Educating early childhood teachers for the global world

Teachers for the twenty‐first century for the global world need to be proficient in technology and skilled as reflective practitioners. They need to be able to reflect on diversity in myriad ways: learning styles, special needs, cultural differences, racial differences, developmentally appropriate differences, teaching styles and personality differences of children, teachers, parents, community members and administrators. The paradigni shift of the twenty‐first century is that teachers need to be team players who are skilled at operating in a variety of collaborative partnerships.

The Early Childhood Program Faculty, at NEIU, with the help of a Teacher Quality Education grant, developed with six universities in Illinois called Illinois Professionals Learning Partnerships (IPLP), set out to adapt the NEIU/ECED program for the twenty‐first century in a global world by focusing on four goals: (1) increasing technology and writing skills across the curriculum, (2) developing reflective skills and understanding of diversity (special needs, multicultural/international cultures), (3) developing student experience working in collaborative partnerships and (4) increasing clinical experiences.

The IPLP grant enabled the ECED program to: (1) spend intensive time on changing the curriculum in two retreats a year, (2) develop a faculty cohort including tenure track faculty, visiting lecturers and adjuncts, (3) develop a combined program of research and program development, (4) recruit and hire three new tenure track international faculty, (5) develop professional development schools and intensive field experiences, (6) combine resources for many grants, (7) develop short‐term international experiences and faculty exchange programs and (8) increase technology skills of students and faculty through action laboratories on using video technology, digital cameras, reflective email discussions and videography.     

Too early to school?

This paper examines the dangers and problems inherent in the prevalent practice of introducing academic work into Nigeria Nursery School Curriculum.

The paper presents research data from the fields of developmental psychology and education, which establish that nursery school children are not developmen-tally ready for academic work. Similarly data on the objectives of nursery education are used to establish that nursery school is not an ideal setting for the teaching of academic skills as stated in the National Policy on Education.

The paper concludes with a number of proposals on how to develop a virile Nursery Education practice in Nigeria which provides adequately for the socio-cultural peculiarities in the lives of Nigerian Pre-School children.     

“caught in the middle” exploring children and young people's experience of domestic violence

This document seeks to explore children's experiences of domestic violence and the effects such violence may have on their lives, both in the short term and in the long term. It draws on the conclusions of various studies in this area which have been carried out in America and the United Kingdom. It aims to raise awareness of the complexity of this issue and to highlight the importance of support for both women and children who may be survivors of domestic violence. The document highlights a number of issues, namely

How children and young people may experience domestic violence;

Identification of links between domestic violence and child abuse;

The impact domestic violence may have on mothering;

The effects domestic violence may have on children and young people's lives;

The legitimacy of the cycle of violence theory;

Issues to be considered when assessing the possible impact of domestic violence on children and young people.     

Comparison of dental caries experience in children of different socio economic status

In this study, an attempt has been made to discover any differences in caries incidence at various socioeconomic levels, and all contributory factors. Two schools were chosen to participate, one affluent (School B) and the other from a relatively lower socioeconomic level (School A). 60 students were randomly selected from each school. The following results were enumerated from the study:

Socio economic status was seen to be of similar proportions in the populations studied - 40% skilled in School A, 53.3% in B; 43.3% semiskilled in A, 46.7% in B. However only School A had an unskilled group - 16.7%.

Caries incidence was 63.3% in School A and 70% in School B. The pattern in both schools was also similar when the caries incidence was examined from the different socioeconomic levels. The skilled groups had 42.1% and 47.6% of the caries experience in Schools A and B respectively, whilst the semiskilled groups made up 42.1% (A) and 52.3% (B). Unskilled group in School A had 15.8% of the sample's caries.

The slightly higher incidence in the semi-skilled group of School B was attributed to the fact that this group ate more snacks, sweets, biscuits etc. on a regular basis than did the other groups.

Those in the skilled groups of both schools did not seem to eat diets different from those in the other groups, probably because the general economic recession has led to a lot of belt-tightening, so that people no longer spend so much on foods which are not absolutely necessary. Also, those in the affluent School B appeared to eat the same diet as those in School A, despite the fact that they could afford to pay N400 a term as school fees.     

Methodological Reflections on Using the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale as a Measure to Make Cross-National Evaluations of Quality

How useful is the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale (ECERS) as a research instrument in making cross-national comparisons of the quality of nurseries?

