Child Study

FORWARD:  Gareth B. Matthews
INTRODUCTION: Signifying Children
CHAPTER 1: The Roots of Child Study: Philosophy, History, and Religion
CHAPTER 2: Child and Fool in the Western Wisdom Tradition
CHAPTER 3: Fools, Young Children, Animism, and the Scientific World Picture
CHAPTER 4: Subversive Innocence
CHAPTER 5: The Child and Post-Modern Subjectivity
CHAPTER 6: Parent, Child, Alterity, Dialogue
CHAPTER 7:  Young Children's Discourse and the Origins of the World: The Transformation into Text
CHAPTER 8: What Some Second Graders Say About Conflict

Television viewing has a great impact on various aspects of child’s life. This study was carried out at Sir Padampat Mother & Child Health Institute, Jaipur (Rajasthan). The aim was to study the effects of television viewing on a child’s eating habits, general physical health, physical activities, interest in study and school performance. Only 250 children of 3–10 years age groups were studied for a period of nine months (January 1992 to September 1992). Average duration of television exposure to an individual child was 18.5 hours per week in the study. Significant changes were observed in a childs’ eating habits, weight, physical activity, sleep parttern, interest in study and general physical health. Increase in weight was observed in 19.6% children suggesting that the television viewing may predispose to childhood obesity. In 30.4% cases decrease in physical activity was found, 18.4% children showed decreased interest in study, while 10% children showed decrease in school performance, and sleep pattern was disturbed in 24% children. Medical problems were found in 11.6% children. Significantly two children had precipitation of fits on television viewing.

The television saw a significant rise in the last two decades in the Romanian society. Nowadays, the television is no longer simply a means of communication, but a family member, an indispensable presence. Is therefore necessary studying the influence that television has on psychological, cognitive and behavioral development of the most vulnerable of viewers: the children. Since the beginning of the life, the television plays a fundamental role in the genesis of the concepts, development of the ideas, in structuring of the perception and thinking. The central objective of this research was to determine the children's preferences for certain television programs and to determine the degree to which they influence children's behavior. So, I identified the children' favorite television programs and characters and I studied how television broadcasts occur as an socialized agent in their behavior.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relation between sex, social status and social behaviour in a sample of Australian preschool-aged children. Social behaviour has emerged as an important predictor of social status for children in middle childhood however, although early childhood may be an optimum period for implementation of intervention programs, little is known about the correlates of social status in the preschool years. Additionally, relatively little research has addressed the issue of sex differences in the factors that are associated with peer social status. Sociometric interviews were conducted with 182 children (92 boys and 90 girls) four to five years of age (mean age 62.4 months). Status groups of popular, rejected, neglected, controversial and average children were identified according to criteria established in previous research. Teachers provided an assessment of children's social behaviour, peer group entry skills and conflict resolution skills. Results indicated that rejected children were less likely to engage in prosocial cooperative behaviour than any other status group. Rejected children were also rated as less successful overall than other groups in their group entry attempts, but were not more likely to display aggressive or disruptive behaviour. Teachers rated boys as more aggressive than girls and more likely to use aggressive or disruptive strategies in group entry and conflict resolution. Results are discussed in terms of the relevance of particular behavioural characteristics and social skills to successful social functioning for preschool-aged boys and girls.

[Extract] Introduction: Global Civil Society Networks and Travelling Pedagogical Knowledge in the ‘Age of Empire’

This chapter explores travels and transformations of pedagogical knowledge in the age of empire. The fundamental changes of in education, which occurred in many parts of the world throughout the long nineteenth century were, from the beginning, shaped by the global proliferation of protestant missions. The evangelical enthusiasm for reaching out to the ‘heathens’ inhabiting distant lands was closely entwined with the geographical trajectories of imperial expansion. Moreover, it overlapped with the cultural ideology of colonialism as a project to bring ‘moral and material progress’ to the new subject populations in Asia and Africa, and the indigenous people incorporated into settler colonies (Mann 2004; May et al. 2014). The hegemonic ambitions of imperial educators, the unequal dynamics of colonial knowledge production, and the deeply Eurocentric definitions of what was worth teaching were core features of the cultural history of education in the age of empire (Viswanathan 1989; Kumar 1991; Seth 2007). The nineteenth century processes of educational expansion and reform were embedded in the cultural politics of empire, and the renegotiation of class, gender, racial and other structural inequalities it entailed (Cooper/Stoler 1997; Bhattacharya 1998; Hall 2000; Chavan 2014; Rao 2014).

At the same time, the spread of modern schooling was motivated by ideas of liberalism, enlightenment, and secular progress. There was a strong belief in education as the panacea for improving both, individual humans, and the societies they formed. The nineteenth century was also a period, which was characterised by the dynamics of nation-building, state-formation, and territorialisation (Curtis 1988; Fischer-Tiné 2001; Maier 2006). While British colonial rule was consolidated in India, and the European colonial expansion continued in the East, a first wave of post-colonial nation formation already took place in the former Spanish and Portuguese territories in the West. In this context, schooling emerged as the central means for raising republican citizens (Roldán Vera 1999; Caruso/Roldán Vera 2005).

