Conceções dos educadores portugueses sobre a linguagem escrita : um estudo de caso

O presente artigo pretende dar conta dos resultados de uma investigação realizada junto de um grupo de 18 educadoras de infância a trabalhar em escolas da rede pública da Ilha Terceira, Açores, Portugal, cujo objetivo foi o de compreender a sua perspetiva acerca da abordagem à linguagem escrita no âmbito da educação de infância. Foram avaliados aspetos como a posição pedagógica e metodológica que as educadoras afirmam adotar na sua intervenção pedagógica e os processos de aprendizagem que afirmam privilegiar como promotores da literacia nas suas salas. A entrevista realizada durante o segundo trimestre do ano escolar permitiu concluir que a forma de pensar destas educadoras, acerca do desenvolvimento da linguagem escrita, caracteriza-se, basicamente, pelo distanciamento relativamente a uma perspetiva emergente da literacia, centrada nas crianças, pela atribuição de uma acentuada importância às atividades e estratégias de intervenção direta e pelo défice de conhecimentos sobre a forma como se desenvolvem os processos de leitura e escrita em crianças pré-escolares.

Infection and childhood leukemia: review of evidence

OBJECTIVE : To analyze studies that evaluated the role of infections as well as indirect measures of exposure to infection in the risk of childhood leukemia, particularly acute lymphoblastic leukemia. METHODS : A search in Medline, Lilacs, and SciELO scientific publication databases initially using the descriptors “childhood leukemia” and “infection” and later searching for the words “childhood leukemia” and “maternal infection or disease” or “breastfeeding” or “daycare attendance” or “vaccination” resulted in 62 publications that met the following inclusion criteria: subject aged ≤ 15 years; specific analysis of cases diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia or total leukemia; exposure assessment of mothers’ or infants’ to infections (or proxy of infection), and risk of leukemia. RESULTS : Overall, 23 studies that assessed infections in children support the hypothesis that occurrence of infection during early childhood reduces the risk of leukemia, but there are disagreements within and between studies. The evaluation of exposure to infection by indirect measures showed evidence of reduced risk of leukemia associated mainly with daycare attendance. More than 50.0% of the 16 studies that assessed maternal exposure to infection observed increased risk of leukemia associated with episodes of influenza, pneumonia, chickenpox, herpes zoster, lower genital tract infection, skin disease, sexually transmitted diseases, Epstein-Barr virus, and Helicobacter pylori . CONCLUSIONS : Although no specific infectious agent has been identified, scientific evidence suggests that exposure to infections has some effect on childhood leukemia etiology.

Effect of the exposure to maternal smoking during pregnancy and childhood on the body mass index until adolescence

OBJECTIVE Investigate the effect of exposure to smoking during pregnancy and early childhood on changes in the body mass index (BMI) from birth to adolescence.METHODS A population-based cohort of children (0-5 years old) from Cuiabá, Midwest Brazil, was assessed in 1999-2000 (n = 2,405). Between 2009 and 2011, the cohort was re-evaluated. Information about birth weight was obtained from medical records, and exposure to smoking during pregnancy and childhood was assessed at the first interview. Linear mixed effects models were used to estimate the association between exposure to maternal smoking during pregnancy and preschool age, and the body mass index of children at birth, childhood and adolescence.RESULTS Only 11.3% of the mothers reported smoking during pregnancy, but most of them (78.2%) also smoked during early childhood. Among mothers who smoked only during pregnancy (n = 59), 97.7% had smoked only in the first trimester. The changes in body mass index at birth and in childhood were similar for children exposed and those not exposed to maternal smoking. However, from childhood to adolescence the rate of change in the body mass index was higher among those exposed only during pregnancy than among those who were not exposed.CONCLUSIONS Exposure to smoking only during pregnancy, especially in the first trimester, seems to affect changes in the body mass index until adolescence, supporting guidelines that recommend women of childbearing age to stop smoking.

Quando ler se torna um prazer: contributo da promoção da leitura literária na infância

Relatório de estágio de mestrado em Educação Pré-Escolar e Ensino do 1º Ciclo do Ensino Básico

Avaliação da comunicação expressiva em crianças dos 6 aos 41 meses de idade na região norte de Portugal: um estudo exploratório com o Early Communication Indicator

Dissertação de mestrado em Educação Especial (área de especialização em Intervenção Precoce)

Carie du biberon: un caillou dans la chaussure de la santé [The impact of childhood caries].

