan sebesar (99,84%). Narasi hasil survey tersebut menunjukkan bahwa pendidikan agama pada jenjang pendidikan anak usia dini sudah dilaksanakan sesuai dengan standar isi pendidikannya, yaitu menempatkan pendidikan agama sebagai sarana internalisasi nilai karakter melalui konten materi yang memperkuat kognitif, afektif dan psikomotorik anak usia dini.
In this chapter, we offer a critical intersectional analysis of quality in early childhood education with the aim of moving away from a singular understanding of “best practice,” thereby interrupting the inequities such a concept fosters. While acknowledging how injustices are intersectionally constructed, we specifically identified critical race theory as a counterstory to White supremacy, culturally relevant and sustaining pedagogies as counterstories to monocultural teaching practices grounded in deficit and inferiority paradigms, and translanguaging as a counterstory to the (over)privileging of dominant American English monolingualism. While each of these counterstories forefronts one particular dimension of oppression, together they account for multiple, intersecting systems of oppressions; combined, they expand the cartography of early childhood education and serve to (re)center the definition of quality on the lives, experiences, voices, and values of multiply minoritized young children, families, and communities. Rejecting oppressive and reductionist notions of quality, through the use of re-mediation, this article offers design principles for intersectionally just early childhood education with the potential to transform the architecture of quality.
