Early Child Development and Care

Holmes, Robyn M.; Kohm, Kristen; Genise, Samantha; Koolidge, Louis; Mendelson, Drew; Romeo, Lynn; Bant, Christine

doi: 10.1080/03004430.2020.1853115pmid: N/A

This study explored the connection between children’s language skills, creativity, and play. The participants were 151 (76 boys and 75 girls) primarily middle-income, European American children. Ages ranged from 4 to 6 years. This project employed mixed methods approaches. Children engaged in several tasks. These included: creating a story about their drawing while completing the Goodenough Harris Draw a Person Task, creating an original story with the opportunity to incorporate props; and completing the TELD- 3 receptive and expressive language task. We also recorded children’s social and cognitive play behaviours using a modified version of Rubin’s (2001) Play Observation Scale (POS). We found positive interactions between story creativity and play behaviours, story creativity and language, creativity (drawing) and language, creativity (drawing) and play behaviours, and play behaviours and language. These findings support the connection between creativity, language, and play and the benefits these skills and abilities have on children’s learning and development.

Li, Ishien; Shen, Pao-Sheng; Wu, Mei-Liang; Wang, Wenchun

doi: 10.1080/03004430.2020.1853116pmid: N/A

With a non-clinical sample of pre-schoolers, we used partial least squares regression to assess the extent to which children's seven sensory regulatory factors (X) account for variations in the three temperament factors (Y) and Y explains variations in X. The results suggested predicting temperament factors from sensory processing factors receive better outcomes. Finally, multiple regression analyses using the sensory processing measures to predict each of the three temperamental variables showed that (1) significant predictors of negative affectivity included difficulties in tactile sensitivity, taste/smell sensitivity, and low energy; (2) surgency was predicted by underresponsive/seeks sensation, auditory filtering, tactile sensitivity, and movement sensitivity; and (3) effortful control was predicted by low energy and auditory filtering. The hypothesis supported children's sensory processing preferences form the basis for the manifestation of temperament. Parents and educators need to notice environmental stimuli can cause challenges for children with sensory processing difficulties and manifesti difficult temperament.

Tsortanidou, Xanthippi; Daradoumis, Thanasis; Barberá, Elena

doi: 10.1080/03004430.2020.1854241pmid: N/A

The purpose of this preliminary pilot study is to identify how imaginative teaching methods and low-technology prototyping promote social-emotional (SE) skills development in elementary school students. Particularly, two are the objectives of the study, firstly to test the research desigńs feasibility and validate the research tools and secondly, to explore the relationships between the employed teaching methods and social-emotional skills development. The study is based on mixed methods-grounded theory methodology involving the collection of qualitative and quantitative data from 104 participants. Based on grounded theory methodology, we have developed a pedagogical approach illustrating age-appropriate teaching practices for developing SE skills. Further research needs to be carried out to gain greater insight into the cross-curricular infusion of these methods and skills across different grades. The added value of this work is the exploration of imaginative teaching methods exploiting age responsiveness so that children gain social-emotional benefits within low-technology learning situations.

Jang, Yujin; Hong, Yea-Ji

doi: 10.1080/03004430.2020.1858819pmid: N/A

This study examined two subfactors of fundamental movement skills: locomotion skills and object-control skills. The direct and indirect effects of children’s temperament on fundamental movement skills and the mediating effects of autonomy and self-regulation were examined. Participants included 278 pairs of 3- to 5-year-old children and their mothers from 4 day care centres. High levels of emotionality and sociability were positively associated with a high level of children’s autonomy, self-regulation and fundamental movement skills. There was a mediating effect of children’s autonomy and self-regulation on the effect of temperament on locomotion skills, but there was no mediating effect on object-control skills. The results provide empirical evidence of holistic development by confirming that temperament is a variable that affects gross motor development and that children’s psychological development is related to motor development.

Ducreux, Edwige; Puentes-Neuman, Guadalupe

doi: 10.1080/03004430.2020.1859500pmid: N/A

This study used an ethological approach to explore the baby-caregiver dyadic exchanges (Attempted interactions, Triggers, Interactions) of nineteen infants during their first weeks in Residential Care (RC), or a Foster Family (FF) or an Infant-Mother Centre (IMC). Direct observations were conducted at feeding time. Observed behaviours were: baby glances/gazes, dyadic exchanges and dyadic exchanges’ initiator, in addition to the baby’s behavioural repertoire. Descriptive analyses showed that attempted interactions were emitted more often than triggers, which themselves were more frequent than interactions. Interactions took place more often during the post-feeding phase. Vocalizations were linked to the infant’s capacities to initiate interactions, and mouth movements were linked to sustained gazing. Non-parametric analyses showed that, in RC, fewer dyadic exchanges happened and babies showed the least visual attention. By contrast, in IMC, sustained gazes and baby-mother interactions were the highest. In FF, the results fell between those obtained in RC and IMC.