The early childhood caries affect primary dentition before the eruption of the permanent teeth. It is set to extended use of a bottle containing fermentable carbohydrates. The early childhood caries is not only a dental disease: it is a social, cultural and behavioral condition that reflects the practices and beliefs around the child. Swiss data indicate that in aged 2 children, one of for could be affected by this devastating oral disease, mainly in vulnerable populations. The primary care physician has an important role in the screening of preschool children, in determining the risk level of the child for early childhood caries. Physicians can advise families, especially pregnant women, about preventive measures and behavior, leading to a dramatic drop of early childhood caries prevalence.

Childhood epilepsy with neuropsychological regression and continuous spike waves during sleep: epilepsy surgery in a young adult.

We describe the case of a man with a history of complex partial seizures and severe language, cognitive and behavioural regression during early childhood (3.5 years), who underwent epilepsy surgery at the age of 25 years. His early epilepsy had clinical and electroencephalogram features of the syndromes of epilepsy with continuous spike waves during sleep and acquired epileptic aphasia (Landau-Kleffner syndrome), which we considered initially to be of idiopathic origin. Seizures recurred at 19 years and presurgical investigations at 25 years showed a lateral frontal epileptic focus with spread to Broca's area and the frontal orbital regions. Histopathology revealed a focal cortical dysplasia, not visible on magnetic resonance imaging. The prolonged but reversible early regression and the residual neuropsychological disorders during adulthood were probably the result of an active left frontal epilepsy, which interfered with language and behaviour during development. Our findings raise the question of the role of focal cortical dysplasia as an aetiology in the syndromes of epilepsy with continuous spike waves during sleep and acquired epileptic aphasia.

Els codis QR: una eina per millorar l'hàbit lector dels alumnes

Les pràctiques educatives que es basen en una metodologia on s’integren les noves Tecnologies de la Informació i la Comunicació (TIC) són cada cop més influents en l’àmbit educatiu, ja que, ens acosten a la realitat de l’època en què vivim, la societat de la informació i l’alfabetització digital. Així, en aquest estudi s’investiga la motivació i l’adquisició de l’hàbit lector a través dels codis QR en un grup d’infants d’edats compreses entre cinc i sis anys d’Educació Infantil. A partir dels instruments de recollida de dades, com ara, l’entrevista, l’observació, els qüestionaris i la pròpia intervenció educativa, podem saber que la motivació de llegir contes i d’utilitzar les noves tecnologies augmenta en l’actitud dels infants. Pel que fa a l’aprenentatge i adquisició de l’hàbit lector, arribem a la conclusió que és un procés llarg i, segons l’entorn que té l’infant, hi influeix de manera positiva o negativa.

Implications of infectious diseases and the adrenal hypothesis for the etiology of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Acute leukemia is the most frequent cancer in children. Recently, a new hypothesis was proposed for the pathogenesis of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). The so-called "adrenal hypothesis" emphasized the role of endogenous cortisol in the etiology of B-cell precursor ALL. The incidence peak of ALL in children between 3 to 5 years of age has been well documented and is consistent with this view. The adrenal hypothesis proposes that the risk of childhood B-cell precursor ALL is reduced when early childhood infections induce qualitative and quantitative changes in the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis. It suggests that the increased plasma cortisol levels would be sufficient to eliminate all clonal leukemic cells originating during fetal life. Because Brazil is a continental and tropical country, the exposure to infections is diversified with endemic viral and regionally non-viral infections, with some characteristics that support the recent adrenal hypothesis. Here we discuss this new hypothesis in terms of data from epidemiological studies and the possible implications of the diversity of infections occurring in Brazilian children.

