Me,my child and Covid-19: Parents' reflections on their child's experiences of lockdown in the UK and China

Over the past 2 years, the world has been living through the unprecedented Covid-19 pandemic. Children have had to adapt to online classrooms and lessons of some sort, and many parents have been forced to work from home while supervising their child's home learning activities. We used participatory visual methods to understand how children and their parents have coped during this time, engaging parents as co-researchers to ask their child to photograph and/or draw pictures that represent their daily lived experiences over the lockdown period. We then asked parents to interview their children (24 in total, 13 in the UK and 11 in China), using the children's artwork as prompts, and finally we interviewed parents. Through the data collection process, parents captured their children's experiences and feelings since the coronavirus struck. The data was analysed using Foucault's theory of discourse to provide unique and comparative insights into children's experiences in the UK and China during this exceptional time. Ours is the first study to integrate parents' and children's views of Covid-19, drawing on parents as co-researchers. We argue that combining the data collection methods and drawing on parents as co-researchers enabled parents to gain insights into an understanding of their child's lived experiences throughout the pandemic that might otherwise have been unknown. These insights were often unexpected for parents, and have been grouped around themes of parental relief, anxiety and understanding.     

Parent involvement in school and Chinese American children's academic skills

The authors examined the concurrent associations of school-based parent involvement (PI), family sociocultural factors, and children's academic skills in a sample of 258 Chinese American children (5–9 years old) in immigrant families. Parents reported their American and Chinese orientations and family socioeconomic status (SES). Parents and teachers rated parents' school-based involvement, and children's English reading and mathematics calculation skills were assessed with standardized tests. Results of path analysis indicated that, controlling for SES, parents' American orientation was positively associated with their self-reported PI. Although parent- and teacher-reported PI were positively correlated with each other, only teacher-reported PI was positively associated with children's English reading. These findings support the benefits of school-based PI for Chinese immigrant children's English reading achievement. Results also highlight the need to consider differences between teachers' and parents' perceptions of PI in developing culturally sensitive interventions to encourage immigrant parents' school involvement.     

Families’ perceptions of early childhood educators’ fostering conversations and connections by sharing children's learning through pedagogical documentation

ABSTRACT

Belonging, Being and Becoming: The Early Years Learning Framework for Australia emphasises that families have an important role in their children's learning and it recognises that their earliest development is influenced through these relationships and adds that partnerships can be fostered with families by early childhood educators sharing the children's documented experiences. The research discussed employed an in-depth structured questionnaire. It involved 37 families with children aged from three to five years who attended an early learning centre in Northern Tasmania, Australia. The aim of this research was to determine these families’ perceptions, beliefs and experiences of educators sharing children's learning through pedagogical documentation. The documentation included hard copy and digital formats of the children's learning, capturing their voices and explorations. The findings show that families consider the sharing of documentation fosters family conversations about the children's learning experiences and helps to create stronger connections between the centre, home and extended family. Another recurring theme from the families’ responses was that children gain pride and a positive sense of identity when their documented work is shared with families.     

Family Science Talk in Museums: Predicting Children's Engagement From Variations in Talk and Activity

Children's developing reasoning skills are better understood within the context of their social and cultural lives. As part of a research–museum partnership, this article reports a study exploring science‐relevant conversations of 82 families, with children between 3 and 11 years, while visiting a children's museum exhibit about mammoth bones, and in a focused one‐on‐one exploration of a “mystery object.” Parents' use of a variety of types of science talk predicted children's conceptual engagement in the exhibit, but interestingly, different types of parent talk predicted children's engagement depending on the order of the two activities. The findings illustrate the importance of studying children's thinking in real‐world contexts and inform creation of effective real‐world science experiences for children and families.     

