scholarly journals DISCIPLINE STRATEGIES PRACTISED IN EARLY CHILDHOOD SETTINGS IN MAURITIUS

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Belle Louis Jinot ◽  
Moraby Munirah
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Early Childhood Teachers ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Emotion Coaching ◽  
The Public ◽  
Positive Discipline ◽  
Petite Enfance ◽  
Disruptive Behaviours ◽  
Early Childhood Settings

<p>This research was conducted to identify and examine the discipline strategies that early childhood teachers may adopt to deal with disruptive behaviours of toddlers. The research was a qualitative research design and a case study. Five early childhood teachers were selected using purposive sampling and 30 toddlers in a private early childhood centre. The data about the practice of discipline strategies by the teachers were gathered by a semi-structured interview schedule and non-participant observation was used to collect data from the toddlers. According to the results of the study, it was found that early childhood education teachers were adopting positive discipline to prevent behaviour problems. The strategies adopted are guidance, autonomy, creating positive relationships, effective planning of the learning environment, and emotion coaching. This research shed light on the shift in the discipline paradigm in the early childhood setting in Mauritius. Instead of adopting reactive and punitive strategies, the practitioners are adopting proactive and discipline which is more humanistic and egalitarian, particularly when the child should be given the best learning opportunities for their holistic development. The findings may serve as an eye-opener especially for the policy and decision-makers like the Ministry of Education, to rethink the current practices in the public early childhood settings. For further research, a comparative study may be done to examine the extent to which positive discipline may be implemented in the public early childhood centres of the country.</p><p> </p><p>Cette recherche a été menée pour identifier et examiner les stratégies disciplinaires que les enseignants de la petite enfance peuvent adopter pour faire face aux comportements perturbateurs des tout-petits. La recherche était une conception de recherche qualitative et une étude de cas. Cinq enseignants de la petite enfance ont été sélectionnés à l'aide d'un échantillonnage raisonné et 30 enfants en bas âge dans un centre privé de la petite enfance. Les données sur la pratique des stratégies disciplinaires par les enseignants ont été recueillies par un calendrier d'entretien semi-structuré et l'observation non participante a été utilisée pour recueillir des données auprès des tout-petits. D'après les résultats de l'étude, il a été constaté que les enseignants en éducation de la petite enfance adoptaient une discipline positive pour prévenir les problèmes de comportement. Les stratégies adoptées sont l'accompagnement, l'autonomie, la création de relations positives, la planification efficace de l'environnement d'apprentissage et le coaching émotionnel. Cette recherche met en lumière le changement de paradigme de la discipline dans le cadre de la petite enfance à Maurice. Au lieu d'adopter des stratégies réactives et punitives, les praticiens adoptent une discipline proactive et plus humaniste et égalitaire, en particulier lorsque l'enfant doit bénéficier des meilleures opportunités d'apprentissage pour son développement holistique. Les résultats peuvent ouvrir les yeux, en particulier pour les responsables politiques et les décideurs comme le ministère de l'Éducation, pour repenser les pratiques actuelles dans les milieux publics de la petite enfance. Pour des recherches plus poussées, une étude comparative peut être menée pour examiner dans quelle mesure une discipline positive peut être mise en œuvre dans les centres publics de la petite enfance du pays.</p><p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/edu_01/0743/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

scholarly journals Everyday literacy practices: Normalising the school literate child

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Colwyn D. Martin
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Early Literacy ◽  
School Readiness ◽  
Literacy Practices ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Early Childhood Teachers ◽  
Ethnographic Study ◽  
Individual Agency ◽  
Literacy Knowledge ◽  
Early Childhood Settings

