Digital play as a means to develop children’s literacy and power in the Swedish preschool

Abstract

This paper presents different angles on the subject of digital play as a means to develop children’s literacy and power, using an online ethnographical study of Swedish preschool teachers’ discussions in informal online forums. Question posts (n = 239) were analysed using the Technological Pedagogical Knowledge framework and the Caring, Nurturing and Teaching framework, with the aim of understanding how teachers intended to support children’s literacy development with tablets. Literacy development can be understood as a social practice that needs to develop along with changes in society’s demands on citizens. The results presented indicate that school subject oriented skills are predominantly present in the mind-set of these preschool teachers. When digital play is increasingly used for pedagogical purposes in preschools, that also means that preschools have expanded their opportunities to work with children’s literacy development. For preschool teachers, it is important to discuss how literacy development can be supported in a contemporary media landscape.     

Organisation du produit de deux ensembles: Influence des interactions sociales entre pairs sur les procédures de résolution et les performances individuelles

This study investigates the efficacy of socio-cognitive confrontations between children upon their individual abilities to solve problems involving the organization of products of two sets. The focus is more precisely on the analysis of both the effects of interaction setting conditions, and the mechanisms that may yield progress. 67 5 to 6-year-old children were assigned to a control group in which they had to work alone and two experimental groups in which they had to work in pairs on two problems. The difference between the two experimental groups was where each child sat in relation to the other and to the matrix they had to fill. Results show higher proportions of progress and of changes of problem-solving procedures among children belonging to the experimental groups. The role played by the interaction setting conditions is also evidenced. Moreover, the «destabilization» of solving procedures appears to be a determining element for the efficacy of peer interactions. Finally in the discussion, we attempt at showing how a solving processes analysis enables us to understand better how activities carried out in socio-cognitive confrontation and individual cognitive activities can be articulated.     

Developing different identity trajectories: lessons from the Chinese teachers

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to investigate how three Chinese teachers developed their teacher identities in a reform context. Drawing upon data from a larger social historical study, the work-life narratives of the three teachers at different stages of their careers were used as case studies to showcase three types of teacher identity development trajectories, namely, learning to be both professional educator and subject teaching expert，learning to be subject teaching expert, and navigating to balance between educator and subject teacher. This study also investigated the factors that influence identity development trajectories of teachers and develops a conceptual framework for understanding teacher identity development in China. The framework shows that Chinese teachers’ exertion of their individual agency is embedded in the institutional context. Meanwhile, interpersonal relationships can work as a buffer to alleviate the tension between the institution and individual teachers. The study also shows the ways in which Chinese teachers’ exert their agency when developing their identities. The findings have significant implications for teacher education in terms of how to develop positive teacher identity over the course of a teacher’s career.     

Teacher–child relationships and early childhood practice

This phenomenological study explored how two experienced teachers interacted with children in classes of three‐ and five‐year‐olds. The aim was to further understand the nature of practice that promotes communicative teacher–child relationships. The study took place in a private preschool programme in the United States. Through once‐a‐week participant observations from September to December 2009 and interviews with the teachers, the study illustrated how their practice was based around valuing children’s ideas, effort, space and work, and around maintaining enthusiasm towards children’s and their own learning. In these processes, the study showed the importance of (1) teachers’ firm understanding of the context of children’s development, and their awareness of the role which they play in creating this, and (2) an environment that promotes ‘flow’ of their practice. As the study builds on developmental systems theory, the findings highlight the ways in which contexts that support teachers’ professional autonomy may influence their interactions and relationships with children.     

Theory of Mind: a Hidden Factor in Reading Comprehension?

Theory of mind is the understanding that other people have mental states that drive their actions and that those mental states can be different from one’s own. Without understanding theory of mind and being able to take others’ perspectives, it could be difficult for children to read and understand narrative texts. This paper posits that children’s understanding of others’ minds may be a potential missing piece in current accounts of reading comprehension. Indeed, the typical progression of children’s theory of mind abilities across childhood is closely aligned with the development of narrative processing skills. Furthermore, emerging evidence shows that both narrative processing and theory of mind are predictive of children’s reading comprehension, both concurrently and longitudinally. We present a possible explanation for why such a link exists and propose a causal framework of this relation in which increased ToM leads to increased understanding of and inferencing about characters’ mental states. Understanding characters’ mental states then leads to better reading comprehension. The framework makes novel, testable predictions and provides directions for future research.     

