Search Results (9)

Early mathematical and vocabulary skills serve as critical foundations for academic success, yet the mechanisms underlying their development remain complex. This study examines the role of parents’ education, children’s attentional control, and learning approaches as predictors of kindergarteners’ mathematics and vocabulary performance. Using a sample of 149 children aged 60–72 months in Shanghai, China, we conducted a path analysis to explore direct and indirect relationships among these factors. Findings indicate that parental education indirectly predicts math ability through children’s learning approaches and attentional control, emphasizing the role of both cognitive and behavioral pathways. Conversely, vocabulary development is directly influenced by parental education and learning approaches, suggesting distinct developmental trajectories for math and language acquisition. These results highlight the interconnected nature of cognitive, behavioral, and environmental influences on early academic performance. Implications for early childhood education emphasize the need for targeted interventions that not only engage parents in fostering language-rich and cognitively stimulating environments but also support children’s motivation, persistence, and attentional capacities. Full article

Background: Digital technology is increasingly being used in early childhood education; however, there is a significant gap in understanding how these technologies are practiced in health and safety routines. Objective: This study aims to understand the role of technologies in daily health and safety checks and identify the issues arising from their use in a Shanghai kindergarten. Method: A qualitative approach was employed; the study involved video analysis and semi-structured interviews with 8 teachers, 18 parents, 11 children, and 3 principals from a leading kindergarten in Shanghai. Data were analyzed using NVivo 12 to uncover themes related to technology use, human–technology interactions, and operational challenges. Results: The findings show that digital technologies enhance operational efficiency, but they also present challenges like usability issues and technical limitations. The study underscores the critical need for more child-friendly and educator-accessible designs to maximize the potential of these technologies. Conclusions: This study highlights the transformative potential of digital technologies in kindergarten health and safety routines. This insight contributes to a broader discourse on the benefits and complexities of digital transformation in early childhood education. Future research should focus on scalable, inclusive solutions and enhanced data governance to maximize the benefits of those tools in diverse educational settings. Full article

Objective: This study aimed to examine the trajectories of body mass index-for-age z-score (BAZ) in preschoolers and its association with parental feeding practices, weight perception, and children’s appetitive traits. Methods: A total of 433 preschoolers and their parents from eight public kindergartens in Shanghai were assessed annually over two years. A group-based trajectory model was employed to identify distinct BAZ patterns. Logistic regression was utilized to investigate the baseline factors associated with the BAZ trajectories. Results: Three distinct BAZ trajectories were identified among the preschoolers: “low-stable group” (n = 154, 37.3%), “moderate-stable group” (n = 214, 47.3%), and “progressive overweight and obesity group” (n = 65, 15.4%). The children perceived as overweight and obese by parents (OR = 10.57, 95% CI: 4.89–22.86), and those with lower satiety responsiveness at baseline (OR = 0.86, 95%CI: 0.76–0.97) were more likely to fall into the progressive overweight and obesity group as opposed to the moderate-stable group. Conversely, the children perceived as underweight by parents (OR = 457, 95%CI: 2.71–7.70) had a higher likelihood of being in the low-stable group rather than the moderate-stable group. Conclusions: This study unveiled three unique body weight trajectories among preschool children. Parental perception of children’s weight and lower satiety responsiveness were associated with preschoolers’ subsequent weight change, while parental feeding practices were not associated. Full article

The primary aim of the present study was to examine the potential moderating role of screen time in the links between shyness and indices of socio-emotional adjustment in young Chinese children. Participants were N = 211 children (112 boys, 99 girls) ages 43–66 months (M = 58.84 months, SD = 5.32) recruited from two public kindergartens in Shanghai, People’s Republic of China. Mothers completed assessments of children’s shyness and screen time, and both mothers and teachers completed measures of indices of children’s socio-emotional functioning (prosocial, internalizing problems, learning problems). Among the results, shyness was positively associated with internalizing problems and negatively associated with prosocial behavior, whereas screen time was positively associated with internalizing problems. However, several significant shyness × screen time interaction effects were observed. The pattern of these results consistently revealed that at higher levels of screen time, links between shyness and indices of socio-emotional difficulties were exacerbated. Results are discussed in terms of the implications of shyness and screen time in early childhood. Full article

