Poverty in Childhood and the Impact of Early Childhood Education and Care

2018 ◽  
pp. 75-86
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Early Childhood Education ◽  
Childhood Education ◽  
Education And Care ◽  
The Impact

scholarly journals The Impact of COVID-19 on Eating Environments and Activity in Early Childhood Education and Care in Alberta, Canada: A Cross-Sectional Study

Nutrients ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 4247
Author(s):  
Lynne M. Z. Lafave ◽  
Alexis D. Webster ◽  
Ceilidh McConnell ◽  
Nadine Van Wyk ◽  
Mark R. Lafave
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Early Childhood ◽  
Early Childhood Education ◽  
Healthy Eating ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Sectional Study ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Childhood Education ◽  
Education And Care ◽  
The Impact

Early childhood education and care (ECEC) environments influence children’s early development and habits that track across a lifespan. The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of COVID-19 government-mandated guidelines on physical activity (PA) and eating environments in ECEC settings. This cross-sectional study involved the recruitment of 19 ECEC centers pre-COVID (2019) and 15 ECEC centers during COVID (2020) in Alberta, Canada (n = 34 ECEC centers; n = 83 educators; n = 361 preschoolers). Educators completed the CHEERS (Creating Healthy Eating and activity Environments Survey) and MEQ (Mindful Eating Questionnaire) self-audit tools while GT3X+ ActiGraph accelerometers measured preschooler PA. The CHEERS healthy eating environment subscale was greater during COVID-19 (5.97 ± 0.52; 5.80 ± 0.62; p = 0.02) and the overall score positively correlated with the MEQ score (r = 0.20; p = 0.002). Preschoolers exhibited greater hourly step counts (800 ± 189; 649 ± 185), moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) (9.3 ± 3.0 min/h; 7.9 ± 3.2 min/h) and lower sedentary times (42.4 ± 3.9 min/h; 44.1 ± 4.9 min/h) during COVID-19 compared to pre-COVID, respectively (p < 0.05). These findings suggest the eating environment and indices of child physical activity were better in 2020, which could possibly be attributed to a change in government-mandated COVID-19 guideline policy.

scholarly journals Constructing deficit data doppelgängers: The impact of datafication on children with English as an additional language

2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 253-265 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mandy Pierlejewski
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Early Childhood Education ◽  
School Readiness ◽  
Communication Skills ◽  
Childhood Education ◽  
Number Of Children ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Education And Care ◽  
The Impact ◽  
British Culture

In this article, an evaluation of the English early childhood education context reveals children constructed as data. The complex, chaotic and unpredictable nature of the child is reconstituted in numerical form – a form which can be measured, compared and manipulated. Children are reconceptualised as data doppelgängers, ghostly apparitions which emulate the actual embodied child. The focus of early childhood education and care thus moves from child-centred to data-centred education. The author specifically focuses on the impact of this aspect of the performative regime on children who have English as an additional language – an under-researched area in the field. Foucault’s work on governmentality is used as a theoretical lens through which to understand the process of datafication. The author uses a composite child, generated from a number of children from her experience as a teacher, as a starting point for discussion. This reveals children as disadvantaged, as their home languages are no longer used to assess communication skills. Their data doppelgängers are not useful to the teacher as they are unable to demonstrate a Good Level of Development – a key measure of school readiness in English policy. The author argues that in post-Brexit-vote Britain, subtle changes to early childhood education increase disadvantage, promoting white, British culture and thus marginalising those from other cultures.

scholarly journals “Who Would Bother Getting a Degree When You Would Be on the Exact Same Pay and Conditions . . .?” Professionalism and the Problem With Qualifications in Early Childhood Education and Care: An Irish Perspective

SAGE Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 215824402110318
Author(s):  
Ayooluwa Oke ◽  
Judith E. Butler ◽  
Cian O’Neill
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Early Childhood Education ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Childhood Education ◽  
Social Welfare Services ◽  
Childhood Care ◽  
Highly Skilled ◽  
Education And Care ◽  
Impact Of Technology ◽  
The Impact

