What do preschool teachers and parents think about the influence of screen-time exposure on children’s development? Challenges and opportunities

Children’s exposure to screens has been increasing in recent years and so has the concern about its impact on children’s development. This study aims to analyze preschool teachers’ and parents’ views on the influence of screen-time exposure on children’s development. Semi-structured interviews with preschool teachers (n = 9), as well as data from a previous quantitative study, based on an online questionnaire applied to parents of children in preschool (n = 266) were used for data collection. For this study, eminently of qualitative nature, the following dimensions were analyzed: children’s habits of exposure to screens at home, changes in children’s play habits at school, strategies/methodologies used by preschool teachers, use of technologies at school and children’s language development. The results from the study with parents show that screen-time exposure of children is between 1 h to 2 h of television per day, mostly to watch cartoons. Parents also report that most of the children use vocabulary in other languages at home. Most preschool teachers agreed that children are changing their play habits and mainly their behaviors and attitudes, influenced by screen-time exposure. They believe that language development is also changing, mentioning more language problems in children. Changes in pedagogic strategies and specialized training on educational technology are needed to get closer to children’s interests.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

INTERPERSONAL RELATIONS IN THE EDUCATIONAL AND MANUFACTURING ORGANIZATIONS

Success and efficiency in the working organizations today are based upon good communication and social relations between their employees. The importance of these processes is visible in the use of modern techniques of communicating and the support of team building and team work in organizations. Communication and social climate is a topic that is contemporary and interesting to explore. Therefore, this research is focused on processes of communication and social interaction in the educational and manufacturing working environments. Research data were gathered with survey on a sample of 121 workers from two educational and two manufacturing working organizations. Two types of questionnaires were used: a questionnaire by Richard L. Daft (2001) on the communication issue and so-called WES Work Environment Scale concerning social interaction. Data were analysed with statistical procedures of descriptive statistics (frequencies, percentage, mean and standard deviation) and inferential statistics (t-test) for testing of hypotheses.Based upon this analysis came the conclusion that there is a difference in the degree of development of these important personal skills. The results show that the workers in the educational working organizations have a greater ability to communicate and interact compared to those in the manufacturing organizations.This research is meant to be a base for conclusions that came by information gathered in these two kinds of organizations so that the insight could lead further research in other types of organizations

The Impact of Utilizing Learning Centers to Promote STEM Development in the Early Childhood Classroom

This literature review explores the research on incorporating STEM in the preschool classroom, in particular, learning centers. Research from the past decade shows developing the four areas of science, technology, mathematics, and engineering (STEM) in the early years is beneficial for students’ science abilities in the later grades. Studies from this review shine a light on teacher attitudes about science, the classroom environment, and approaches to learning and how they influence students’ learning of STEM in preschool

Teaching for wisdom in modern early education

Teaching for wisdom (especially at the early educational stages) requires personal competence by the teacher, interesting teaching aids and modern, motivating techniques that stimulate and develop the child’s potential abilities and competences related to general and practical intelligence and creativity. In early education, an especially needed type of children’s/students’ activity is that which leads to the direct experiencing of the surrounding cultural, natural, technical and social reality. Such activity is undertaken by individuals through internal emotional involvement, which leads to experiencing values in an in-depth way, supporting development and gaining all kinds of practical experience, which in turn fosters maturity towards wisdom. The environment where Teaching for wisdom should be deliberately organized is school (preschool). Factual knowledge and the methodical competences of teachers can support the organization of educational situations that allow children/students to experience values and wisdom, develop their potential cognitive abilities, gain experience in the interpretation and evaluation of wise/unwise behavior, and develop the habits of wise behavior. These situations should be a source of getting students ready to use wisdom in life and to shape their value systems. The proposal of a detailed competence scope for the notion of wisdom is presented in the this article

Investigation of Teachers’ Attitudes towards Computer Use in Primary Education in Kurdistan