Ma, Junqian; Hammer, Marie; Veresov, Nikolai

doi: 10.1080/03004430.2020.1865336pmid: N/A

There is a consensusthat the crises children encounter during the transition period might impact negatively on children’s learning and development. However, from cultural-historical perspective, qualitative leap in development can hardly be achieved without crises. This paper, drawing upon cultural-historical theory as the framework and by using ‘role adjustment’ as the unit of analysis, discusses what the crisis means for children’s learning and development. Through a case study of two second generation Chinese Australian children’s role adjustmentin school transition, this paper finds that the crises provide both potentials and dangers depending on how the crises are managed within the child’s social situation of development. It argues against the advocates for making children’s transition seamless, as it is important to utilize the developmental potentials of crises instead of eliminating them. It also enriches the cultural-historical studies by exploring not only the developmental aspect but also the dark side of the crises.

Aksoy, Ayşe Belgin; Özkan Kunduracı, Hurşide Kübra; Aksoy, Merve

doi: 10.1080/03004430.2020.1865337pmid: N/A

The aim of the study is to examine the symbolic play behaviours of the child and mother at home and to determine how the mother participated when playing with her child. The study included 19 mothers and their children with 24–36 months old children from Turkey. The symbolic play that the mother and child played together in their home environment was recorded in the video for 12 min. As a result of the research, it was determined that mothers involved in the play ‘involved director’ most, and no mothers were involved in the category of ‘uninvolved’.

Todil, Tugba; Cetinkaya, Senay

doi: 10.1080/03004430.2020.1865943pmid: N/A

Kangaroo care (KC) or kangaroo mother care (KMC), sometimes called skin-to-skin contact, is a technique of newborn care where babies are kept chest-to-chest and skin-to-skin with a parent. The research was carried out experimentally to investigate the effect of the early kangaroo care by using Neonatal Comfort Behavior Scale in invasive interventions applied to the babies during early kangaroo care who born as healthy normal birth. Eighty babies who born at Adana Maternity and Child Health Hospital delivery room between 1 July and 31 October 2016 and their mothers constituted the research sampling. The babies were inserted into the experimental (n = 40) and control groups (n = 40) by the simple random sampling method. The invasive interventions were executed to the babies included in experimental group during early kangaroo care and COMFORTneo Behavior Scale was applied. The crying times of babies in both groups were measured with the aid of stopwatch. The level of comfort of the group receiving kangaroo care was found to be higher than those who did not. Significant connection was confirmed statistically positive, and highly between total score and duration of crying (r = 0.925; p = 0.000). It was determined that crying time increases and comfort decreases with increment in total score. As a result, it was found that the early kangaroo care applied during invasive interventions of newborns is an effective method in increasing baby's comfort who born at delivery room.

Slemming, Wiedaad; Cele, Refiloe; Richter, Linda M.

doi: 10.1080/03004430.2020.1868449pmid: N/A

This study, using longitudinal data from the South African Birth to Twenty Plus study, assessed associations between early childcare quality in the home between six months and two years, household SES and cognitive development at age 5. Childcare quality was assessed using measures of maternal responsiveness and cognitive stimulation. Cognitive development at age 5 was assessed using the Revised Denver Pre-screening Developmental Questionnaire (R-DPDQ). Bivariate analysis and multiple linear regressions were conducted. The analytical sample comprised 856 mother–child pairs. Quality of care in the home differed significantly according to SES status, with more children in the low SES group receiving low quality of care. There was no association between childcare quality and cognitive development. There were differences in the cognitive development scores of children in different socio-economic groups; high levels of cognitive stimulation in the home were associated with increased R-DPDQ scores for children in the low SES group.

Cheraghi, Fatemeh; Shokri, Zhila; Roshanaei, Ghodratollah; Khalili, Arash

doi: 10.1080/03004430.2021.1871903pmid: N/A

This study aim was to determine whether a structured age-appropriate playing programme with involvement of parents could promote healthy motor skills in preschool children. In this two group randomization pre-posttest quasi-experimental study, 160 children 3–5 years-old with their mothers were selected and equally allocated in two groups. For intervention group, four theoretical and 20 practical sessions in five groups of 6–8 participants, consisting of mothers and children of the same age, was conducted. After intervention, the gross and fine motor skills of intervention group were promoted (p < 0.05). The study results provide positive evidence about creating opportunities to practice of age-appropriate play in childhood, especially with parental engagement and support, on motor development.