Need for systematic synthetic phonics teaching within the early reading curriculum

Both the New Zealand Ministry of Education's Literacy Experts Group and the Australian National Inquiry into the Teaching of Literacy have recently acknowledged the centrality of systematic instruction in synthetic phonics to early reading instruction, but this conclusion remains contentious in some circles. This paper briefly summarises empirical research in basic psychology and evidence-based evaluation studies supporting the inclusion of systematic synthetic phonics instruction within the early reading curriculum, allowing practising psychologists to develop an informed opinion on this issue.

I-Spi: innovative shared practical ideas: a support guide for literacy and numeracy in the early years of schooling, for home tutor/supervisors in distance education

Innovative Shared Practical Ideas (I-Spi) is a guide to help you and your children learn together. It is designed to affirm, support and strengthen your role as home tutor/supervisors in your daily learning sessions with your children. In this guide particular emphasis is given to the value of talk, formal and informal early literacy and numeracy practices (including ideas from distance school lessons, from home tutor/supervisors, research, and beyond), assessment of these practices together with informal assessment ideas for gauging your children’s literacy and numeracy progress, and stepping in and building on strategies

AS PARCERIAS PÚBLICO-PRIVADAS NA EDUCAÇÃO INFANTIL: UM ESTUDO SOBRE A LAICIDADE DO ESTADO E A RELIGIOSIDADE DE INSTITUIÇÕES CONVENIADAS

Uma das políticas mais utilizadas pelo poder publico municipal para garantir o atendimento educacional às crianças de 0 a 3 anos e a ampliação do número de vagas em creches, tem sido a adoção de parcerias por meio de convênios com instituições privadas. Muitas questões emergem desta política pública como, por exemplo, a relação entre a laicidade do Estado e a religiosidade de grande parte destas instituições. Este estudo surgiu da necessidade de se dar maior transparência e ampliar o debate sobre os convênios entre o poder público municipal e entidades assistenciais, principalmente, no que tange o embate entre o público e o privado, entre o laico e o religioso. Este trabalho teve como objetivo investigar as parcerias público-privadas e os possíveis impactos sobre a laicidade do Estado e o direito à Educação. O problema de pesquisa posto foi o que o Parecer CME 12/2011 revela sobre a laicidade do Estado e a religiosidade das instituições conveniadas no atendimento a educação infantil do município de São Bernardo do Campo? Havia a hipótese de que a representação de uma entidade conveniada ao Conselho Municipal de Educação sobre educação espiritual expressasse uma possível projeção de ensino religioso na educação infantil pública. A discussão teórica envolveu autores como FISCHMANN (2009), ARELARO (2008), SARMENTO (2006), ADRIÂO (2009), OLIVEIRA (2005) e ideias que tratavam das deformações dos interesses públicos e privados, da oferta de vagas no seguimento de creche, do ensino religioso em escola pública. A metodologia empregada foi analise bibliográfica e documental. A literatura aponta uma histórica subordinação da educação infantil pública à assistência social privada e as disputas pela implantação do ensino religioso na educação básica pública. Os documentos analisados revelaram que é possível haver certo grau de comprometimento da laicidade do Estado quando se formaliza parcerias com entidades assistenciais de origem religiosa, principalmente, quando se avalia as deficiências e tendências de gestão e supervisão dos convênios realizados pelo poder público. Acredita-se que este estudo abre portas para novas investigações sobre políticas e práticas que enfrentam ou estimulam o ensino religioso em escolas públicas e creches conveniadas.

