scholarly journals Children’s participation in early childhood education: A theoretical overview

2021 ◽  
pp. 146394912098178
Author(s):  
Nadine Correia ◽  
Cecília Aguiar ◽  
Fausto Amaro

Children’s right to participate in all matters and decisions affecting them has gained recognition in society. Its promotion is recommended from an early age – namely, in early childhood education settings – and it is described as benefiting children, adults and the community in general. Given the complex and polysemic meaning of participation, different conceptualizations, models and perspectives have emerged. In this article, the authors provide a theoretical overview, describing relevant models, concepts and contributions from distinct perspectives and fields of knowledge – sociological, educational, developmental and sociocultural – as well as contributions from social policy. This overview is particularly relevant to inform research and practice about children’s participation in early childhood education.

Author(s):  
Brit Johanne Eide ◽  
Ellen Os ◽  
Ingrid Pramling Samuelsson

Title: Young children’s participation during circle time. Abstract: In day schedules of early childhood education, circle time has traditionally been one of the core situations. According to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, children should be given opportunity to influence their everyday life. This article presents an analysis of circle time in 8 toddler groups. The focus of the analysis is children’s opportunities to participate and take part in the process of decision-making during circle time. The results indicate that the toddlers take part in community of the group, but their opportunities to influence are limited.


2016 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 81 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luísa Lopes ◽  
Nadine Correia ◽  
Cecília Aguiar

Com este estudo, pretendeu-se desenvolver e avaliar as características psicométricas de uma medida de avaliação das perceções dos educadores de infância acerca da implementação do direito de participação em contexto de jardim de infância. Participaram 168 educadores de infância, sendo que, destes, 40 foram observados, em contexto de sala, com o Classroom Observation Scoring System (Pianta, La Paro, & Hamre, 2008). Identificámos dois componentes das perceções dos educadores acerca da participação das crianças: Expressão e Responsabilidade das Crianças e Tomada de Decisão pelo Adulto. A Tomada de Decisão pelo Adulto estava negativamente associada à qualidade das salas e às habilitações académicas dos educadores. Paralelamente, educadores do setor público obtiveram resultados mais elevados no componente Expressão e Responsabilidade das Crianças do que educadores do setor privado com fins lucrativos. Os dados obtidos fornecem evidências que suportam, moderadamente, a fidelidade e a validade da medida.Palavras-chave: direito de participação das crianças, questionário, perceções, jardim de infância ABSTRACTThe aim of this study was to develop and evaluate the psychometric properties of a measure designed to assess early childhood education teachers’ perceptions about the degree of implementation of children’s participation right in early childhood education. Participated in this study 168 preschool teachers, 40 of which were simultaneously observed, in their classrooms, with the Classroom Observation Scoring System (CLASS; Pianta, La Paro, & Hamre, 2008). We identified two components of teachers’ perceptions of children’s participation: Children’s Expression and Responsibility and Decision Making by the Adult. Decision Making by the Adult was negatively associated with the domains of classroom quality measured through CLASS and with teachers education level. Teachers from public centers scored higher in Children’s Expression and Responsibility than teachers from private for-profit centers. Findings provide moderate evidence on the reliability and validity of the Assessment Questionnaire of Early Childhood Education Teachers’ Perceptions about Children’s Participation Right. Key-words: children’s participation right, questionnaire, teacher perceptions, early childhood education


2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 25
Author(s):  
Odundo Paul Amollo ◽  
Ganira Khavugwi Lilian

Communication is the process of reaching mutual understanding where participants not only exchange information, ideas and feelings but also create and share meaning. Effective communication imparts knowledge and paves way towards building and strengthening relationships which uphold peace between parents and children for lasting associations. However, the authoritarian parenting style tends to manipulate communication which creates fear and compromise learner participation in class. The study explored the relationship between communication in authoritarian parenting model and participation of learners in Early Childhood Education (ECE) science classroom in Homabay County, Kenya. The population of the study involved 314 respondents including 4 County education officers; 60 head teachers; 60 ECE teachers attached to public primary schools; 120 learners and 70 parents. The teachers’ questionnaire was used as the main data collection tool. Correlation analyses were performed to determine which demographic characteristics should be used as control variables. Regression analyses were also performed to examine the relationship between communication in authoritarian parenting model and children’s participation in class activities. Data was gathered, summarized and analyzed by reading the information collected through the research instruments and pattern trends and relationships from the information gathered were established. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze qualitative data while quantitative statistics were employed to match authoritarian parenting numbers to learner participation attributes. Frequency distribution tables were used to present the data. Anchored on social learning theory, the study findings supported the view that communication in authoritarian parenting model is negatively related to children’s participation in class. The 91% of ECE teachers confirmed that learners from authoritarian settings could not express themselves well as a result of limited communication existing between the child and the parent and only 9% observed eloquence in the learners of authoritarian parents. For further research the study suggested that since authoritarian mothers and fathers behave differently, studies should be done separately to assess consistency of the parenting model in both parents.


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