Journal of Early Childhood Research recent issues

editorial

Clough, P., Connolly, P., Nutbrown, C. — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 04:07:16 PDT

mediated discourse analysis: researching young children's non-verbal interactions as social practice

Wohlwend, K. E. — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 04:07:16 PDT

Young children often use actions rather than talk as they interact with objects and each other to strategically shape the social, material, and cultural environment. New dynamic research designs and methods are needed to capture the collaborative learning and social positioning achieved through children’s non-verbal interactions. Mediated discourse analysis (MDA), a hybrid ethnographic/sociolinguistic approach rooted in cultural-historical activity and practice theories, analyzes mediated actions with objects. A three-year ethnographic study of children’s literacy play illustrates the five-stage process in MDA research design that resulted in microanalysis of children’s activity with social practices, positioning and spaces that included and excluded peers.

listening to children with communication impairment talking through their drawings

Holliday, E. L., Harrison, L. J., McLeod, S. — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 04:07:16 PDT

Including children as research participants is an important new direction in early childhood research. However, it is rare for such studies to include the voices of children with significant communication impairment. This article suggests that drawing may be an appropriate non-verbal method for ‘listening’ to these children’s ideas and recording their perspectives. Three areas of inquiry are reviewed: (1) the use of drawings as a method of listening respectfully to children; (2) approaches to the analysis of children’s drawings; and (3) the analysis of drawings completed by children with communication impairment. We identify six aspects of children’s drawings — facial expressions, accentuation of body features (e.g. mouth and ears), portrayal of talking/listening, colours used, conversational partners, and sense of self — that are potentially pertinent for children with communication impairment.

interviewing children with Acquired Brain Injury (ABI)

Boylan, A.-M., Linden, M., Alderdice, F. — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 04:07:16 PDT

Research into the lives of children with acquired brain injury (ABI) often neglects to incorporate children as participants, preferring to obtain the opinions of the adult carer (e.g. McKinlay et al., 2002). There has been a concerted attempt to move away from this position by those working in children’s research with current etiquette highlighting the inclusion of children and the use of a child-friendly methodology (Chappell, 2000). Children with disabilities can represent a challenge to the qualitative researcher due to the combination of maintaining the child’s attention and the demands placed on them by their disability. The focus of this article is to discuss possible impediments to interviewing children with acquired brain injury (ABI) and provide an insight into how the qualitative researcher may address these.

researching with children: ethical tensions

Dockett, S., Einarsdottir, J., Perry, B. — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 04:07:16 PDT

There is a need to reflect on both the processes and outcomes of the range of approaches aimed at promoting children’s engagement in research, with the specific intent of listening to children’s voices. This article considers some of the ethical tensions we have experienced when engaging children in research about their prior-to-school and school environments and their perspectives of the transitions between these environments. Examples from projects conducted in Iceland and Australia are drawn upon to illustrate these tensions and, to reflect on the strategies and questions we have developed to guide our engagement with children. This article raises issues rather than offering simple solutions. We suggest that there are a number of contextual and relational variables that guide our research interactions, and no ‘one best solution’ applicable to all contexts. Our aim in sharing these tensions is to stimulate further debate and discussions around children’s participation in research.

a Bakhtinian homecoming: operationalizing dialogism in the context of an early childhood education centre in Wellington, New Zealand

White, E. J. — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 04:07:16 PDT

Dialogic research, building on the dialogic philosophy of Mikhail Bakhtin, is fundamentally concerned with the social, discursive nature of language. This article describes an application of dialogic research methods in a pilot study conducted in an Education and Care setting in Wellington, New Zealand focusing on an 18-month-old toddler and his teacher. The purpose of this exploratory study was to ‘operationalize’ dialogic research within this early childhood education context, in preparation for a larger investigation. Approaching the field through this dialogic research method offered an alternative means of investigating the acts of a toddler through genre (as the framework of analysis) and utterance (as the unit of analysis). This article argues for dialogic research as a method which enables toddler and teacher ‘voices’ to authentically inter-animate and contribute accordingly to the research process, thus promoting hermeneutic complexity rather than scientific truth.

weaving transnational feminist(s) methodologies: (re)examining early childhood linguistic diversity teacher training and research

