Barriers to implementing a structured Fundamental Movement Skills program in long day care centres: a process evaluation

2009 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-68
Author(s):  
Nick Petrunoff ◽  
Beverley Lloyd ◽  
Natalia Watson ◽  
David Morrisey
Keyword(s):  
Process Evaluation ◽  
Day Care ◽  
Movement Skills ◽  
Fundamental Movement Skills ◽  
Long Day ◽  
Day Care Centres

scholarly journals When Authenticity Goes Missing: How Monocultural Children’s Literature Is Silencing the Voices and Contributing to Invisibility of Children from Minority Backgrounds

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 32
Author(s):  
Helen Adam
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Early Childhood ◽  
Children's Literature ◽  
Cultural Diversity ◽  
Day Care ◽  
Children’S Literature ◽  
Long Day ◽  
Day Care Centres ◽  
Book Collections ◽  
The Impact

The importance of recognising, valuing and respecting a child’s family, culture, language and values is central to socially just education and is increasingly articulated in educational policy worldwide. Inclusive children’s literature can support children’s human rights and contribute to equitable and socially just outcomes for all children. However, evidence suggests many educational settings provide monocultural book collections which are counterproductive to principles of diversity and social justice. Further, that educators’ understandings and beliefs about diversity can contribute to inequitable provision and use of diverse books and to inequitable outcomes of book sharing for many children. This paper reports on a larger study investigating factors and relationships influencing the use of children’s literature to support principles of cultural diversity in the kindergarten rooms of long day care centres. The study was conducted within an ontological perspective of constructivism and an epistemological perspective of interpretivism informed by sociocultural theory. A mixed methods approach was adopted, and convergent design was employed interpret significant relationships and their meanings. Twenty-four educators and 110 children from four long day care centres in Western Australia participated. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, video-based observations, field notes, document analysis and a book audit. This study firstly identified that current book collections in kindergarten rooms of long day care centres promote mono-cultural viewpoints and ‘othering’ of minority groups through limited access to books portraying inclusive and authentic cultural diversity. Secondly, that educators had limited understandings of the role of literature in acknowledging and valuing diversity and rarely used it to promote principles of diversity, resulting in a practice of “othering” those from minority group backgrounds. The key challenges which emerged from the study concerned beliefs, understanding and confidence of educators about diversity and inclusion, and the impact of these on their approaches to promoting principles of diversity through the use of children’s books. This research contributes to discussion on the value of children’s literature in achieving international principles of diversity. These findings have important social justice implications. The outcomes of this study have implications for educators, policy makers, early childhood organisations and those providing higher education and training for early childhood educators.

A systems-based approach within long day care centres for obesity prevention in children aged 3–5

2011 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 71
Author(s):  
J. Marks ◽  
L. Barnett ◽  
C. Foulkes ◽  
B. Swinburn ◽  
S. Allender
Keyword(s):  
Obesity Prevention ◽  
Day Care ◽  
Long Day ◽  
Day Care Centres

Find your tribe! Early childhood educators defining and identifying key factors that support their workplace wellbeing

2019 ◽  
Vol 44 (4) ◽  
pp. 326-338 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine Jones ◽  
Fay Hadley ◽  
Manjula Waniganayake ◽  
Melissa Johnstone
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Day Care ◽  
Mixed Methods Research ◽  
Early Childhood Educators ◽  
Two Phase ◽  
Long Day ◽  
Broad Concept ◽  
Contextual Elements ◽  
Day Care Centres ◽  
The Individual

Historically, research on educator wellbeing has focused on ill health including stress, burnout and emotional exhaustion. There is a dearth of research examining healthy workplace wellbeing among early childhood educators, which makes developing strategies to support their wellbeing difficult. Moreover, there is a lack of clarity about the concept of educator workplace wellbeing and a lack of understanding of the complex interplay between factors supporting and thwarting wellbeing within long day-care centres. This two-phase study used a mixed-methods research design. Presented in this paper are the findings from phase one. Semi-structured in-depth interviews with 22 early childhood educators in long day-care centres reflected on educator workplace wellbeing as a broad concept encompassing social, emotional, physical and economic factors. Educator ‘voices’ provided insight into the individual, relational and contextual elements impacting on their personal workplace wellbeing.