This chapter locates the long nineteenth century’s educational transformations in both these political constellations. ...

The individualistic play pedagogy of Western early childhood care and education practices posits the child as benefiting developmentally from play environments that support self-directed engagement with peers, with adult facilitation directed primarily towards building on the abilities that the child already demonstrates. From a Vygotskian perspective, this individualistic orientation limits the possibilities for children to engage in play that is an activity of the zone of proximal development [ZPD]. The following analysis examines the social interactions of typically developing and special needs preschool children, and their teacher, for the purpose of providing early childhood practitioners with an understanding of how interactions with children during play might be enhanced to provide for the relational community of the ZPD. Selon la pédagogie individuelle du jeu, dans les pratiques occidentales d'accueil et d'éducation des jeunes enfants, le développement de l'enfant est soutenu par un environnement ludique qui favorise l'engagement de l'enfant par lui-même vers ses pairs, les adultes n'intervenant que pour renforcer les aptitudes dont l'enfant fait déjà preuve. D'un point de vue vygotskien, une telle orientation limite les possibilités des enfants pour s'engager dans des activités ludiques qui se situent dans la zone de développement proximal. Dans cet article, nous examinerons les interactions sociales d'enfants d'âge préscolaire, au développement normal et ayant des besoins spéciaux, et leur enseignante. Il s'agira de fournir aux praticiens de la petite enfance des éléments de compréhension sur la façon dont les interactions avec les enfants au cours du jeu peuvent être améliorées pour subvenir aux besoins de la communauté relationnelle de la zone de développement proximal. Die individualistische Spielpädagogik der westlichen Kleinkinderbetreuung und Erziehungsprogramme postuliert, dass das Kind entwicklungsmäßig von einem Spielmilieu profitiert, das eigene Interaktion mit Gleichaltrigen unterstützt. Die Förderung der Erwachsenen richtet sich dabei vor allem auf jene Fähigkeiten, die das Kind schon zeigt. Aus einer an Wygotsky orientierten Perspektive beschränkt diese individualistische Ausrichtung die Möglichkeiten für Kinder, sich an Spielen zu beteiligen, die eine Aktivität der Zone der nächsten Entwicklung (Zone of Proximal Development, ZPD) darstellen. Die Studie untersucht die sozialen Interaktionen zwischen normal entwickleinden Vorschulkindern und Kindern mit Sonderbedürfnissen und ihres Lehrers während des Freispiels. Sie erörtert Charakteristiken der individualistischen Spielpädagogik und die negativen Folgen, wenn Kinder mit Sonderbedürfnissen von sinnvollen Spielbeziehungen ausgeschlossen werden. Ziel ist ein besseres Verständnis der Möglichkeiten. Interaktionen mit und zwischen Kindern im Spiel zu fördern und eine Beziehungsgemeinschaft der ZPD herzustellen. La pedagogía del juego individual de los programas occidentales de atención y educación infantil en la edad temprana, propone que el niño beneficia su desarrollo a través de juegos de entorno que le facilitan entablar relaciones con sus pares gracias a la mediación de un adulto. Esta mediación se dirige principalmente a impulsar el desarrollo de ciertas habilidades que el niño, anteriormente, ya ha demostrado tener. Desde una perspectiva Vygostskiana, la orientación del juego individual limita otras posibilidades de juego infantil propias de la zona de desarrollo próximo (ZPD) Este articulo discute las interacciones sociales de niños preescolares de desarrollo típico y niños preescolares con necesidades especiales, con sus profesores respectivos, con el propósito de proporcionar a los practicantes una comprensión de cómo las interacciones con los niños durante el juego pueden facilitar el desarrollo del ZPD.

To investigate the ability of young children to perceive the feelings of others, 44 preschool children with a mean age of approximately 3 years, 8 months were shown 12 vignettes in which a puppeteer emitting facial and vocal cues twice contrasted all possible pairs of happy, sad, angry, and afraid emotions. Mothers completed a questionniare containing narratives of all 12 vignettes and indicated the affective behavior that they thought their child would express in the depicted situations. In the performance of vignettes, a puppet of the same sex as the subject represented the emotion that differed from the emotion mothers had indicated their child would have. Children were asked: "How does the puppet feel?" To answer, children selected one of two cloth facrs representing differing emotions and affixed it to the puppet. It was hypothesized that subjects would show a greater than chance ability to use personalized information about the puppet, rather than relying on their own experience, and it was expected that such ability would be age-related. In addition, personalized information was expected to be more readily used by preschoolers when the puppet's and their own emotions differed along positive or negative dimensions, and when certain pairs of emotions were contrasted. Findings supported each of these hypotheses. (RH)

