Other Sociology Commons^™

Early Childhood Language Gains, Kindergarten Readiness, And Grade 3 Reading Achievement, Jessica A.R. Logan, Shayne B. Piasta, Kelly M. Purtell, Robert Nichols, Rachel E. Schachter

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

In this preregistered study, we used latent change score models to address two research aims: (1) whether preschool-aged children's language gains, over a year of early childhood education, were associated with later performance on state-mandated, literacy-focused kindergarten readiness and Grade 3 reading achievement assessments, and (2) whether gains in language, a more complex skill, predicted these outcomes after controlling for more basic emergent literacy skills. There were 724 participating children (mean = 57 months; 51% male; 76% White, 12% Black, 6% multiple races, and 5% Hispanic or Latino). We found that language gains significantly predicted kindergarten readiness when estimated in …

Validation Of The Short Version (Tls-15) Of The Triangular Love Scale (Tls-45) Across 37 Languages, Marta Kowal, Piotr Sorokowski, Bojana M. Dinić, Katarzyna Pisanski, Biljana Gjoneska, David A. Frederick, Gerit Pfuhl, Taciano L. Milfont, Adam Bode, Leonardo Aguilar, Felipe E. García, S. Craig Roberts, Beatriz Abad-Villaverde, Tina Kavčič, Kirill G. Miroshnik, Izuchukwu L. G. Ndukaihe, Katarína Šafárová, Jaroslava V. Valentova, Toivo Aavik, Angélique M. Blackburn, Hakan Çetinkaya, Izzet Duyar, Farida Guemaz, Tatsunori Ishii, Pavol Kačmár, Jean C. Natividade, Ravit Nussinson, Mohd Sofian B. Omar-Fauzee, Ma. Criselda T. Pacquing, Koen Ponnet, Austin H. Wang, Gyesook Yoo, Rizwana Amin, Ekaterine Pirtskhalava, Reza Afhami, Alexios Arvanitis, Derya Atamturk Duyar, Théo Besson, Mahmoud Boussena, Seda Can, Ali R. Can, João Carneiro, Rita Castro, Dimitri Chubinidze, Ksenija Čunichina, Yahya B. Don, Seda Dural, Edgardo Etchezahar, Feten Fekih-Romdhane, Tomasz Frackowiak, Nasim Ghahraman Moharrampour, Talia Gomez Yepes, Simone Grassini, Marija Jovic, Kevin S. Kertechian, Farah Khan, Aleksander Kobylarek, Valerija Križanić, Samuel Lins, Tetyana Mandzyk, Efisio Manunta, Tamara Martinac Dorčić, Kavitha N. Muthu, Arooj Najmussaqib, Tobias Otterbring, Ju Hee Park, Irena Pavela Banai, Mariia Perun, Marc Eric S. Reyes, Jan P. Röer, Ayşegül Şahin, Fatima Zahra Sahli, Dušana Šakan, Sangeeta Singh, Sanja Smojver-Azic, Sinem Söylemez, Ognen Spasovski, Anna Studzinska, Ezgi Toplu-Demirtaş, Arkadiusz Urbanek, Tatiana Volkodov, Anna Wlodarczyk, Mohd Faiz Mohd Y. Yaakob, Mat Rahimi Yusof, Lindsay Zumwalt, Marcos Zumárraga‑Espinosa, Kelly Zupan, Maja Zupančič, Robert J. Sternberg

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Love is a phenomenon that occurs across the world and affects many aspects of human life, including the choice of, and process of bonding with, a romantic partner. Thus, developing a reliable and valid measure of love experiences is crucial. One of the most popular tools to quantify love is Sternberg’s 45-item Triangular Love Scale (TLS-45), which measures three love components: intimacy, passion, and commitment. However, our literature review reveals that most studies (64%) use a broad variety of shortened versions of the TLS-45. Here, aiming to achieve scientific consensus and improve the reliability, comparability, and generalizability of results across …

Undernutrition In Older Children And Adolescents In Peri-Urban Zambia, Shela Sridhar, Janella S. Kang, Isabel Madzorera, Ethan Zulu, Joyce Makasa, Sally Bell Cross, Davidson H. Hamer