Averting the legacy of kidney disease - focus on childhood

World Kidney Day 2016 focuses on kidney disease in childhood and the antecedents of adult kidney disease that can begin in earliest childhood. Chronic kidney disease (CKD) in childhood differs from that in adults, in that the largest diagnostic group among children includes congenital anomalies and inherited disorders, with glomerulopathies and kidney disease as a consequence of diabetes being relatively uncommon. In addition, many children with acute kidney injury will ultimately develop sequelae that may lead to hypertension and CKD in later childhood or in adult life. Children born early or who are small-for-date newborns have relatively increased risk for the development of CKD later in life. Persons with a high-risk birth and early childhood history should be watched closely in order to help detect early signs of kidney disease in time to provide effective prevention or treatment. Successful therapy is feasible for advanced CKD in childhood; there is evidence that children fare better than adults, if they receive kidney replacement therapy including dialysis and transplantation, although only a minority of children may require this ultimate intervention. Because there are disparities in access to care, effort is needed so that children with kidney disease, wherever they live, may be treated effectively, irrespective of their geographic or economic circumstances. Our hope is that the World Kidney Day will inform the general public, policy makers and caregivers about the needs and possibilities surrounding kidney disease in childhood.

Closing the summer learning gap for vulnerable junior kindergarten students

Under current academic calendars across North America, summer vacation creates a significant gap in the learning cycle. I t has been argued that this gap actually decreases student achievement levels over the course of the summer. In a synthesis of 39 studies Cooper, Nye, Charlton, Lindsay, & Greathouse (1996) indicated that summer learning loss equaled at least one month of instruction as measured by grade level equivalents on standardized test scores whereby children's test scores were at least one month lower when they returned to school in the fall than scores were when students left in the summer. Specifically, Cooper et aI., (1996) found that the summer learning loss phenomena may be particularly troublesome for less advantaged children including those with speech and language delays, children at-risk for reading disabilities, children from lower socio-economic backgrounds, and children learning English as a second language. In general, research illustrated clearly that the summer learning gap can be particularly problematic for vulnerable children and furthermore, that literacy skills may be the area of achievement that is most affected. A foundational pillar to this research project is including primary caregivers as authentic partners in a summer literacy program designed to support their children's literacy needs. This pillar led the research team to use the Learning Begins at Home: A Research-Based Family Literacy Program Curriculum designed by Antoinette Doyle, Kathleen Hipfner-Boucher, and Janette Pelletier from the Ontario Institute for the Studies of Education. The LBH program is designed to be flexibly adapted to suit the needs of each individual participating family. As indicated by Timmons (2008) literacy interventions are most powerful when they include authentic family involvement. Based on this research, a requirement for participating in the summer literacy program was involvement of a child and one of their primary caregivers. The participating caregiver was integrally involved in the program, participating in workshop activities prior to and following hands-on literacy work with their child. By including primary caregivers as authentic partners, the research team encouraged a paradigmatic shift in the family whereby literacy activities become routine within their household. 5 Participants in this study were 14 children from junior kindergarten classrooms within the Niagara Catholic District School Board. As children were referred to the program, they were assessed by a trained emergent literacy specialist (from Speech Services Niagara) to identify whether they met the eligibility requirements for participation in the summer program. To be eligible to participate, children demonstrated significant literacy needs (i.e. below 25%ile on the Test of Preschool Early Literacy described below). Children with low incidence disabilities (i.e. profound sensory impairments, severe intellectual impairments, developmental disabilities, etc) were excluded as participants. The research team used a standard pre- and posttest design whereby all participating children were assessed with the Test of Preschool Early Literacy (Lonigan et aI., 2007), and a standard measure of letter names and sounds. Pretests were administered two weeks prior to the commencement of the program and the first set of posttests was administered immediately following the program. A second set of posttests was administered in December 2009 to measure the sustainability of the program. As a result of the program, all children scored statistically significantly higher on their literacy scores at the post-program assessment point immediately following the program and also at the Dec-post-program assessment point. These results in general indicated that the summer family literacy program made an immediate impact on the emergent literacy skills of participating children. All participating children demonstrated significant increases in print and phonological awareness as well as their letter sound understanding.

Early Development of Auditory-Verbal and Visual-Spatial Short-Term Memory: Age and Sex Effects