Background: One can argue that literacy practices work to produce forms of literacy knowledge and literate children in early childhood contexts. However, one needs to interrogate how these literacy practices create technologies of power that construct and normalise the school ready literate child.Aim: The ethnographic study employed in this article explored everyday literacy practices in early childhood contexts that were considered ‘usual’, the kinds of literate children these practices engendered and its normalising effects on children and teachers.Settings: The study was conducted in two early childhood centres with two early childhood teachers and teaching children between the ages of 3 and 4.Methods: The study was qualitative in nature and used participant observation. A genealogical analysis of literacy practices showed how technologies of power were embodied in different literacy practices that worked to construct and normalise the school ready child in different ways.Results: The findings revealed that everyday literacy practices were used to produce a literate child through disciplinary processes of observation, normalisation and examination. These literacy practices operated in covert ways where school readiness was tied to educational success. However, during this process of normalisation, children began to [re]position themselves within the literacy space, showing individual agency and self-regulation.Conclusion: Although the findings of this study are not generalisable, it has implications for how literacy and literacy practices are conceptualised in early childhood settings. This article advocates a reconceptualisation of school readiness by questioning embedded practices within the competence model of school readiness and calls for the early childhood field to dissect incisively what and who are advantaged and disadvantaged through early literacy practices.

Making the Body Ready for School: ADHD and Early Schooling in the Era of Accountability

2017 ◽  
Vol 119 (9) ◽  
pp. 1-38
Author(s):  
Kyunghwa Lee
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
School Readiness ◽  
Early Childhood Teachers ◽  
The Body ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Teachers Perceptions ◽  
The Public ◽  
Children's Behavior ◽  
Early Schooling ◽  
Teachers Perspectives

Background Although concerns about unintended negative consequences of standards-based accountability (SBA) reform for children's socioemotional development have been raised, few studies have systematically examined early childhood teachers’ perceptions of and practices for children's behavior and bodies under such policy. This study was conducted against the backdrop of the intersection of the accountability policy and the increasing prevalence of Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) among children, including preschoolers. Purpose The study investigated how early childhood teachers’ perspectives of and practices for the behavior and bodies of children considered at risk of being identified with ADHD later in schooling were related to the increasing concern over school readiness under SBA reform. Research Design Data for a qualitative case study were generated through multiple methods, including video-recorded observations in two African-American children's pre-kindergarten and kindergarten classrooms, interviews with their teachers, and artifact collection. Results The focal children's teachers appropriated the authoritative discourses of ADHD and readiness for school to perceive the children's bodies as uncontrollable and unready for school. The teachers taught the children a variety of bodily techniques to enculturate them in public school and to develop docile student bodies. Keeping their authoritative practices intact, the teachers hardly incorporated the children's areas of strengths into the curriculum and instruction. School was introduced to the children as a carnivalesqueless place, and both SBA reform and ADHD contributed to disembodiment in the public early childhood education settings. Conclusions This study suggests the need for reframing the notion of school readiness; bringing teachers’ folk theories about children's behavior and bodies to their critical awareness; and intentionally balancing serious, rigid parts of the daily classroom routine with relaxed, pleasurable moments.

How neocolonialism and globalization affect the early childhood workforce in Nepal and Kenya

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 111-125
Author(s):  
Lydiah Nganga ◽  
Samara Madrid Akpovo ◽  
Sapna Thapa ◽  
Agnes Muthoni Mwangi
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Early Childhood Education ◽  
Focus Groups ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Comparative Method ◽  
Early Childhood Teachers ◽  
Women's Work ◽  
Work Lives ◽  
Childhood Education ◽  
Women’S Work

Research shows that modern forms of colonization are vested with globalizing discourses which include early childhood education, gender, and curriculum policies and practices that are Euro-western based. In this collaborative qualitative study, four ethnographic researchers—two who conduct research in Nepal and two who conduct research in Kenya—explored the influence of globalization and neocolonialism on the work lives of early childhood teachers. Data was drawn from three long-term, in-depth ethnographic projects over a period of 6 to 13 years. The methods of data collection consisted of participant observation, field notes, class observations, individual interviews, and focus groups. This article reports on the findings from focus groups and uses a constant comparative method to analyze the data. Three common themes emerged from the analysis of the two data sets: Euro-western dominance; gendered positioning; and teacher resilience. The teachers used Euro-western language (i.e. English) as a key indicator of quality. The findings revealed that early childhood teachers experienced pressure from parents to conform to Euro-western standards, especially the use of English, thus alienating local languages. Teaching young children continued to be positioned as “women’s work,” resulting in low pay for early childhood education teachers and a lack of professionalism within the field. Although the themes of Euro-western standards and gendered discourses were frequent within the data, the theme of resilience was also found. The teachers displayed perseverance by using various coping mechanisms to counter the lack of resources and deprecated status of early childhood education as women’s work.