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

Background: Adolescents make up roughly a quarter of the population in Zambia; however, most nutrition-related programming is targeted at the underfive population. Understanding the scale of undernutrition in older children and adolescents is fundamental to alleviating food insecurity and addressing undernutrition across all age groups.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey was performed in four low-income, peri-urban compounds in Chilanga District which included anthropometric measurements of children between ages 6 months-19 years and a household-level diet diversity and food security questionnaire. Wasting was used for children under 5 and thinness for children 5–19 years. Descriptive analysis and multivariate logistic regression …

Undernutrition In Older Children And Adolescents In Peri-Urban Zambia, Shela Sridhar, Janella S. Kang, Isabel Madzorera, Ethan Zulu, Joyce Makasa, Sally Bell Cross, Davidson H. Hamer

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

Background: Adolescents make up roughly a quarter of the population in Zambia; however, most nutrition-related programming is targeted at the underfive population. Understanding the scale of undernutrition in older children and adolescents is fundamental to alleviating food insecurity and addressing undernutrition across all age groups.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey was performed in four low-income, peri-urban compounds in Chilanga District which included anthropometric measurements of children between ages 6 months-19 years and a household-level diet diversity and food security questionnaire. Wasting was used for children under 5 and thinness for children 5–19 years. Descriptive analysis and multivariate logistic regression …

Patterns Of Classroom Organization In Classrooms Where Children Exhibit Higher And Lower Language Gains, Laura Cutler, Rachel E. Schachter, Clariebelle Gabas, Shayne B. Piasta, Kelly M. Purtell, Nathan P. Helsabeck

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

Previous research suggests that the ways in which early childhood classrooms are organized may facilitate children’s language learning. However, different measures of classroom organization often yield inconsistent findings regarding child outcomes. In this study, we investigated multiple aspects of classroom organization across two time points in classrooms where children made varying language gains. Using a purposeful sample of 60 early childhood classrooms, 30 in which children made higher language gains and 30 in which children made lower language gains, we explored the organization of the physical classroom literacy environment, classroom management, classroom time, and classroom activities. Research Findings: Results indicated …

Historical Trauma: Literary And Testimonial Responses To Hiroshima, Mariam Ghonim

Theses and Dissertations

The concept of trauma is controversial in literature. While one may be able to come up with ways to describe trauma in fiction, representing historical trauma is a hard task for writers. Some argue that trauma can not be described through those who did not experience it, while others claim that, provided some elements are added, one can represent trauma to the reader. This thesis focuses on twentieth-century historical traumas related to a nuclear catastrophe and explores the different literary and testimonial responses to the catastrophic man-made event of Hiroshima (1945). In this thesis, Kathleen Burkinshaw’s historical fiction The Last …

Coparenting Support In The Context Of Difficult Children: Mother And Father Differences, Victoria J. Johnson, Dongho Choi, Lorey A. Wheeler, Patty X. Kuo

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

While parenting children with difficult behaviors can intensify stress within the entire family system, families may lean on other familial relationships to mitigate that stress. The coparenting relationship is known to play a key role within the family system for child outcomes and familial interactions, but it is not clear whether it eases the stress and challenge of raising a difficult child, nor how that plays out differently for mothers versus fathers. Ninety-six couples (89.7% married) parenting young children (Mean age = 3.22 years) were included in this study. Using cross-sectional and aggregated daily response data, actor–partner interdependence models were …

Coparenting Support In The Context Of Difficult Children: Mother And Father Differences, Victoria J. Johnson, Dongho Choi, Lorey A. Wheeler, Patty X. Kuo

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

While parenting children with difficult behaviors can intensify stress within the entire family system, families may lean on other familial relationships to mitigate that stress. The coparenting relationship is known to play a key role within the family system for child outcomes and familial interactions, but it is not clear whether it eases the stress and challenge of raising a difficult child, nor how that plays out differently for mothers versus fathers. Ninety-six couples (89.7% married) parenting young children (Mean age = 3.22 years) were included in this study. Using cross-sectional and aggregated daily response data, actor–partner interdependence models were …

Making Mistakes: Children’S Errors As Opportunities For Emergent Literacy Learning In Early Childhood, Clariebelle Gabas, Laura Cutler, Rachel E. Schachter

