ESE - inED – Centro de Investigação e Inovação em Educação
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Browsing ESE - inED – Centro de Investigação e Inovação em Educação by Author "Aguiar, Cecília"
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- Children’s Right to Participate: The Lundy Model Applied to Early Childhood Education and CarePublication . Correia, Nadine; Aguiar, Cecília; The participa ConsortiumChildren have the right to express their views in all matters affecting them, and to have them considered and given due weight. Children’s participation is most meaningful when rooted in children’s everyday lives, and its promotion should be encouraged from the youngest ages, especially in early childhood education and care (ecec). In this paper we apply the Lundy model of participation, widely used in policy, practice and professional development initiatives, to the ecec context. Based on examples provided by ecec professionals from Belgium, Greece, Poland, and Portugal, we illustrate the implementation of the elements of space, voice, audience and influence, proposed by the Lundy model. We also discuss the interrelations among these elements and the need for organisational and contextual support to enhance children’s participation. This paper adds to existing literature, highlighting theoretical and practical issues associated with the promotion of children’s right to participate in ecec.
- Children's voices in Early Childhood Education and CarePublication . Correia, Nadine; Aguiar, Cecília; Taelman, Helena; Wyslowska, Olga; Barros, Sílvia; Correia, Isabel; Markowska-Manista, Ursula; Araújo, Sara Barros; Magalhães, Eunice; Pessanha, Manuela; et al.Listening to and considering children’s voices shows respectful regard for children’s needs, interests and experiences, and helps discern what is meaningful for them in a particular subject or situation. Creating opportunities for the expression of children’s voices implies child-centred practice: recognising children as active agents, with evolving competences and capacity to understand, think and choose with some degree of autonomy, thus being able to influence decision-making. Therefore, the commitment to listen to children’s voices represents a fundamental step towards empowering children and supporting their participation rights. Importantly, children have the right to be heard and to have their voices considered from the earliest ages, in their significant relational contexts, such as early childhood education and care (ECEC). Listening to and valuing children’s multiple voices in ECEC can be done in many ways, ensuring the context, children’s background, characteristics and preferences are respected. In this chapter, we address the specificities of listening to children’s voices and taking them into account in ECEC. We discuss common challenges that may prevent the full expression and consideration of children’s voices, and ways to overcome them, to ensure children’s meaningful participation in what matters to them and support them in becoming active citizens in society.
- Effects of home environment and center-based child care quality on children's language, communication, and literacy outcomesPublication . Pinto, Ana Isabel; Pessanha, Manuela; Aguiar, CecíliaThis study examined the joint effects of home environment and center-based child care quality on children’s language, communication, and early literacy development, while also considering prior developmental level. Participants were 95 children (46 boys), assessed as toddlers (mean age = 26.33 months; Time 1) and preschoolers (mean age = 68.71 months; Time 2) and their families. At both times, children attended center-based child care classrooms in the metropolitan area of Porto, Portugal. Results from hierarchical linear models indicated that home environment and preschool quality, but not center-based toddler child care quality, were associated with children’s language and literacy outcomes at Time 2. Moreover, the quality of preschool classrooms moderated the association between home environment quality and children’s language and early literacy skills – but not communication skills – at Time 2, suggesting the positive cumulative effects of home environment and preschool quality. Findings further support the existence of a detrimental effect of low preschool quality on children’s language and early literacy outcomes: positive associations among home environment quality and children’s developmental outcomes were found to reduce substantially when children attended low-quality preschool classrooms.
- A focus group study on participatory practices in Early Childhood Education and Care across four european countriesPublication . Barros, Sílvia; Coelho, Vera; Wysłowska, Olga; Penderi, Efthymia; Taelman, Helena; Araújo, Sara Barros; Correia, Nadine; Markowska-Manista, Urszula; Petrogiannis, Konstantinos; Boderé, Anneleen; Pessanha, Manuela; Guimarães, Cristiana; Aguiar, CecíliaParticipation in educational settings is a universal right of every child, consigned by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. This right encompasses the need to protect and encourage young children´s active participation and decision-making in early childhood education and care. Research Findings: This qualitative study, inspired by the Lundy model (2007), examined ECEC teachers’ (n = 25) and coordinators’ (n = 25) perceptions about participation practices, collected through focus groups conducted in Belgium, Greece, Poland, and Portugal. Participants were previously referred as implementing participatory practices. Results showed that the four dimensions of the Lundy model emerged in teachers’ and coordinators’ group discussions: Participative space, Children’s voice, Audience of children’s perspectives, and Influence. Furthermore, a number of subcategories in each dimension reflected different orientations toward participatory pedagogy. Practice or Policy: This study contributes to informing and inspiring participation practices in ECEC across Europe and to enriching policy discussions regarding children´s participation rights, particularly in the early years. Promising participatory practices were identified in the various dimensions of participation, though some challenges remain, requiring in-depth knowledge about pedagogical practices and the promotion of initiatives to empower professionals to enhance children’s right to participate, particularly at the center-level.
- Influence of structural features on Portuguese toddler child care qualityPublication . Pessanha, Manuela; Aguiar, Cecília; Bairrão, JoaquimWhereas child care quality has been extensively studied in the U.S., there is much less information about the quality of child care in other countries.With one of the highest maternal employment rates in Europe, it is important to examine child care in Portugal. Thirty toddler classrooms in child care centers were observed. The purpose of this studywas to determine whether structural features account for overall toddler child care quality. Results showed younger and better-paid teachers provided better toddler child care quality. Space available per childwas not a statistically significant predictor of toddler child care quality.Overall quality results suggest some issues to be addressed by early education policy makers and indicate the need to promote quality in Portuguese toddler child care programs.
- Relações entre idade desenvolvimental, dimensões do comportamento adaptativo e envolvimento observadoPublication . Pinto, Ana Isabel; Aguiar, Cecília; Barros, Sílvia; Pessanha, Manuela; Bairrão, Joaquim