Correction to: How social challenges affect children’s regulation and assignment quality in hypermedia: a process mining study

Metacognition and Learning - The original version of this article unfortunately contained a mistake.     

Exploring the relationship between process and outcome in young children’s learning: stage one of a longitudinal study

The first phase of a small-scale, longitudinal study which is part of the Effective Early Learning (EEL) Project, a UK based, national, early childhood evaluation and improvement initiative is described. A key developmental proposition is that children who operate in a rich and stimulating learning environment and experience high levels of involvement and engagement in their learning will achieve enhanced learning outcomes. The EEL Project aims to investigate the validity of this proposition. In particular, it explores the relationship between one of the key process measures in the EEL Project, the Child Involvement Scale (CIS), and the outcome measures being used by early childhood settings to monitor academic progress in the UK, namely Baseline Assessment in English and Mathematics (BAEM) at 4 years of age, and Standard Assessment Tasks (SAT) at 7 years of age.     

Pedagogical devices as children’s social care levers: A study of social care workers’ attitudes towards boarding schools to care for and educate children in need

It has been proposed that boarding schools in England can be used to provide a stable education and care environment for vulnerable children in need, and the government is expanding their use. However, for vulnerable children to be placed in boarding schools, social workers will need to be willing to contemplate boarding as a viable care option. In this study we interviewed N = 21 social care practitioners including directors, senior and middle managers, frontline social workers, social worker-academics and family support workers who work with vulnerable children. Using thematic analysis of the transcribed interviews, seven major themes identified a range of issues and concerns held by social care workers about placing vulnerable children in boarding schools. We present these themes and consider the issues that will have to be addressed prior to changes in policy and practice. The study concludes that many of those within the social work profession are unlikely to consider boarding as an intervention for children in need. Further research in this area is a matter of urgency.     

Sexualised music media and children’s gender role and self-identity development: a four-phase study

There has been much concern about the perceived increase in sexualised media and its potential impact on children’s well-being and development. This phenomenon was examined in a four-phase study focusing, specifically on music media. Phase 1 investigated the prevalence of sexualised music media broadcast on Australian free-to-air television in child-friendly time periods. Phase 2 examined children’s preferred music genres, artists and videos to assess their engagement with sexualised music media. Phase 3 examined children’s perceptions of gender roles and self-identities. Phase 4 explored children’s imitations of music media artists and performances. The study used a mixed-method approach incorporating content analysis, individual and group interviews, children’s activities and observations. Findings reveal that music media is a substantive influence shaping children’s everyday lives and proposes educating children about media influences from a young age.     

Young children’s embodied interactions with a social robot

Educational technology research and development - This study examined the affordances of an embodied humanoid robot to engage children in play and learning from the perspective of embodied...     

Peer selection and influence on children’s reading skills in early primary grades: a social network approach

This longitudinal study from Grades 1 to 4 investigated (a) the extent to which children select peers based on similarity in reading skills and (b) the extent to which children are influenced by the level of their peers’ reading skills. The sample consisted of 1003 Finnish children in Grades 1–4, for whom reading fluency and comprehension were assessed. The same children were interviewed about their self-concept of reading ability at the end of kindergarten. The results of social network analysis showed that children had a tendency to choose new friends based on earlier similarity in reading fluency but not in reading comprehension. Furthermore, children became more similar to their friends in reading fluency and reading comprehension. Children with a high self-concept of reading ability and high reading fluency were particularly likely to be positively influenced by peers with high reading fluency.     

How preschool children learn in Hong Kong and Canada: a cross‐cultural study

This paper reviews literacy learning conducted in two laboratory preschools in Hong Kong and Canada, and examines the link between cultural values and educational practices. Both preschools maintain that a constructivist view of child learning underpins their practice. However, the author's experience in these two settings illustrates how similarities and differences are identified in the scope, focus, implementation strategies and learning outcomes of the activities observed. Reasons for these findings are explored from the perspectives of cultural values and societal beliefs in education of the East and the West, and how the constructivist ideology is espoused in these settings. Implications of this cross‐cultural comparison on the issue of ‘best practice’ in early childhood education are discussed.     

Mother’s, father’s regulation and child’s self-regulation in a computer-mediated learning situation

This study has explored the parents’ regulation strategies that were more likely to support children’s self-regulation in learning situations with computers. These strategies have been analysed by means of new grids involving seven categories of behaviour: cognitive strategies relating to identification of objective, exploration of means, attention and evaluation; motivational strategies; and socio-communicative strategies such as joint attention and request. 62 7-year-old children from Quebec families were examined with their mothers and fathers. The children were asked to complete two learning tasks that involved using LOGO software to draw a picture. Results indicated that parents’ regulation varied depending on their gender; a higher directivity was observed in mothers, more specifically through some specific strategies. Analysis of variance on repeated measures showed that, during the session, there was a decrease in the specification of the objective, the initiation of joint attention and of behaviour regulation in parents; and an improvement of the identification of the objective, planning and self-evaluation in children. Correlations between parental regulation and children’s self-regulation strategies indicated positive links concerning strategies relating to joint attention and to motivation; and negative links concerning strategies relating to the exploration of means and evaluation. A good adjustment of the parents’ regulation and the children’s self-regulation correlated positivel with success in the task. Methodological implications are proposed for research and psycho-educative intervention.     

