KidsMatter: Building the Capacity of Australian Primary Schools and Early Childhood Services to Foster Children’s Social and Emotional Skills and Promote Children’s Mental Health

2017 ◽  
pp. 293-311 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lyn Littlefield ◽  
Sarah Cavanagh ◽  
Rebecca Knapp ◽  
Lyn O’Grady
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Early Childhood ◽  
Primary Schools ◽  
Children’S Mental Health ◽  
Children's Mental Health ◽  
Emotional Skills ◽  
Social And Emotional ◽  
Social And Emotional Skills

scholarly journals Integrating Health and Educational Perspectives to Promote Preschoolers’ Social and Emotional Learning: Development of a Multi-Faceted Program Using an Intervention Mapping Approach

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 575 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claire Blewitt ◽  
Heather Morris ◽  
Kylie Jackson ◽  
Helen Barrett ◽  
Heidi Bergmeier ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Early Childhood ◽  
Intervention Mapping ◽  
Social And Emotional Learning ◽  
Emotional Learning ◽  
Emotional Skills ◽  
Social And Emotional ◽  
Social And Emotional Skills ◽  
Learning Programs ◽  
The Impact

High-quality early childhood education and care (ECEC) can strengthen the social and emotional skills that are crucial for children’s ongoing development. With research highlighting an increasing prevalence of emotional and behavioural challenges in young children, there is emphasis on embedding teaching practices and pedagogies to support social and emotional skills within early learning programs. A growing body of research has examined the impact of social and emotional learning programs in ECEC; however, few studies describe the intervention development process, or how educators and other professionals were engaged to increase the relevance and feasibility of the program. The current paper describes the development of the Cheshire Social-Emotional Engagement and Development (SEED) Educational Program, an online learning tool to support early childhood educators to foster children’s positive mental health. Cheshire SEED was designed using five steps of the Intervention Mapping methodology: (i) comprehensive needs assessment to create a logic model of the problem; (ii) creation of program outcomes and change objectives mapped against determinants of educator behaviour; (iii) co-design of theory-based methods and practical strategies; (iv) program development; and (v) adoption and implementation planning. The process and decisions at each step of the IM protocol are presented, and the strengths and limitations of the approach to develop a mental health intervention for ECEC settings are discussed.

scholarly journals Reducing Inequities in Early Childhood Mental Health: How Might the Neighborhood Built Environment Help Close the Gap? A Systematic Search and Critical Review

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (9) ◽  
pp. 1516 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amanda Alderton ◽  
Karen Villanueva ◽  
Meredith O’Connor ◽  
Claire Boulangé ◽  
Hannah Badland
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Early Childhood ◽  
Built Environment ◽  
Open Space ◽  
Children’S Mental Health ◽  
Children's Mental Health ◽  
Current Evidence ◽  
Social Infrastructure ◽  
Public Open Space ◽  
Neighborhood Built Environment

Background: Optimal mental health in early childhood is key to later mental health, physical health, education, and social outcomes; yet, children facing disadvantage tend to have worse mental health and fewer opportunities to develop this foundation. An emerging body of research shows that neighborhoods provide important opportunities for the development of children’s mental health. Synthesizing this evidence can advance understandings of the features of the neighborhood built environment (e.g., housing, parks) that (1) promote optimal mental health in childhood and (2) reduce mental health inequities. Methods: We systematically searched and critically reviewed the international quantitative literature investigating associations between the neighborhood built environment and young children’s mental health. Results: 14 articles met inclusion criteria; most examined nature or public open space. Studies tended to find greater access to or quantity of neighborhood nature or public open space were associated with better mental health. Significant gaps included a lack of studies investigating social infrastructure, and few studies examined how the built environment related to positive mental health (i.e., functioning, rather than problems). Conclusions: Current evidence suggests there is some relationship, but additional research is needed that addresses these gaps and examines differences in associations between child subgroups (e.g., diverse socioeconomic backgrounds).

Mind over matter: Supporting children's mental health

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 110-115
Author(s):  
David Hancock
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Early Childhood ◽  
Children’S Mental Health ◽  
Infant Mental Health ◽  
Children's Mental Health ◽  
Focused Attention

The 5 Big Questions survey of under-5s launched by the Duchess of Cambridge in January focused attention on early childhood. Dave Hancock looks at some of the activities of UK organisations working to improve infant mental health

scholarly journals “It’s Embedded in What We Do for Every Child”: A Qualitative Exploration of Early Childhood Educators’ Perspectives on Supporting Children’s Social and Emotional Learning

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 1530
Author(s):  
Claire Blewitt ◽  
Amanda O’Connor ◽  
Heather Morris ◽  
Andrea Nolan ◽  
Aya Mousa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Emotional Development ◽  
Social And Emotional Learning ◽  
Early Childhood Educators ◽  
Emotional Learning ◽  
Social And Emotional Development ◽  
Emotional Skills ◽  
Social And Emotional ◽  
Social And Emotional Skills ◽  
The Impact