A INSERÇÃO DE BEBÊS EM CRECHES: UM OLHAR PARA AS POLÍTICAS PÚBLICAS

O presente trabalho propõe um estudo sobre a inserção de bebês em creches públicas no município de São Paulo. De acordo com Rosemberg (2010), a infância constitui fase importantíssima na formação da criança e embora a duração da primeira infância seja de curta duração, considerando-se a expectativa de vida de 70 anos, ela constitui a vida inteira dos bebês e das crianças pequenas. Nos dias atuais os bebês ingressam na creche a partir dos quatro meses de idade e lá permanecem por até dez horas. Nesse sentido, esta pesquisa buscou compreender as políticas públicas para esse atendimento, o qual, com a Constituição de 1988, foi considerado a primeira etapa da Educação Básica compondo a Educação Infantil brasileira, de oferta obrigatória e direito das crianças, garantindo, em complementação à família, o desenvolvimento integral da criança pequena. Desse contexto, alguns questionamentos foram trazidos para a discussão: quais as propostas de atendimento de bebês na creche e como funcionam as instituições que os recebem? Qual o olhar das políticas públicas para esse segmento de educação? A Constituição garante o ingresso dos bebês na creche, mas e seu desenvolvimento integral, está garantido? Recentemente atrelada à esfera educacional, a creche tem o desafio de compreender seu papel com essas crianças, desvinculando-se de práticas apenas assistencialistas e higienistas, e de construir novas concepções acerca desse atendimento. Tais concepções ficam explícitas não nas politicas públicas, mas efetivam-se na prática da creche, nas atividades desenvolvidas, nos espaços e processos pedagógicos pensados para receber o bebê. Em face do exposto, esta pesquisa possibilitou inferir que, apesar dos avanços acerca do atendimento educacional ofertado a primeira infância, falta ainda clareza por parte da sociedade em geral, sobre a importância de uma educação de qualidade para as crianças pequenas e seu impacto na formação humana. Essa lacuna merece o olhar das políticas públicas, uma vez que demanda ações nas diversas instâncias da creche, desde a formação e a valorização do professor de Educação Infantil, até a estrutura física e a escassez das vagas. Os poucos estudos que discutem tais políticas para a educação de bebês nas creches, justificam a realização deste trabalho.

Milk feeding, solid feeding, and obesity risk:a review of the relationships between early life feeding practices and later adiposity

Childhood obesity is a major health issue with associated ill-health consequences during childhood and into later adolescence and adulthood. Given that eating behaviors are formed during early childhood, it is important to evaluate the relationships between early life feeding practices and later child adiposity. This review describes and evaluates recent literature exploring associations between child weight and the mode of milk feeding, the age of introducing solid foods and caregivers’ solid feeding practices. There are many inconsistencies in the literature linking early life feeding to later obesity risk and discrepancies may be related to inconsistent definitions, or a lack of control for confounding variables. This review summarizes the literature in this area and identifies the need for large scale longitudinal studies to effectively explore how early life feeding experiences may interact with each other and with nutritional provision during later childhood to predict obesity risk.

An investigation of parents' and children's beliefs of early literacy acquisition from a cross -cultural perspective

It has been reported that the cultural-historical experiences of ethnic group members can play a role in the literacy beliefs of those members. Socioeconomic conditions can also influence the belief system of the groups' constituents. This study investigated parents' and children's beliefs pertaining to early literacy acquisition as related to the ethnicity and socioeconomic status (SES) of the participants. The objectives were to determine (a) the differential patterns regarding emergent literacy and traditional skills approaches as they interact with ethnicity and SES and (b) the correspondence between parents and children's beliefs about literacy acquisition. ^ The study was conducted with 152 parents (38 low-income Hispanic, 38 middle-income Hispanic, 38 low-income African-American, and 38 middle-income African-American) and 36 of their 3-, 4-, or 5-year-old children (18 male and 18 female). ^ The parents were asked to check those items with which they agreed on a survey that consisted of an equal number of items from the traditional skills-based and emergent literacy orientations. These responses were used to determine the differences and interaction by ethnicity and SES. The children responded to open-ended questions related to the instruction of reading and writing skills. The parents' responses and children's answers were compared to ascertain the matching parent-child dyads by ethnicity and SES. ^ An item analysis was conducted to strengthen the internal reliability consistency coefficient of the traditional skills-based and emergent literacy scales as measured by the Cronbach Alpha. ^ A two-way multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) revealed a significant difference in traditional skill-based beliefs for the low-income African-American and Hispanic parents. There were no significant findings for the parents' traditional skill based or emergent literacy beliefs based on ethnicity, for the interaction between ethnicity and SES, or for the relationship between parents' and children's literacy beliefs by ethnicity and SES. ^ It can be concluded that low-income African-American and Hispanic parents believe in the traditional skills approach, indicating that these parents find it necessary for children to have sufficient school readiness skills prior to learning to read or write. In addition, the parent and child dyads had a strong tendency toward emergent literacy beliefs. ^

Effects of Family, Child, and Teacher Demographics on Prekindergarten Children's Access to and Use of Numeracy and Spatial Materials in the Early Education Setting

