Early Childhood Education in Societal Context: Teachers in Three Countries Speak About Early Childhood Education

Building on the cross-cultural patterns and systems research as well as social constructivism, in-depth interviews were conducted with key informant early childhood teachers in three regions with similar characteristics in Sweden, Russia, and in the United States. Inductive analyses revealed differences in responses among Swedish, Russian and American informants related to the macro-, meso-, and micro-levels of societal system. United States teacher informants had a great number of separate topic comments and distributed them more evenly across all levels than did Russian and Swedish teacher informants who had more emphasis at the meso level. United States and Russian teacher informants discussed the lack of societal support for young children and their families, while Swedish teacher informants seemed to almost take this support for ranted. United States teacher informants suggested that early childhood programs were important in developing support networks among parents, while Russian teacher informants often gave information to parents and Swedish teachers spoke about mutually sharing information. United States teacher informants desired both strict rules with strong academic content and extension of the child's initiations through play; they emphasized activities and materials. Swedish teachers discussed a child- centered approach to social learning and creativity and desired to be with children rather than do activities with them. Russian teacher informants emphasized the importance of obedience, aesthetic education, and preparation for school and the labor of the larger society. These study outcomes deepen understanding about the multidemensional relationships between early childhood programs and societal contexts in which they are embedded, and they suggest alternative approaches to working with young children and their families.     

"My family and friends": six- to twelve-year-old children's perceptions of social support

A psychometrically sound instrument is essential for the study of children's subjective impressions about social support. To evaluate such an instrument, 249 children, 6-12 years old, from a population-based sample of black and white families (50% single mothers, 50% two parents) were studied. The newly developed instrument, "My Family and Friends," consists of 12 dialogues, based on Vygotskian principles, and yields information about (a) children's perceptions of the availability of individuals in their networks to provide different types of social support and (b) their satisfaction with the help they receive. Children collaborate in interactive dialogues and manipulate personalized props. Collectively, the data indicate that subjective impressions about social support can be measured in a reliable and valid manner from early childhood through adolescence, and that children understand and care about the quality and the differentiation of support (i.e., emotional, informational, instrumental, and companionship) within their social support networks. Further, children report significant variations in social support when undergoing major family upheaval.     

Parent stress and satisfaction with early intervention services for children with disabilities – a longitudinal study from Germany

This study assessed parent–child and family-related stress at two points of time and analysed relationships between stress, child and family characteristics and parent satisfaction with early intervention services. In Germany, 125 parents of young children with intellectual disabilities, hearing impairment or visual impairment responded to a questionnaire. Eighty-seven parents agreed to participate in the second survey. Results indicated that (a) perceived parenting competence is associated with general self-efficacy and satisfaction with professional support, (b) parent–child interactional stress increased with time, specifically in families with children with intellectual disability or visual impairment, (c) the level of satisfaction with amount and quality of family support was low in a considerable subgroup of parents, (d) regression analyses support predictive relationships among parent–child stress, family-related stress, perceived parenting competence and satisfaction with early intervention services.     

Parenting stress and social support in hearing mothers of deaf and hearing children: a longitudinal study

This longitudinal study investigated the impact of child deafness on mothers' stress, size of social networks, and satisfaction with social support. Twenty-three hearing mothers of deaf children and 23 hearing mothers of hearing children completed a series of self-report questionnaires when their children were 22 months, 3, and 4 years old. When children were 22 months, more mothers of deaf children reported pessimism about their children's achieving self-sufficiency and concerns about their children's communication abilities than did mothers of hearing children. When their children were 3 and 4 years old, mothers of deaf and hearing children did not differ in their reports of general parenting stress, as measured by the Parenting Stress Index (PSI). Likewise, mothers' ratings of satisfaction with social support were not affected by child deafness, nor did they change developmentally. Mothers of deaf and hearing children did differ in the types of support networks utilized. Mothers of deaf 22-month-olds reported significantly larger professional support networks, while mothers of hearing children reported significantly larger general support networks across all child ages. Mothers' feelings of stress and satisfaction with social support were very stable across the 2 years examined. The results suggest that most mothers of deaf children do not feel a high level of general parenting stress or dissatisfaction with their lives and support networks. However, mothers of deaf children are likely to feel stress in areas specific to deafness. In addition, because parenting stress was highly stable, special efforts should be made to intervene when mothers of deaf children are expressing high levels of stress.     