Memory is a multi-component cognitive ability to retain and retrieve information presented in different modalities. Research on memory development has shown that the memory capacity and the processes improve gradually from early childhood to adolescence. Findings related to the sex-differences in memory abilities in early childhood have been inconsistent. Although previous research has demonstrated the effects of the modality of stimulus presentation (auditory versus verbal) and the type of material to be remembered (visual/spatial versus auditory/verbal) on the memory processes and memory organization, the recent research with children is rather limited. The present study is a secondary analysis of data, originally collected from 530 typically developing Turkish children and adolescents. The purpose of the present study was to examine the age-related developments and sex differences in auditory-verbal and visual-spatial short-term memory (STM) in 177 typically developing male and female children, 5 to 8 years of age. Dot-Locations and Word-Lists from the Children's Memory Scale were used to measure visual-spatial and auditory-verbal STM performances, respectively. The findings of the present study suggest age-related differences in both visual-spatial and auditory-verbal STM. Sex-differences were observed only in one visual-spatial STM subtest performance. Modality comparisons revealed age- and task-related differences between auditory-verbal and visual-spatial STM performances. There were no sex-related effects in terms of modality specific performances. Overall, the results of this study provide evidence of STM development in early childhood, and these effects were mostly independent of sex and the modality of the task.

Early Education Foundation: Portuguese Canadian Mothers' Preferences and Choices

The purpose of this study was to explore Portuguese-Canadian mothers' preferences and choices regarding their children's early care and education. The findings revealed that Portuguese-Canadian mothers value early care and education and are conscious of their role in their children's lives. Regardless of the type of care setting, the participants' responses revealed that the caregiver's care, emotion, and responsiveness are most important. More than developing "savvy" children, we need to nourish "happy" children. The study's participants include 9 Portuguese Canadian mothers without any assumption of a hyphenated identity and who have moved away from their immigrant parents' script. They embraced the vision of their children's success and cultivated their vast potential. Their responses revealed that the family, culture, and traditions are important factors in their child's academic and social growth and played a critical role in establishing the foundations for learning. The research study findings showed that the field of early care and education is undergoing a paradigm shift and that other practices, ideologies, and theories are surfacing. This study aimed to help develop a new grounded theory that contributes to a better understanding of this arena. The present findings reveal important issues for further discussion and lay a theoretical and empirical framework for future research in early education and care.

L’évolution des pratiques de lecture à haute voix d’enseignantes expertes et leur influence sur le développement de l’habileté des élèves du préscolaire à faire des inférences

La présente recherche collaborative vise à étudier les pratiques de lecture à haute voix d’enseignantes expertes et leur influence sur le développement de l’habileté des élèves du préscolaire à faire des inférences. Plus précisément, nous décrivons les interventions, lors des lectures à haute voix, de quatre enseignantes expertes que nous avons formées pour travailler la compréhension inférentielle et les comparons à celles de deux enseignantes expertes non formées (objectif 1). Puis, nous examinons l’influence de leurs pratiques de lecture à haute voix sur le développement de l’habileté à faire des inférences de leurs élèves (n=92) (objectif 2). Enfin, nous nous intéressons, à titre exploratoire, au potentiel de la recherche collaborative comme voie de développement professionnel des enseignants (objectif 3). Afin d’atteindre nos objectifs, nous avons observé les enseignantes à quatre reprises, lors de lectures d’albums de littérature de jeunesse. Les données obtenues à partir de ces pratiques observées ont été complétées par celles issues des pratiques déclarées des enseignantes pour toute la durée de la recherche (neuf semaines). De plus, nous avons évalué l’habileté à réaliser des inférences des élèves de ces six enseignantes à deux reprises, au début et à la fin de la recherche. Finalement, les enseignantes ont rempli deux questionnaires écrits sur l’impact de cette recherche sur leurs pratiques, l’un à la fin de la recherche et l’autre deux ans après celle-ci. Nos résultats indiquent que si toutes les enseignantes travaillaient les inférences, il existe cependant des différences notables dans leur façon de mener ce travail. Trois des enseignantes formées (enseignantes 1, 2 et 3) ont majoritairement privilégié la co-élaboration du sens des épisodes implicites et se sont montrées très efficaces pour soutenir leurs élèves dans ce travail de construction du sens. L’autre enseignante formée (enseignante 4), en raison d’une appropriation difficile du contenu de la formation, n’est pas parvenue à offrir à ses élèves un étayage adéquat, malgré ses nombreuses tentatives pour les amener à faire des inférences. Les enseignantes non formées (enseignantes 5 et 6) ont, quant à elles, misé plus fréquemment sur la transmission du sens des épisodes implicites et ont également soutenu moins efficacement leurs élèves dans l’élaboration du sens. Ces différences dans la façon de travailler les inférences se sont répercutées sur la progression des élèves entre le début et la fin de la recherche. Ceux des enseignantes 1, 2 et 3 obtiennent des résultats significativement supérieurs à ceux des trois autres enseignantes. Ainsi, il ne suffit pas de travailler les inférences lors des lectures à haute voix pour assurer la progression des élèves. D’autres facteurs revêtent aussi une grande importance : le choix d’oeuvres de qualité, l’engagement des élèves dans les discussions pour co-élaborer le sens et l’étayage adéquat de l’enseignant. Enfin, il semblerait que l’activité réflexive suscitée lors d’une participation à une recherche collaborative et le soutien offert par l’étudiante-chercheuse aient donné aux enseignantes la possibilité d’apporter des changements durables dans leurs pratiques. En ce sens, la recherche collaborative paraît être une voie prometteuse pour contribuer au développement professionnel des enseignants.