Florida’s Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten program (VPK) aims to ensure that all 4-year-olds are prepared to excel in K-12 mathematics. Early numeracy/spatial skills are predictive of success in K–12 mathematics. No research has examined whether VPK classrooms are equipped with the materials necessary to teach numeracy/spatial skill. The Pre-Kindergarten Numeracy and Spatial Environment Survey was created to examine the frequency of access to and use of numeracy/spatial materials in VPK classrooms. The 69-item survey was completed by the lead educator from a sample of 62 pre-kindergarten classrooms in Miami-Dade County. Regression analysis results suggest the location of the pre-kindergarten center, the sex distribution of the children in the classrooms or the number of years of experience that the educator has as a lead teacher along with the extra training courses undertaken by the teachers does not affect the access to or the use of, numeracy and spatial materials in the classrooms.

The Effects of Classroom Environmental Quality on the Early Literacy Outcomes of a Regionally Heterogeneous Population of Latino Children

The purpose of this study was to examine the relation between classroom environmental quality and early literacy outcomes amongst a sample of Latino children from various Latin-American countries. Participants included 116 preschoolers that attended various childcare centers in Southeast Florida. Participant’s literacy knowledge was assessed using the Test of Preschool Early Literacy. Classrooms were assessed on environmental quality using the Early Childhood Environmental Rating Scale-Revised. A regression analysis revealed that classroom environmental quality did not account for Latino children’s early literacy outcomes. However, a multiple regression analysis was significant (R2= .15, F(5, 115) = 3.86, p< .05) indicating that quality has a varying impact on children’s early literacy skills based on children’s region of origin. Findings suggest that high classroom environmental quality does not necessarily mean better literacy development for Latino children. Additionally, Latino children should not be viewed as a homogeneous group, particularly in relation to their development of literacy skills in English.

O Programa Nacional Biblioteca da Escola - PNBE: da gestão ao leitor na educação infantil de Natal-RN

This study aims to investigate the process of implementation of Programa Nacional Biblioteca da Escola, PNBE, and the reader's training on Childhood Education level in Natal. The promotion of literary reading is the opportunity of inclusion in a world that is connected to citizenship, to human rights and social justice, because the reading is the way which gives meaning to the life and, therefore, it is a right for everybody. The study is characterized as a qualitative research with evaluative approach. The methodological procedure that constitutes this corpus took place in three stages: the first one was about the analysis of laws and documents of national public policies for the reading promotion; questionnaires were applied by Managing Committee - Natal/RN to CMEIs and the available websites from MEC that provide distribution of the acquis; in the second stage, we adopted the semi-structured interview as a methodological procedure elaborated with open questions that focus on the program management and to the acquis of PNBE; and in the third step we visited the 21 centers of childhood education in Natal for interviewing and to do the exploratory observation in places of reading. The Informant actors in this research are: the advisors of SME - Natal and FNDE, managers and teachers in Municipal Childhood Education Centers who totalize 30 informants. This theoretical and methodological framework follows the studies of Amarilha (1993; 1994; 2002; 2006; 2010; 2012), Bardin (2001), Bogdan; Biklen (1994), Castro (2007; 2008; 2012), Demo (2000; 2006; 2008), Fischer (2006), Moreira; Caleffe (2008), Paiva (2008; 2012), Secchi (2010; 2012), Soares (2003; 2008) and Zilberman (2001; 2003; 2008). The analysis indicates that decentralization strategy which is adopted in public management model will transfer responsibilities and assumption of the PNBE, exempting the actors to planning actions ensuring the efficiency and efficacy implementation on reading policy to national and municipal levels. The qualified acquis that is distributed by MEC reaches every Childhood Education center and does not depend on teacher's desire or it action, only a few of them know about it and they do not have information about the PNBE, neither receive specific training in order to articulate it to the practice of reading with children from Childhood Education. The reading project implemented by private education system in Natal overlaps the PNBE, making it invisible. The reading places that are available for that schooling stage are summarized to the reading corners. In some CMEI, books remain stored in boxes or they are locked in the closet, out of use to the teachers and students. Thus, care for the acquisition, selecting acquis, and a preoccupation to the supply of the reading and books for this education level are lost into volumes of closed boxes, teachers are jettisoned to this process and children do not have any enchantment to the reading or books. In this context, this paper draws attention to how much we should still investigate in order to understanding the perspectives, stresses and challenges from public policies for the reading promotion in our country. We hope that the research will help to improve the management model of the PNBE, ensuring the reading democratization and therefore the reader's training in early Childhood Education.