Early childhood educators play an important role in supporting children’s social and emotional development. While a growing body of research has examined the impact of curriculum-based social and emotional learning (SEL) programs on child outcomes, the approaches educators use to strengthen children’s social and emotional functioning through their everyday practices are less defined. This study explored Australian early childhood educators’ perspectives on children’s social and emotional development, the approaches educators use to encourage children’s social and emotional skills, the enablers and barriers to SEL within the preschool environment, and the additional support needed. Thirty Early Childhood Education and Care professionals participated in semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions. Findings suggest children’s social–emotional development is at the forefront of educator planning, practice, and reflection. Participants described utilising various approaches to support children’s social and emotional skills, embedded within interactions and relationships with children and families. Specifically, strategies could be grouped into four broad categories: a nurturing and responsive educator–child relationship; supporting SEL through everyday interactions and practice; utilising the physical environment to encourage SEL; and working in partnership with caregivers. There was, however, inconsistency in the variety and type of approaches identified. Time constraints, group size, educator confidence and capability, high staff turnover, and limited guidance regarding high-quality social and emotional pedagogy were identified as key barriers. Participants sought practical strategies that could be embedded into daily practice to build upon current knowledge.

scholarly journals Study of factors related to social and emotional skills in early childhood in Japan

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
M Kobayashi ◽  
M Takakura ◽  
K Kakazu ◽  
S Gredzuk ◽  
T Masuzawa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Cognitive Skills ◽  
Multivariate Logistic Regression Analysis ◽  
Self Control ◽  
Intervention Programme ◽  
Okinawa Island ◽  
Emotional Skills ◽  
Social And Emotional ◽  
Social And Emotional Skills ◽  
The Social

Abstract Background There are numerous reports that social and emotional skills in early childhood have profound influence on lifelong health. The aim of this research is to determine the relation between the lifestyle and the social and emotional skills among children in present day Japan. Methods The object of analysis was a total of 110 parents of kindergarten students (56 boys, 48 girls,6 gender unknown) from 3 kindergartens in central Okinawa Island. The survey was conducted in mid-December 2019. Regarding the content of the survey, parents were asked to answer on a five-point scale, based on their subjective opinion, how good is their child, as compared to other children, in each of the 9 sub-scales of the social and emotional skills proposed in the 2015 OECD report, namely “perseverance,” “self-control,” “passion for goals,” “sociability,” “respect,” “caring,” “self-esteem,” “optimism,” “confidence.” Additionally, other question items were set, mainly to ask about the child's own lifestyle. Results The results of multivariate logistic regression analysis are following. As for “achieving goals:” 3 items for perseverance - “there are few likes and dislikes about food (OR:2.67, 95％CI:1.03～6.94, p=.043),” “Time for playing games on smartphone is determined (OR:3.21, 95％CI:1.19～8.68, p=.021),” “Eat more fruits (OR:3.03, 95％CI:1.24～8.26, p=.016),” are statistically significant. [Other results are omitted in this abstract] Conclusions It became clear that the acquisition of social and emotional skills during early childhood generally involves regular lifestyle and “discipline” at home as a whole. Besides, it is important for parent and child to do various activities together, including those aiming to increase cognitive skills. This study is considered to be a powerful evidence for the development of future intervention programme, aimed at acquiring social and emotional skills in early childhood. Key messages In early childhood family and kindergarten have to cooperate to foster social and emotional skills, important for lifelong health. This study is considered to be a powerful evidence for the development of future intervention programme, aimed at acquiring social and emotional skills in early childhood.

scholarly journals The Impact on Children's Mental Health of School Closures to Prevent the Spread of the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuma Ishimoto ◽  
Takahiro Yamane ◽  
Yuki Matsumoto ◽  
Katsutoshi Kobayashi
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Primary Schools ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
School Adjustment ◽  
Children’S Mental Health ◽  
School Closure ◽  
Children's Mental Health ◽  
After School ◽  
Emotional Symptoms ◽  
The Impact

In Japan, schools were suddenly closed all over the country with one month left at the end of the school year to prevent the spread of new coronavirus infections. Although previous studies have shown that quarantine and isolation have a negative impact on mental health, the impact of school closure on children's mental health is not clear. This study examined mental health indicators, such as emotional symptoms, in addition to behavior during school closure and anxiety after school resumes, among children in three primary schools for which survey data existed in December before school closure. No cases of infection have been confirmed in the area where the school was located at the time of the survey. As a result, anxiety about whether they would be able to return to their normal routine after school resumed was associated with mental health. In addition, there was a worsening of emotional symptoms in those who were in medium group of school adjustment as of December.

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