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

Errors are a natural part of children’s knowledge building and learning experiences in early childhood (EC). Importantly, errors can be a powerful tool for tailoring instruction to children’s specific needs and supporting learning processes (Seifried & Wuttke, 2010). The leveraging of errors to support children’s emergent literacy learning became apparent to us when we examined data from a recent observational study of teachers’ practices in EC classrooms with children 3–5 years old. In our study of 400 classrooms, we identified the 30 classrooms in which children demonstrated the highest language gains and the 30 classrooms in which children demonstrated the …

Early Childhood Teachers’ Emergent Literacy Data Practices, Rachel E. Schachter, Gloria Yeomans-Maldonado, Shayne B. Piasta

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

Despite a growing focus on access to and use of emergent literacy assessment in early childhood, little is known about early childhood teachers’ data practices and their associations with children’s emergent literacy skills. A questionnaire was used to confirm and elaborate findings from prior qualitative work (Schachter & Piasta, 2022) investigating U.S. teachers’ emergent literacy data practices. We focused on how teachers gathered data (data gathering), what they learned from those data (data knowledge), and how they used those data in their practice (data use) along with associations between the practices and children’s emergent literacy skills. Overall, teachers reported engaging …

Systematic Review Of Reflection Spectroscopy-Based Skin Carotenoid Assessment In Children, Saima Hasnin, Dipti Dev, Taren Swindle, Susan B. Sisson, Stephanie Jilcott Pitts, Tirna Purkait, Shari C. Clifton, Jocelyn Dixon, Virginia C. Stage

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

Assessing children’s skin carotenoid score (SCS) using reflection spectroscopy (RS) is a non-invasive, widely used method to approximate fruit and vegetable consumption (FVC). The aims for the current review were to (1) identify distributions of SCS across demographic groups, (2) identify potential non-dietary correlates for RS-based SCS, (3) summarize the validity and reliability of RSbased SCS assessment, and (4) conduct meta-analyses of studies examining the correlation between RS-based SCS with FVC. A literature search in eight databases in June 2021 resulted in 4880 citations and peer-reviewed publications written in English that investigated children’s (2–10 years old) SCS using RS. We …

An Exploratory Study Of How Measuring Knowledge-In-Use Adds Value Beyond Static Knowledge Measures, Julie Dwyer, Rachel E. Schachter, Alessandra E. Ward

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

Research-supported knowledge about how children develop language is considered foundational for high-quality instruction and as such, measuring and developing teachers’ knowledge has been emphasized across the field of early childhood. However, there is a critical gap in understanding how this static knowledge gained through pre-service and in-service experiences is connected to enacted practice. To address this, we compared teachers’ static knowledge regarding language development as assessed via a traditional paper and pencil measure with their knowledge used in-the-moment during language interactions with children via stimulated recall interviews. Ten educators from a variety of early childhood programs completed the surveys and …

Communication With Families: Understanding The Perspectives Of Early Childhood Teachers, Pearl Avari, Erin Hamel, Rachel E. Schachter, Holly Hatton-Bowers

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

Communication between teachers and families in early childhood is a key aspect of successful teacher-family engagement. The goal of this exploratory study was to investigate how teachers communicated with families in early childhood classrooms and what they communicated about. This study of 31 teachers working with children birth to age five, primarily in the Midwestern U.S. examined how they described communication with families using semi-structured interviews. Findings indicated that teachers used multiple formats to communicate with families about children’s daily routines, developmental progress, and other relevant information. Teachers preferred in-person communication although challenges occurred due to classroom dynamics and the …

Syrian Refugee Women’S Maternal Mental Health Perceptions, Coping Strategies, And Help-Seeking Practices In Lebanon, Nada A. Alnaji, Julie A. Tippens, Wael Elrayes

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

Introduction: Globally, 27 million female refugees of reproductive age are subjected to numerous socio-ecological factors that increase their risks of mental health issues, especially during the postpartum period. This study seeks to explore Syrian refugee mothers’ experiences and perceptions of postpartum depression.

Methods: We used a qualitative phenomenological approach to interview purposively sampled typical postpartum Syrian mothers living in informal camps in Lebanon to evaluate their maternal mental health perceptions, coping strategies, and help-seeking practices.