Intervening to Improve Teachers’ Need-supportive Behaviour Using Self-Determination Theory: Its Effects on Teachers and on the Motivation of Students with Deafblindness

Research on Self-Determination Theory has shown that teachers’ need-supportive behaviour is associated with student motivation and engagement. The purpose of this study is to examine the effectiveness of an intervention aimed at increasing the motivation of students with congenital and acquired deafblindness by enhancing teachers’ need-supportive behaviour. To assess the intervention effect, this study follows a multiple case-study design. Teacher questionnaires were administered and video observations of teacher–student interactions were made during pre-test, post-test and follow-up phases. The results showed that teachers provided involvement most, followed by structure and autonomy support. Teachers’ provision of structure and autonomy seems to improve most after the intervention. In general, teachers of students with congenital deafblindness showed larger intervention effects than teachers of students with acquired deafblindness. The results also provide indications that students’ levels of engagement improved after the intervention.     

Early understanding and production of graphic symbols

Young children's ability to understand and produce graphic symbols within an environment of social communication was investigated in two experiments. Children aged 2, 3, and 4 years produced graphic symbols of simple objects on their own, used them in a social communicative game, and responded to experimenter's symbols. In Experiment 1 (N = 48), 2-year-olds did not effectively produce symbols or use the experimenter's symbols in the choice task, whereas 3- and 4-year-olds improved their drawings following the game and performed above chance with the experimenter's symbols. Ability to produce an effective graphic symbol was correlated with success on a task that measured understanding of the experimenter's symbols, supporting the claim that children's ability to produce a graphic symbol rests on the understanding of the symbolic function of pictures. In Experiment 2, 32 children aged 3 and 4 years improved their third set of drawings when they received feedback that their drawings were not effective communications. The results suggest that production and understanding of graphic symbols can be facilitated by the same social factors that improve verbal symbolic abilities, thereby raising the question of domain specificity in symbolic development.     

培养幼儿创新精神之环境创设

面对＂创造＂日益成为时代主题的社会,为幼儿创设良好的环境,培养其创新精神和实践能力理应成为广大幼儿教师义不容辞的责任。培养幼儿的创新精神,物质环境创设路径为：设置＂小问号＂信箱,引导幼儿善思、好问;设立＂巧手角＂,开展创新性实践活动;让＂自然角＂成为幼儿主动探究的阵地;丰富活动区材料,发展幼儿创造思维。精神环境的创设路...     

Teachers’ Social–Emotional Capacity: Factors Associated With Teachers’ Responsiveness and Professional Commitment

Research Findings: Early care and education has pronounced implications for young children’s social-emotional learning. Although program structural and classroom process quality indicators have been widely explored, teachers’ personal social–emotional capacity has only recently been recognized as an indicator of quality. This study reviewed and identified indicators of teachers’ social-emotional capacity and established a two factor structure of psychological load and coping abilities. We also explored correlational associations between teachers’ social-emotional capacity and their professional commitment and responsiveness to children’s negative emotions. The sample consisted of 1,129 teachers in center-based child-care programs and public preschools in the US. We found that teachers’ psychological load (depression, stress and emotional exhaustion) was associated with teachers’ negative reactions to children and teachers’ professional commitment after controlling for a wide range of teacher/classroom characteristics. Conversely, teachers’ coping abilities (reappraisal emotion regulation and problem-focused coping strategies) were related to their positive reactions to children’s negative emotions. Practice or Policy: The findings suggest further studies to identify training and professional development program components that might address early childhood teachers’ psychological difficulties and coping strategies. Child-care programs may also need efforts that support teachers’ social–emotional capacity as a way to improve teachers’ responsiveness and professional commitment.     

