{"title":"Early Childhood Education Pre-Service Teachers’ Pedagogical Content Knowledge in Teaching Psychosocial Skills Across the Kindergarten Curriculum in Ghana","authors":"G. Kankam, Winston Kwame Abroampa","doi":"10.17206/apjrece.2016.10.1.67","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17206/apjrece.2016.10.1.67","url":null,"abstract":"The study sought to assess Early Childhood Education Pre-service Teachers’ Pedagogical Content Knowledge in Teaching Psychosocial skills across the kindergarten curriculum in Ghana. A mixed method approach was used. The study comprised 123 conveniently selected regular final year preservice teachers pursuing a degree in early childhood education in a public university in Ghana, who have completed their internship programme. Questionnaires were administered after which five students were selected for a focused group discussion. Data were analysed using means, standard deviation and narratives. The study showed that Pre-service teachers had enough knowledge in achieving two goals of the KG curriculum and were also more familiar with the use of fieldtrips and demonstration. They also had enough knowledge in the use of observation and conversation among others. A thorough examination of the KG curriculum by pre-service teachers during pre and post internship was recommended.","PeriodicalId":37367,"journal":{"name":"Asia-Pacific Journal of Research in Early Childhood Education","volume":"25 1","pages":"67-86"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"74224089","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Young Chinese-Australian Children’s Use of Technology at Home: Parents’ and Grandparents’ Views","authors":"Ying Jiang, H. Monk","doi":"10.17206/APJRECE.2016.10.1.87","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17206/APJRECE.2016.10.1.87","url":null,"abstract":"Young children are increasingly surrounded by a variety of technologies including television, computers, iPads, and mobile phones. This small qualitative study explored how Chinese immigrant families living in Australia viewed their children’s use of technology at home. Six parents and three grandparents representing nine different families with children aged three to six years were interviewed. Data were analysed using Rogoff’s (2003) personal, interpersonal and cultural-institutional planes of analysis. We found that these children lived in technology-rich environments, however strongly held values and beliefs associated with academic learning resulted in the creation of family rules and practices that limited children’s access to, and use of, different technologies. We argue that an understanding of family values, beliefs, practices and culture will assist educators to build partnerships effectively with families, and enhance learning opportunities for young children.","PeriodicalId":37367,"journal":{"name":"Asia-Pacific Journal of Research in Early Childhood Education","volume":"94 1","pages":"87-106"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"87501022","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Collaborative Action Research on the Implementation of a Science Thematic Curriculum for Young Children","authors":"Yu-Ting Chen","doi":"10.17206/apjrece.2016.10.1.45","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17206/apjrece.2016.10.1.45","url":null,"abstract":"Using collaborative action research, this study aimed to explore the practice of implementing a science integrated curriculum in a kindergarten classroom in Taiwan. The author served as a curriculum consultant, and two kindergarten teachers served as co-teachers. The participants were 30 young children. Data sources included classroom observations, interviews, and other documentation. The findings were as follows. (1) The science thematic curriculum was developed from the young children’s interest in bats. The kindergarten teachers applied the science thematic approach to integrate science and other content areas in the thematic curriculum focused on the science theme “Bats.” (2) The young children learned about the science concepts of bats’ characteristics, habits, and habitats, as well as the cultural meaning of bats in the local culture. (3) The kindergarten teachers had to solve problems in science teaching, such as problems related to the children’s observation of bats and teachers’ content knowledge in science teaching. This study provides us a lens to examine how early childhood teachers implemented a science thematic curriculum in a kindergarten classroom. Recommendations for science teaching in early childhood education are also discussed in the paper.","PeriodicalId":37367,"journal":{"name":"Asia-Pacific Journal of Research in Early Childhood Education","volume":"8 1","pages":"45-66"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"87555251","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Young children’s early deductive reasoning in number: A dialogic and linguistic approach","authors":"Carol Murphy","doi":"10.17206/apjrece.2015.9.3.5","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17206/apjrece.2015.9.3.5","url":null,"abstract":"In this paper I present an examination of three six year-old children’s interaction with a task intended to \u0000encourage reasoning and collaboration in number. A case is made for the importance of deductive \u0000reasoning in supporting inductive reasoning and for the potential of hypothetical deductive reasoning in \u0000supporting concept reification in early number. The children’s discourse is analysed using a framework \u0000based on opinion/belief, plausibility and deductive reasoning schema in relation to the functional use of \u0000actuality and modality linguistic terms. The analysis suggests that the children were able to transition to \u0000deductive reasoning and this was reflected in their discourse through a shift to modality, and that this \u0000shift suggested a sense of authority by the children in validating their thinking.","PeriodicalId":37367,"journal":{"name":"Asia-Pacific Journal of Research in Early Childhood Education","volume":"252 1","pages":"5-25"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"76314064","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Using drawings and discussion to gain insights into young learners’ understanding of mass","authors":"Andrea McDonough, Jill Cheeseman","doi":"10.17206/APJRECE.2015.9.3.85","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17206/APJRECE.2015.9.3.85","url":null,"abstract":"In this paper, we explore the possible value of an open-ended assessment task, Impress Me, and followup \u0000interview as ways to gain insights into children’s learning of mathematics,. Ten children in their first \u0000or second year of school recorded their understanding using drawing and/or writing after the period in \u0000which they were taught lessons on the measurement of mass. Later they met individually with an \u0000interviewer/researcher to discuss their drawing/writing and their learning. The Impress Me recording was \u0000found to be a useful prompt for the children to stimulate discussion about their learning.","PeriodicalId":37367,"journal":{"name":"Asia-Pacific Journal of Research in Early Childhood Education","volume":"241 1","pages":"85-98"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"73162287","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Number-Fact