Observation on early childhood development and education in the People's Republic of China

Children in China are socialized to be calm and tractable, and concerned about group rather than personal goals. Preschool teachers reinforce this by their consistently quiet, calm and patient behavior. Researchers and some of China's leaders are now concerned that China's traditional socializing goals for children may be adversely affected by the one-child-per-family policy. Therefore, various counteractive measures are being taken. These include the support of research in child development and education, and the dissemination of child rearing information. These ameliorative measures have not, however, included a significant expansion of nurseries and kindergartens despite critical shortages here. Nor is there, as yet, much emphasis on upgrading those primary and secondary schools which serve over 90% of the population. Instead, and because of the country's acute need for professionally trained people, the leaders have chosen to channel China's limited resources into higher education and into those few “key” primary and secondary schools, in the largest cities, which prepare children to enter the universities.     

ADHD in American early schooling: from a cultural psychological perspective

In this article, I present a study conducted with 10 Southeastern US early childhood teachers on their views concerning problem behaviour, in general, and the practice of diagnosis and pharmaceutical treatment for Attention/Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), in particular. Themes that emerged from the interview data included: (1) teachers' perceptions of problem behaviour and ADHD largely overlapped as both were framed as disruption to instruction and hindrance to a child's and his peers' learning; (2) while teachers had a unanimous view of gender differences, there were conflicting perceptions about socioeconomic, racial/ethnic and age differences between children with and without ADHD; and (3) teachers highlighted more positive than negative effects of the use of medication for children with ADHD. I examine each of these findings from a cultural psychological perspective in an effort to understand how these teachers' views reflect goals, priorities and practices valued in contemporary US contexts. I conclude with implications for early childhood research and practice, arguing that future research conducted within a culture as well as across cultures by interdisciplinary researchers may contribute to developing a new framework that combines biological and cultural insights for a better understanding of child development.     

Engaging Indigenous families in a community‐based Indigenous early childhood programme in British Columbia,Canada: A cultural safety perspective

This article is part of a larger study that explored how an Indigenous early intervention programme in British Columbia (BC), Canada, known as the ‘Aboriginal Infant Development Program’ (AIDP), influenced family and children's health and well‐being and was responsive to child health inequities. Postcolonial feminist and Indigenous feminist perspectives provided a critical analytical lens to this qualitative inquiry. The study was undertaken with AIDPs based in diverse community organisations located in off‐reserve urban municipalities throughout the province of BC. From September 2013 to March 2014, in‐depth, semi‐structured interviews were undertaken with: Indigenous primary caregivers (n = 10), Indigenous Elders (n = 4), AIDP workers (n = 18) and administrative leaders (n = 3). The purpose of this article is to examine and analyse the findings that focus on how AIDP workers supported family and children's health and well‐being by transforming their routine policies and practices in ways that fostered caregivers' active engagement in their programmes. Findings centre on three main themes: (i) overcoming mistrust; (ii) ‘being willing to move a step forward’ and (iii) resisting what's taken‐for‐granted. These inter‐related themes are examined and discussed in relation to the concept of cultural safety. The findings have international relevancy for social and healthcare community‐based programmes that are questioning how to engage with parents who may be hard to reach as a result of multi‐faceted social and structural factors.     

Challenges to early childhood education in rural China: lessons from the Hebei province

This research study examined the challenges faced by early childhood education (ECE) in rural China based on a qualitative study of 217 kindergarten classrooms in a large agricultural, rural province. This study utilised onsite teacher surveys, interviews, and observational field notes. This investigation's findings revealed important information in regard to (a) enrollment, class size, and student–teacher ratios; (b) facilities, basic furnishings, and materials; (c) teacher qualifications; and (d) curriculum and pedagogy. Kindergartens in the rural province of Hebei, typical of Chinese provinces with economically disadvantaged students and inadequate ECE funding, were found to be of poor quality across every ECE indicator measured. For the future improvement and well-being of children and their families in rural China, the authors recommend reform policy to increase ECE quality by affiliating quality kindergartens with existing elementary public school structures and to improve teacher quality by advancing teacher benefits, professional status, and professional development opportunities.     