Multiplicities in early childhood reform engagement in Victorian long day care centres: Discourse, position and practice

2019 ◽  
Vol 44 (3) ◽  
pp. 257-269
Author(s):  
Lauren Armstrong
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Day Care ◽  
Rate Of Change ◽  
Reform Process ◽  
Discursive Practices ◽  
Subject Positions ◽  
Specific Subject ◽  
Long Day ◽  
Early Childhood Professionals ◽  
Day Care Centres

Change is not a new concept in the Australian early childhood sector. However, the rate of change has significantly increased throughout the last decade, specifically with the introduction of the curriculum and quality frameworks, changes to regulations, and subsequent reviews (some particularly affecting the Victorian long day care sector). The rapid timeline of these reforms created challenges for early childhood professionals who needed to understand, interpret and translate multiple changes to their practice. This paper presents some key findings from a poststructural study involving 11 participants from the Victorian long day care sector. Foucauldian Discourse Analysis has been applied to explore how reform discourses shape and reshape the positioning and engagement of professionals within the reform process. These findings reveal how specific subject positions and discursive practices within available discourses of knowledge, teacher education and workplace can either challenge and/or support early childhood professionals in their ability to engage in reform.

scholarly journals Application of the multiphase optimisation strategy to develop, optimise and evaluate the effectiveness of a multicomponent initiative package to increase 2-to-5-year-old children’s vegetable intake in long day care centres: a study protocol

BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. e047618
Author(s):  
Dorota Zarnowiecki ◽  
Shabnam Kashef ◽  
Astrid AM Poelman ◽  
Maeva O Cochet-Broch ◽  
Jennifer C Arguelles ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Day Care ◽  
Repeated Measures ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Vegetable Intake ◽  
Synergistic Effects ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Food Group ◽  
Long Day ◽  
Evaluation Phase ◽  
Day Care Centres

IntroductionGlobally, children do not eat enough core foods, with vegetable intakes persistently low. Early life is critical for establishing vegetable acceptance and intake. Increased usage of formal childcare has led to the importance of childcare settings shaping children’s food intake. This study will use the multiphase optimisation strategy to develop, optimise and evaluate the effectiveness of a multicomponent initiative package to increase 2-to-5-year-old children’s vegetable intake in long day care centres.Methods and analysisThe preparation phase will use existing literature and best practice guidelines to develop three initiatives aiming to: (1) increase vegetable provision at mealtimes, (2) deliver a vegetable-focused sensory curriculum and (3) use supportive mealtime practices encouraging children’s tasting of vegetables. The optimisation phase (N=32 centres) will use a 12-week, eight-condition factorial experiment to test main and synergistic effects of the initiatives. The optimum combination of initiatives producing the largest increase in vegetable intake will be identified. The evaluation phase (N=20 centres) will test the effectiveness of the optimised package using a 12-week waitlist randomised controlled trial. Primary outcomes are children’s vegetable intake and food group intake at long day care. Secondary outcomes are menu guideline compliance, cook and educator knowledge and skills, and reach. Process evaluation will include fidelity, acceptability, barriers and facilitators, and compatibility with practice. Repeated measures ANOVA with interaction effects (optimisation phase) and linear mixed modelling (evaluation phase) will test effects of the initiatives on vegetable intake.Ethics and disseminationThis study has received ethics approval from the Flinders University Research Ethics Committee (Project No: 1873) for the optimisation phase. Approval for the evaluation phase will be obtained following completion of optimisation phase. Findings will be disseminated to stakeholders, including long day care centres and childcare organisations; and to researchers via peer-reviewed journals and conferences.Trial registration numbersACTRN12620001301954, ACTRN12620001323910p.

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