What's the Story?: Exploring Parent–Teacher Communication through ePortfolios

2017 ◽  
Vol 42 (4) ◽  
pp. 13-21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amanda Higgins ◽  
Sue Cherrington
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Document Analysis ◽  
Electronic Portfolios ◽  
Communication Tool ◽  
Focus Group Interviews ◽  
Teacher Communication ◽  
Childhood Education ◽  
Individual Interviews ◽  
Group Interviews ◽  
Reported Data

ELECTRONIC PORTFOLIOS (ePORTFOLIOS) ARE a relatively new phenomenon in early childhood education (ECE) with minimal existing research available on their use and effectiveness as a learning and communication tool in ECE. This article reports on a study examining the influence of ePortfolios on parent–teacher communication in one early childhood (EC) service. Reported data has been drawn from online surveys, document analysis of ePortfolios, individual interviews and focus group interviews with parents and teachers. Thematic analysis identified two main themes: the benefits and drawbacks of communicating via the ePortfolio, and the types of communication that were evident.

scholarly journals Electronic portfolios in early childhood education: Parent-teacher communication

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Amanda Higgins
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Early Childhood Education ◽  
Online Communication ◽  
Electronic Portfolios ◽  
Communication Tool ◽  
Childhood Education ◽  
Individual Interviews ◽  
Children’S Learning ◽  
Teachers And Parents ◽  
Children's Learning

<p>Electronic portfolios (ePortfolios) are a new phenomenon in early childhood education (ECE) and there is minimal existing research available on their use and effectiveness as a learning and communication tool in ECE.  This thesis presents an exploratory case study of an ECE centre, positioned within a constructive-interpretivist paradigm, which investigated communication between teachers and families via ePortfolios. Data used in the study were drawn from online surveys, document analysis of ePortfolios, individual interviews, and focus group interviews with parents and teachers. Thematic analysis identified three main themes; the benefits and drawbacks of communicating via the ePortfolio, the online tools that supported or constrained communication, and the types of communication that were evident.  Several implications for teachers’ practice arise from this study. First, the ePortfolio enabled communication to easily flow between settings, and provided another avenue for teachers and parents to communicate. Second, the different levels of communication parents and teachers engaged in via the ePortfolio had potential to influence their on-going communication, relationships, and children’s learning. To extend on-going learning and positive learning outcomes for children, online communication could be scaffolded so that a focus on relationships moves toward to a greater focus on children’s learning. Finally, levels of trust between teachers and parents were apparent, though more complex elements of trust such as competence and openness were less evident. Teachers could consider ways to develop these with parents to further enhance trust and communication.</p>

scholarly journals Electronic portfolios in early childhood education: Parent-teacher communication

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Amanda Higgins
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Early Childhood Education ◽  
Online Communication ◽  
Electronic Portfolios ◽  
Communication Tool ◽  
Childhood Education ◽  
Individual Interviews ◽  
Children’S Learning ◽  
Teachers And Parents ◽  
Children's Learning

<p>Electronic portfolios (ePortfolios) are a new phenomenon in early childhood education (ECE) and there is minimal existing research available on their use and effectiveness as a learning and communication tool in ECE.  This thesis presents an exploratory case study of an ECE centre, positioned within a constructive-interpretivist paradigm, which investigated communication between teachers and families via ePortfolios. Data used in the study were drawn from online surveys, document analysis of ePortfolios, individual interviews, and focus group interviews with parents and teachers. Thematic analysis identified three main themes; the benefits and drawbacks of communicating via the ePortfolio, the online tools that supported or constrained communication, and the types of communication that were evident.  Several implications for teachers’ practice arise from this study. First, the ePortfolio enabled communication to easily flow between settings, and provided another avenue for teachers and parents to communicate. Second, the different levels of communication parents and teachers engaged in via the ePortfolio had potential to influence their on-going communication, relationships, and children’s learning. To extend on-going learning and positive learning outcomes for children, online communication could be scaffolded so that a focus on relationships moves toward to a greater focus on children’s learning. Finally, levels of trust between teachers and parents were apparent, though more complex elements of trust such as competence and openness were less evident. Teachers could consider ways to develop these with parents to further enhance trust and communication.</p>

scholarly journals Exploring Military Artefacts in Early Childhood Education: Conflicting Perspectives on Cultural Sustainability, Belonging and Protection

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 2587
Author(s):  
Åsta Birkeland ◽  
Liv Torunn Grindheim
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Early Childhood Education ◽  
Local Area ◽  
Positive Interactions ◽  
Focus Group Interviews ◽  
Cultural Sustainability ◽  
Childhood Education ◽  
Group Interviews ◽  
Chinese Kindergarten ◽  
Insight Into