Bridging immigrants and refugees with early childhood development services: partnership research in the development of an effective service model

We assessed the availability and accessibility of early childhood development (ECD) services to ethno-cultural communities in the Tri-Cities region of British Columbia. Primary participants were recent immigrant and refugee parents from three ethnic communities: Chinese (both Mandarin- and Cantonese-speaking) and Korean-, and Farsi-speaking groups (Iranian and Afghani). Secondary participant groups included ECD service providers, community educators, and facilitators involved in ECD programmes and services. The study employed a participatory community-based approach, aiming to: (1) assess the different meanings, understandings, and practices relating to ECD, (2) examine the ways in which behavioural, cultural, and institutional practices may influence ECD access and use of services; and (3) contribute to the development of a culturally competent definition, measure, and model for ECD that is applicable to ethno-cultural communities. Significant portions of members of the cultural communities do not have adequate access to services, particularly those with special needs children. In addition, individuals have difficulty adapting to Western child development practices, which results in barriers in seeking or participating in childhood development programmes. Finally, language difficulties, cultural beliefs and practices, and adverse perceptions of care providers were barriers to services. The results highlight the need to incorporate new understandings of culture-based perceptions about ECD, and provide an understanding of different models and communications of ECD when planning future programme objectives and goals.     

通过网络答题对华北地区医疗机构手卫生知识知晓现状调查

目的 了解和分析我国华北地区医疗机构工作人员手卫生知识的知晓程度,为进一步有针对性地推进手卫生提供科学依据。方法 通过自行设计的“手卫生知识试题”,利用网络链接或微信扫码于2018年4~6月收回来自华北地区医疗机构工作人员的合格答卷15425份,对所有答卷进行评阅。采用SPSS 17.0进行数据分析,计数资料以例数(%)表示,组间比较采用〖XC小五号.EPS;P〗检验,分析答题正确率。评估该地区不同省市、不同级别医疗机构、不同专业组、不同临床医疗体系对手卫生知识的知晓率。结果 对于手卫生知识,掌握较好的省市为天津、山西、北京。天津第2、4、5题正确率分别为94.64%、95.26%、94.19%,高于其他省市（P<0.05）;山西第1题正确率为100%,高于其他省市（P<0.05）;北京第4题正确率为94.70%,和天津比较无差异（P>0.05）,高于其他省市（P<0.05）。掌握较好的医疗机构为三级医疗机构。第2、4、5题正确率分别为94.52%、93.00%、93.50%,高于二级医疗机构（P<0.05）;第3题正确率为98.48%,高于一级医疗机构（P<0.05）。掌握较好的专业组为医技组、医生组。第1题医技组正确率为95.01%,高于除后勤组外的其他专业组（P<0.05）;第2题医技组和医生组的正确率分别为95.18%、94.90%,高于后勤组（P<0.05）;第4题医技组和医生组的正确率分别为94.77%、93.59%,高于护士组（P<0.05）。掌握一般的临床医疗体系为内科体系,第1题答题正确率为90.59%,低于儿科、妇科体系（P<0.05）;第2题答题正确率为93.06%,低于除妇科外的其他医疗体系（P<0.05）。结论 对于手卫生知识的知晓,华北地区不同省市存在一定差异,应重点加强二级医疗机构、后勤人员、内科体系医务人员的手卫生知识宣教。     

Understanding community context and adult health changes in China: Development of an urbanicity scale