The Impact of Congenital Deafblindness on the Struggle to Symbolism

Most children who are congenitally deafblind are severely delayed in their communication development and many will not achieve symbolic understanding and expression. This article discusses developmental markers cited in the research literature as predictive of or facilitative of the development of symbolism. These markers include the growth toward more abstract representations, the rate of intentional communication, joint attention to objects and others, achievement of abstract play, consonantal and interactive vocalisations, distal gesture, varied early vocabulary and categories, use of varied cues for recall, object permanence, 1:1 correspondence, cause–effect, discrimination skills, and imitation. The impact of congenital deafblindness on the achievement of these milestones is presented, along with compensatory strategies to support the child’s development.     

Characterizing pivotal teaching moments in beginning mathematics teachers’ practice

Although skilled mathematics teachers and teacher educators often “know” when interruptions in the flow of a lesson provide an opportunity to modify instruction to improve students’ mathematical understanding, others, particularly novice teachers, often fail to recognize or act on such moments. These pivotal teaching moments (PTMs), however, are key to instruction that builds on student thinking about mathematics. Video of beginning secondary school mathematics teachers’ instruction was analyzed to identify and characterize PTMs in mathematics lessons and to examine the relationships among the PTMs, the teachers’ decisions in response to them, and the likely impacts on student learning. These data were used to develop a preliminary framework for helping teachers learn to identify and respond to PTMs that occur during their instruction. The results of this exploratory study highlight the importance of teacher education preparing teachers to (a) understand the mathematical terrain their students are traversing, (b) notice high-leverage student mathematical thinking, and (c) productively act on that thinking. This preparation would improve beginning teachers’ abilities to act in ways that would increase their students’ mathematical understanding.     

学前儿童语言叙事能力的宏观结构研究

学前儿童语言叙事能力的研究在西方各国的儿童语言研究中都占有一席之地,而且也都以前期的基础性研究而进入了实用研究的阶段,广泛应用在学前儿童教育,儿童语言障碍诊断和干预,以及学前师范教育等教育层面的各个环节。在我国目前的儿童语言研究中,实证性的调查研究还处在启蒙阶段,还未见历时的实时话语的语料和分析的结果;而且照搬国外的理论和做法是否适合汉语和东方文化的特点还有待考证。本文就是在国外和港台等研究的基础上针对内陆地区的普通话语境,以收集到的4-6岁的学前儿童叙事语料为研究基础,运用语篇分析理论对学前儿童的语言叙事能力发展的宏观结构做出观察,记录和分析,总结其发展轨迹,展示其发展特点,为儿童语言叙事能力的发展研究奠定基础。     

Social interaction,relationships, and the development of causal discourse and conflict management

Links between the development of social understanding and social processes are considered, in the context of data on the development of causal reasoning and argument in conflict, drawn from a longitudinal study of 50 children observed in conversation with their mothers, siblings, and friends at 33 and 47 months of age. Children showed powers of causal reasoning before they were 3 years, capabilities that showed rapid developmental change; their interest in cause was particularly focussed on psychological causality and social action. The contexts of disputes were especially important. Differences were found in children’s arguments with their mothers, siblings, and friends, with more ‘other-oriented’ reasoning shown with friends. It is argued that the data support Vygotskyan ideas on the significance of social interaction in developmental advance, that the pragmatics of what children and their partners are trying to do must be taken into account in considering what children may be learning in interactions, and that ‘social competence’ should not be treated as an individual within-child trait, but that we should move towards a ‘relationships’ approach to the development of social understanding.     

在绘本教学中促进幼儿深度学习的策略

深度学习能够最大程度地彰显幼儿的主体性,使幼儿获得更高的自我价值感,并在内部动机的激发下形成良好的学习品质与思维习惯。由于当前幼儿园教师对绘本的解读缺乏深度,对绘本教学目标的设置过于浅显,绘本教学过程缺乏层次性,绘本教学方法比较单一,致使绘本教学难以帮助幼儿进行深度学习。要改变这一现状,实现绘本教学对幼儿深度学习的促进作用,教师应深度研读绘本,准确把握绘本内容与幼儿发展之间的内在关联;明确以促进幼儿深度学习为绘本教学目标,增强幼儿深度学习的目的性与方向性;引导幼儿反复阅读绘本,增进幼儿对绘本内容与意义的多重理解和自主建构。     