Although the literature is replete with research that indicates the importance of qualified and highly skilled practitioners in the provision of quality Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC), challenges to the retention of highly skilled graduates and the establishment of a professional ECEC workforce persist. This study investigates the barriers that hinder practitioners from obtaining higher level ECEC qualifications. It presents findings from the perspectives of practitioners ( n = 18) participating in the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Scheme using semi-structured interviews. This article is part of a doctoral study with practitioners and parents on quality in ECEC and the impact of technology on quality practice. Importantly, this article presents findings from the practitioner interviews as they relate to the barriers faced by practitioners in obtaining higher level qualifications. Findings indicate that practitioners value the role of qualifications in the provision of quality practice. Despite this, findings suggest that the likelihood of obtaining an ECEC degree is largely dependent on the practitioner’s financial situation. For example, in the absence of appropriate pay scales and occupational profiles, practitioners are forced to avail of social welfare services.

scholarly journals Including children with chronic health conditions in early childhood education and care settings

2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 159-173
Author(s):  
Jackie Musgrave ◽  
Rachael Levy
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Early Childhood Education ◽  
Postal Questionnaire ◽  
Chronic Health Conditions ◽  
Health Conditions ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Chronic Health ◽  
Childhood Education ◽  
Education And Care ◽  
The Impact

This article sheds light on how chronic health conditions impact upon concepts of inclusion in children’s early childhood education and care in England; it draws upon findings from a small-scale research project which highlights the need to consider health, in particular, the impact of chronic health conditions on early childhood education and care. The study was conducted in two stages: Stage 1 involved a postal questionnaire to 60 early childhood settings and Stage 2 included interviews with 6 practitioners in 4 settings, interviews with parents and observations of a child (called DJ) in his setting over the course of a year. The findings from this study indicate that in an attempt to be inclusive, practitioners may be unintentionally exclusive in their practice. The data suggest that this may be as a consequence of practitioners having different understandings and definitions of what is meant by the term inclusion, leading to confusion about the aims of inclusion. The findings indicate that there is a need to identify what effective pedagogy is for children with chronic health conditions, as well as a need to redefine inclusion in relation to their needs.

Coaching for continuous improvement in collaborative, interdisciplinary early childhood teams

2019 ◽  
Vol 44 (3) ◽  
pp. 270-284
Author(s):  
Jane Page ◽  
Patricia Eadie
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Early Childhood Education ◽  
Continuous Improvement ◽  
Early Childhood Educators ◽  
Interdisciplinary Teams ◽  
Childhood Education ◽  
Care Services ◽  
Education And Care ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Child Learning

There is growing evidence that coaching early childhood educators leads to higher quality teaching practices and improved child learning outcomes. Despite this, there is a lack of Australian evidence on the impact that coaching in collaborative, interdisciplinary teams in early childhood education and care settings has on teacher effectiveness and by extension child learning. This paper will draw on data from two collaborative interdisciplinary research projects – the Victorian Advancing Early Learning Study and the Every Toddler Talking Initiative – to explore the features of coaching, collaboration and interdisciplinary partnerships that support early childhood educators to engage in the process of continuous improvement. We argue that governance and leadership is critical in enabling interdisciplinary teams to engage in a collaborative process of continuous improvement and that threshold conditions are required within early childhood education and care services to foster interdisciplinary coaching collaborations in a sustained manner.

scholarly journals Play-based learning and phenomenon-based learning in the Finnish Early Childhood Education

2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 1278-1306
Author(s):  
Juliene Madureira Ferreira
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Early Childhood Education ◽  
Educational System ◽  
Educational Process ◽  
Pedagogical Practices ◽  
Childhood Education ◽  
Education And Care ◽  
Educational Assessments ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Support Students

