Jennifer J. Chen

Gender differences in externalising problems among preschool children: implications for early childhood educators

Gender differences in student achievement have been widely studied. Considering the long‐term effects of externalising behaviour problems on children’s later academic performance, it can be conjectured that gender disparities in student achievement may be rooted in developmental characteristics in early childhood. As an effort towards contributing insights to the growing body of knowledge on child development, this study investigated whether variability in externalising behaviour problems among preschool children could be attributed to gender differences. Participants were 110 parents who completed a sociodemographic questionnaire, and rated their child’s behaviour on the Achenbach Child Behaviour Checklist. The children (mean age in months = 45.62 (SD = 10.12)) consisted of 52 boys and 58 girls. This study revealed that boys were reported to exhibit higher rates of externalising problems than girls, and that higher rates of internalising problems also predicted higher rates of externalising problems among these preschool children.

Evolution of the early childhood curriculum in China: the impact of social and cultural factors on revolution and innovation

ABSTRACT During the last century, early childhood curriculum (ECC) in China has undergone a series of monumental transformations, shaped by the interaction between local cultural and global forces. In this case study, we critically analyse three major waves of ECC reform in China, with a particular emphasis on the social and cultural forces that have shaped the evolution and revolution of ECC in China. Our analysis reveals the effects of these different forces in inducing change and how they propelled innovative reform of ECC. Furthermore, we deconstruct Chinas history of adopting and adapting curriculum ideologies and models from other cultural contexts with the opposite concepts of cultural relativism and cultural universalism. The findings suggest three important lessons we could learn from China: (1) teacher education is critical; (2) top-down model does not work; and (3) changing ideas does not necessarily mean changing practices. Last, the implications and suggestions are also discussed.

A Comparative Study on Parenting of Preschool Children Between the Chinese in China and Chinese Immigrants in the United States

The goal of this questionnaire-based study was to compare the relative endorsement of specific parenting patterns among two ethnic Chinese groups rearing preschool children: Chinese parents in China (N = 117) and first-generation Chinese immigrant parents in the United States (N = 94). A significant interaction effect was found between country and gender on the nonreasoning/punitive dimension of authoritarian parenting, revealing that Chinese fathers endorsed this pattern more strongly than both Chinese immigrant fathers and Chinese mothers. There was also a significant interaction effect between country and gender on the practice of shaming/love withdrawal, indicating that Chinese fathers espoused this pattern more strongly than Chinese immigrant fathers and Chinese mothers, but Chinese immigrant mothers endorsed it more strongly than Chinese immigrant fathers. Furthermore, it was revealed that Chinese immigrants endorsed beliefs about maternal involvement more strongly than their Chinese counterparts. The results are discussed in the context of cultural and contextual influences.

A Critical Analysis of the Changing Landscape of Early Childhood Education in Mainland China: History, Policies, Progress, and Future Development

China’s ‘reform and opening-up’ policy initiated in 1978 has ushered the country into rapid economic development. Early childhood education (ECE) has also subsequently entered a period of monumental development. In this chapter, using the ‘3A2S’ framework (Li et al. Int J Chin Educ 3(2):161–170, 2014), we analyse the development and implementation of ECE policies in China within the last four decades, examining particularly Phase I (2011–2013) and Phase II (2014–2016) of the Three-Year Action Plan. Analyses of national data from statistical reports and official agencies indicate that (1) the supply of kindergartens is soaring, but the accessibility problem still persists, especially in destitute areas and for those from disadvantaged backgrounds; (2) funding support for ECE is increasing, but is still not sufficient enough; (3) the government has intensified its involvement in ECE, but objective monitoring and assessment mechanisms have yet to be established; (4) the Three-Year Action Plan has been implemented to enhance sustainability of ECE; and (5) efforts have been made to address educational equality for young children from vulnerable circumstances. These findings collectively suggest that the government is improving accessibility, affordability, accountability, sustainability, and social justice of ECE, but more work is needed to achieve a better and stronger ECE system in China.

