Dear Senator: Young Citizens Explore Civics through Literacy

This article reviews the components of an integration model for infusing literacy and social studies and provides an example of a civics lesson implemented with first grade students. The gradual release model and research-informed literacy practices are embedded in the delivery of instruction. Throughout the learning experience students use informational texts to develop social studies vocabulary, explore civics concepts, and engage in discussion focused on the content in the text. Students acquire skills in supporting their conclusions with information drawn from a variety books and represent the knowledge they have gained through writing activities. This developmental approach harnesses evidence-based strategies that optimize the capabilities of young learners to closely read and deeply reflect upon informational text

Dear Senator: Young Citizens Explore Civics through Literacy

This article reviews the components of an integration model for infusing literacy and social studies and provides an example of a civics lesson implemented with first grade students. The gradual release model and research-informed literacy practices are embedded in the delivery of instruction. Throughout the learning experience students use informational texts to develop social studies vocabulary, explore civics concepts, and engage in discussion focused on the content in the text. Students acquire skills in supporting their conclusions with information drawn from a variety books and represent the knowledge they have gained through writing activities. This developmental approach harnesses evidence-based strategies that optimize the capabilities of young learners to closely read and deeply reflect upon informational text

Challenging Online Behaviors of Youth: Findings From a Comparative Analysis of Young People

Child-serving professionals have struggled to understand the often complex emotional and behavioral responses of children and youth who are immersed in interconnected environments and consumed by digital technologies. A comparative analysis on challenging online behaviors of adolescent girls in the United States and New Zealand was completed. Survey results confirm that when online, a significant number of adolescent girls are engaging in risky activities including disclosing personal information, sending personal photos to online acquaintances, and arranging face-to-face meetings. Many respondents continue potentially problematic offline practices as a result of these online interactions. The data also suggest that there is a lapse in preventative intervention to create and maintain awareness and safety for young people. Implications of this research for preparing youth to successfully harness the potential of the Internet are explored

A Social Media Analysis of the Experiences of Chinese Early Childhood Educators and Families with Young Children during COVID-19

This study used a small stories research narrative paradigm to examine social media posts that focused on efforts to sustain the delivery of early childhood education during COVID. Inductive and deductive content analysis focused on 1303 posts from 177 government officials and 1126 individual users (including preschools, kindergartens, teachers, and parents). The results include an analysis of conversational data that document implementation of the national policy to promote continuity of young children’s learning, including digital resources used, learning content, and teaching approaches. Actor-centric contextual factors determined the success of delivering instruction remotely; however, other contextual components created the conditions that necessitated adaptation of instruction. The COVID outbreak (chrono-level) led to shifts in education delivery and informed national policy (macro-level), influenced the teachers’ and parents’ work contexts (exo-level), enhanced home-school collaboration (meso-level), and required implementation of technological solutions to support children’s learning (micro-level). Contributions to theory, methodology, and practice are discussed

Young Chinese Children\u27s Remote Peer Interactions and Social Competence Development during the COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way young children engage in peer communication. The aim of this study was to explore how young children engaged in peer interaction remotely by examining young children\u27s multimodal interactions during the pandemic. Visual and audio data posted to Douyin (China\u27s most popular live-streaming site) between January 23, 2020 and May 6, 2020 were collected and analyzed. Mediated discourse analysis was used to explore young children\u27s remote interactions as captured on video recordings. Results support the critical role of play materials and tangible tools in mediating young children\u27s peer interactions and participation in remote environments

Cross Cultural Perspectives in Child Advocacy

This study on cross cultural perspectives in child advocacy deals with various topics, including support for children\u27s issues, the factors that influence reporting of suspected child abuse and child advocacy\u27s application to education professionals. The study looks at issues from around the world

Revisiting Reflective Practice in an Era of Teacher Education Reform: A Self-study of an Early Childhood Teacher Education Program

The authors describe a major program reform study of an early childhood teacher education program in a large, urban, state university in the United States. Over a 4-year period, our team of early childhood faculty undertook an intentional and reflective program reform study to better advocate for quality early childhood educational philosophy and practice, while ensuring our program aligned with the newer national accreditation policy and state teacher certification standards. In this article, we identify three core problems we encountered, articulate how we approached each of them based on our philosophical framework, and discuss further considerations of each

Partnership across Programs and Schools: Fostering Collaboration in Shared Spaces

Recent reports call for a structural transformation of teacher preparation programs with increased attention to quality field-based learning experiences for pre-service teachers. Ideally, this occurs in the context of robust university-school partnerships. The challenges lie in identifying such school sites and building meaningful, reciprocal relationships, particularly in large Colleges of Education that house a multitude of certification programs. This paper discusses how two programs within a department collaborated across programs to create school partnerships in shared spaces. Reflections on success and challenges, implications for reform efforts, and thoughts for future directions are shared