Perceptions of Preservice Early Educators: How Adults Support Preschoolers' Social Development

Studies show that for preschool-age children, social skills can have a profound effect on, and be a predictor of, future societal success and school achievement. Therefore, it is essential that young children develop appropriate social behaviors. To do this, preschoolers need support and guidance from the adults in their life: parents, family, and early educators. This study looks at the perceptions of preservice early educators in regards to their understanding of preschoolers' social and antisocial behaviors, their assumptions about what appropriate adult interventions might be, and their beliefs about the role they, as early educators, play in supporting young children's social development.     

Stopping abuse before it occurs: Different solutions for different population groups

This paper reports on a conference at which participants reviewed indepth the literature on child abuse prevention and child development, as it pertains to different cultural and ethnic population groups, and identifies alternative prevention strategies for these different groups. The efficacy of the following interventions are analyzed: perinatal support programs, education for parents, treatment for abused children, early and periodic childhood screening and treatment programs: social skills training for children and young adults; mutual aid programs and neighborhood support groups; family support services such as crisis care; public information about child abuse and community development activities such as employment assistance. The paper concludes that although treatment services for different groups may be quite similar, prevention strategies must take account of the individual and unique values, norms and socialization patterns of different groups.     

Social Outcomes Associated With Media Viewing Habits of Low-Income Preschool Children

Research Findings: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between preschool children's social outcomes in the classroom (including hyperactivity, aggression, and social skills) and their media viewing habits (including the amount of television they watch and whether they watch videos/movies that are rated as inappropriate for young children). The participants were 92 low-income pre-kindergarten-age children for whom we obtained parent reports of media viewing habits and teacher reports of classroom behavior. The results suggested that viewing of inappropriate content was associated with higher hyperactivity and aggression scores and a lower social skills rating, whereas the amount of viewing was not related to these classroom outcomes. Policy: There has been a great deal of focus on how both the amount and content of television viewed affects social development in middle and later childhood. These studies have helped influence the development of guidelines for parents of young children to limit media viewing. The findings from the present study suggest that school personnel and others should monitor the content of what preschoolers are watching and should educate parents about the potential impact of media viewing on children's classroom behavior.     

Developmental Status and Social–Emotional Functioning of Young Children Experiencing Homelessness

The developmental status and social–emotional functioning of young children who are homeless has received inadequate attention in spite of high rates of homelessness among families with young children and the potentially negative impact of homelessness and associated stressors on children’s well-being. The aim of this study was to gain understanding of homeless children’s social–emotional adjustment and their functioning in language, motor, and cognitive skills. We also examined gender and age differences in those areas of development. The sample included 328 children residing with their parents in one of 11 emergency shelter or transitional housing programs for families who were experiencing homelessness in a central North Carolina county. Child case managers administered the Brigance Early Childhood Screen II and the Ages and Stages Questionnaire: Socioemotional form in the shelter setting. Findings indicated variability in competence among the children, with some children performing above average on the developmental screening and demonstrating few social–emotional problems. However, developmental scores for overall functioning of the sample were significantly below the norming group, with particularly low functioning in language and communication skills. Parents of 24.8 % of the children had substantial concerns about their children’s mental health status. Although there are individual differences in adjustment of children experiencing homelessness, results support wide-scale screening and access to early intervention for these vulnerable children. Future investigations could be directed to identifying factors associated with resilience among children without homes.     

Ready,steady … pause: integrating ICT into Shanghai preschools

Western research over the last decade has shown that early childhood (EC) teachers’ perspectives on the role of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in the early years strongly shape young children's experiences in educational settings and affect the integration of ICT into the classroom. The research in China is scant however. This article reports a study of Chinese EC teachers’ views on the use of ICT in preschools. Data consist of illustrative original quotations generated from interviews with four teachers, as part of a larger study. This study shows that Chinese preschool teachers had an emerging understanding about social and technological impacts on the use of ICT in early childhood education (ECE), but they recognised the value of ICT for young children and themselves in a limited way. This restrained young children's active and meaningful use of ICT for early learning and development. We argue that there is a need to develop explicit ICT polices and curriculum guidelines for the ECE system that emphasise young children's active and creative use of ICT for early learning and development, and better support teacher learning.     