Results: Results revealed three major themes: conceptualizing maternal depression as extraordinary and ordinary, cultural perceptions of mental health help-seeking, and coping with negative emotions.

Discussions: …

Triumph After Trauma: A Phenomenological Exploration Into Women Survivor’S Perceptions Of The Influence Of Trauma On Their Leadership, Natalya R. Bannister Roby

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Most research around trauma is focused on negative life consequences. Although limited, there is research that explores the influence of resilience and how some survivors may experience growth after trauma (Kirschman, 2004). Furthermore, research is limited on how trauma influences the leadership style and career trajectories of women who have overcome trauma. A qualitative phenomenological approach was used as the methodological framework to explore the perspectives of women leaders who identify as survivors or overcomers of trauma. The study participants are women leaders in middle management positions to senior-level executives in educational organizations serving middle and high school students.

In-depth …

The Creation Of The Global Scales For Early Development (Gsed) For Children Aged 0–3 Years: Combining Subject Matter Expert Judgements With Big Data, Gareth Mccray, Dana Mccoy, Patricia Kariger, Magdalena Janus, Maureen M. Black, Susan M. Chang, Fahmida Tofail, Iris Eekhout, Marcus Waldman, Stef Van Buuren, Rasheda Khanam, Sunil Sazawal, Ambreen Nizar, Yvonne Schönbeck, Arsène Zongo, Alexandra Brentani, Yunting Zhang, Tarun Dua, Vanessa Cavallera, Abbie Raikes, Ann M. Weber, Kieran Bromley, Abdullah Baqui, Arunangshu Dutta, Imran Nisar, Symone B. Detmar, Romuald Anago, Pacifico Mercadante, Fan Jiang, Raghbir Kaur, Katelyn Hepworth, Marta Rubio-Codina, Samuel N. Kembou, Salahuddin Ahmed, Gill A. Lancaster, Melissa Gladstone

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

Introduction With the ratification of the Sustainable Development Goals, there is an increased emphasis on early childhood development (ECD) and well-being. The WHO led Global Scales for Early Development (GSED) project aims to provide population and programmatic level measures of ECD for 0–3 years that are valid, reliable and have psychometrically stable performance across geographical, cultural and language contexts. This paper reports on the creation of two measures: (1) the GSED Short Form (GSED-SF)— a caregiver reported measure for population-evaluation— self-administered with no training required and (2) the GSED Long Form (GSED-LF)— a directly administered/observed measure for programmatic evaluation—administered by …

Food Waste, Preference, And Cost: Perceived Barriers And Self-Reported Food Service Best Practices In Family Child Care Homes, Divya Patel, Daisy Butzer, Bethany D. Williams, Dipti Dev, Diane Horm, Denise Finneran, Bryce Lowery, Janis E. Campbell, Susan B. Sisson

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

Background: Family Child Care Homes (FCCHs) are a setting where providers care for children at their own residence. FCCHs face unique challenges, and children may not always receive optimal nutrition and have higher risk of obesity compared to other programs. The objective of this study was to determine differences in food service best practices scores between FCCHs who did/did not perceive barriers to serving healthy meals. Methods: FCCHs (n = 167) self-reported demographics and perceived barriers to serving healthy foods. Nutrition and Physical Activity Self-Assessment for Child Care was used to assess food served with 1 (indicating poor practice) …

Approaches Mainline Protestant Pastors Use To Work With Lgb People And Their Families: Implications For Family Therapists, Christi R. Mcgeorge, Katelyn O. Coburn

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

When a loved one comes out as lesbian, gay, or bisexual (LGB), families often seek the assistance of a trusted professional. For many families that involves seeking the consultation of a religious leader. This queer theory informed qualitative study sought to explore how Christian pastors work with LGB individuals and their families. Additionally, this study explored how pastors’ approaches to working with LGB individuals and their families varied based on the degree to which families were accepting or rejecting of their LGB family members. Twenty-one mainline Protestant Christian pastors were interviewed. Thematic analysis identified three themes and a number of …

An Exploratory Study Of Early Childhood Coaches’ Practices And Professional Learning Needs, Rachel E. Schachter, Holly Hatton-Bowers, Hayley Jackson, Lisa Knoche