O Programa Nacional Biblioteca da Escola - PNBE: da gestão ao leitor na educação infantil de Natal-RN

This study aims to investigate the process of implementation of Programa Nacional Biblioteca da Escola, PNBE, and the reader's training on Childhood Education level in Natal. The promotion of literary reading is the opportunity of inclusion in a world that is connected to citizenship, to human rights and social justice, because the reading is the way which gives meaning to the life and, therefore, it is a right for everybody. The study is characterized as a qualitative research with evaluative approach. The methodological procedure that constitutes this corpus took place in three stages: the first one was about the analysis of laws and documents of national public policies for the reading promotion; questionnaires were applied by Managing Committee - Natal/RN to CMEIs and the available websites from MEC that provide distribution of the acquis; in the second stage, we adopted the semi-structured interview as a methodological procedure elaborated with open questions that focus on the program management and to the acquis of PNBE; and in the third step we visited the 21 centers of childhood education in Natal for interviewing and to do the exploratory observation in places of reading. The Informant actors in this research are: the advisors of SME - Natal and FNDE, managers and teachers in Municipal Childhood Education Centers who totalize 30 informants. This theoretical and methodological framework follows the studies of Amarilha (1993; 1994; 2002; 2006; 2010; 2012), Bardin (2001), Bogdan; Biklen (1994), Castro (2007; 2008; 2012), Demo (2000; 2006; 2008), Fischer (2006), Moreira; Caleffe (2008), Paiva (2008; 2012), Secchi (2010; 2012), Soares (2003; 2008) and Zilberman (2001; 2003; 2008). The analysis indicates that decentralization strategy which is adopted in public management model will transfer responsibilities and assumption of the PNBE, exempting the actors to planning actions ensuring the efficiency and efficacy implementation on reading policy to national and municipal levels. The qualified acquis that is distributed by MEC reaches every Childhood Education center and does not depend on teacher's desire or it action, only a few of them know about it and they do not have information about the PNBE, neither receive specific training in order to articulate it to the practice of reading with children from Childhood Education. The reading project implemented by private education system in Natal overlaps the PNBE, making it invisible. The reading places that are available for that schooling stage are summarized to the reading corners. In some CMEI, books remain stored in boxes or they are locked in the closet, out of use to the teachers and students. Thus, care for the acquisition, selecting acquis, and a preoccupation to the supply of the reading and books for this education level are lost into volumes of closed boxes, teachers are jettisoned to this process and children do not have any enchantment to the reading or books. In this context, this paper draws attention to how much we should still investigate in order to understanding the perspectives, stresses and challenges from public policies for the reading promotion in our country. We hope that the research will help to improve the management model of the PNBE, ensuring the reading democratization and therefore the reader's training in early Childhood Education.

Iron status in early life and associations with developmental outcomes

Infants and young children are at particular risk of iron deficiency and its associated consequences for growth and development. The main objectives of this thesis were to quantify iron intakes, status and determinants of status in two year olds; explore determinants of neonatal iron stores; investigate associations between iron status at birth and two years with neurodevelopmental outcomes at two years and explore the influence of growth on iron status in early childhood, using data from the Cork BASELINE (Babies after SCOPE: Evaluating Longitudinal Impact using Neurological and Nutritional Endpoints) Birth Cohort Study (n=2137). Participants were followed prospectively with interviewer-led questionnaires and clinical assessments at day 2 and at 2, 6, 12 and 24 months. At two years, there was a low prevalence of iron deficiency and iron deficiency anaemia in this cohort, representing the largest study of iron status in toddlers in Europe, to date. The increased consumption of iron-fortified products and compliance with recommendations to limit unmodified cows’ milk intakes in toddlers has contributed to the observed improvements in status. Low serum ferritin concentrations at birth, which reflect neonatal iron stores, were shown to track through to two years of age; delivery by Caesarean section, being born small-for-gestational age and maternal obesity and smoking in pregnancy were all associated with significantly lower neonatal iron stores. Despite a low prevalence of iron deficiency in this cohort, both a mean corpuscular volume <74fl and ferritin concentrations <20μg/l were associated with lower neurodevelopmental outcomes at two years. An inverse association between growth in the second year of life and iron status at two years was also observed. This thesis has presented data from one of the largest, extensively-characterised cohorts of young children, to date, to explore iron and its associations with growth and development.