The paper briefly outlines the ECERS and discusses the extent to which it can be used as a universal evaluative tool to measure quality. The author reflects on her use of the ECERS scale in cross-national contexts, to comment on its advantages and its limitations.

The author used the ECERS as part of a qualitative investigation into nursery provision and practice between 1991 and 1994 in cities in fourcountries, New York, (USA) Harnosand, (Sweden), Arezzo (Italy) and Barcelona (Spain). The nurseries in which the author carried out observations and interviews were chosen by contacts in the countries concerned for both their willingness to participate and for their representativeness. A minimum of four institutions which took children under three were visited for at least half a day in each city.

The author uses examples derived from this research to argue that while the scale may have some advantages in that, ratings can be undertaken in two hours, and the scale can provide comparison measures on a number of criteria which child care professionals have agreed are significant, it also has a number of disadvantages. Because the scale is empirically rather than theoretically based and is not explicit about the evaluative categories, which underlie it, its use can obscure rather than illuminate, what different countries see as the most significant aspects of their care and education provision.

The paper concludes that we need to develop measurement tools which explicitly state the values and theoretical perspectives behind their construction.     

Modelling and early language acquisitions in Down's syndrome

The marked delay in language acquisition suffered by Down's syndrome children is undeniable. This study affirms that the cause of this deficit could be found in a different communicative environment, for which reason early intervention is essential.

A sample of 40 Down's syndrome babies was used whose parents were taught methods of communicative training with their children according to two models: a) modelling techniques, b) written instructions.

The results obtained establish statistically significant differences in favour of the vicariously taught group.     

Who is the odd man out: men in early childhood settings?

Australia has, on the whole, been slow to react to many of the more innovative or welfare-oriented programs for young children and their families in the past two or three decades. We can speculate about this in terms of geographic isolation, natural caution or a population which is not appropriately tuned to the needs of parents with young children. Whatever the reason, Australia appears to be slow to respond to changes in attitude. One of the major potential areas for change in attitude is the employment of males in early childhood settings.

The history of the United States, which thirty years ago appeared to totally reject the notion of men working with young children, now records a substantial move towards encouraging males and females to assume androgynous roles in children's services.

It is interesting to note that this contemporary view has flourished in spite of the lack of empirical evidence to support previous notions relating to the role of male teachers and caregivers in terms of providing male models for fatherless children, offering more appropriate teaching strategies to young boys and providing examples of more tolerant caregivers for exhuberant boys.

While evidence suggests that prejudice still exists in U.S.A. about male teachers in early childhood settings, the androgynous philosophy appears to point the way in which early childhood services in Australia must go in order to provide a more balanced program for all young children.     

Food behaviors of young children: Cognitive and attitudinal factors

Young children's diets are determined to a large degree by their mothers' nutritional knowledge and food attitudes. The primary purpose of this investigation was to determine the effects of mothers' nutritional knowledge and food attitudes on their children's nutritional knowledge and food behavior.

The subjects were 159 children. They ranged in ages from 7 to 9 years old. Their mothers also participated in the study.

Bivariate relationships between pairs of variables were tested using the Pearson product-moment correlation. The major findings were:

(1) Children's nutritional knowledge was related to their mothers' nutritional knowledge and attitudes of sociability.

(2) Mothers' nutritional knowledge was related to their attitudes of sociability and frugality. Nutritional knowledge was negatively correlated with mother's attitudes toward health and social status.

(3) Children's food behavior was related to their nutritional knowledge and their mothers' nutritional knowledge.     

Brain damage and neuropsyochological impairment in female and male alcoholics and implications for their offspring

Matched pairs of 40 male and 40 female alcoholic inpatients living in Stockholm were examined and found to fulfill the alcoholism criteria of DSM-III-R. They comprised 40 matched pairs of men and women consecutively admitted to the Karolinska Alcohol Clinic and staying at least one week for treatment. The examination included a general medical examination, a psychiatric and social history, blood tests, ECG, computed tomography of the brain and neuropsychological testing. The subjects' and their families' possibilities of creating a good upbringing environment and their own and their children's childhood were studied.

The alcoholics and their offspring were followed from the registers of the child welfare committees, temperance boards, social service departments, the Social Insurance Office and the Medical Information System of the Medical Services Board of Stockholm County Council.