Attitudes and experiences of parents regarding inclusive and special school education for children with learning and intellectual disabilities

In a survey, 840 parents of children with cognitive deficits who were educated either in special schools or in inclusive classes were asked to assess their children's school experiences. The results showed an overall high degree of satisfaction with the schooling, but there were marked differences among the parents' assessments depending on the degree of learning disabilities and on the type of school. Satisfaction with their children's social experiences and satisfaction with the special education curriculum depend on these two factors. All in all, many parents of children in inclusive classes were satisfied with their children's schooling than those of children in special schools. The analysis of the causes for discontent showed that dissatisfied parents had chosen the type of school under less favourable conditions and a larger part of them are still not convinced of this necessity of additional help. This applied to parents of pupils in inclusive classes as well as to those of pupils in special schools. Furthermore, parents of children with German as a second language showed a higher degree of discontent than others.     

Sophia's funds of knowledge: theoretical and pedagogical insights,possibilities and dilemmas

Children's interests and thinking emanate from their daily lived experiences in their families, communities and cultures. This paper substantiates the view that the construct of ‘funds of knowledge’, understood through the lens of ‘cultural repertoires of practice’, provides an analytical tool for early years teachers to interpret their observations of, and conversations with, young children. The paper reports findings from a qualitative case study in early childhood settings of children's interests and thinking. The methods included participant observation, interviews with teachers and children and gathering of pedagogical documentation. This paper specifically draws on and problematises the funds of knowledge and related gendered thinking that a young Chinese girl revealed through her interests and practices. It argues that although the construct of funds of knowledge provides an authentic conceptual framework to guide and justify teachers' pedagogical decision-making, it should not be accepted uncritically. The concept may raise some issues for teachers' responses to children's thinking and relationships with diverse families. Teachers and researchers have future work to undertake to understand children's complex cultural knowledges and positionings in an increasingly globalised world.     

Promoting Parents' Social Capital to Increase Children's Attendance in Head Start: Evidence From an Experimental Intervention

Improving children's attendance is a high priority for Head Start and other early childhood education programs serving low-income children. We conducted a randomized control trial in a major northern city to evaluate the impact of a low-cost intervention designed to promote parents' social capital as a potential influence on children's attendance in Head Start centers. The intervention assigned children to treatment group classrooms based on (a) neighborhood of residence (geography condition) or (b) the geography condition plus the opportunity for parents to form partnerships in support of their children's attendance, or to control group classrooms according to Head Start guidelines only. We did not find impacts on average attendance throughout the year. However, the intervention did lead to increased attendance during the winter when average center attendance was lowest. There were no impacts on fall or spring attendance. Follow-up exploratory analyses of focus groups with parents and staff suggested that parents' level of connection and trust, self-generated partnership strategies, and commitment to their children's education may be factors by which parents' social capital expands and children's attendance improves.     

Chopsticks and clothes: Chinese heritage parents' perspectives on young children's technology use as a tool for language and cultural learning

This paper presents Chinese heritage parents' perspectives on young children's use of technology as a tool for language and cultural learning. Growing up with Confucian heritage culture, some Chinese parents have particular cultural beliefs about learning that value effortful learning practices and the social context of learning. However, some Chinese parents believe technology is just a tool for entertainment and keeps children away from social interaction, which leads to their preference of print-based literacy practices at home. Four parents from different families whose children were between the ages of four to five participated in this study. These parents were interviewed about their experience and history of using technology and their thoughts about technology as a tool for language and cultural learning. Four narratives were constructed to describe parents' experiences, histories, opinions, cultural values and beliefs. Parents' perspectives were influenced by a variety of intertwined factors, including their own childhood language learning experiences, their histories of using technology, their cultural values and beliefs about learning, the purpose of technological experiences, and the quality of available technological resources. Pedagogical implications for using technology with children and communicating with parents are discussed.     