Saavedra, C. M., Chakravarthi, S., Lower, J. K. — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 04:07:16 PDT

The purpose of this article is to engender a space where a variety of critical feminist(s) lenses are interwoven to problematize current discursive practices in linguistic diversity training and to (re)imagine nueavas posibilidades for linguistic diversity research/training for pre-kindergarten teachers. Transnational feminists’ projects have the potential to illuminate and connect larger global issues with, and that pertain to, local and specific radical projects by incorporating critical reflexive methodological tools. In this article we propose to a) discuss language as a monocultural construction that limits conceptions of language and learning for younger human beings; b) examine the discursive practices of teachers of students who are English as second/third language learners; c) discuss the discourse of sharing codes of power; and finally d) scrutinize interventionist assumptions of educational research.

book review: Young Children's Health and Well-being

Steele, D. — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 04:07:16 PDT

sounding lives in and through music: a narrative inquiry of the `everyday' musical engagement of a young child

Barrett, M. S. — Wed, 20 May 2009 08:43:14 PDT

There is growing interest in the study of young children's `everyday' lives. Music engagement is central to young children's experience of the `everyday' yet few studies have investigated the ways young children and their families engage with and use music in their daily lives. The purpose of this article is twofold: it interrogates the ways in which a young child, and his family draw on musical engagement and use in their daily life; and it provides a storied account as a means to demonstrate the uses of narrative inquiry to early childhood research. Findings identify: the parenting education role of early music programs; the function of joint music-making in the regulation of children's behaviour and emotional states; the contribution of joint and individual music-making to children's language development; the role of individual music-making in children's self-making; and the function of joint music-making in fostering family unity.

roots of assimilation: generational status differentials in ethnic minority children's school readiness

Hibel, J. — Wed, 20 May 2009 08:43:14 PDT

This study examines the relationship between children's generational status and their cognitive and social school readiness, paying particular attention to racial/ethnic and national origin differences. This relationship is examined using data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998—99 (ECLS-K). Results indicate that, while children of foreign-born mothers tend to have lower levels of school readiness than children of native-born mothers, this disparity is largely due to differences in family context characteristics. After controlling for an array of family background variables, non-Hispanic black, Asian, Mexican, Puerto Rican and other Hispanic children of foreign-born mothers are found to have similar levels of academic school readiness to co-ethnic children of American-born mothers. Analyses also indicate that a substantial portion of the school readiness gaps between minority children of foreign-born mothers and non-Hispanic white children of American-born mothers can be explained by family background differences. The study includes a discussion of the implications for assimilation theory and the study of early educational inequality.

designing probabilistic tasks for kindergartners

Skoumpourdi, C., Kafoussi, S., Tatsis, K. — Wed, 20 May 2009 08:43:14 PDT

Recent research suggests that children could be engaged in probability tasks at an early age and task characteristics seem to play an important role in the way children perceive an activity. To this direction in the present article we investigate the role of some basic characteristics of probabilistic tasks in their design and implementation. In order to do so, we present the structure and the content of a series of tasks that were implemented in a kindergarten school focusing on two characteristics: the context and the materials used. In our case, the performance of the experiment together with the use of dice and spinners seemed to be critical in children's development of probabilistic thinking.

persistence in the face of academic challenge for economically disadvantaged children

Brown, E. D. — Wed, 20 May 2009 08:43:14 PDT

This study examined persistence in the face of academic challenge for economically disadvantaged children. Participants included 103 children attending Head Start preschools, as well as their caregivers and teachers. Child tasks measured persistence in the face of academic challenge as well as emergent implicit theories of intelligence. Caregiver interviews provided information about poverty risks. Teacher interviews measured child attention problems. A cumulative index of poverty risks, as well as teacher-reported child attention problems and child emergent implicit theories of intelligence predicted persistence in the face of challenge. Implications concern conceptualizing persistence in the face of academic challenge, understanding diversity in educational outcomes for economically disadvantaged children and closing the achievement gap.