Since 2005, with the impact of the results of international educational assessments, Finland and its educational system has been the focus of interest for educators around the world and different aspects of the system's functioning and structure have been explored. This text presents two of the key elements in early childhood education and care, learning based on play and learning based on the phenomenon; and how these pedagogical approaches structure practices that support students' learning, and are articulated with the subsequent educational process. Going beyond the mere description of pedagogical practices and not repeat what other researchers have already narrated about the Finnish educational system, the developmental aspects of these practices and how they are articulated with the extensive training of teachers is evident throughout this text.

scholarly journals Obesity Prevention within the Early Childhood Education and Care Setting: A Systematic Review of Dietary Behavior and Physical Activity Policies and Guidelines in High Income Countries

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 838
Author(s):  
Jacklyn Kay Jackson ◽  
Jannah Jones ◽  
Hanh Nguyen ◽  
Isabella Davies ◽  
Melanie Lum ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Early Childhood ◽  
Early Childhood Education ◽  
Obesity Prevention ◽  
Grey Literature ◽  
Dietary Behavior ◽  
High Income ◽  
Childhood Education ◽  
Education And Care ◽  
The Impact

As a strategy for early childhood obesity prevention, a variety of dietary behavior and physical activity policies and guidelines published by leading health agencies and early childhood education and care (ECEC) licensing and accreditation bodies exist. Given the potential diversity in recommendations from these policies, this narrative review sought to synthesize, appraise and describe the various policies and guidelines made by organizational and professional bodies to highlight consistent recommendations and identify opportunities to strengthen such policies. An electronic bibliographic search of seven online databases and grey literature sources was undertaken. Records were included if they were policies or guidelines with specific recommendations addressing dietary behavior and/or physical activity practice implementation within the ECEC setting; included children aged >12 months and <6 years and were developed for high income countries. Recommended dietary behavior and physical activity policies and practices were synthesized into broad themes using the Analysis Grid for Environments Linked to Obesity framework, and the quality of included guidelines appraised. Our search identified 38 eligible publications mostly from the US and Australia. Identified guidelines were largely consistent in their recommendation and frequently addressed the physical and sociocultural environment and were well-aligned with research evidence. Broader consideration of policy and economic environments may be needed to increase the impact of such policies and guidelines within the ECEC setting.

When a crisis undermines quality public service provision: Romanian early childhood education and care through the SARS-Cov-2 epidemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 508-528
Author(s):  
Borbála Kovács
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Early Childhood Education ◽  
Service Provision ◽  
Family Policy ◽  
General Pattern ◽  
Early Years ◽  
High Price ◽  
Childhood Education ◽  
Education And Care ◽  
The Impact

What appeared to be the success of many Eastern European states in managing the toll of the SARS-Cov-2 pandemic in its first round has been attributed to the early introduction of strict lockdown. However, erring on the side of caution came at a high price, with mixed economies of welfare shifting sometimes radically towards families, with the related costs unevenly distributed. Using the case of early childhood education and care (ECEC), the article explores the specifics of what has been a more general pattern in epidemic-induced social policy adaptation in the Romanian context: the overnight, radical and prolonged individualisation of service provision without the corresponding remaking of the cash nexus. It expands on the timeline of government decisions on family policy adaptations, including ECEC service provision. The article also reviews fragmented evidence about the impact of ECEC service suspension on the mixed economy of early years care. The article explains how and why the Romanian government was able to effectively suspend ECEC service delivery between March and September 2020 while keeping related financial arrangements practically unaltered, and do so without open protest. The Romanian case reveals how and why a family policy environment historically characterised by fragmented, selective and partially adequate provision, directly and indirectly maintaining the familialisation of young children’s care, acts as a catalyst for more of the same in hard times: fragmented, selective and only partially adequate intervention. In conceptual terms, the article suggests that familialist family policy is particularly sticky, more so in times of crisis than in ‘good’ times.

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