Relations of Inhibition and Emotion-Related Parenting to Young Children's Prosocial and Vicariously Induced Distress Behavior

Children's prosocial behavior and personal distress are likely affected by children's temperament as well as parenting quality. In this study, we examined bidirectional relations from age 30 to 42 months between children's (N = 218) prosocial or self-focused (presumably distressed) reactions to a relative stranger's distress and both supportive emotion-related maternal reactions to children's emotions and children's shyness/inhibition. When controlling for 30-month prosocial behavior and personal distress behavior, maternal supportive (emotion-focused and problem-focused) reactions were positively related to prosocial behavior and marginally negatively related to children's personal distress behaviors and shyness/inhibition at 42 months. Thirty-month personal distress behavior predicted greater shyness/inhibition at 42 months, and 30-month shyness/inhibition was negatively related to prosocial behavior at 30 months.     

“They’re Going to Forget About Their Mother Tongue”: Influence of Chinese Beliefs in Child Home Language and Literacy Development

Early Childhood Education Journal - The primary aim of this study was to explore and understand Chinese American parents’ language and literacy beliefs, perceptions, and practices with regard...     

Perceived value of digital components in library programmes: The case of Auckland Libraries' Dare to Explore summer reading programme

While many libraries are making use of digital components in reading programs, there is little research examining the the perceived value of those components by consumers. Children and their parents value the Dare to Explore (DtE) summer reading programme at Auckland Libraries, New Zealand, as a whole but the perceived value of the digital components was not evident. There was either insufficient valued content or participants were not fully aware of what was available via the digital components to be appreciative of its value. Data were collected through interviews with 6 families (6 parents and 10 children), who participated in the DtE 2016/17 programme. The Sheth-Newman-Gross theory of consumption values was applied to frame the inquiries of this study. The findings offer valuable insights for libraries interested in incorporating digital components into existing or future programming. They may also provide useful observations relevant to adult and teen programming.     

New media and new politics with old cemeteries and disused railways: advocacy goes digital in Singapore

This article seeks to demonstrate the significance of new media in reconfiguring and expanding the politics of conservation in the rapidly urbanizing postcolonial city state of Singapore. The critical role of new media is examined, in providing new access and connectivity to the efforts of non-governmental organizations, particularly heritage groups in the republic in advocating for the conservation of lands around the former Malayan Railway line and Bukit Brown Cemetery in Singapore. In two case studies, activists and enthusiasts of all ages are seen to quickly build up and share an organic knowledge and memory base in cyberspace, through postings on Facebook and sharing of digital photographs and videos, recorded with digital cameras and smartphones. These actions are significant as collectively staking cultural ownerships of heritage sites about to be lost. As new media are promptly adopted as tools for social mobilization with the ability to circulate events, news and debates through Google+ to Twitter, new publics, new community leaders and new alliances begin to emerge in a scene once dominated by traditional and formal organizations. Like any other medium, new media possess affordances of its own and impact the meanings that are conserved and interpreted through heritage. With Singaporeans ranked in the world as the most frequent users of new media portals like Facebook, the authors explore the cultivation of a new form of citizenry via new media in pushing for the politics of memory, nature and heritage in the highly modernized cityscape.     

Parts of the Whole: Motor and Behavioral Skills in Self-Regulation and Schooling Outcomes

ABSTRACT

Primary education is compulsory around the world. This means that around age 5 or 6, millions of children worldwide transition from home or preschool/kindergarten settings into primary school, with the success of this transition shaping school and life trajectories for years to come. Both developmental and environmental factors during early childhood spur tremendous change in children’s executive function (EF), a multi-component process fundamental to self-regulation and overall achievement. Successful self-regulation means that children can master their attention, emotions, and behaviors as they navigate public social spaces including the classroom and playground. Adaptive development of EF and self-regulation are critical, because primary school comes with heightened expectations for children to manage themselves effectively. In this special section of 4 articles that collectively span preschool through 5th grade, we take an integrative, whole-child approach to studying children’s regulatory processes and schooling outcomes. Special section authors explored conceptual frameworks, measurement approaches, and empirical research on the motor and behavioral aspects of self-regulation and their contributions to educational outcomes. Article themes include the importance of precise and nuanced measurement of regulatory processes in addition to academic skills; in-school and out-of-school time as unique contexts for development; multiple interrelated developmental domains important for EF and self-regulation, including visuo-spatial and visuo-motor skills; and the need to synthesize research on EF and self-regulation across developmental domains for efficacious application and interventions. In taking an integrative, whole-child approach to the study of self-regulation and schooling outcomes, these articles represent research that are important parts of the whole.