The children of the female alcoholics had, during their childhood, more often had contact with an educational welfare officer, a psychologist or a physician for various problems and also had a significantly higher rate of registration in the children's welfare committee registers than children of male alcoholics. The male alcoholics more often came from broken homes. 29% of the female and 32% of the male alcoholics had been fostered by their biological mother alone or by grandparents until 16 years of age. 51% of the women and 39% of the men had an alcohol-abusing mother and father during childhood. Signs of social maladjustment and having been under the care of a child welfare committee were recorded in 32% and 24% respectively of the male alcoholics and 20% and 12% of the females.

62% of the male alcoholics and 30% of the females showed cortical atrophy. Signs of neuropsychological impairment were present in 35% of the females but only 16% of the males.

It is concluded that female and male alcoholics resemble each other and that they both have a disturbed childhood and that female alcoholics more often have an alcohol and drug-abusing parent, nervous problems in the parents, attempted suicide by a parent and serious schisms in the family than male alcoholics.     

An alternative undergraduate teacher preparation program in early childhood education

The realities of a multi-racial, multi-ethnic, and multi-ability student population demand a unique and nontraditional approach characterized by an individualization sensitive to group identity. The primary goal of this alternative Early Childhood Studies/Education Program with a degree of Bachelor of Science is to provide a comprehensive contemporary program of teacher preparation and education for inclusive early childhood settings. The goal is accomplished through objectives that provide students with opportunities in reflective thinking for personal and professional growth. This program is unique in several features such as activitybased programming, an emphasis upon functional skills, collaborative teaming, and using portfolios for selfassessment. The advantages of this alternative teacher preparation program over other teacher certification programs include more classroom experiences, a higher retention rate, higher motivation, and a better understanding of unified curriculum for typically developing children and children with special needs.     

Building concepts, curriculum and confidence — an interactive preservice motor program

The preschool years are a time of increasing experimentation with a variety of motor tasks, and a period of gradual and progressive motordevelopment and learning. The development of proficiency in fundamental motor skills is one of the basic tasks of the preschool years.

(Malina, 1982:215.)

Parents and teachers should recognise the central role of movement experiences in the overall development of the young child and the many factors that can affect proficiency in motor activities .... different kinds of opportunities for movement exploration, discovery and practice should be provided.

(Seefeldt, 1980).     

Partnering with public health: a model for baccalaureate nursing education

This article discusses the implementation of a one-year project developed to increase and improve the quality of public health nursing experiences for baccalaureate nursing students at one state-assisted university. The partnership model involved collaboration with public health departments, the academic nursing programs, and community agencies and leaders. The project led to the development of increased student skills related to interdisciplinary team work, program development, and cultural competency skills. A needs assessment questionnaire of the public health department partner staff supported a need to develop public health work force skills. The project provided opportunities for nursing faculty development. The project results support the need for service-academic partnerships to develop the public health nursing workforce.     

Effects of testing style on language scores of four-year-old low-income 'control' children in intervention projects

Language scores on the Illinois Test of Psycholinguistic Achievement (ITPA) attained by untreated disadvantaged four year olds were examined as a function of project testing style. In the Family Development Research Program (FDRP) an optimal testing style maximized child comfort, and permitted multiple visits to complete assessment. Despite the level of poverty and disadvantage of the preschoolers, FDRP children were significantly more likely than preschoolers from other intervention projects to achieve normal and near normal scores on subtests of ITPA.

Implicationsas of differences in testing style for understanding program effectiveness are drawn and suggestions are given for maximizing children's test performance.     

An investigation into the effects of training programmes upon movement leading to dance with E.S.N.(S) children

The study is designed to test the capacity of E.S.N.(S) children to respond to and learn from programmes based on the teachings of Rudolf Laban. Some perceptual motor models have been selected and are discussed. The contribution of dance within the Physical Education Curriculum for E.S.N.(S) children is examined.

A pilot study was conducted in order to establish content and procedures. The experiment proper required the design of training programmes over an extended period. Thus, a pretest and post-test design were used, each child being used as his own control. The sample was drawn from an E.S.N. (S) Hospital School in Northern England. Tests were given to establish base lines in physical performance. Weekly training sessions were planned and executed over two years with 30 ambulant retarded boys and girls, ages 7 to 18 years in three groups. A combination of acknowledged physical education tests and tests for exercise and rhythmic body response were administered.

Characteristically this approach consists of an individual analysis of each child's movement behavior and the application of multiple base line operations. Executing these skills is a matter of using these rules in a certain order. This programme focuses on the process of learning rather than product.