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

Coaching is increasingly being used as a mechanism to improve the quality of early childhood education. Yet, for coaching outside of researcher-controlled interventions, limited information details coaches’ reports of their practices’ professional learning needs. We addressed this gap via an exploratory study utilizing online questionnaires of 91 coaches working with educators in a Midwestern US state across 12 coaching initiatives. Most participants had less than 5 years of experience working as an early childhood coach. Almost a third coached for multiple initiatives. Coaching occurred via multiple formats and often addressed behavior management and social emotional development regardless of the coaching …

New And Transferable Digital Skills In The Era Of The Covid-19 Pandemic: Mobilizing Social Support, Molly-Gloria Harper, Anabel Quan-Haase, William Hollingshead

Sociology Presentations

The COVID-19 pandemic is an unprecedented global crisis that has had profound impacts on people’s lives. Under these circumstances, social support can buffer against pandemic-related stress. Yet, the dynamics of the COVID-19 pandemic with its stringent health guidelines have created unique challenges to the mobilization of social support. These challenges particularly affect vulnerable groups with limited digital life skills. Based on a qualitative study of 101 semi-structured interviews with East York residents in Toronto, Canada conducted in 2013–2014, we investigate what new and transferable digital life skills are needed in the pre- and post-pandemic era to mobilize social support. Our …

Training Packages For The Use Of Child Development Tools In Low/Middle-Income Countries: A Review, Maria Neocleous, Katelyn Hepworth, Vanessa Cavallera, Melissa Gladstone

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

Background We are now moving beyond the focus of ’child survival’ to an era which promotes children thriving and developing rather than simply ’surviving’. In doing so, we are becoming more aware of the large variation of child development screening tools available globally, but in particular, those in low/middle-income countries (LMICs).

Methods This narrative review identifies 24 child development tools used in LMICs. We aimed to identify information on training accessibility and training design, assessment methods and cost of training. For those tools with no training information identified or for any tools identified as providing online training, the tool author …

The Great Resignation: A Content Analysis Of News Sources' Portrayals Of The Covid-19 Labor Shortage., Mackenzie Williams

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

When workers left the labor market in large numbers during the COVID-19 pandemic, proclamations of a labor shortage emerged extensively throughout the news. In this study, I analyze the coverage of the worker shortage among three news sources with different political orientations. Several themes emerged from analyzing a total of 75 articles. The findings showed that the perspective shown in the article, the cause of the labor shortage, restaurant worker portrayal, support of solutions, and opinion of the labor shortage all differed based on the political identity of the news source. This research supports previous findings that show there is …

From The Battlefield To The Classroom: An Exploration Of Post-9/11 Female Combat Veterans Who Completed Graduate School After Military Service, Arthur Littler Iii

Dissertations

Since 2011, approximately 200,000 service members transitioned from military service to the civilian sector each year (U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, 2016). , 2014). According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2018 Employment Situation of Veterans Summary report, 8.9% of veterans were disadvantaged as they have little to no higher education. Without a financial support system to fall back on, transitioning veterans face the inevitable issue of homelessness. Research by Tsai, Hoff, and Harpaz- Rotem (2017) found the rate of homelessness among veterans has increased over the past decade with female veterans more likely than their male counterparts to …

At The End Of The Day We All Want To Get High, Karolina Barrientos

Senior Theses and Projects

The consumption of cannabis is nothing new to college campuses and with the legalization of cannabis in Connecticut, it will for certain continue at Trinity College. However historically research centered on cannabis has focused on its negative impacts and not on its benefits or its impact on positive experiences. In examining my habitus, Trinity College, through a sociological lens, I wanted to examine the interactions once builds on campus in relation to cannabis and uncover is it is racialized in any way. Trinity as inherent white supremacist institution, and the experiences of students of color often differ from their white …

What Knowledge Do Early Childhood Teachers Use During Literacy Instruction? Using Stimulated Recall To Investigate An Unexplored Phenomenon, Rachel E. Schachter

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

This study utilized a novel phenomenological approach with a stimulated recall procedure to understand the pedagogical reasoning of eight early child teachers during the enactment of literacy instruction in whole-group meeting and language arts activities. This approach to investigating knowledge—in contrast to more tra­ditional conceptualizations of knowledge—focused on knowledge use as a process and prioritized teachers’ perspectives on knowledge used to enact literacy instruc­tion in their own classrooms. Additionally, it allowed for a more nuanced investi­gation of the role of setting and teacher characteristics that are often examined in association with literacy instruction (e.g., degree attainment, years of experience, curriculum, …

