Sensory development is the channel through which boys and girls receive information from their environment and from their own bodies.Based on this information, the individual will be able to give answers adapted to the conditions of the environment or environment, that is, they will carry out intelligent actions.This way, sensory stimulation favors the level of integration, facilitating basic learning and opening doors to more meaningful relationships.In this sense, it is the sensory rooms of educational institutions that present a clear and concrete proposal for said sensory development.The results of the creation of one of them in the first cycle of early childhood education, under a free experimentation methodology, in an institution in Zaragoza in Spain are presented below.The observed results have been a growing attention to the sensations experienced, evidenced in the expressions of the boys and girls about what their senses perceived.These perceptions were increasing, as well as the attention and concentration in the interaction with the stimuli and objects in the room.
Early-childhood development (ECD) is an important determinant of a child’s cognitive ability, learning, productivity, and lifetime earnings. Animal-sourced food (ASF), which is a rich source of high-quality protein and micronutrients, has been linked with ECD outcomes. This study investigates the relationship between the number, frequency, and cumulative consumption of ASF at 6, 9, 12, and 18 months of age and ECD outcomes at 24 months of age, controlling for physical growth. The study uses data collected from 701 mother−child pairs from an observational birth cohort study carried out in Banke, Nepal. ECD outcomes were assessed through a standardized ages and stages questionnaire (ASQ-3) tool. Separate multivariable ordinary least squares regression models were used to test for associations. Significant positive association was seen between total ASQ-3 score at 24 months of age and any ASF consumption at 18 months (β = 8.98, p-value < 0.01), controlling for growth outcomes. The study findings highlight the positive contribution and the accumulating benefit of consistent ASF consumption on ECD outcomes. This study recommends support and promotion of ASF intake among young children in Nepal through policy and programming actions relevant to female education; nutrition knowledge; quality ASF production; improved market access; cold storage; and poverty reduction.
Ashish Pokharel, Patrick M. Webb, Laurie Cass Miller et al.
High-quality research on family education has increased significantly over the past decade, with 1,040 documents recorded in Scopus. This study aims to analyze research trends, identify key terms, highlight the most active journals, examine author collaboration and citation networks, determine author affiliations and funding sources, map contributions by country, and explore related scientific fields. Data were collected from Scopus.com and analyzed using VOSViewer. The results show a positive trend with steady annual growth. Family education is closely linked to early childhood education, parenting, early intervention, and overall quality of life. Frontiers in Psychology is the most active journal in its field. Landier, W., is the most influential author. The top contributing institutions include Harvard Medical School and the University of Washington. Primary funding sources are the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The United States leads in publication output, followed by China and Canada. Most articles are from the fields of medicine and social sciences. These findings highlight family education as a growing multidisciplinary field with wide-ranging impacts. The results guide policymakers in creating targeted parental training on digital literacy and emotional regulation, while education practitioners can apply family-centered interventions to enhance parental involvement in early learning.
Imam Muthie, Khairul Alfahani, Ary Kiswanto Kenedi et al.
Early childhood development (ECD), from birth to 6, occupies an ambivalent space within a system ranging from birth to 9. Professional Early Childhood Development Associations and Unions (ECDAUs) are important structures to elevate early learning issues in the context of building quality ECD systems. This article explores issues that ECDAUs encountered in the South African context as they struggled to build professionalism. Socially constructed notions of professionalism and ideas from transformative politics provided the theoretical lenses for the study. Six participants from four associations and one union participated in the study. The findings show that although ECDAUs actively build professionalism, they remain fragile structures in multi-dimensional, complex and rapidly transforming environments. There are attempts to consolidate efforts to move the professionalism/ECD agenda forward. This thrust, however, is stronger from ECD associations than from the union, which still needs to incorporate ECD for 5 to 6 year-olds in its work.
Background: Early childhood development (ECD) centres play a crucial role in children’s well-being. Multifaceted obstacles hinder ECD centres registration. Overcoming these challenges demands a multisectoral approach to ensure quality education for all children. Aim: This study provides an overview of the quality of ECD centres in South Africa, and then focusses on the specific obstacles ECD centres face in registering their centres with the Department of Social Development (DSD). Setting: An ECD census was conducted in nine South African provinces. Methods: This study analysed data from the South Africa ECD Census (2021). The sample size was 42 420; however, this study analysed data for 39 375 for centres who responded to whether they were registered with the DSD across all South Africa’s nine provinces. Data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Results: Only 16% of ECD centres were in the formal registration process, while 43% were not registered. Barriers included no bank account, a lack of separate classes, and insufficient staff. In multivariate analysis, the absence of a bank account strongly predicted registration barriers (RRR 4.21; CI 6.37–7.62, p < 0.05). Conclusion: This study underscores the critical role of ECD centres in shaping the foundational aspects of children’s lives. There is an urgent need to streamline the ECD registration process. Contribution: The study finds 43% of childcare centres were unregistered, supporting the call for simplified registration to improve access to quality education and reduce educational disparities in South Africa.
Matshidiso V. Sello, Nicole De Wet, Khuthala Mabetha et al.
As the U.S Hispanic population has increasingly grown throughout the years, the growing population has indicated that there will be change in the makeup of the cultural fabric of the country. The Hispanic population growth has led to the increase in numbers of English Learner (EL) students in both private and public schools in the U.S. which has subsequently led to the need to adapt and improve the U.S. education system for EL students. As the transformation in our counties cultural fabric continues to change the same change needs to be reflected on the student’s education. This narrative will explain and rationalize the pedagogical practices that are in place to improve and embrace multilingualism and multiculturalism in education from early childhood development to higher education. The narrative found that a key indicator that influences the success of Hispanic students is early childhood development and education, this includes having access to necessary resources, being in culturally stimulating environment and training in English proficiency. The narrative also found that early education should not be limited to just schools but also needs the cooperation from the student’s family and cultural centers. If early childhood development is not established the student will not be on the same level as other students and will be attempting to catch up to the education level other students are at. As the student gets older practices such as the ones being practiced in early childhood development should expand throughout the student’s education.