The use of videotape aided the analysis of the movement behavior and demonstrated the individual development and the structure of the training sessions. Improvements of motor skills are identified as a result of mental practice, task familiarity and the maturation of the learner. There are individual differences in subjects' responses but these are not influenced significantly by age, verbal ability or sex variables. This study revealed that training programmes can lead to dance with E.S.N.(S) children.     

Developments in child and adolescent mental health services

This paper highlights the main issues that are present in the field of child and adolescent mental health services with regard to strategic development. It identifies the major themes that have emerged concerning the commissioning and delivery of services, and also highlights the difficulties faced by particular groups of children.

The authors present their views of the developments within this field from the perspective of their professional experiences.     

Effect of Intervention on the Language Facility of Poor, Black Adolescent Mothers and their Preschool Children

This study investigates the effects of varying degrees of mother-child language stimulation activities on the test performance of poor Black children and their adolescent mothers.

The sample consisted of 60 mothers paired with their three or four year old children who attended full day preschool. The families were randomly assigned to one of three groups for a twelve week period.

The tests used in the study were the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test; the Cultural Language Test — Mean Length of Utterance; the Cultural Language Test — Standard English; and the Conversation — Mean Length of Utterance Measure.

Three major findings result from the study:

1. The children of mothers provided with intensive training and practice (Group 1) scored significantly higher on all four tests than did the children whose mothers received minimal help (Group 2) or children whose mothers received no help at all (Group 3).
2. Group 2 children did not score any higher than did Group 3.
3. Group 1 mothers scored significantly higher on all measures.

     

NIGERIAN CHILDREN'S PERSPECTIVE OF URBAN LIFE QUALITY

The Convention on the Rights of the child put in place some set of standards to ensure that in all consenting countries every child is wanted, healthy, educated, safe and loved. Nigeria is one of the countries that has taken some steps to put into practice the accepted rights.

Two hundred children (100 boys and 100 girls) in primary schools in four urban centres were served with questionnaires requesting their views on issues bordering on their well being and quality of life, in such areas as:

1. quality of education
2. space for movement and play
3. food and clean water for drinking and washing
4. play equipment and materials and
5. loving care giver.

The children's responses showed that provision was not made for recreational space for play, the quality of education is poor, there was no provision for play equipment and material and in most cases the adult-child ration was low. Children also complained of polluted environment.

Suggestions were made for the provision of adequate play parks for recreational purposes for the children. Suggestion is also made for government to pay more attention to the well being and health of the children.     

A comparison of cry-behaviours of clinic-referred and non-referred infants 4-12 weeks old

The purpose of this study was to find whether babies of between 4 weeks and 12 weeks, referred to clinics because of their crying do cry more than their non-referred peers. In an attempt to increase the accuracy of maternal report measures and find if there were critical variables, three measures of crying were used: (1) Episode frequency (2) Mean episode duration (3) Total episode duration.

These dimensions were measured using a 24 hour maternal diary and a 24 hour contemporaneous audiotape recording method.

The data collected indicated that clinic-referred babies do cry more than their non-referred peers. They cry more frequently and for a longer total episode duration than their normative peers. These differences were significant according to maternal report data and were confirmed by audiotaped data but not at a significant level. Maternally reported frequencies for referred and non-referred infants correlated significantly with audiotaped data. No significant differences were found between the two groups for mean episode durations and correlations for these data were inconsistent across groups.

Results are discussed in the context of recent studies of infant crying and the literature concerning the validity of maternal reports.     

Development of social, personal and cognitive skills of preschool children in Montessori and traditional preschool programs

The relationship between time in Montessori and Traditional Preschool programs and the preschool child's develoment of [1] personal skills, [2] relationship with teachers, [3] peer relations, [4] behavioral control, and [5] cognitive skills with age controlled was used to compare the relative effectiveness of the programs. This design was necessary since it is likely that parents who select the Montessori program for their child are different from parents selecting traditional preschool programs for their children. Three Montessori programs [n = 108] and three traditional programs [n = 116] provided the subjects for the study. The Pre Kindergarten Scale [PKS], a multiple choice behavioral rating scale was completed by the programs' teachers on each child. The results revealed that the only variable significant in predicting time in program for the traditional program, relationship with teacher, was the only variable insignificant in predicting length of time in program for the Montessori program.

The strongest relationship was for length of time in the Montessori program and relationship with peers [18 percent of variance] with age controlled.