Gender differences and social support: Mediators or moderators between peer victimization and depressive feelings?

Using self‐report questionnaires, a survey among 606 Dutch primary school children aged 10 to 12 years examined relationships among social support, gender, victimization, and depressive feelings. Hierarchical regression analyses confirmed that victims and bully/victims would report more depressive feelings than uninvolved children. There was no evidence that social support moderated the relationship between victimization and depressive feelings. However, social support appeared to influence the depressive feelings of victimized children, that is, pupils who were victimized received very little support and hence suffered depression. This general mediation effect could be observed in boys. In girls, the mediating effects of social support were more diffuse. For girls, the risk factor for the development of depressive feelings did not so much pertain to the type of bullying as to the subsequent lack of social support they experienced. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Inclusion Means Everyone! The Role of the Early Childhood Educator when Including Young Children with Autism in the Classroom

The impact of the emphasis on inclusion in special education has resulted in a higher frequency of young children with autism being included in early childhood programs with typically developing peers. Many early childhood educators have risen to face the challenge, and this has resulted in enhanced learning for young children with autism in the regular classroom. This article focuses on the multiple roles of early childhood educators as they work with the diverse needs of young children with autism in their classrooms.     

‘She might not have the right tools… and he does’: children’s sense‐making of gender,work and abilities in early school readers

Children’s cultural worlds provide them with many different sources of information about gender and work. Early school reader illustrations, for example, are a cultural resource that produces particular meanings about gender, however children may also draw on understandings from other contexts to make their own sense of these representations. The study described in this article interviewed young children about illustrations depicting women and men’s work in two early school readers. Feminist poststructuralist analyses were used to examine representations in illustrations and how children made sense of them. Findings revealed variability of meanings about gender and work in both illustrations and the children’s accounts, assigning women agency and equality on some occasions while locating them in a gender hierarchy below men at other times. Although findings illuminate children’s access to an egalitarian discourse, they also point to an ongoing need to support and encourage children’s critical reading of texts.     

Choosing a secondary school for young people on the autism spectrum: a multi-informant study

Deciding on a secondary school for children with autism is notoriously difficult for parents. While current UK legislation emphasises the choice that parents of children with special educational needs should have in educational decision-making, there is a dearth of research in this area, which means that little is known about how parents come to make decisions about secondary school placements and the types of support, if any, they receive from professionals. The present study aimed to determine the factors that immediately influence secondary school choice for young people with autism in one London local authority from the perspectives of multiple informants. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with parents of children with autism (n?=?7), young people themselves prior to secondary school entry (n?=?6), parent advisors (n?=?5) and secondary school professionals (n?=?5). Parents emphasised the anxiety and burden of the decision-making process. There was, however, substantial agreement among adult groups on the factors necessary for a successful secondary school placement: a nurturing, flexible and inclusive environment that emphasised both academic and life skills. Few adults, however, mentioned the importance of children's social relationships – a factor that featured prominently in the reports of young people. These findings highlight both the different perceptions of those involved in making decisions about the educational placements of children with autism and the challenges associated with weighing up these potentially conflicting perspectives. More work is needed to ensure both that information is transparent and accessible to all parents and that young people are actively involved in decisions that ultimately affect their lives.     

Critical conversations with children's literature: how cultural and political vignettes (CPVs) support young readers

Young children today have greater access to culturally and politically sensitive information than at any other time in history. Although there are many positive aspects of children having greater access, negative consequences can also result, especially when they do not have sufficient structured and supportive opportunities to question, discuss and analyse the information they are receiving. Presently, teachers are faced with a multitude of intricate social phenomena in their classrooms, many of which leave them feeling apprehensive and unprepared. Some teachers of young learners need guidance, pedagogical practices and strategies to help their students address their questions and concerns about sensitive social issues in healthy, constructive ways that lead to positive, transformative action.     