Social and cultural sustainability is outlined as creating surroundings that include and stimulate positive interactions, such as promoting a sense of community and a feeling of belonging to a community, by being safe and attached to the local area. Artefacts chosen in early childhood education (ECE) institutions are integrated parts of the culture in which the ECE institutions are embedded; artefacts, thus, are understood as serving belonging and cultural sustainability. The study examined what insight into cultural sustainability could be surfaced in conflicting perspectives about military artefacts in ECE. Focus group interviews were conducted with Chinese and Norwegian graduate students and ECE researchers, during which photographs of a Chinese kindergarten where military artefacts and toys were highly represented. Conflicting perspectives on military artefacts among the participant surfaced how belonging are closely intertwined with protection and where to belong: locally, nationally or internationally. The skeptical approach to military artefacts is challenged by awareness of different ways to promote national pride and entanglement among generations. The findings indicate a need for more research on conditions for belonging and the normative complexities of artefacts in cultural sustainability.

Selected aspects of institutional early childhood education and care in Warsaw – the perspective of professionals and low-income parents

2016 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 124-0
Author(s):  
Małgorzata Karwowska-Struczyk ◽  
Olga Wysłowska
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Early Childhood Education ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Final Part ◽  
Childhood Education ◽  
Individual Interviews ◽  
Low Incomes ◽  
Education And Care ◽  
Group Interviews

The article presents results of research into low income parents as well as professionals involved in the education, care and upbringing sectors. It concerns access to toddler care and preschool, the costs of sending children to such institutions, support for parents on low incomes, as well as the demands parents have of these institutions. The authors carried out two group interviews with parents, as well as three individual interviews with workers from the institutions. In the final part of the article, the results of the research are presented along with recommendations for politics concerning the sectors of education, upbringing and care of children from the ages of 0 to 6.

scholarly journals PAUD is My Second Child: How Early Childhood in Indonesia Strives to Develop

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 117-127
Author(s):  
Heny Solekhah
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Group Discussion ◽  
Document Analysis ◽  
Government Policies ◽  
Financial Resources ◽  
Second Child ◽  
Childhood Education ◽  
Individual Interviews ◽  
Central Java ◽  
The Government

This research is aimed to investigate how the teachers of Early Childhood Education (ECE) in Indonesia or Pendidikan Anak Usia Dini (PAUD) have been struggling to sustain and develop their schools. The data was collected through a focus group discussion with teachers in Kelompok Bermain (KB) from four sub-districts in Kendal, Central Java. It is followed by individual interviews and the teachers’ document analysis. The government policies are also gathered and analysed to know to what extent the government supports the teachers and their schools. The research found that despite the different reasons for being PAUD teachers, they established (ECE) from ‘zero’ and put their schools as a priority over themselves; being proactive and communicative the only ways to develop both their professionalism and institutions; Dana Desa and Dana Kelurahan are two desired financial resources; and they hope that the government could raise their status from non-formal educators to be formal and bring equality. In conclusion, the teachers have struggled to advance their professionalism and institutions despite disadvantaged circumstances and expecting that in the future they will gain more government support.DOI: http://doi.org/10.31098/ijeiece.v1i2.50

scholarly journals O Brincar e o Ensino da Linguagem Escrita na Educação Infantil: (In)Pressão dos Pais

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 92-101
Author(s):  
Edione Teixeira de Carvalho ◽  
Odete Selva ◽  
Geysa Luiza De Souza Santos ◽  
Antonio Gomes
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Early Childhood Education ◽  
Field Research ◽  
Research Data ◽  
Written Language ◽  
Quantitative Approach ◽  
Childhood Education ◽  
Individual Interviews