The classification of places as either urban or rural is typically based on an absolute threshold of population and/or population density. However, conceptual definitions of urbanization and urbanicity encompass dimensions beyond solely population size and population density. Multiple important distinguishing urban characteristics beyond population size have been described. The crude classification of places as urban or rural coupled with infrequent updates to this information creates a measure that is prone to misclassification error. An improved measure of urbanicity would draw information from the domains that characterize urban and rural places, would be sensitive to changes over time, and would represent gradations on the continuum from rural to urban environments. The goal of the current study was to develop such a scale from existing data, test whether the scale was reliable and valid, and assess whether it provided information beyond what could be determined from the traditional urban/rural dichotomous variable. We utilized established scaling procedures from the psychometric literature to construct and evaluate a multicomponent scale to measure urban features on a continuum in China. We also provided an example of its potential contribution to health research by examining its relationship with the adult body mass index (BMI). Because the scale was constructed and tested using established scaling procedures and using a wide array of variables, it represents an improvement over previous attempts at such a scale and will provide a reliable and valid measurement tool for researchers in this arena. We demonstrate that the scale predicts the incidence of overweight/obesity populations in China, but it promises to be most useful for other economic, demographic, social welfare, and health outcomes.     

我国涉农高校期刊高质量发展的困境与对策——以中国农业大学期刊为例

【目的】 在培育世界一流科技期刊和“双一流”高校建设背景下,对中国农业大学期刊发展进行全方位分析,借鉴先进办刊模式,以促进我国涉农高校期刊发展的对策建议。【方法】 首先,系统梳理中国农业大学19种学术期刊的发展现状和存在问题;然后,在分析我国高校期刊发展模式和经典经验的基础上,以中国农业大学出版的学术期刊为例,提出我国涉农高校期刊高质量发展的对策建议。【结果】 与综合类高校多采取期刊社或期刊中心的办刊模式,且多数综合类高校和少数成立期刊社的涉农高校对期刊发展都在实施长远规划相比,中国农业大学的期刊发展存在期刊缺乏集中管理、期刊自身定位不足、专业化办刊人才数量少、经费极度紧张等问题。【结论】 借鉴优秀高校期刊发展经验,提出促进我国涉农高校期刊高质量发展的4项措施:我国涉农高校尽快成立期刊社或期刊中心,建立期刊群集成发展管理平台;根据自身特色优势学科找准定位,将期刊发展规划列入高校长期发展规划中,积极创办新刊或进行刊物转型;加强期刊编辑人才队伍建设和青年人才培养;积极争取学校的财政支持以大力推动学科和期刊的共同发展,实现涉农高校期刊的高质量特色发展。     

'I felt I have grown up as an adult': caregiving experience of children affected by HIV/AIDS in China

Background The growing global epidemic of HIV/AIDS has a significant impact on the lives of both people living with HIV/AIDS and their family members including children. Children of parents with HIV/AIDS may experience an increased responsibility of caregiving in family. However, limited data are available regarding the caregiving experience and its impact on psychosocial well‐being among these children. This study was designed to address these issues by using qualitative data collected from children affected by HIV/AIDS in China. Methods The qualitative data were collected in 2006 in rural central China, where many residents were infected with HIV/AIDS through unhygienic blood collection procedures. In‐depth individual interviews were conducted by trained interviewers with 47 children between 8 and 17 years of age who had lost one or both parents to AIDS. Results Findings of this study suggest that many children affected by AIDS had experienced increased responsibilities in housework and caregiving for family members. Such caregiving included caring for self and younger siblings, caring for parents with illness and caring for elderly grandparents. Positive impacts from children's participation in family caregiving included personal growth and emotional maturity. Negative consequences included physical fatigue, psychological fear and anxiety and suboptimal schooling (dropping out from school, repeated absence from school and unable to concentrate in class). Conclusion While the increased caregiving responsibilities among children reflected some cultural beliefs and had some positive effect on personal growth, the caregiving experience generally negatively effected the children's physical and mental health and schooling. The findings in the current study suggest that community‐based caregiving support is necessary in areas with high prevalence of HIV and limited resources, especially for the families lacking adult caregivers. In addition, social and psychological support should be made available for children participating in family caregiving.