Fostering Parental Support for Children's Mathematical Development: An Intervention with Head Start Families

The first national education goal, school readiness, recognizes a need for young children to be better prepared for entry into elementary school. Many low-income children exhibit a pattern of underachievement in school mathematics. Research has revealed a developmental gap between low-income preschool children and their middle-class peers with respect to the extent of their numerical knowledge. Research has also found that many low-income children do not receive a broad base of support for mathematical development at home or in preschool. In each of two studies, we conducted a bi-generation (parent and child) mathematics intervention with Head Start families. The intervention was designed to enhance parental support for pre-kindergarten children's mathematical development. It was found that low-income parents were willing and able to support this area of their children's development once they were provided with the training to do so. The support that parents provided to their children through the intervention was clearly effective in enhancing the development of children's informal mathematical knowledge. Intervention children developed more extensive mathematical knowledge than a comparison group of low-income children. Thus, an important step toward achieving the school readiness goal can be taken by fostering low- income parents' support for young children's mathematical development.     

The Roles of Achievement-Related Behaviours and Parental Beliefs in Children's Mathematical Performance

This study aimed to investigate the developmental dynamics between children's mathematical performance, the task-focused versus task-avoidant behaviours they show in the classroom, and their parents' beliefs concerning their school competence. The mathematical performance of 111 six- to seven-year-old children was tested, and their task-focused versus task-avoidant behaviours were rated by their teachers four times during their first school year. Parents filled in questionnaires measuring their skill-specific and general beliefs about their children's school competencies at the beginning and at the end of the school year. The results showed that parents' beliefs in their children's general school competence increased their children's task-focused behaviours at school, which further predicted the child's high level of maths performance. Parents' beliefs in their children's competence in mathematics, in turn, contributed directly to the children's high mathematical performance. Moreover, children's high performance increased parents' subsequent beliefs in their children's mathematical competence, whereas children's task-focused behaviours predicted parents' beliefs in their children's overall school performance.     

'I Would Have Worried About Her Being A Nuisance': Workshops for children under three and their parents at Tate Britain

This article reports on a series of eight workshops for children under three and their parents. The workshops took place at Tate Britain, London, and they were collectively known as 'Big and small; short and tall'. The article outlines the approach used to evaluate the workshops, particularly the way in which parents' experiences, and their views on children's experiences, were given prominence. Despite the potential difficulties of taking very young children into an art gallery, most parents said they were pleased with their children's engagement. Parent feedback suggests that the structure and content of the workshops did much to enable them and their children to learn about art and artists together. Moreover, some confirmed that their joint involvement had stimulated further learning at home and life-wide learning more generally.     

When will the Internet be connected? Digital worlds and belonging in the lives of globally mobile children

Increasing numbers of children are caught up in global flows of moving peoples. This movement may be voluntary or forced and is experienced within a range of settings. Coming from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds, and moving around the world due to their parents' employment, the children found in traditional International Schools are a case in point. This paper focuses on the experiences of two sisters in the first year of their family's global relocation. In the midst of change, the digital world Club Penguin? offered these two globally mobile children a familiar and welcome site of continuity and belonging. This exploration of the role of digital worlds and digital literacies in these girls' experience contributes to an understanding of connections between global movement and digital literacy practices. Greater awareness of the significance of digital literacies in globally mobile children's lives provides fresh insights into how children participate in digital spaces and has implications for literacy educators supporting young people in contemporary times.     

Parents' and Children's Perceptions of Parental Behavior: Associations with Children's Psychosocial Adjustment in the Classroom

Objective. We examined correspondence in parents' and children's perceptions of parenting and associations between these perceptions and children's social adjustment in the classroom. Design. The sample included 214 children (M age = 9) from third to fifth grades and their parents. Children and parents reported on parenting behavior. Results. Parents' self-reports and children's reports about parents showed systematic differences, with parents perceiving themselves as more supportive than children perceived them to be. Direction of discrepancy between child and parent reports appeared to be more important than size of discrepancy in predicting child outcomes. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that parents' self-perceptions of parenting and children's perceptions of parenting were predictive of different measures of child psychosocial adjustment. Conclusions. The results of this study support the assumption that parents' self-perceptions and children's perceptions of parenting provide unique views of the family and unique relations to children's psychosocial adjustment.     

