Loading...
8 results
Search Results
Now showing 1 - 8 of 8
- Webfolio: secure digital portfolio for early childhood educationPublication . Silva, Willian de Oliveira; Beuren, Arlete Teresinha; Mesquita, Cristina; Lopes, Rui PedroIn early childhood education, there are several techniques to understand children’s development in kindergarten. One of these techniques is based on Portfolios that, in early childhood education, allows the understanding of the progress of the child, allowing a shared reflection with the child, teachers, and the child’s parents towards the understanding on the child’s learning process. The work described in this paper has as its main objective the development of a web application, which allows support for the construction of a platform for the storage and sharing of digital portfolios for early childhood education. In addition, it is intended that an access control of users be made so that it is possible to manage access to certain portfolios or sub-parts of them. The system has features such as: creating portfolios, creating notes, and managing user permissions. After the application was implemented, usability tests were carried out, with the participation of teachers. Through the techniques and methodologies used, it was possible to create a web tool to aid in the creation of portfolios for early childhood education, allowing the registering of audio, video, or image files. In addition, the system allows the sharing of portfolios with different users of the system who, in turn, can perform actions in the portfolio according to their role in the system.
- The meaning of experiential learning in early childhood education: kindergarten teacher’s conceptionsPublication . Mesquita, CristinaThe study presented in this article is part of a broader investigation, which took place from 2007 to 2011, and whose research focus was the praxiological transformation of a kindergarten institution, involving six educators and their groups of 25 children. The transformation carried out over the course of four years has led to the development of an experiential approach that values the action and agency of the child. It used a qualitative methodological approach, focusing on the conceptions of the educators about the type of activities and projects that were developed at the final moment of the investigation. The interviews were semi-structured, based on a script, and were used to assess the conceptions and practices developed at the institution. The data was collected from the interviews and from the field notes and subject to a heuristic analysis to discover the reality underlying the productions collected. From this study emerges that experiential based learning helps kindergarten teacher to reconstruct the image they had about the children. They started to see a competent child, with his choices, self-initiative, action-planning, and how they communicate them, develop them and reflect on their options, gathering the contribution of peers and adults.
- A multinational investigation of quality in preschoolsPublication . Massari, Gianina-Ana; Alat, Zeynep; Karabay, Sakire; Miron, Florentina-Manuela; Mesquita, Cristina; Vasques, Catarina; Zirina, Tija; Taurina, AgritaLong-term benefits of early childhood education and care on children’s cognitive and social-emotional development, adjustment to school and academic achievements, future careers, and adjustment in adult life, especially for those from disadvantaged communities, have been well documented by research. However, desired outcomes of early education would only come into effect provided that educational programs meet the criteria of quality. Although there are many dimensions of quality education and care, three appear to be overarching: quality of physical environments and educational activities, affordability, and accessibility. The aim of this multinational research is to explore the quality of preschool and kindergarten programs. For this purpose, Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale-Revised, which looks into seven dimensions including space and furnishings, personal care routines, language-reasoning, activities, interactions, program structure, and parents and staff, was used to collect data in pre-k programs of Romania, Latvia, Portugal, and Turkey. Analysis of the data is made in a way to make both national and international comparisons. Based on the findings, the teacher training stage of the project will be structured.
- Children's rights during the lockdown: a study from the experiences of kindergarten teachersPublication . Mesquita, Cristina; Ribeiro, Cristiana; Azevedo, MariaThe pandemic situation caused by SARS-CoV-2 led to the closure of all educational institutions and the implementation of remote learning. In Portugal, due to constant lockdowns and contact restrictions, children were confined for a long period, putting their rights at risk. This is an empirical study that adopts a qualitative approach. It was conducted with 502 early childhood educators working in different regions of mainland Portugal and the islands (Azores and Madeira). Its purpose is to address the research question: "In what ways were children's rights compromised during the lockdown period due to SARS- CoV-2?" An online questionnaire was used for data collection, and descriptive statistics and content analysis were employed, supported by MAXQDA software. The data reveal a duality of opinions. Some educators believe that children's rights were ensured, while others argue the opposite, emphasizing that the rights of provision were most compromised. Educators demonstrated a lack of awareness regarding the rights of participation and prevention.