Technological advances have pervasively changed our behaviours, beliefs and approaches in working, socialising and entertaining. Educators, including those in primary education, have acknowledged the positive effects of computer use in the classroom in various ways. With regard to pedagogical consideration, primary school teachers have adopted computer use in teaching pupils with emphasis on student-centred teaching techniques. The integration of computers in the primary curriculum has been applied in many countries, from developing (Chile) to developed nations (the US and UK). With regard to Iraqi Kurdistan, in particular, the education sector has undergone a major reform in order to improve the regional education standards and, as part of a new curriculum, the computer element has been embedded alongside the mathematics subject. Since the reform occurred, no academic study has been conducted to not only evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of computer use in primary schools in Kurdistan, but also to investigate teachers’ attitudes towards the use of computers in their teaching approach. Hence, the present study aims primarily to explore the general background of primary school teachers as well as their experiences, skills and pedagogical attitudes towards computer use in primary education. Keywords: Computer use, technology, primary schools; teachers; pedagogical approaches

Using the Web Sites of Kindergartens in Parenting Education and the Present Condition in Turkey

Family is the elementary school for children in the process of acquiring knowledge and skills. Qualities of family affect children directly. Supporting families in terms of children’s education and increasing their efficiencies will also positively affect children. Thus, schools should consider not only children, but also their families while providing education. The objective of this study is to offer a suggestion for using the web sites of kindergartens as an instrument in parenting education and examine the web sites of kindergartens in Turkey from this aspect. The study was conducted by using case study pattern, which is among qualitative research methods. The study group consisted of 81 official kindergartens from 81 different provinces and 20 private kindergartens from 20 different metropolitans. Schools in the study group were determined by using typical case sampling method, which is among purposeful sampling methods. The first official and private kindergartens that were reached in the internet search engine by writing the name of province and kindergarten (for example, Tokat kindergarten) were included in the study group. The study data were acquired by examining the web sites of kindergartens in the study group in terms of their content and the acquired data were analyzed via content analysis method. As a result of the study; it was seen that information contents were involved under titles like; Our School (f=81/ 100%), Connections (f=81/ 100%), Announcements (f=81/ 100%), Statistics (f=81/ 100%), News (f=80/ 98,4%), Classes (f=62/ 76,2%), Photo Gallery (f=60/ 73,8%) and Counseling (f=47/ 57,8%) in the web sites of official kindergartens. On the other hand, the contents were involved under titles like; Our School (f=20/ 100%), Communication (f=19/ 95%), Counseling (f=14/ 70%) and Announcements (f=9/ 45%) in the web sites of private kindergartens. It was seen that schools involved information about parenting education generally under the title of counseling. It was also seen that topic titles like parental attitudes, children’s developmental features, children’s nourishment and school adaptation were prominent regarding parenting education. Keywords: Preschool Period, Family, Parenting Education, Kindergarten, Web Site

Jump2Health Website™ for Head Start parents to promote a healthy home environment: Results from formative research

Background: In US, approximately 23% of children between the ages of 2-5 years are overweight or obese. Parents need access to information to create healthy home environments for obesity prevention, yet participation for in-person education programs is challenging. Web-based interventions are promising educational tools due to 24/7 availability. However, information is limited on their development and evaluation. Design and Methods: This study reports on a rigorous development process that included six focus group discussions (FGD) with stakeholders (three FGD each with parents and teachers) to assess education needs and inform the development of the Jump2Health Website™ by a multidisciplinary team. After development, the Website was evaluated by telephone interviews with stakeholders (five parents and six teachers) and reviewed by an expert panel of five Registered Dietitians. Results: Twenty Head Start parents and 22 Head Start teachers participated in the FGD. To address the needs identified by these stakeholders, the Website was designed to include components that were enabling and motivating, such as descriptions of health benefits by achieving the desired behaviours, short videos on easy meal preparation, and tip sheets on how to achieve healthy behaviours in easy, economical ways. Stakeholder evaluation of the Website indicated that the information was helpful, easy to use, and would be beneficial for parents. Conclusions: The development of Jump2Health Website™ was strengthened by FGD with stakeholders that assessed educational needs. Interviews with stakeholders and an expert panel review showed that the Website may be an effective educational method to teach parents about healthy behaviours related to obesity prevention