Le développement visuel et cognitif chez les enfants nés à terme ou prématurément

Au cours des 25 dernières années, les recherches sur le développement visuel chez l’humain à l’aide de l’électrophysiologie cérébrale et des potentiels évoqués visuels (PEV) ont permis d’explorer plusieurs fonctions associées au cortex visuel. Néanmoins, le développement de certaines d’entre elles (p. ex. segmentation des textures), tout comme les effets de la prématurité sur celles-ci, sont des aspects qui nécessitent d’être davantage étudiés. Par ailleurs, compte tenu de l’importance de la vision dans le développement de certaines fonctions cognitives (p. ex. lecture, visuomotricité), de plus en plus de recherches s’intéressent aux relations entre la vision et la cognition. Les objectifs généraux de la présente thèse étaient d’étudier le développement visuel chez les enfants nés à terme et nés prématurément à l’aide de l’électrophysiologie, puis de documenter les impacts de la prématurité sur le développement visuel et cognitif. Deux études ont été réalisées. La première visait à examiner, chez des enfants nés prématurément, le développement des voies visuelles primaires durant la première année de vie et en début de scolarisation, ainsi qu’à documenter leur profil cognitif et comportemental. À l’aide d’un devis semi-longitudinal, dix enfants nés prématurément ont été évalués à l’âge de six mois (âge corrigé) et à 7-8 ans en utilisant des PEV, et des épreuves cognitives et comportementales à l’âge scolaire. Leurs résultats ont été comparés à ceux de 10 enfants nés à terme appariés pour l’âge. À six mois, aucune différence de latence ou d’amplitude des ondes N1 et P1 n’a été trouvée entre les groupes. À l’âge scolaire, les enfants nés prématurément montraient, comparativement aux enfants nés à terme, une plus grande amplitude de N1 dans la condition P-préférentielle et dans celle co-stimulant les voies M et P, et de P1 (tendance) dans la condition M-préférentielle. Aucune différence n’a été trouvée entre les groupes aux mesures cognitives et comportementales. Ces résultats suggèrent qu’une naissance prématurée exerce un impact sur le développement des voies visuelles centrales. L’objectif de la seconde étude était de documenter le développement des processus de segmentation visuelle des textures durant la petite enfance chez des enfants nés à terme et nés prématurément à l’aide des PEV et d’un devis transversal. Quarante-cinq enfants nés à terme et 43 enfants nés prématurément ont été évalués à 12, 24 ou 36 mois (âge corrigé pour les prématurés à 12 et 24 mois). Les résultats indiquaient une diminution significative de la latence de la composante N2 entre 12 et 36 mois en réponse à l’orientation, à la texture et à la segmentation des textures, ainsi qu’une diminution significative d’amplitude pour l’orientation entre 12 et 24 mois, et pour la texture entre 12 et 24 mois, et 12 et 36 mois. Les comparaisons entre les enfants nés à terme et ceux nés prématurément démontraient une amplitude de N2 réduite chez ces derniers à 12 mois pour l’orientation et la texture. Bien que ces différences ne fussent plus apparentes à 24 mois, nos résultats semblent refléter un délai de maturation des processus visuel de bas et de plus haut niveau chez les enfants nés prématurément, du moins, pendant la petite enfance. En conclusion, nos résultats indiquent que la prématurité, même sans atteinte neurologique importante, altère le développement des fonctions visuelles à certaines périodes du développement et mettent en évidence l’importance d’en investiguer davantage les impacts (p. ex. cognitifs, comportementaux, scolaires) à moyen et long-terme.