supporting preschoolers' social development in school through funds of knowledge

Riojas-Cortez, M., Bustos Flores, B. — Wed, 20 May 2009 08:43:14 PDT

This study identified Mexican immigrant and Mexican American families' common values and beliefs about preschoolers' socioemotional development in a low-income urban school, which offers a dual language program in South Texas. Approximately 65 families participated in the Family Institute for Early Literacy Development (FIELD), which focused on the social skills expected from children as they enter public preschools. Findings show five socioemotional values within the home that are aligned with research based prosocial behaviors needed for school readiness. Thus, findings imply the importance of supporting preschoolers' social development in school through funds of knowledge.

young American immigrant children's interpretations of popular culture: a case study of Korean girls' perspectives on royalty in Disney films

Lee, L. — Wed, 20 May 2009 08:43:14 PDT

This article explores how young Korean immigrant girls (age five to eight) living in the United States interpreted American popular culture by discussing their interpretations of Disney animated films. In particular, it scrutinizes these girls' understanding of the idea of monarchy — in this case, the process of and the qualification for a ruler — in the films. In addition, this article looks closely at the girls' perspectives on what it means to be a princess in the films by connecting such perspectives to their sense of Korean ethnicity. Finally, it provides some suggestions and implication for researchers and early childhood educators.

book review: Young Children Learn Measurement and Geometry. A Learning-Teaching Trajectory with Intermediate Attainment Targets for the Lower Grades in Primary School Van den Heuvel-Panhuisen, M. and Buys, K. Rotterdam, The Netherlands: Sense Publishers, 2008, 356 pp. ISBN 978 90 8790 397 8, $39.00 (pbk)

Munarriz Diaz, R., Ulloa, Z. R. — Wed, 20 May 2009 08:43:14 PDT

book review: Anthropology and Child Development: A Cross-cultural Reader LeVine, Robert and New, Rebecca (eds) Oxford: Blackwell, 2007, 324 pp. ISBN 978 0 63122975 9 (hbk), ISBN 978 0 63122976 6 (pbk)

French, J. — Wed, 20 May 2009 08:43:14 PDT

book review: Early Childhood Development from Understanding to Initiatives Bilal Iqbal Avan, ed., Pakistan: Oxford University Press, 2007, pp. xvii + 256 (pbk), pp. xvii + 270 (hbk), ISBN 978 0 19 547389 6 {pound} 11.99 (hbk) (pbk), ISBN 978 0 19 547597 5 (hbk), {pound} 9.99 (pbk)

Raja Muhammad Farrukh Zaman, — Wed, 20 May 2009 08:43:14 PDT

erratum

Tue, 20 Jan 2009 02:39:41 PST

a study of sociolinguistic characteristics of Taiwan children's peer-talk in a Mandarin--English-speaking preschool

Wang, L.-C., Hyun, E. — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 02:39:41 PST

This qualitative study presents sociolinguistic characteristics of peer-talk of 44 children in a Mandarin—English-speaking preschool in Taiwan where English was taught as a foreign language (EFL). Key findings: teacher-dominated talk influences children's peer-talk; EFL and code-switching emerge in spontaneous peer-talk; children actively engage in EFL learning by using private speech for self-regulatory learning; children actively provide peer tutoring even though they are in the early stage of EFL learning; and language play creates emergent humor for children's verbal participation in the EFL classroom, offering a way for them to resist authoritative voices and thus transform EFL into a living language.

the deafening silence: discussing children's drawings for understanding and addressing marginalization

Angelides, P., Michaelidou, A. — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 02:39:41 PST

Researchers who deal with inclusive education have made great efforts to listen to the voices of children in order to understand marginalization. Despite the fact that these efforts take place, the voices of many children fail to be heard and hence many children continue to be marginalized. In this article we will develop and implement a technique in order to understand and address marginalization. We will develop a technique that uses children's drawings and a simultaneous talk with children to reveal voices of marginalization. We first define the technique by presenting its theoretical background and then illustrate how the method has been used. Using evidence from a school in Cyprus, we demonstrate how children's drawings and simultaneous discussion with the creator of the drawing can help us develop a richer understanding of marginalization.

grandparents as educators and carers in China

Nyland, B., Xiaodong Zeng, , Nyland, C., Tran, L. — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 02:39:41 PST

