Mothers Reading Children's Books to Preschoolers. A Greek study

This article presents the results of a Greek study on the extratextual interactions between mothersand their preschoolers during repeated readings of the same storybook. Eleven (11) mothers with tertiary andeleven mothers (11) with secondary education read out loud the book “The three little wolves and the big bad pig”three times, once every three days and the fourth time they narrated it to their 4–5 year olds. All four times, whichwere recorded by the parents, were done in one-to-one settings, in their homes. Mothers with a tertiary educationduring the first reading made more extratextual interactions overall, as well as more verbal exchanges in thelow-level abstraction categories: organizing the reading, names, clarifying, and in high-level abstraction categoryrelating the story to real life. Mothers with secondary education during the second reading made more extratextualinteractions overall, as well as more verbal exchanges in the low-level abstraction categories: clarifying and attention.Both categories of mothers progressively decreased their insertions with subsequent readings. During the firsttwo readings mothers with tertiary education made more extratextual interactions overall, as well as more low- andhigh-level abstraction insertions, than mothers with secondary education. Children whose mothers had a tertiaryeducation made more insertions overall, including more low- and high-level abstraction extratextual interactions,than the other preschoolers. It was found that all mothers and children had a high percentage of low-level abstractionextratextual interactions. More specifically, this was noted in the following categories for mothers: clarifying,feedback and names; for children: clarifying and asking for clarification. Nevertheless, mothers with a tertiary educationand their children made more high-level abstract extratextual interactions in the category relating the storyto real life than the others

Effects of Family Socioeconomic Status on Parents’ Views Concerning the Integration of Computers into Preschool Classrooms

Background: The rapid growth of ICT has led to an important increase in the use of computers in preschool age. However the benefits of this use are a debatable issue. Some focus on the positive effects of computers on learning and kids’ cognitive development while others believe that computers may negatively affect their social and motivational impact.Aim: The aim of this research was to study Greek parents’ views on preschools’ computer programs and how these views are influenced by the family’s socioeconomic level.Methodology: The survey involved 280 parents of children aged 3-5 years, of whom 140 were in the upper socioeconomic level and the other 140 in a lower one.Results: The upper socioeconomic level parents thought that the use of computers was appropriate for preschool children more than parents of lower socioeconomic status (P=0.01). and that its inclusion in the preschool center’s program would work in favor for children who have no computer at home (P=0.00). Parents with higher socioeconomic status felt more than the others that such a program can support the provision of knowledge (P=0.00), the development of mathematical (P=0.00) and linguistic skills (P=0.00) and entertain children (P=0.04). Furthermore, the upper socioeconomic level parents as opposed to the other group do not consider that the computer will remove preschool educator from their leading and teaching role (P=0.04) or reduce their communication with the preschoolers (P=0.00).Conclusions: The results of this study revealed that Greek parents, especially those of higher socioeconomic level, have a positive view on the integration of a computer program into the preschoolclassroom

The effect of a culturally sensitive mental well-being module on Pakistani nursing students\u27 knowledge and beliefs regarding their own mental health and illness

This study examined the effect of a mental well-being module on undergraduate nursing students\u27 knowledge and beliefs regarding causes and treatment of mental health and illness, and explored the relationship between these variables and depression and anxiety. The one group design incorporated pre-intervention, intervention and post-intervention phases, in a consecutive sample of 246 students in a 4-year BScN programme in Pakistan. A culturally sensitive, interactive mental well-being module of four hours length was delivered to three groups of approximately 40 students per group. Repeated measures ANOVA was performed to assess the difference in the mean knowledge scores. Paired t-tests investigated between-group differences on the factor scores. A total of 112 students screened positive for anxiety and depression symptoms. Repeated measures ANOVA showed a significant difference in the mean knowledge scores regarding mental illness (P \u3c 0.001). Factor analysis resulted in four factors for the aetiology items. Paired t-test showed significant differences (P \u3c 0.001) between psycho-social and environmental factors, supernatural and religious beliefs, and neuro-genetics. For treatment, significant differences (P \u3c 0.001) were found between all factors - Professional and Help from others, Religiosity and Socialization, and Alternative and Medical Treatment. There was a significant and positive change in students\u27 mental health knowledge, beliefs and mental health-seeking behaviour and diminished stigmatized beliefs. Based on the findings, it is highly recommended to incorporate the mental well-being program in the curriculum