Self‐determined motivation and social achievement goals in children’s emotions

In this cross‐sectional study we investigated to what extent autonomous and controlled motivation and social achievement goals are associated with students’ emotional experiences at school. We found in a sample of 426 elementary school students, aged from 10 to 12 years, autonomous motivation (i.e. students’ engagement in class activities because they find such activities enjoying or personally important) and social development goals (i.e. students’ focus on developing meaningful social relationships) to be positively associated with positive emotions. In contrast, controlled motivation (i.e. students’ engagement in class activities because they feel coerced to do so) and social demonstration‐approach goals (i.e. students’ focus on demonstrating popularity) were positively associated with negative emotions. These associations remained significant even after controlling for perceived competence. Cluster analysis further showed that students high in autonomous motivation and social development goals and low in controlled motivation and social demonstration‐approach goals exhibited a better motivational profile compared to students high or low in all the above motivational variables. Results are discussed within the self‐determination theory and the social achievement goal perspective.     

The institutional shaping of children’s educational experiences in secure custody: A case study of a secure children’s home in England

Secure Children’s Homes accommodate some of the most vulnerable children in society and yet they have evaded sustained academic attention. Consequently, little is known about children’s education in this type of setting. Through the lens of institutional ethnography, this paper explores how experiences of education inside one Secure Children’s Home in England are shaped by the institution. This approach makes visible that while the small-scale of the setting is of value, the mix of children accommodated for qualitatively different reasons is problematic for both the delivery of education and the children’s engagement in learning.     

What parents say about children’s inequality of opportunities: a study in Mauritius

Longitudinal studies showing the beneficial impact of early childhood education on later academic achievement have contributed to persuading policy-makers and academia that early childhood is the best time to address inequalities. However, the voice of parents is often absent from these debates. We investigated the perspectives of parents on children’s inequalities of opportunities and on the role of education and early childhood care in equalising life chances. The study specifically explored the views of 26 parents in the sub-Saharan African country of Mauritius through focus group discussions. Findings of the study suggested that parents tend to adhere to the discourse of parental responsibility as a key factor in children’s inequalities. Yet they also showed that parents have potential to criticise and deconstruct this narrative, as they experience structural circumstances, such as poverty or discrimination, shaping their life opportunities and those of their children.     

From access to quality: migrant children’s education in urban China

An increasing number of migrant children are involved in public education due largely to the policy for migrant children education outlined by the Government of China from the late 1990s. In this article, we describe the unique and often difficult situation rural migrant children face after they enter urban public schools. Drawing from the Theory of Inclusive Education and data collected at two public junior high schools in Beijing, we provide an in-depth analysis on migrant children’s education from their own viewpoint and from the perspectives of their parents, teachers, and school administrators. Our survey results identify the need for further adjustments of the existing education system which can help improve migrant children’s education in China. Findings also highlight the dilemmas regarding how to best meet the needs for teachers, migrant parents, and migrant children who attend public schools. In order to provide a quality education for migrant children, we conclude by arguing that there must be a three-pronged partnership to best accommodate the unique education needs of migrant children in urban China.     

Childhood poly-victimization and children’s health: A nationally representative study

BackgroundAlthough research on the negative effects of childhood poly-victimization is substantial, few studies have examined the relationship between poly-victimization and younger children’s physical health and diseases.ObjectiveThis study examines the associations between poly-victimization and children’s health problems requiring medical attention.MethodsA national stratified cluster random sampling was used to select and approach 25% of the total primary schools in Taiwan, and 49% of the approached schools agreed to participate in this study. We collected data with a self-report questionnaire from 6233 (4th-grade) students aged 10–11, covering every city and county in Taiwan.ResultsLogistic regression analyses demonstrate a significant dose-response relationship between children’s poly-victimization exposure and their health problems including hospitalization, serious injury, surgery, daily-medication requirements, heart murmurs, asthma, dizziness or fainting, allergies, kidney disease, therapies for special needs, smoking, and alcohol use. The results indicate that children’s risk of having a health problem grew significantly with each increase in the number of victimization types that children experienced.ConclusionsThese research findings underscore the effect of poly-victimization on children’s health problems requiring medical attention, and stress the need for both proper screening methods for children’s exposure to poly-victimization and stronger awareness of poly-victimization’s effects on health conditions in healthcare clinics.     

Restrictive and supportive parenting: Effects on children’s school affect and emotional responses

In this project upper primary school students were surveyed about their general liking for school, and reasons for going to school. Their parents were asked to respond on a questionnaire indicating their restrictiveness and also support for their child’s autonomy. Data were collected from 92 middle SES two-parent families and analysed using SmartPLS path modelling. It was found that children of mothers high on autonomy support enjoyed school more, and endorsed cognitive learning reasons for attending. Restrictive parenting (in either mothers or fathers) did not relate significantly to school affect, but was associated with elevated levels of negative emotional symptoms, notably loneliness and unhappiness.     