INTRODUCTION: Natural hazards are damaging environmental events, such as fires, droughts and floods, which have negative impacts on human lives, livelihoods and health. Natural hazards are increasing in intensity and severity, and may potentially have harmful effects on the health and development of children who experience them. There are few syntheses of the evidence about the effects of natural hazards on the early development of children aged from birth to 5 years old. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis is to determine the impact of natural hazards on the cognitive, motor, language, social and emotional development of children from birth to 5 years old. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: Comprehensive searches will be conducted in five bibliographic databases: Ovid MEDLINE, Ovid PsycInfo, CINAHL Plus, Scopus and Ovid EMBASE, using predefined search terms to identify the relevant studies. The review will follow the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Eligible studies will be included if they report on the association between exposure to natural hazards and at least one indicator of early childhood development (ECD). Extracted data will include: main study findings, characteristics of the study design, measures of natural hazards and ECD indicators. Observational studies with cross-sectional, case-control, prospective or retrospective cohort designs will be included in this review. Case descriptions and qualitative studies will be excluded. Study quality will be assessed using the Joanna Brigg's Institute critical appraisal tools. We will conduct a meta-analysis if the reviewed studies are sufficiently homogeneous according to research design, exposure, participants and outcome measures. The meta-analysis will include subgroup analyses (eg, length of exposure to natural hazard, type of natural hazard, ECD indicator). ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The findings will be disseminated through a peer-review publication, policy brief, technical report and report published on institutional stakeholder websites. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42022331621.
Hemavarni Doma, Thach Duc Tran, Lorena Romero et al.
BACKGROUND: Many stakeholders are involved in the complicated process of policy making in integrated early childhood development (IECD). In other words, there are many challenges for IECD policy making in developing countries, including Iran. The aim of this study was to identify potential stakeholders and their interactions in IECD policy making in Iran. METHOD: A mixed-methods study was conducted in two phases in 2018. First, forty semi-structured interviews and a review of IECD-related documents were conducted to identify potential stakeholders and their roles. Second, using a designed checklist, these stakeholders were assessed for power, interest, and position in IECD policy making. Then, a map of stakeholders and a three-dimensional stakeholder analysis figure were designed. RESULTS: The results of this study showed that various stakeholders, including governmental, semi-governmental, social, non-governmental and international organizations, potentially influence IECD policy in Iran. They were found to have diverse levels of power, interest and position in this regard, leading to their different impacts on the process. This diversity is assumed to have affected their levels of participation and support. Also, we found that the stakeholders with a high-power level do not have a high level of interest in, or support for, IECD policy. In general, organizational competition, complicated inter-sectoral nature of this process, insufficient budget, insufficient awareness about the importance of IECD, lack of priority given to IECD in relevant organizations, economical views rather than developmental perspectives, and lack of commitment among top managers are the reasons why this policy enjoys a low degree of support. CONCLUSIONS: There are weaknesses in effective interactions and relationships among IECD policy stakeholders. This will lead to the lack of equal opportunities for optimal early childhood development. To improve this process, advocacy from high-level authorities of the organizations, negotiation with child-friendly groups, establishing a body to coordinate and oversee children's affairs, using the capacity of non-governmental organizations, strengthening inter-sectoral collaboration by clarifying the roles and responsibilities of stakeholders and the relationships between them, and increasing public awareness can be helpful.
Omolbanin Atashbahar, Ali Akbari Sari, Amirhossein Takian et al.
In contemporary society, the prevalence of obesity and other diet-related health complications in children and adolescents is increasingly high, becoming a health epidemic on its own. Such diet-related health complications can be sourced through an unhealthy diet and/or genetics. However, numerous external elements too act as dietary influences, making it exceptionally feasible to become overweight or obese at a young age. Unfortunately, the consequences of suffering from diet-related diseases negatively impact a child extensively. Further, recent studies highlight the significance of such health complications on leaving life-long effects on a child’s future growth. Raising awareness of the importance of maintaining healthy dietary patterns, particularly meal structure restricting high-sugar intake, and providing children with adequate nutrition and nourishment can inhibit the development of serious health conditions and cultivate optimal child development. This paper synthesizes the latest research on the aforementioned topics as well as the effects of sugar on a child’s body and mind and other serious consequences of a high-sugar diet on young children.
Nutrition is a cornerstone of early childhood development, influencing cognitive, physical, and socio-emotional growth, and shaping long-term educational outcomes. This systematic review, based on 45 peer-reviewed studies, follows the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines to examine the impact of nutritional interventions on educational metrics in children aged 0–8 years. The findings reveal that micronutrient supplementation, particularly iron, iodine, and zinc, significantly enhances cognitive functions such as memory, attention, and problem-solving. School meal programs demonstrate dual benefits by improving nutritional intake and academic performance, particularly in marginalized communities. Longitudinal studies highlight the enduring effects of early nutritional interventions, showing improvements in educational attainment and socio-economic mobility. However, socio-economic determinants, such as household income, parental education, and food security, continue to perpetuate disparities in nutritional access and educational opportunities. The review also identifies significant challenges in implementing and sustaining nutritional policies, including logistical barriers and funding constraints, while highlighting innovative solutions such as technology-driven interventions and community-based approaches. This study underscores the necessity of integrating nutrition-focused programs with educational and socio-economic policies to address systemic inequalities and improve outcomes for children globally. Future research should explore the intergenerational impacts of nutritional interventions and leverage technological advancements for scalable and sustainable solutions.