Gender Differences in Early Reading Strategies: a Comparison of Synthetic Phonics Only with a Mixed Approach to Teaching Reading to 4-5 Year-Old Children

A survey of primary schools in England found that girls outperform boys in English across all phases (Ofsted in Moving English forward. Ofsted, Manchester, 2012). The gender gap remains an on-going issue in England, especially for reading attainment. This paper presents evidence of gender differences in learning to read that emerged during the development of a reading scheme for 4- and 5-year-old children in which 372 children from Reception classes in sixteen schools participated in 12-month trials. There were three arms per trial: Intervention non-PD (non-phonically decodable text with mixed methods teaching); Intervention PD (phonically decodable text with mixed methods teaching); and a ‘business as usual’ control condition SP (synthetic phonics and decodable text). Assignment to Intervention condition was randomised. Standardised measures of word reading and comprehension were used. The research provides statistically significant evidence suggesting that boys learn more easily using a mix of whole-word and synthetic phonics approaches. In addition, the evidence indicates that boys learn to read more easily using the natural-style language of ‘real’ books including vocabulary which goes beyond their assumed decoding ability. At post-test, boys using the nonphonically decodable text with mixed methods (Intervention A) were 8 months ahead in reading comprehension compared to boys using a wholly synthetic phonics approach.

Assessment of iodine intake and related cognitive function impairments in elementary schoolchildren from Terceira Island, Azores (Portugal)

Dissertação de Mestrado, Ciências Biomédicas, 28 de Junho de 2016, Universidade dos Açores.

O papel do auxiliar de desenvolvimento infantil da Secretaria de Educação do Recife : das normativas do cargo a prática profissional

O presente trabalho tem como temática: O papel do Auxiliar de Desenvolvimento Infantil da Secretaria de Educação do Recife: das normativas do cargo a prática profissional. Este profissional desenvolve suas funções dentro das creches e centros de educação infantil da Secretaria de Educação do Recife, trabalhando com crianças de 0 a 3 anos. O objetivo deste estudo é identificar as relações entre o pré-requisito exigido para o cargo, as atribuições conferidas à função e a prática profissional do Auxiliar de Desenvolvimento Infantil, tomando para análise o último concurso realizado em 2014. A partir dessa configuração e para entender de fato o papel do Auxiliar de Desenvolvimento Infantil, pontuando a sua função como pedagógica ou não, considerando que se atribui como pré-requisito para o provimento do cargo a exigência de formação no Ensino Médio. O estudo parte da revisão de literatura sobre a concepção de infância, criança e educação passando pelas contribuições teóricas de vários autores, sobretudo os que abordam as questões da infância e da educação infantil de maneira contextualizada. Procedeu-se também a abordagem da evolução do perfil profissional daqueles que atuam na Educação Infantil no Brasil, pois, ao longo dos anos, estes profissionais vêm passando por transformações e exigências em relação a sua atuação, sobretudo em decorrência das mudanças de concepção de infância, de criança e de educação. A metodologia é qualitativa e como instrumento de coleta de dados utilizou-se questionários e entrevista. Os sujeitos da pesquisa são os Auxiliares de Desenvolvimento Infantil, os professores de Educação Infantil e a Divisão de Educação Infantil da Secretaria de Educação do Recife. Os resultados apontaram que o trabalho desenvolvido pelos ADIs dentro das instituições de educação infantil é pedagógico. Estes profissionais realizam atividades educativas e desta forma, pode-se dizer, que esta função exige que o profissional tenha conhecimentos pedagógicos para exercê-la. Finalmente, este estudo poderá contribuir para que a Secretaria de Educação do Recife redirecione a política pública de Educação Infantil no que se refere aos pré-requisitos de formação dos profissionais concursados para o trabalho nas instituições de educação infantil, exigindo a formação mínima no Normal Médio (Magistério) para a função de Auxiliar de Desenvolvimento Infantil, entendendo que esta função exige que o profissional tenha conhecimentos pedagógicos para atuar junto às crianças de 0 a 3 anos.