Many grandparents play a significant role as educators and carers of children in the preschool years. Recently, this role has become the focus of much early childhood research as challenges facing grandparent carers and grandparent-headed households increasingly become an economic and social issue. Using survey data from China we explore the role of grandparents who have a primary care responsibility for a young child and discuss this contribution to the family in relation to quality of care and education. We argue that grandparents play a significant role in terms of home education of the young, workforce support for young parents, cultural identity within families and community capacity building. Grandparents are therefore deserving of more sustained attention from policy makers and educators when considering the young child's developmental environment.

parental goals and parenting practices of upper-middle-class Korean mothers with preschool children

Park, J.-H., Young In Kwon, — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 02:39:41 PST

In order to understand how mothers develop their parenting styles under rapidly changing cultural contexts, this study examines and compares Korean upper-middle-class mothers' parental goals and real parenting practices as they reported. For this purpose, face-to-face in-depth interviews with 20 Korean mothers were conducted. By analyzing the data, we found that Korean mothers' parenting beliefs focused on `raising a child with good social and emotional characteristics', while their reported practices mainly concentrated on children's academic achievements. Korean mothers failed to connect their beliefs and behaviors because they tended to compare their parenting practices with those of other mothers. Although the mothers followed expectations from current Korean society, they constantly had to deal with guilty and uncomfortable feelings of not corresponding with their personal parental beliefs and goals.

care and business orientations in the delivery of childcare: an exploratory study

Campbell-Barr, V. — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 02:39:41 PST

Childcare policies introduced in England in the last 10 years have created economic tensions within the sector. Having set the scene, this article presents an exploration of the different ways in which childcare providers approach operating their childcare businesses. Drawing on a case study of one Local Authority in England, the article presents findings from qualitative interviews with a range of childcare providers, demonstrating that they can be classified as being business orientated, care orientated or having a combination of these two approaches. These orientations are largely determined by the provider's attitudes towards making money and the needs of the child. However, the geographical location where the childcare facility is located also interplays in determining how a provider operates and that, in particular, the deprivation status of an area can act as a constraint on the orientation adopted. The dominance of private providers in England makes the issue of business orientations pertinent, particularly as concerns around sustainable childcare have implications for the success of government policy.

hidden spaces and places in the preschool: withdrawal strategies in preschool children's peer cultures

Skanfors, L., Lofdahl, A., Hagglund, S. — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 02:39:41 PST

The article discusses how children make use of their preschool context in order to withdraw. Ethnographic observations were made of two-to five-year-old children's interactions during free play and teacher-led activities in the preschool, and documentation was carried out through field notes and video recordings. The empirical material was analysed using Corsaro's theory on children's peer cultures. Results show that children, in their peer cultures, construct withdrawal strategies — `making oneself inaccessible' and `creating and protecting shared hidden spaces' — by making use of the preschool's organization of time and space.

book review: Food and Health in Early Childhood: A Holistic Approach Albon, Deborah and Mukherji, Penny. London: SAGE, 2008, 171 pp. ISBN 978 1 4129 4722 0, {pound}17.99 (pbk)

Smith, S. — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 02:39:41 PST

do child care centers benefit poor children after school entry?

Bassok, D., French, D., Fuller, B., Lynn Kagan, S. — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 03:57:38 PDT

Attendance in preschool centers can yield short-term benefits for children from poor or middle-class families. Yet debate persists in Europe and the United States over whether centers yield gains of sufficient magnitude to sustain children's cognitive or social advantages as they move through primary school. We report on child care and home environments of 229 children in the US who were 21/2 years of age (on average) at entry to the study. Among children attending a center at 21/2 or 41/2 years of age, cognitive proficiencies were significantly higher at 71/2 years of age, compared with children in home-based care, after taking into account prior proficiency levels, maternal attributes, and other covariates. No relationship between center attendance and social development, positive or negative, was detected at 71/2. A priori selection factors modestly helped to explain the likelihood that mothers enrolled their child in a center. But associations between center exposure and higher cognitive proficiency at age 71/2 remained after controlling for selection factors and testing for omitted variables bias.

family stress in Dutch families with motor impaired toddlers: a survey in a Dutch rehabilitation centre