scholarly journals Imbalances between workforce policy and employment for early childhood graduate teachers: Complexities and considerations

2019 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 82-94
Author(s):  
Megan Gibson ◽  
Amanda McFadden ◽  
Kate E Williams ◽  
Lyn Zollo ◽  
Abigail Winter ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Child Care ◽  
Early Childhood Teachers ◽  
Early Childhood Teacher ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Qualified Teachers ◽  
School Settings ◽  
Graduate Survey ◽  
Workforce Policy ◽  
Early Childhood Settings

Early childhood teachers have a myriad of possible employment options, with birth to eight years degree qualifications preparing graduates to work in a range of early childhood settings, including prior-to-school. At the same time, early childhood workforce policies in Australia, and elsewhere, are increasingly requiring degree-qualified teachers to be employed in prior-to-school settings. A growing number of reports and studies make a compelling case that there is a shortage of early childhood, degree-qualified teachers who are willing to work in prior-to-school settings, including centre-based child care. This conceptual article focuses on the imbalances in workforce policy and employment for early childhood teacher graduates. We examine the complexities and considerations of these imbalances, through exploration of literature and existing research, including small-scale studies and existing graduate destination data (Australian Graduate Survey). The article concludes with a proposed research agenda and suggestions to redress the imbalance of early childhood graduate teachers who are prepared, though seemingly not willing, to operationalise policy requirements for teachers to work in centre-based child care.

scholarly journals Implementation of audiovisual material in an early sequential bilingual model during the early years

2018 ◽  
pp. 76-99
Author(s):  
Diana Carolina Durango Isaza ◽  
Clara Inés Gómez Marín ◽  
Enrique Arias Castaño
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Early Childhood Development ◽  
Early Childhood Teachers ◽  
Thinking Skills ◽  
Early Years ◽  
Childhood Development ◽  
Audiovisual Material ◽  
Descriptive Case Study ◽  
Low Socioeconomic ◽  
The Public

This research arose from the need to consolidate a meaningful bilingual methodology for children from three to five years of age from low socioeconomic backgrounds belonging to the public education system, where they could begin learning English and Spanish by means of a bilingual methodology that provides them with the same opportunities as middle to upper class children. Its aim is to implement an Early Sequential Bilingual Methodology Model in a public Early Childhood Development Center - ECDC (Centro de Desarrollo Infantil - CDI), and to collect data from class observations, student’s responses, early childhood teachers’ and English teachers’ views as well as parents’ perceptions towards its methodology and implementation in order to consolidate the model. Likewise, it will provide children with new opportunities to develop higher cognitive and high order thinking skills that can maximize their academic performance throughout their school years. This present Early Sequential Bilingual Model is a descriptive case study funded by a public university in Colombia and was implemented in a public ECDC (CDI) in Pereira (Risaralda-Colombia) based on the bilingual methodological proposals portrayed by Rodao (2011) and Arias et al. (2015). This research project depicts and systematizes the most predominant methodological techniques employed when teaching English at public ECDCs (CDIs) and interprets their effectiveness based on the data collected from interviews, fieldnotes and surveys. This article describes the responses of three- to five-year-old children to audiovisual material implemented in class.

scholarly journals Lessons From Research for Les Familles Exogames: A Literature Review

2016 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 13
Author(s):  
Rachelle Blanchette Deans
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Young Children ◽  
English Language ◽  
Early Years ◽  
Educational Choices ◽  
Ministry Of Education ◽  
Childhood Education ◽  
Petite Enfance ◽  
French Speaking ◽  
Early Childhood Settings