The quality of teachers’ interactive conversations with preschool children from low-income families during small-group and large-group activities

This study examined the quality of preschool teachers’ interactive conversations with three- and four-year-olds in two Head Start classrooms serving children from low-income families in the United States. Over a period of 20 weeks, 10 bi-weekly observations of conversations (totaling 15 h per classroom) were conducted in one small-group (Play Time) and two large-group (Breakfast Time and Circle Time) contexts. The teacher–child verbal interactions were transcribed and coded using the Teacher Interaction and Language Rating Scale (TILRS) to determine the frequency of responsive language strategies employed by the teachers across the three contexts. The two teachers applied Child-Centered Strategies and Interaction-Promoting Strategies the most during Circle Time, followed by Play Time, and the least during Breakfast Time. While it was observed that both teachers did talk to the children face to face frequently across contexts, they rarely used Language Modeling Strategies to engage them in cognitively challenging conversations. Implications for professional development are discussed.

Implementing the Project Approach: A Case Study of Hybrid Pedagogy in a Hong Kong Kindergarten

ABSTRACT The Project Approach has been promoted in Hong Kong kindergartens since the 1990s. However, the dynamic processes and underlying mechanisms involved in the teachers’ implementation of this pedagogical method there have not yet been fully investigated. This case study of one typical kindergarten in Hong Kong documented how and why eight teachers implemented the Project Approach the way they did. Methodological triangulation was established through (1) videotaped classroom observations, (2) audiotaped interviews with the teachers and school principal, and (3) document analysis. The study revealed that instead of uncritically adopting the Project Approach, the teachers responsively adapted it into hybrid pedagogy between traditional Chinese pedagogy and contemporary early childhood pedagogy. Such a paradigm shift reflected the teachers’ (1) practical considerations of contextual realities (e.g., time limitation, curriculum demands, parental expectations, professional and emotional comfortability) and (2) cultural hybridity in pedagogical beliefs. The findings suggest that, considering cultural incompatibilities, when implementing pedagogies cross-culturally, a sensible, viable, and potentially sustainable solution is not a radical, direct transformation from a traditional pedagogy to an imported one, but rather an alternative, hybrid pedagogy that infuses unique characteristics of the two. Similarly, when promoting pedagogical change, policymakers should consider sociocultural and other contextual influences.

Early Childhood Education Policies in Asia Pacific

This chapter analyses Vietnam’s policies, laws and documentation on early childhood care and education (ECCE) through the 3A2S framework (Li et al, Int J Chin Educ 3(16):1–170, 2014) and concludes with an evaluation of the progress made in the provision of quality early childhood education throughout the twenty-first century. Early childhood care and education has a long history in Vietnam. As early as the 1900s, ECCE was provided to support women’s work, as Vietnam was an agrarian society. Following independence of France in 1954, Vietnam was involved in war and associated hardship until the 1970s so it was not until the 1980s that large-scale reforms in education became a significant focus of the government. Early childhood care and education was made an official department in 1991. Throughout the 1990s and into the twenty-first century, universal access to ECCE has been a priority with remarkable achievements gained. However, access to ECCE in mountainous areas, amongst ethnic minority groups and for many disadvantaged people, needs improvement. Vietnam has made significant progress in meeting accessibility, affordability, accountability, sustainability and social justice goals in ECCE, ongoing investment, both financial and in terms of human resources, is required to continue strengthening ECCE more uniformly across the country.

Different Problems, Same Themes: A Summary of This Book

This book is a showcase of diverse early childhood education systems as well as their contextually unique advances and problems in Asia Pacific. All country case studies applied the same 3A2S (accessibility, affordability, accountability, sustainability, and social justice) framework (Li et al. 2014) to analyse their own key ECE policies. Across these countries, although problems of ECE policies vary, these policies share the same themes, which can be summarized in three key ideas: ‘fragmented, underfinanced and bureaucratically neglected’ (Li et al. 2014) as analysed in this concluding chapter. The future development of ECE policies across the Asia Pacific region is discussed.