To investigate the ability of young children to perceive the feelings of others, 44 preschool children with a mean age of approximately 3 years, 8 months were shown 12 vignettes in which a puppeteer emitting facial and vocal cues twice contrasted all possible pairs of happy, sad, angry, and afraid emotions. Mothers completed a questionniare containing narratives of all 12 vignettes and indicated the affective behavior that they thought their child would express in the depicted situations. In the performance of vignettes, a puppet of the same sex as the subject represented the emotion that differed from the emotion mothers had indicated their child would have. Children were asked: "How does the puppet feel?" To answer, children selected one of two cloth facrs representing differing emotions and affixed it to the puppet. It was hypothesized that subjects would show a greater than chance ability to use personalized information about the puppet, rather than relying on their own experience, and it was expected that such ability would be age-related. In addition, personalized information was expected to be more readily used by preschoolers when the puppet's and their own emotions differed along positive or negative dimensions, and when certain pairs of emotions were contrasted. Findings supported each of these hypotheses. (RH)

Plagiarism refers to the utilization of words or ideas as if they belonged to the writer and not the original author.

What was the central argument in attachment theory?
Cultural values of children’s childhoods

Children as main informants in research topics as a goal of United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC)

Reviews research concerning the way siblings (SIBs) get along in different developmental periods, with particular emphasis on SIB conflict and SIBs as playmates and helpers. Findings indicate that overt conflict between SIBs in childhood is so common that it is often taken for granted; nevertheless, conflict apparently coexists with positive inter-SIB feelings and periods of calm. Parental reports tend to stress overt stress; direct observations by researchers reveal that peaceful coexistence characterizes most of the time SIBs are together. Studies of SIB attitudes toward each other show predominantly positive feelings together with intermittent rivalry. The review shows there is a need for continued research into SIB relationships, especially regarding longitudinal stability and change. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relation between sex, social status and social behaviour in a sample of Australian preschool-aged children. Social behaviour has emerged as an important predictor of social status for children in middle childhood however, although early childhood may be an optimum period for implementation of intervention programs, little is known about the correlates of social status in the preschool years. Additionally, relatively little research has addressed the issue of sex differences in the factors that are associated with peer social status. Sociometric interviews were conducted with 182 children (92 boys and 90 girls) four to five years of age (mean age 62.4 months). Status groups of popular, rejected, neglected, controversial and average children were identified according to criteria established in previous research. Teachers provided an assessment of children’s social behaviour, peer group entry skills and conflict resolution skills. Result...

Attention-deficit Disorder (ADD) is a behavioral disorder characterized by the inability to sustain attention long enough to perform activities such as schoolwork or organized play. Treatments for this disorder include medication and brainwave biofeedback training. Brainwave biofeedback training systems feed back information to the trainee showing him how well he is producing the brainwave pattern that indicates attention. The Extended Attention Span Training (EAST) system takes the concept a step further by making a video game more difficult as the player's brainwaves indicate that attention is waning. The trainee can succeed at the game only by maintaining an adequate level of attention. The EAST system is a modification of a biocybernetic system that is currently being used to assess the extent to which automated flight management systems maintain pilot engagement. This biocybernetic system is a product of a program aimed at developing methods to evaluate automated flight deck designs for compatibility with human capabilities. The EAST technology can make a contribution in the fields of medical neuropsychology and neurology, where the emphasis is on cautious, conservative treatment of youngsters with attention disorders. ATTENTION MANAGEMENT AND AUTOMATION The management of attention is important for success in a wide range of endeavors from sport to study. The ability to remain aware of fluctuating attentionai states, the ability to maintain effective states, and the ability to recover

To investigate the ability of young children to perceive the feelings of others, 44 preschool children with a mean age of approximately 3 years, 8 months were shown 12 vignettes in which a puppeteer emitting facial and vocal cues twice contrasted all possible pairs of happy, sad, angry, and afraid emotions. Mothers completed a questionniare containing narratives of all 12 vignettes and indicated the affective behavior that they thought their child would express in the depicted situations. In the performance of vignettes, a puppet of the same sex as the subject represented the emotion that differed from the emotion mothers had indicated their child would have. Children were asked: "How does the puppet feel?" To answer, children selected one of two cloth facrs representing differing emotions and affixed it to the puppet. It was hypothesized that subjects would show a greater than chance ability to use personalized information about the puppet, rather than relying on their own experience, and it was expected that such ability would be age-related. In addition, personalized information was expected to be more readily used by preschoolers when the puppet's and their own emotions differed along positive or negative dimensions, and when certain pairs of emotions were contrasted. Findings supported each of these hypotheses. (RH)

... During the next year the SBP was re-implemented, with breakfast provided at school to ... only 15% of their breakfasts satisfied the criteria recommended in th e government's School Breakfast ... In light of this, from a policy standpoint, the federal School Breakfast Program should not ...