Tibosch, M. — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 03:57:38 PDT

The study investigated the relationship between family stress and child characteristics in families with motor impaired toddlers. Families of 20 children between 21/2 and 5 years old with motor impairments, who visit a therapeutic toddler class in a rehabilitation centre, participated. The study was carried out in the Netherlands. Family stress was investigated through the Nijmegen Questionnaire for the pedagogical situation (NVOS) (a Dutch family stress inventory) and child characteristics were obtained from the KinderRAP. Factors which appear to have a significant correlation with subjective family stress are: the level of adaptive functioning of the child, problem behaviour of the child, the level of communication of the child, age of the child and whether or not an etiological diagnosis had been established. Complementary research on a larger scale is needed to increase knowledge of the risk factors associated with family stress to contribute to the support of children with motor impairments and their families.

young children's musical worlds: musical engagement in 3.5-year-olds

Lamont, A. — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 03:57:38 PDT

This study explores preschoolers' real life engagement with music in everyday life, examining the choices that they have over music listening and the engagement that they show in relation to music in different contexts. A total of 32 children from the United Kingdom aged 3.2—3.9 years participated with their families, nursery teachers and other caregivers. Experience sampling methodology was used to capture up to 21 episodes within a seven-day period. A total of 437 episodes were captured, and 81% had music exposure, either at the time of the call (38%) or during the two preceding hours (43%). Children's music was most frequently heard and chosen by the children themselves; pop music was also frequently heard but less often chosen by the children. The roles of choice, format, focus and style in understanding children's early music listening behaviours and motivations are carefully analysed.

teacher inquiries into gay and lesbian families in early childhood classrooms

Souto-Manning, M., Hermann-Wilmarth, J. — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 03:57:38 PDT

Gay and lesbian issues are often silenced in teacher education programs. Such silencing has serious consequences for teachers who feel unprepared to discuss such issues in their classrooms. Challenging the silence regarding gay and lesbian issues that often permeates early childhood classrooms, we share a teacher's critical inquiry into teaching gay and lesbian issues through teacher action research. We posit that while gay and lesbian issues need to be an intrinsic part of teacher education classes, practising teachers may create the opportunity to take steps toward addressing diversity, fully including gay and lesbian issues in their classrooms. We propose that the case presented may provide a practical possibility for teachers to find ways to fully include all students in their literacy practices.

always Othered: ethical research with children

Lahman, M. K.E. — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 03:57:38 PDT

The author takes the stance that children are always Othered or unfamiliar in research. The child as Other is intensified by adults' memories of their own childhoods. The author discusses what it means to be Othered, reviews images of children, and the roles early childhood research methodologists recommend a researcher should hold. Through narratives the author interrupts the text and reflects on her own childhood, research and teaching young children. Finally, methodological recommendations for utilizing or minimizing the researcher/child Othered relationship are set forth in the following areas: ethical consideration, reflexivity, intersubjectivity, innovative methods, children are experts, and being with children.

book review: Diversities in Early Childhood Education: Rethinking and Doing. Genishi, Celia and Goodwin, A. Ling (eds). Oxon: Routledge, 2008, xi + 293 pp. ISBN 415 95713 7 (hbk); ISBN 415 95714 4 (pbk)

Hutchinson, B. — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 03:57:38 PDT

book review: Cognitive Development: the Learning Brain. Goswami, Usha. Hove and New York: Psychology Press, 2008, xix + 457 pp. ISBN 978 1 84169 530-3, {pound}49.95 (hbk); ISBN 978 1 84169 531 0, {pound}24.95 (pbk)

Whitmarsh, J. — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 03:57:39 PDT

book review: Under Deadman's Skin: Discovering the Meaning in Children's Violent Play. Katch, Jane, and Foreword by Vivian Paley. Boston, MA: Beacon Press, 2002, pp. 144. ISBN 978 080703129 2, $16 (pbk)

Parnell, W. — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 03:57:39 PDT

book review: Contemporary Perspectives on Science and Technology in Early Childhood Education: A Volume in Contemporary Perspectives in Early Childhood Education. Saracho, Olivia N. and Spodek, Bernard (eds). Charlotte, NC, USA: Information Age Publishing, Inc., 2008, vii + 186 pp. ISBN 978 1 59311 635 4 (pbk)

Lowe, G. — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 03:57:39 PDT