Promising Findings That The Cultivating Healthy Intentional Mindful Educators’ Program (Chime) Strengthens Early Childhood Teachers’ Emotional Resources: An Iterative Study, Holly Hatton-Bowers, Caron Clark, Gilbert R. Parra, Jessica L. Calvi, Michael Yellow Bird, Pearl Avari, Jaclynn Foged, John Smith

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

Findings suggest that an eight-week mindfulness compassion-based program, Cultivating Healthy Intentional Mindful Educators (CHIME), is a feasible professional development intervention for early childhood (EC) teachers to support their emotion regulation and psychological and workplace well-being. We offer preliminary evidence that learning about mindfulness, self-compassion, and social-emotional learning supports EC teachers in strengthening their knowledge and application of practices to be more mindful and less emotionally reactive and emotionally exhausted at work. In analyzing both EC teacher feedback and survey data from two pilot studies, there was promising evidence that participating in CHIME enhanced awareness of emotions and the development of …

Implementation Of Federal Waivers For Feeding Children In Early Care And Education During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Dipti Dev, Carly Hillburn, Jordan Luxa, Laura Lessard, Katherine W. Bauer, Caree Cotwright, Alison Tovar

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

Objective: To capture Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) state directors’ experiences implementing federal waivers for feeding children in early care and education (ECE) settings during coronavirus disease 2019.

Design: Qualitative semistructured interviews.

Setting: Virtual interviews with state CACFP directors.

Participants: Child and Adult Care Food Program directors from 21 states from December 2020 to May 2021.

Phenomenon of Interest: Implementation of state-level waivers.

Analysis: Qualitative thematic analysis.

Results: State directors reported that the coronavirus disease 2019 waivers allowed ECE programs to continue feeding children despite being closed or having limited enrollment. The meal pattern, noncongregate feeding, parent/guardian meal …

Investigating Moderators Of Daily Marital To Parent–Child Spillover: Individual And Family Systems Approaches, Patty X. Kuo, Kejin Lee, Victoria J. Johnson, Emily J. Starr

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

Objective: We tested whether cognitive reappraisal and coparenting quality moderate marital to parent–child spillover in mothers and fathers.

Background: The influence of marital relationship quality on parent–child relationships, referred to as the spillover effect, is well documented. Factors that may attenuate the occurrence of spillover, however, remain unclear. Cognitive reappraisal, an emotion regulation strategy that promotes the reframing of emotional situations as neutral or positive, and coparenting—the intermediate subsystem between the marital and parent–child relationships—may buffer the effects of marital to parent–child spillover.

Method: Using daily diary data from mother–father couples (N = 96) of young children (M_age = …

Correlates Of Children’S Dietary Intake In Childcare Settings: A Systematic Review, Saima Hasnin, Jaclyn A. Saltzman, Dipti A. Dev

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

Context: Children consume up to two-thirds of their daily dietary requirements in full-time childcare, making the setting a critical vector for preventing childhood obesity. Objective: To summarize the ecological correlates of children’s dietary intake in childcare settings that were identified and categorized using the Six-Cs developmental ecological model of contributors to overweight and obesity in childhood. Data Sources: A literature search was conducted in 4 electronic databases. Study Selection: English-language, peer-reviewed publications that investigated at least 1 correlate of children’s (ages 2–6 years) dietary intake in childcare settings and measured children’s actual consumption of foods and beverages from food groups …

Toddler Play Preferences And The Teacher’S Role In The Outdoor Play Environment, Keting Chen, Erin E. Hamel

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

Direct experience with nature is a primary component of environmental education and especially beneficial for young children. The present study examined the outdoor play preferences of toddlers and investigated the role teachers play in the outdoor space. Toddlers’ outdoor play was video recorded by GoPro cameras and coded for preferred play locations and initiator of the play. Results showed that the three most preferred spaces for toddlers in the outdoor classroom were the sandbox, swing area, and play structures; least frequently visited were open areas close to the classrooms, the garden, and the tree area. In addition, toddlers initiated play …