Exploring Teachers’ Depressive Symptoms,Interaction Quality,and Children’s Social-Emotional Development in Head Start

Research Findings: This study explored the role Head Start teachers’ (n = 355) depressive symptoms play in their interactions with children and in children’s (n = 2,203) social-emotional development, specifically changes in children’s problem behaviors and social skills as reported by parents and teachers during the preschool year. Results of the multilevel path analyses revealed that children in classrooms with more depressed teachers made significantly fewer gains in social-emotional skills as reported by both teachers and parents. We found no evidence of mediation by the quality of teacher–child interactions. Practice or Policy: These findings have implications for understanding and supporting Head Start teachers’ mental health and potentially improving children’s social-emotional outcomes.     

Understanding the symbolic capital of intercultural interactions: a case study of international students in Australia

Intercultural interaction plays an important role in contributing to international students’ learning and wellbeing in the host country. While research on international students’ intercultural interactions reveals multifaceted aspects of personal and social factors, there is a tendency to consider language barrier and cultural differences as individual factors that constrain their interactions with the institutional community. Drawing on 105 interviews with international students in Australian vocational education and training and dual sector institutions, this paper examines international students’ intercultural interactions in host institutions and the factors that act as enablers or inhibitors for intercultural interactions. It highlights the social and structural conditions in creating symbolic capital of elitist Anglo-Australian culture and English language, and social differentiation. This paper offers insights into understanding the legitimacy of such elitism, in hope that future conceptualisation, research and practices of intercultural interactions may locate international students within their cultural diversity.     

Moral disengagement: A new lens with which to examine children’s justifications for lying

ABSTRACT

The development of children’s lie-telling abilities is considered to be a social and cognitive milestone. While occasional lying is developmentally appropriate, the use of frequent, antisocial lies as a maladaptive problem-solving mechanism can indicate behaviour problems. Since lying is often considered a moral transgression, researchers should examine lying from the perspective of moral theory to understand children’s reasons for lying, which may help to understand how chronic lying develops. A theoretical framework, namely the social cognitive process of moral disengagement (MD) could not only provide new insight into children’s justifications for telling common lies, but also atypical, antisocial lies. This paper aims to describe how MD may be applied to explain children’s justifications for lying, especially antisocial lies, and how adults can address MD by modelling the positive consequences of truth-telling, to promote honesty in children.     

“Pupils should have respect for you,although I have no idea how to achieve this?”: The ideals and experiences shaping a teacher’s professional identity

The aim of the study was to understand the development of professional identity of prospective teachers, their ideals and experiences during interactions with their surrounding learning environment, including university studies and pedagogical placement during their 5-year studies. We also aimed at understanding how students with different motivational pathways to teacher education may be supported to explore teaching as a possible career choice. The findings reported in this article emerged primarily from interviews with 13 student teachers at the end of their teacher education programme. Survey responses collected during earlier stages of the study were utilised to provide data about the student teachers’ professional development prior to the point of the interviews. The findings of the study point to various concerns and dilemmas, which in turn suggest that student teachers take different identity development routes. The study identified four possible “identity routes” to becoming a teacher. The implications of different identity routes on teacher education are discussed.     

An exploration of teachers’ agency and social relationships within dyslexia‐support provision in an English secondary school

This article explores teachers’ experiences of dyslexia and classroom interventions via lesson observations and semi‐structured interviews. These experiences were analysed through a Bourdieusien lens, based on Jenkins's ‘levels of interaction’, to delineate power relationships inherent in classroom interactions, teachers’ interactions with professionals and institutions, and mechanisms present in teachers’ conceptualisation of ‘self’. Through their conceptualisation of ‘self’ as ‘teachers of dyslexic young people’, it was found that teachers’ classroom interactions acted to reduce social distance between themselves and students. Internally and interactionally, teachers enacted agency and constructed their own social space, through their framing of young people with dyslexia and use of inclusive language with students. Institutionally, teachers were found to be subject to other professions and Government policy, lacking autonomy and capacity to distribute resources, despite their ‘symbolic capital’ as teachers. The ‘level of interaction’ determined teachers’ capacity to act autonomously and freely navigate their own social space.