Knowledge and Mathematical Problem-solving of 5- to 7-year-olds","authors":"Jenny Young-Loveridge, B. Bicknell","doi":"10.17206/apjrece.2015.9.3.27","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17206/apjrece.2015.9.3.27","url":null,"abstract":"This paper examines children’s number fact knowledge in relation to mathematics problem solving. \u0000These findings are derived from a study that set out to explore the impact on mathematics learning of \u0000using multiplication and division contexts with 84 five- to seven-year-old children from diverse cultural \u0000and linguistic backgrounds. After a series of focused lessons, children’s knowledge of number facts, \u0000including single-digit addition, subtraction, and doubles improved substantially. However, children did \u0000not always apply this knowledge to relevant problem-solving situations. The difficulty level for recalling \u0000number facts was not directly related to the magnitude of the numbers, with certain salient facts such as \u00005+5 and 10+10 learned earlier than facts with smaller sums such as 2+3 and 1+4.","PeriodicalId":37367,"journal":{"name":"Asia-Pacific Journal of Research in Early Childhood Education","volume":"13 1","pages":"27-43"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"78557023","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Early Mathematical Learning: Number Processing Skills and Executive Function at 5 and 8 Years of Age","authors":"S. White, D. Berthelsen, S. Walker, K. Williams","doi":"10.17206/apjrece.2015.9.3.45","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17206/apjrece.2015.9.3.45","url":null,"abstract":"This research investigated differences and associations in performance in number processing and \u0000executive function for children attending primary school in a large Australian metropolitan city. In a \u0000cross-sectional study, performance of 25 children in the first full-time year of school, (Prep; mean age = \u00005.5 years) and 21 children in Year 3 (mean age = 8.5 years) completed three number processing tasks \u0000and three executive function tasks. Year 3 children consistently outperformed the Prep year children on \u0000measures of accuracy and reaction time, on the tasks of number comparison, calculation, shifting, and \u0000inhibition but not on number line estimation. The components of executive function (shifting, inhibition, \u0000and working memory) showed different patterns of correlation to performance on number processing \u0000tasks across the early years of school. Findings could be used to enhance teachers’ understanding about \u0000the role of the cognitive processes employed by children in numeracy learning, and so inform teachers’ \u0000classroom practices.","PeriodicalId":37367,"journal":{"name":"Asia-Pacific Journal of Research in Early Childhood Education","volume":"22 1","pages":"45-66"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"82630718","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The role of units in the concept of length for four- to six-year-old children","authors":"J. Zöllner, C. Benz","doi":"10.17206/apjrece.2015.9.3.67","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17206/apjrece.2015.9.3.67","url":null,"abstract":"The understanding of the unit is a key point in the development of the concept of length. The \u0000understanding of unit is necessary for measuring as well as for comparing indirectly by using unit \u0000iteration. This article describes a study that investigated the use of units by children when they were \u0000comparing lines indirectly. The correlations between different aspects of the use of units are examined: \u0000the understanding of units, the use of units for decomposing and for counting are investigated.","PeriodicalId":37367,"journal":{"name":"Asia-Pacific Journal of Research in Early Childhood Education","volume":"4 1","pages":"67-83"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"87043923","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Mathematics using multiple senses: Developing finger gnosis with three- and four-year-olds in an era of multi-touch technologies","authors":"N. Sinclair, David Pimm","doi":"10.17206/apjrece.2015.9.3.99","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17206/apjrece.2015.9.3.99","url":null,"abstract":"In this paper, we explore a richer sense of finger gnosis (finger knowledge) with respect to three- and \u0000four-year-olds’ interactions with a novel iPad application (TouchCounts), focusing on their responses to \u0000an “inverse subitising” task. The direct and tactile nature of their engagement with TouchCounts leads to a \u0000striking shift from incrementing using the index finger to deployment of several fingers all-at-once (in a \u0000cardinal touch gesture) to achieve a given target number that is then spoken by the iPad. This form of \u0000finger representation differs from the more ordinally-based differentiation of fingers that is discussed in \u0000the psychology literature.","PeriodicalId":37367,"journal":{"name":"Asia-Pacific Journal of Research in Early Childhood Education","volume":"39 1","pages":"99-110"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"84906009","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A Study on Young Children’s Narratives with Respect to the Personal experience at home and Shared Experiences in the kindergarten","authors":"G. Lee, H. Oh, Young-ja Lee","doi":"10.17206/APJRECE.2015.9.2.71","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17206/APJRECE.2015.9.2.71","url":null,"abstract":"This study investigated the differences in 3, 4, and 5 year-olds’ developmental level of narratives, use of\u0000cohesive devices and mental state terms between aspects of the narratives of personal experience at\u0000home and shared experience in the kindergarten. The subjects are 56 3-, 4-, and 5- year-olds in Seoul.\u0000The results are as follows: First, the developmental level of narratives for 3-, 4-, and 5 year-olds in\u0000personal experience was lower than that of shared experience, showing a statistically significant\u0000difference. This implies that teachers should encourage young children to yield narratives which express\u0000their thoughts and feelings during daily experience. Second, the use of logical cohesive devices in\u0000personal experience was lower than that of shared experience, showing a statistically significant\u0000difference. It is suggested that children use more cohesive devices and de-contextualized language in\u0000their narratives when teachers provide language models while interacting with interesting and\u0000meaningful educational activities. Third, the use of mental state terms in personal experience was lower\u0000than that of shared experience, showing a statistically significant difference. This shows the importance\u0000of community activities and teacher’s communicative interactions in conversation involving interesting\u0000experiences with peers. Further research about this aspect is proposed.","PeriodicalId":37367,"journal":{"name":"Asia-Pacific Journal of Research in Early Childhood Education","volume":"26 1","pages":"71-95"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"80417559","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}