Changes in children’s reasoning about the social inclusion of aggressive children over the early years of elementary school

While there is growing understanding about children’s moral reasoning for social inclusion and exclusion, we know little about how children reason specifically about the inclusion of aggressive children in school settings. To investigate children’s decisions about such inclusion and how they justified those decisions, this study reports data from 172 children interviewed in Year 1 (female?=?85, male?=?87), between the ages of six and seven and 155 children (female?=?78, male?=?79) who were interviewed again in Year 2. The children’s responses to scenarios regarding inclusion or exclusion of an aggressive child (who is bossy and pushes others around) in their play at school demonstrated that they were more likely to include an aggressive child in their play in Year 2 than in Year 1 of elementary school. They were also more likely in Year 2 to provide justifications that demonstrated a deeper understanding of the reasons for children’s aggressive behaviour at school. These data suggest that children’s school experiences may contribute to their ability to access multiple perspectives when reasoning about inclusion of others. Findings suggest the need to consider more closely how contextual experiences influence young children’s moral reasoning.     

Implementing early childhood inclusion: Barrier and support factors

This study examined the underlying factor structure of a rating scale designed to assess perceived barriers and supports associated with early childhood inclusion. Participants were 201 administrators and direct service providers from the early intervention, early childhood, and special education fields and 287 parents (primarily mothers) of young children with disabilities (birth through 5 years) who received early intervention services. A four-factor solution for barriers that accounted for 41% of the total variance emerged from an exploratory factor analysis. Because one of the factors was found to have low internal consistency, a three-factor solution was used in subsequent analyses. The three factors consisted of barriers associated with early childhood program quality, community resources, and coordinating and integrating services for children with disabilities and their families. Items reflecting supports for early childhood inclusion produced a single supports factor. A confirmatory factor analysis revealed a barriers factor structure for parents that was consistent with that obtained for professionals. Background variables contributed to explaining ratings of barriers and supports among parents who differed with respect to race, education, employment status, and experience with inclusion, lending further support for the validity of the factor structure.     

Where have they gone? Issues in transition and progression for special school leavers

This paper reports on semi-structured interviews with 76 former special school students now aged between 16 and 25. These young people were 'disadvantaged' rather than 'disabled' and many were experiencing 'fractured' transitions from school. Although they were more positive about their schools than similarly disadvantaged peers who had attended mainstream provision, they nonetheless raised concerns about the quality and usefulness of their experiences. On leaving school they had, in many cases, moved from one unsatisfactory activity to another, without any obvious signs of progression. They displayed a high level of purposefulness but lacked personal and social resources to support their progression within somewhat unsupportive structures. The paper argues that an exclusive focus on transition from school is inadequate and that young people may need support well after this point, possibly from the Connexions service. It also suggests that the notion of 'resilience' may have more to offer than traditional special education discourses.     

What measures of program quality tell us about the importance of executive function: implications for teacher education and preparation

In recent years, increased attention has been given to executive function and its relationship to the overall learning and development of young children. Because of this, it is essential that educators have the skills needed to effectively facilitate the development of executive function throughout early childhood. The focus of the current paper is to provide early childhood practitioners, teacher educators, and researchers with (1) background information about executive function, and (2) findings from a recent large-scale study that provide preliminary information about specific aspects of the learning environment that may support executive function development. In addition, a discussion surrounding implications for practice, particularly related to supporting pre- and in-service teachers as they acquire the skills needed to effectively support young children’s development of executive function skills, is provided. Finally, potential avenues of future research that focus on understanding the role of the learning environment on executive function development are outlined.     

An Observational Study of Social Communication Skills in Eight Preschoolers with and Without Hearing Loss During Cooperative Play

Early peer relationships and interactions influence social acceptance and a child’s ability to form social relationships later in life (Ladd 2005). Although it has been reported that some children with profound hearing loss who have experienced the oral approach since diagnosis display language skills similar to children with typical hearing (DeLuzio and Girolametto 2011), many may still be excluded socially and have subtle communication differences that impact friendships. More information is needed about how differences and similarities are manifested in young children with hearing loss. This investigation observed the frequency of three social communicative behaviors displayed by eight preschoolers with and without hearing loss as they played in dyads during unstructured table activities. The results revealed that the children with hearing loss produced about a quarter as many initiated verbal comments; however, they engaged in more verbal and play turns than their playmates with typical hearing. Implications for teaching young children with hearing loss in inclusive preschool settings are discussed.