Antenatal education as perceived by health professionals

This article aims to identify the learning needs of expectant and new parents for antenatal education as perceived by health professionals. In Australia, antenatal education programs are predominantly designed by health professionals, and recent research has challenged the efficacy of this approach. The data collected from 73 health professionals, reported here, demonstrates that their perceptions of the concerns and interests of expectant and new parents were divided into three interrelated categories: "need to know...what's happening," "they won't listen," and "balanced information." The health professional ideas for improving antenatal education were limited and identified a reluctance to change practice.     

Child and Parenting Outcomes After 1 Year of Educare

Educare is a birth to age 5 early education program designed to reduce the achievement gap between children from low‐income families and their more economically advantaged peers through high‐quality center‐based programming and strong school–family partnerships. This study randomly assigned 239 children (< 19 months) from low‐income families to Educare or a business‐as‐usual control group. Assessments tracked children 1 year after randomization. Results revealed significant differences favoring treatment group children on auditory and expressive language skills, parent‐reported problem behaviors, and positive parent–child interactions. Effect sizes were in the modest to medium range. No effects were evident for observer‐rated child behaviors or parent‐rated social competence. The overall results add to the evidence that intervening early can set low‐income children on more positive developmental courses.     

An exploratory study of early childhood educators' views on culture and play

Abstract

This study explored early childhood teachers’ views relating to culture and play by collecting information from them on cultural differences and parental perceptions of play, culturally appropriate play (CAP) practices and barriers in its implementation. The participants of the study were 14 early childhood educators working in long day care (LDC) or out, of, school, hours care (OOSH) settings located in Sydney, Australia. Children in the selected centers represented various cultural and linguistic backgrounds.

Teachers in the present study reported noticeable differences in the play of children of diverse cultural backgrounds. However, they believed that the differences in children's play were attributable to the children's proficiency in English language and gender rather than to their culture. The teachers reported they had limited or no information on the children's cultural patterns of play at home. The lack of information on cultural patterns of play, perhaps, has led to difficulties in understanding the cultural origins of play or in accommodating cultural differences into programming. The results highlight the need for educators to have greater knowledge of the cultural bases of play to enable them to provide, in partnership with parents, culturally appropriate play experiences for children.     

Syllable and rime patterns for teaching reading: Analysis of a frequency-based vocabulary of 17,602 words

A frequency-based vocabulary of 17,602 words was compiled and analyzed in order to group words with recurring syllable and rime patterns for teaching reading. The role of the rime unit (e.g.,ite inkite andinvite) in determining vowel pronunciation was central to the analysis because of the difficulty that the ambiguity of English vowel spelling presents to children who do not learn to read words easily. Vowel pronunciation in each orthographic rime was examined, both for its consistency in all words in which the rime occurs and for regularity, defined as conformity to the most frequent pronunciation for each vowel spelling in each of six orthographic syllable types. Of the 824 different orthographic rimes, 616 occur in rime families as the building blocks of almost all the 43,041 syllables of the words. These rimes account for a striking amount of patterning in the orthography: 436 are both regular and consistent in pronunciation (except where a single exception word occurs); another 55 are consistent but not regular. Of the remaining 125, only 86 have less than a 90 percent level of consistency. The high order of congruence of orthographic and phonological rimes suggests their usefulness as units for teaching reading.     

Sex bias in science teachers’ ratings of work and pupil characteristics‡

In this paper, the role of modelling in the teaching and learning of science is reviewed. In order to represent what is entailed in modelling, a 'model of modelling' framework is proposed. Five phases in moving towards a full capability in modelling are established by a review of the literature: learning models; learning to use models; learning how to revise models; learning to reconstruct models; learning to construct models de novo . In order to identify the knowledge and skills that science teachers think are needed to produce a model successfully, a semi-structured interview study was conducted with 39 Brazilian serving science teachers: 10 teaching at the 'fundamental' level (6-14 years); 10 teaching at the 'medium'-level (15-17 years); 10 undergraduate pre-service 'medium'-level teachers; 9 university teachers of chemistry. Their responses are used to establish what is entailed in implementing the 'model of modelling' framework. The implications for students, teachers, and for teacher education, of moving through the five phases of capability, are discussed.     

Fulfilling a European Vision through Flexible Learning and Choice

This article considers the value of flexibility and free choice in learning, and examines the increasing recognition of the evolving and wide range of appropriate environments for learning, such as the workplace, the home, the community, and the virtual world. This ‘Lifeplace Learning’ is compared to the requirements and visions of the European Qualifications Framework and it is shown how this concept is ideally placed to satisfy, not only the European vision of freeing and equalising learning and qualification recognition, but also the goals of including more people in education, allowing for flexible and apposite learning, and the development of graduates who are ‘fit for purpose’. A model of Lifeplace Learning is described that is based on the utilisation of any chosen life place environment for learning, combined with learner negotiated objectives, enabling formal, informal and non-formal learning to be recognised through assessment, and by the awarding of credit where this is appropriate. The model has, at its core, the development of competence in independent judgement, critical thinking, personal autonomy and reflective practice. It is concluded that, as traditional learning models deprive learners of a personal, autonomous and negotiated approach to learning (without which learners fail to develop critical competence in exercising independent judgment and critical thought considered essential and core to personal and professional development) and as Europe is striving to increase the recognition of many types of learning and ease transitions across national boundaries, this model could be an effective way forward to resolve the former and achieve the latter.