Early Childhood Teachers’ Perceptions of the Effectiveness of Their Elementary School’s Approach to Social Emotional Learning: A Mixed Methods Study

Early Childhood Education Journal - The promotion of Social emotional learning (SEL) in elementary schools has increased; however, little is known about early childhood teachers’ perceptions...     

Shifting to Remote Learning During COVID-19: Differences for Early Childhood and Early Childhood Special Education Teachers

This study explored similarities and differences in how early childhood education (ECE) teachers (n?=?947) and early childhood special education (ECSE) teachers (n?=?160) provided remote learning to young children and their families following COVID-19 shelter in place orders in the spring of 2020. The most utilized remote learning activities for both ECE and ECSE teachers were the provision of activities for families to use at home, communication with families, online lessons, and singing songs and reading books. Both types of professionals spent more time planning and communicating with families than providing instruction to children. Results of chi-square tests of independence revealed differences in activities provided, how time was spent, and training received by professional role. Open-ended responses revealed particular challenges for ECE and ECSE teachers. Findings are discussed in the context of how the early childhood field adapted quickly to remote learning during COVID-19 and the implications for ongoing technology support for early childhood personnel based on their professional role.

     

Primary School Perception of Disruptive Behaviour

The article reports on a survey of English primary school head teachers’ opinions on disruptive behaviour, coupled with a one‐day exercise in the monitoring of disruptive incidents in the same schools. Eighty‐five highly experienced head teachers from 38 local education authorities responded to an extensive questionnaire and 77 schools monitored incidents. Schools were categorised by the LEAs as potentially ‘difficult’, ‘of average difficulty’ and ‘easy’ in respect of intake. Thirty‐six Principal Educational Psychologists contributed briefly on a question on age of onset.

Findings relate to (a) an examination of the question whether the age of onset of disruptive behaviour is getting earlier, (b) the differing perceptions of questions concerning disruptive behaviour of head teachers, in schools of varying potential difficulty of intake, and (c) the coping strategies used and favoured by head teachers in their work with disruptive behaviour.     

Inquiry-based learning: personalisation or the rehabilitation of human value

In this article I argue that the concept of personalisation is simply rhetorical unless it facilitates theory and practice which takes seriously and engages with the value of the human person. The idea of human value is a fundamental theme in social and cultural life and the motor behind many psychological and social processes. Traditionally, knowledge presented as abstract and top down, and education systems which are driven by targets and economic imperatives, can unwittingly contribute to human devaluation by marginalising the personal, the idiosyncratic and the particular. The model of inquiry-based learning discussed here offers pedagogical strategies which attend to the self who is learning, as well as facilitating learners in engaging with the moral questions of human value embedded in processes of knowledge construction.