Classroom quality profiles and associations with children’s classroom engagement in Vietnamese kindergartens

Learning Environments Research - The aim of the current study was to identify latent profile groups based on observed teachers’ classroom quality and the relations of the latent profile...     

The effect of delayed-JOLs and sentence generation on children’s monitoring accuracy and regulation of idiom study

When studying verbal materials, both adults and children are often poor at accurately monitoring their level of learning and regulating their subsequent restudy of materials, which leads to suboptimal test performance. The present experiment investigated how monitoring accuracy and regulation of study could be improved when learning idiomatic phrases. Elementary school children (fourth and sixth-graders) were instructed to predict their test performance by providing judgments of learning (JOLs). They provided JOLs immediately after studying each idiom, after studying all idioms, or after studying all idioms followed by generating sentences in which the idioms were used. Correlations between JOLs and test performance showed that delayed-JOLs and delayed-JOLs with sentence generation were more accurate than immediate JOLs. JOLs after sentence generation also improved regulation of study compared to delayed-JOLs only. Analyses of JOL reaction times suggest that delayed-JOLs led children to retrieve the literal meaning of the idiom, whereas JOLs after sentence generation led children to focus on connections between studied information, contextual information, and prior knowledge. Sentence generation presents a promising method to improve regulation of study, and thus idiom learning.     

A longitudinal study of children’s social behaviors and their causal relationship to reading growth

This paper aims at investigating the causal effects of social behaviors on subsequent reading growth in elementary school, using the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study—Kindergarten (ECLS-K) data. The sample was 8,869 subjects who provided longitudinal measures of reading IRT scores from kindergarten (1998–1999) to fifth grades (2003–2004) in the United States. To examine the causal relationship, propensity score methods were used to match higher and lower groups in four social behavior domains such as Approaches to learning, Interpersonal skills, Internalizing problem behavior and Externalizing problem behavior. Results showed that the matched sample achieved sufficient pretreatment balance between the two groups. To examine the effects of social behaviors on the reading growth, multilevel growth model (MGM) was employed. Comparisons of the matched samples showed that children in the high groups of pro-social behavior or in the low groups of problem behavior at kindergarten entrance started with higher reading skills and developed reading achievement faster than those who were not. This study suggests that children’s early social behavior is crucial in reading development. Practical implication and direction of future research are also discussed.     

‘You should collaborate,children’: a study of teachers’ design and facilitation of children’s collaboration around touchscreens

Touchscreens are being integrated into classrooms to support collaborative learning, yet little empirical evidence has been presented regarding how children collaborate using touchscreens in classrooms. In particular, minimal research has been directed towards how teachers can design for and guide children’s touchscreen-based collaboration. Concurrently, the Programme for International Student Assessment and other international organisations have highlighted collaboration and ICT skills as crucial competencies for mastery in the twenty-first century. Accordingly, this article presents three narrative cases from a touchscreen project in Denmark, where 41 second-grade children and three teachers from two classrooms participated. The cases are based on ethnographic field data and 150 hours of video footage of natural occurring interaction in classroom settings. The ethnographic field data and video footage are examined using a collaboration model and embodied interaction analysis. Each case presents features of the subtle processes of children’s collaboration around touchscreens and teachers’ role in designing and guiding such collaboration. Thus, this article illustrates teachers’ and children’s situated processes of integrating touchscreens for collaborative activities in their classrooms.     

Conflict resolution and children’s behaviour: observing and understanding social and cooperative play in early years educational settings

This paper draws from continuing research into the growth of sociability and cooperation in young children. It began in the mid‐1980s and has continued periodically in a range of early years educational settings across the 3–6 age range. The research has underpinned the development of an observational tool. This tool – the Social Play Continuum or SPC – has been used in personal and paired data collection by the author and jointly with early years educators. This paper draws from play observations of nursery children (aged 3–4 years) and reception class children (aged 4–5 years) in one school. The focus here is on conflict in play and its interpretation. The paper considers a relationship with stress in children’s lives and its potential impact on playful learning needs. The author advocates increases in playful learning and pedagogies rather than engagements with conflict resolution programmes. Three data‐based vignettes contextualise children’s play to illustrate the need to deepen understanding through observation about the nature of conflicts – with peers and with adults – and the wider implications for playful pedagogies.     

An ecological exploration of young children’s digital play: framing children’s social experiences with technologies in early childhood

Abstract

This article outlines an ecological framework for describing children’s social experiences during digital play. It presents evidence from a study that explored how 3- to 5-year-old children negotiated their social experiences as they used technologies in preschool. Utilising a systematic and iterative cycle of data collection and analysis, children’s interactions with 24 technological resources were examined over a nine-month period and across three phases. Findings reveal that children played in clusters, exhibiting a multitude of social behaviours and interactions and varied degrees of social participation, and assumed various social status roles and technological positions. These behaviours formed part of a Digital Play System, which in turn was influenced by the Preschool System, which comprises children and practitioners as active agents, technological affordances, and the cultural systems, routines and practices of the early childhood setting. Ultimately, children’s social experiences during digital play cannot be determined by any single element of the ecological system.