ResumoEm nome de muitos “modismos” pedagógicos se sacrifica a infância com práticas inadequadas à fase da criança, desrespeitando seu modo de ser e sua linguagem própria, que é o brincar. Este artigo resulta de uma pesquisa realizada no Centro Educacional Amerecilda Conceição Fernandes Rezende, no município de Campo Verde (MT), com o objetivo de averiguar na percepção dos pais a importância que estes atribuem para o ensino da linguagem escrita e do brincar na Educação Infantil. Discute-se na problemática se há pressão por parte dos pais para que os professores iniciem o ensino da linguagem escrita nas fases de Pré I, II e III (4 a 6 anos) e se os professores sentem ou não tal pressão. Nesta trajetória se buscou traduzir a posição dos pais a respeito do problema, bem como o posicionamento dos professores. A metodologia considerada nesta investigação é de natureza aplicada, com uma abordagem quantitativa, no sentido de quantificar os dados e qualitativa no sentido de explicar a realidade pesquisada. Quanto aos objetivos é descritiva, e quanto aos procedimentos técnicos se caracteriza como pesquisa de campo. Os dados foram coletados mediante a aplicação de questionário com uma amostra de cinquenta e quatro pais e entrevistas coletivas e individuais com sete professores. Ao finalizar a pesquisa, conclui-se que há uma pressão implícita, por parte dos pais, e que os professores sentem essa pressão de várias fontes, até mesmo deles próprios. Palavras-chave: Cuidar. Educar. Ensinar. AbstractIn the name of many pedagogical “fads”, childhood is sacrificed with practices inappropriate to the child's stage, disrespecting their way of being and their own language, which is playing. This article is the result of a research carried out at Centro Educacional Amerecilda Conceição Fernandes Rezende, in the municipality of Campo Verde (MT), with the aim of ascertaining in the parents' perception the importance they attach to the teaching of written language and playing in early childhood education. . The issue is discussed whether there is pressure on the parents’ part for teachers to start teaching written language in the Pre I, II and III phases (4 to 6 years) and whether or not teachers feel such pressure. In this trajectory, it was sought to translate the parents 'position regarding the problem, as well as the teachers' position. The methodology considered in this investigation is of an applied nature, with a quantitative approach, in order to quantify the data and qualitative in order to explain the researched reality. As for the objectives, it is descriptive, and for technical procedures, it is characterized as field research. Data were collected through the application of a questionnaire with a sample of fifty-four parents and collective and individual interviews with seven teachers. At the end of the research, it is concluded that there is an implicit pressure from parents and that teachers feel this pressure from several sources, even from themselves. keywords: Caring. Educating. Teaching

The Dilemma of Cultural Responsiveness and Professionalization: Listening Closer to Immigrant Teachers who Teach Children of Recent Immigrants

2012 ◽  
Vol 114 (12) ◽  
pp. 1-37
Author(s):  
Jennifer K. Adair ◽  
Joseph Tobin ◽  
Angela E. Arzubiaga
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Early Childhood ◽  
Focus Group ◽  
Research Method ◽  
The United States ◽  
Focus Group Interviews ◽  
Recent Immigrants ◽  
Immigrant Teachers ◽  
Education And Care ◽  
Group Interviews

Background/Context Many scholars in the fields of teacher education, multicultural education, and bilingual education have argued that children of recent immigrants are best served in classrooms that have teachers who understand the cultural background and the home language of their students. Culturally knowledgeable and responsive teachers are important in early education and care settings that serve children from immigrant families. However, there is little research on immigrant teachers’ cultural and professional knowledge or on their political access to curricular/pedagogical decision-making. Focus of Study This study is part of the larger Children Crossing Borders (CCB) study: a comparative study of what practitioners and parents who are recent immigrants in multiple countries think should happen in early education settings. Here, we present an analysis of the teacher interviews that our team conducted in the United States and compare the perspectives of immigrant teachers with those of their nonimmigrant counterparts, specifically centering on the cultural expertise of immigrant teachers who work within their own immigrant community. Research Design The research method used in the CCB project is a variation of the multi-vocal ethnographic research method used in the two Preschool in Three Cultures studies. We made videotapes of typical days in classrooms for 4-year-olds in early childhood education and care (ECEC) settings in five countries (England, France, Germany, Italy, and the United States) and then used these videos as cues for focus group interviews with parents and teachers. Using a coding framework designed by the national CCB team, we coded 30 focus group interviews. The coding framework was designed to facilitate comparisons across countries, cities, and categories of participants (teachers and parents, immigrant and nonimmigrant). Findings/Results Teachers who are themselves immigrants from the same communities of the children and families they serve seem perfectly positioned to bridge the cultural and linguistic worlds of home and school. However, our study of teachers in five U.S. cities at a number of early childhood settings suggests that teachers who are themselves immigrants often experience a dilemma that prevents them from applying their full expertise to the education and care of children of recent immigrants. Rather than feeling empowered by their bicultural, bilingual knowledge and their connection to multiple communities, many immigrant teachers instead report that they often feel stuck between their pedagogical training and their cultural knowledge. Conclusions/Recommendations Bicultural, bilingual staff, and especially staff members who are themselves immigrants from the community served by the school, can play an invaluable role in parent–staff dialogues, but only if their knowledge is valued, enacted, and encouraged as an extension of their professional role as early childhood educators. For the teachers, classrooms, and structures in our study, this would require nonimmigrant practitioners to have a willingness to consider other cultural versions of early childhood pedagogy as having merit and to enter into dialogue with immigrant teachers and immigrant communities.