Engaging White parents to address their White children's racial biases in the Black-White context

Multiple studies (n = 1065 parents, 625 females, 437 males, 3 nonbinary, 99.06% White; n = 80, 5 to 7-year-old children, 35 girls, 45 boys, 87.50% White; data collection September 2017–January 2021) investigated White U.S. parents' thinking about White children's Black-White racial biases. In Studies 1–3, parents reported that their own and other children would not express racial biases. When predicting children's social preferences for Black and White children (Study 2), parents underestimated their own and other children's racial biases. Reading an article about the nature, prevalence, and consequences of White children's racial biases (Study 3) increased parents' awareness of, concern about, and motivation to address children's biases (relative to a control condition). The findings have implications for engaging White parents to address their children's racial biases.     

Children,families and inter‐agency work: experiences of partnership work in primary education settings

Despite UK government initiatives intended to address social exclusion, those with poor access to social and economic resources continue to experience unresponsive services. In these circumstances, small inter‐agency projects may offer accessible alternatives. This article explores the implementation of inter‐agency work at a local level, focusing on implications for families involved. It draws on a study of a Health Action Zone (HAZ) initiated project, working in primary schools in a deprived urban area, with children at risk of school exclusion. It examines children's and parents' experiences of the project, locating these within current social policy and social justice debates. While positive outcomes are evident, the article also highlights difficulties in inter‐agency collaboration, which potentially undermine support available to families and maintain pessimism about future improvements. By focusing remedies at the level of individual intervention, such initiatives may also neglect structural and organisational factors contributing to families' difficulties.     

Parent Praise to 1‐ to 3‐Year‐Olds Predicts Children's Motivational Frameworks 5 Years Later

In laboratory studies, praising children's effort encourages them to adopt incremental motivational frameworks—they believe ability is malleable, attribute success to hard work, enjoy challenges, and generate strategies for improvement. In contrast, praising children's inherent abilities encourages them to adopt fixed‐ability frameworks. Does the praise parents spontaneously give children at home show the same effects? Although parents' early praise of inherent characteristics was not associated with children's later fixed‐ability frameworks, parents' praise of children's effort at 14–38 months (N = 53) did predict incremental frameworks at 7–8 years, suggesting that causal mechanisms identified in experimental work may be operating in home environments.     

White children's prosocial behavior toward White versus Black peers: The role of children's effortful control and parents' implicit racial attitudes

White children's effortful control (EC), parents' implicit racial attitudes, and their interaction were examined as predictors of children's prosocial behavior toward White versus Black recipients. Data were collected from 171 White children (55% male, M_age = 7.13 years, SD = 0.92) and their parent in 2017. Prosocial behavior toward White peers was predicted by children's higher EC. When predicting prosocial behavior toward Black peers and prosocial disparity (the difference between White and Black recipients), parents' implicit racial attitudes moderated the relation between children's EC and children's prosocial behavior. Specifically, children's EC was positively associated with prosocial behavior toward Black peers (and negatively related to inequity in prosocial behavior) only when parents exhibited less implicit racial bias.     

How Moroccan mothers and fathers view child development and their role in their children's education

Despite the documented importance of parental engagement in early learning, little is known about how parents in the Middle East and North Africa understand child development. To inform the literature, a small-scale study involving four focus groups was conducted with parents of children aged six years and under living in Casablanca. The purpose of this study was to explore parents' understanding of and support for their children's early development. Results reveal that parents see a vital role for themselves in their children's upbringing as supporters and nurturers, but little role as teachers. Across different education and income levels, parents in this small-scale qualitative study believe that children's experiences in their first years of life do not affect their longer-term intellectual development or school success and see little value in early intellectual stimulation or formal preschool education. Our results suggest that parents need to understand their role as their child's first educators. Also, it is essential that parents are taught how to promote their children's early cognitive development without undermining their nurturing roles.