- Participatory Contexts: The Voice of The Child and Pedagogical IntentionalityPublication . Mesquita, CristinaThis article aims to reflect on the importance of participatory contexts in the education of children. Firstly, the origin and the grounds of participatory peda- gogies are discussed, evidencing the contributions that emerged from the con- structivist and social constructivist theories and the contextual perspectives, in the ecological or sociocultural scope. These pedagogies are also transmit- ted by approaches that are concerned with the rights of children, considering their agencyin the learning process. Secondly, supported by some curricular approaches such as the HighScope model and Pedagogy-in-Participation, the characteristics of these contexts, in order to respect children and professionals, thus enhancing their personal and social development, will be discussed. The idea of participation as a right, which is assumed in this reflection, recognizes as necessary the intentionality of a praxis that values not only the child's agency, but also that of the adults who work with her, recognizing the importance of (i) building interactive environments, where dialogue, questioning, negotiati- on and support are the bases of adult-child interactions; and (ii) collaborative environments, which involve parents, families and the community in the deve- lopment of a democratic, inclusive and respectful of diversity education.
- Gender, diversity and ethnicity: rethinking the early education learning environmentPublication . Ribeiro, Cristiana; Azevedo, Maria; Mesquita, Cristina; Altat, ZeinepEthnic diversity has increased over time. A stimulating factor was the founding of the European Union, which facilitated the movement between the various countries belonging to it. With a drastic increase in migration in recent years, due to factors such as political conflicts, talk of diversity, multiculturalism and integration policies becomes increasingly important. This paper discusses the impact that issues around socio-economic diversity, gender and ethnicity have on children in a socio-educational context. It reflects on the importance of creating inclusive educational environments in their different aspects and with different actors, children, professionals, and families. It assumes a qualitative methodology, which intends to access the authors' conceptions through heuristic and hermeneutic processes. The research process followed the following steps: (i) research and systematization of literature, collected from databases; (ii) organization of the papers by dimension; (iii) collection of relevant ideas about educational environments that promote respect, diversity, multiculturalism, and gender inclusion; and (iv) integration of the different conceptions. Through the literature, practical examples of how the space should be organized are revealed, highlighting for example materials to be included, the role of educators and teachers, and the organization of time. The finding shows the importance of reconsidering the educational environment, family support and the multidisciplinary approaches to gender, ethnicity, and people on poverty inclusion.
- Rights-based pedagogy and early childhood education practicesPublication . Ribeiro, Cristiana; Mesquita, Cristina; Beltrán, JuanA rights-based pedagogy is based on the principles of human rights. In education, specifically in childhood education, a pedagogy that guarantees the rights of the child must be based on the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the other legal issues. A rights-based approach is based on seven fundamental principles: dignity; interdependence and indivisibility; best interests; participation; non-discrimination; transparency and accountability; life, survival, and development. This research focuses on the participation of children in an educational context, from an interpersonal perspective and as a transformative process. It aims to analyze the state of the art on the educator’s role in promoting children's participation. This is a systematic literature review supported in a hermeneutic analysis to proceed with its categorization and interpretation. The investigative process followed the following steps: (i) search databases by keywords; (ii) selection of relevant articles; (iii) reading the texts, organizing them in a diachronic way; (iv) elaboration of categories of analysis; (v) textual elaboration, performing the intersection between pedagogy based on rights and participation. The study shows that the right of participation of children is still far from being achieved, although children's rights are present in national and international official documents for education. Their children's voice is not always heard and their influence on learning processes is barely visible. The study concludes that children's participation in an educational context is only guaranteed when there are practices based on rights-based pedagogies.
- High scope approach: learning through actionPublication . Mesquita, CristinaThis chapter analyzes the HighScope curriculum as a preschool pedagogical approach that offers kindergarten teachers a set of ideas and practices supported by the children development, as they value the action of their learning process (Hohmann & Weikart, 2007).