Much changes, much remains the same: Icelandic parents’ perspectives on preschool education

2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 220-232
Author(s):  
Johanna Einarsdottir
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Values ◽  
National Curriculum ◽  
Preschool Education ◽  
Focus Group Interviews ◽  
Cultural Discourses ◽  
Childhood Education ◽  
Curriculum Guidelines ◽  
Education And Care ◽  
Group Interviews ◽  
Shed Light

The aim of the study was to shed light on Icelandic parents’ views on their children’s preschool educations and explore if their views have changed over the last decade. In 2005/2006, focus group interviews were conducted with parents of 5- and 6-year-old children in three preschools in Iceland. In 2016, the same preschools were revisited, and now 26 parent participants were interviewed. Several challenges have been facing Icelandic early childhood education and care in the last decade. Iceland is faced with academic pushes and pressures to increase accountability. In addition, society is moving from a homogeneous to a multicultural nature. Therefore, it was of interest to explore if parents’ views had changed over the last decade. However, mostly parents of Icelandic origin were willing to participate. The findings from the present study therefore show the views of dominant Icelandic parents. The views of those parents have not changed much over the last decade, in spite of changes in the societal and educational landscape. They endorsed play as well as social and personal competences. The findings indicate that socio-cultural discourses are influential in shaping the narratives of participating parents. It seems that the parents were expressing ideas proposed by the Icelandic National Curriculum Guidelines for Preschools and their views reflect the dominant cultural values that are presented in the curriculum guidelines. One can assume that these cultural values reflected in the curriculum are stronger than the current neoliberal, global emphasis since the ideas of the participating parents had not changed significantly from the views of parents a decade ago, in spite of an international trend emphasising the academification of preschools and increasing multiculturalism in the country. Hence, the study shows clearly that despite neoliberal pressures, play and child-centred preschools remain a priority for Icelandic parents.

Mapping the Policy Landscape of Australian Early Childhood Education Policy through Document Analysis

2018 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 4-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natasha Hard ◽  
Paige Lee ◽  
Sue Dockett
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Early Childhood Education ◽  
National Curriculum ◽  
Document Analysis ◽  
Childhood Education ◽  
Early Childhood Education Policy ◽  
Early Childhood Policy ◽  
Early School ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Large Corpus

WHILE MUCH HAS BEEN written about recent reforms in Australian early childhood education (birth to five) policy, less attention has been directed towards the changes across the whole early childhood period (birth to eight) and potential links between policy covering the prior-to-school and early school years. The near-concurrent introduction of two national curriculum documents covering these sectors has provided opportunities to explore such links. Recognising that such national approaches do not emerge from a vacuum, we identified a wide range of additional documents that contributed to the history, development, implementation and evaluation of the national curriculum documents, with the aim of exploring the links across these and the policy imperatives guiding these. Qualitative Document Analysis was used to manage the overwhelming number of related documents that were identified. In this paper, we share the processes used in the descriptive coding of a large corpus of documents, and reflect on the advantages and challenges encountered. We share these reflections not only as a means of contributing to discussions about the nature and impact of early childhood policy, but also to provide a transparent basis for future analyses.

scholarly journals Democratic Participation in Early Childhood Education and Care - Serving the Best Interests of the Child

2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Evelyn Eriksen
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Early Childhood Education ◽  
Document Analysis ◽  
Best Interests ◽  
Democratic Participation ◽  
Childhood Education ◽  
Education And Care ◽  
Key Terms ◽  
Shed Light

Abstract: The meaning of democratic participation in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) remainsvague and difficult to implement. Thus, the aim of this paper is to contribute to this gap of knowledge by shed light on the meaning of democratic participation in relation to the best interests of the child, by analysing General Comment No. 14 (2013). The research uses theories on democracy in ECEC to discuss the results (Biesta, 2014, 2015; Moss, 2007, 2011; Pettersvold, 2014; Einarsdottir, Purola, Johansson, Broström, &Emilson, 2015). The study investigates how key terms (rights, participation, unity/collective, equality, influence and responsibility) relate to democratic participation. Findings indicate that these terms are used to align with ideas about the “best interests of the child”. Furthermore, the study identified specific groups of children who can be in vulnerable situations and their explicit right to express their views and to influence decisions affecting them in ECEC institutions. I therefore argue that understanding democracy in ECEC must focus on inclusion of children who can be in vulnerable situations because this is in the best interests of the child. Keywords: Best Interests of the Child, Democratic Participation, Document Analysis, General Comments

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