<p>In this article, I draw from a recent graduating project where I examined the lessons from research for <em>les familles exogames</em>. This expression is used in the French early childhood education and education sectors to refer to families where one parent is French speaking while the other has another (predominantly the English) language (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2004). The focus of this article is on parental decisions with respect to language or languages spoken at home and choices of early childhood settings and schools. Given the focus on parental choice, the inquiry question is: What does the scholarly research say about linguistic and educational choices for young children from <em>les familles exogames</em>? The inquiry centres on the linguistic and educational choices for young children from <em>les familles exogames</em> from sociocultural and ecological systems perspectives. I examine the extant literature on bilingualism and, more specifically, on bilingualism in <em>les familles exogames</em>, and I share implications from research that are meaningful to parents and early years professionals.</p><p><em>Cet article est tiré d’un projet de maîtrise où j’ai examiné les enseignements tirés de la recherche sur les familles exogames. L’expression « familles exogames » est utilisée, dans les secteurs de l’éducation et de l’éducation de la petite enfance en langue française pour désigner les familles formées d'un parent francophone et d’un parent s’exprimant dans une autre (habituellement l’anglais) langue (Ministère de l’Éducation de l’Ontario, 2004). Ce document s’intéresse notamment aux décisions que prennent les parents relativement à la langue parlée, ou aux langues parlées, à la maison ainsi qu’au choix du milieu de la petite enfance et de l’école. Puisque l’accent est mis sur le choix des parents, la question d’enquête est: Que disent les chercheurs au sujet des choix en matière de langue et d’éducation pour les jeunes enfants de familles exogames? L’enquête s’articule autour des choix linguistiques et éducatifs pour les jeunes enfants des familles exogames des points de vue socioculturel et des systèmes écologiques. J’ai ainsi passé en revue les ouvrages publiés qui traitent du bilinguisme, et plus particulièrement du bilinguisme dans les familles exogames, afin de communiquer des résultats de la recherche qui sont utiles aux parents et aux professionnels de la petite enfance. </em></p>

Teacher Understandings of and Commitment to Gender Equity in the Early Childhood Setting

2005 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kerrin Lee-Thomas ◽  
Jennifer Sumsion ◽  
Susan Roberts
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Gender Equity ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Early Childhood Teachers ◽  
Gender Inequity ◽  
Childhood Education ◽  
Gender Based ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Feminist Poststructuralist ◽  
Early Childhood Settings

Despite considerable examination of gender and gender equity within early childhood education, gender inequity remains problematic in many early childhood settings. Using qualitative methods, the study reported in this article investigated four early childhood teachers' understandings about gender and their commitment to promoting gender equity. It adopted a triangulated investigation of the teachers' understandings, attitudes and commitment to gender equity that involved talking with the teachers about their practice, observing their pedagogic practice, and inviting them to reflect on gender-based scenarios. While the participants believed gender to be a significant issue for early childhood teachers, their understandings about many aspects of gender and gender equity were heavily grounded in socialisation theory. In addition, their reliance on socialisation theory seemed to contribute to a sense of fatalism regarding their capacity for intervention. The study concludes that engaging with feminist poststructuralist theory may enhance teachers' understanding about gender and gender equity and offer a way of intervening effectively at the local level.

Development and Fishing in the Mediterranean

2012 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 114-130
Author(s):  
Rafael Böcker Zavaro
Keyword(s):  
Social Economic ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Institutional Agents ◽  
Economic Point ◽  
The Public ◽  
Documentary Sources ◽  
The Social

This article sets out the results of research which aims to determine the characteristics of fishing development in the province of Tarragona, from the social, territorial and economic point of view, as well as the perspective of the public policies implemented for this sector. It considers the role played by the various social, economic and institutional agents, and the importance of sustainable and responsible management of fishing. The research method we have chosen is the case study. The comparative analysis of the seven fishing ports in the south of Catalonia is even more significant in that each one has different sales volumes. The techniques used for gathering information were: the semi-structured interview, non-participant observation and the use of secondary statistical and documentary sources.

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