This study examined whether parenting styles mediated the relationship between unsupportive intergenerational co-parenting and children’s social competence, and whether the first stage of the mediating process, as well as the direct association between unsupportive intergenerational co-parenting and children’s social competence, was moderated by maternal psychological flexibility. The theoretical model was tested using data collected from 412 mothers of children aged 3–6 years at four kindergartens in Shanghai, China. The results showed that: (1) unsupportive intergenerational co-parenting was negatively associated with children’s social competence through decreased maternal authoritative parenting and increased authoritarian parenting and (2) the first stage of the mediation mechanism was moderated by maternal psychological flexibility. Specifically, unsupportive intergenerational co-parenting was significantly associated with authoritative and authoritarian parenting for mothers with low and high psychological flexibility, respectively, and the magnitude of the association was higher for mothers with low psychological flexibility. These findings extend the understanding of how and when unsupportive intergenerational co-parenting impacts children’s social competence. Full article

The present study explored the moderating role of household chaos and gender in the relation between social avoidance and social adjustment among Chinese preschool migrant children. Participants were 148 children (82 boys, M_age = 62.63 months, SD = 0.05) from two kindergartens, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China. Multi-source assessments included: (1) mother ratings of children’s social avoidance; (2) mother ratings of families’ household chaos; (3) teacher ratings of children’s prosocial behavior, peer exclusion, interpersonal skills, and internalizing problems. Results showed that social avoidance significantly predicted peer exclusion among Chinese migrant preschoolers. Moreover, household chaos moderated the relationship between social avoidance and social adjustment. Specifically, at higher levels of household chaos, social avoidance was negatively associated with interpersonal skills. In contrast, social avoidance was not associated with interpersonal skills at a lower level of household chaos. In addition, social avoidance was positively associated with peer exclusion among boys but not girls. The current findings inform us of the importance of reducing household chaos to buffer the negative adjustment among socially avoidant young children who migrated from rural to urban China. The findings also highlight the need to pay particular attention to migrant socially avoidant boys’ development in early childhood and the importance of considering the meaning and implication of social avoidance for migrant preschoolers in Chinese culture. Full article

Background: Evidence shows that physical exercise promotes preschoolers’ fundamental movement skills (FMSs) and physical fitness (PF). However, studies that assess the effectiveness of different types of physical exercise interventions to improve FMSs and PF in preschool children remain scarce. To explore and compare the effectiveness of different physical exercise on FMSs and PF, interventions comprising ball games (BGs), rhythm activities (RAs), basic movements (BMs), and a combination of all related activities (multiple activities, MAs) will be conducted among preschoolers. Methods: A single-blind, five-arm, cluster-randomized trial will be conducted in kindergarten in Shanghai, China. In total, 300 healthy preschoolers, aged 4 to 5 years, will be randomized to four intervention groups (BG, RA, BM, or MA) and one control group (unorganized physical activities). Four intervention groups will receive three 30-min lessons weekly for 16 weeks. At the baseline, the end of the 16-week intervention, and the 6-month follow-up after the end of the intervention, the primary outcomes (FMSs and PF) and physical activity (PA), and sociodemographic and anthropometric data will be assessed. Discussion: This study will provide vital information regarding the effect of different physical exercise interventions on preschool children’s FMSs and PF, PA, and the potential interactions between these domains. The most effective intervention strategy can be generalized to kindergarten and other preschool educational institutions in practice to promote preschoolers’ development of FMSs and PF. Conclusions: This study protocol aims to provide a method to solve the problem of “how to arrange physical exercise and which kind of physical exercise program can promote FMS and PF better in preschool children”. Full article

Basic education is about improving the quality of life of a country’s population and promote social cohesions, and it is also an important factor in shaping a country and region’s person-to-person relationship. This study analyzes the spatial morphological patterns, aggregation characteristics, and distribution inequality among kindergarten, elementary, and junior high schools within districts in Shanghai, using point of interest data, kernel density estimation, Ripley’s K-function, location quotient, and grid analysis to investigate the effect on the distribution of schools using construction land growth data. The findings were as follows. (1) There was little difference in the spatial distribution characteristics of the three school types. They all exhibited the spatial distribution characteristics of core area clustering and the coexistence of multiple circadian layers, in which both the agglomeration size and the aggregation intensity showed the order of kindergarten > elementary school > junior high schools. The spatial distribution characteristics of the three types of schools are highly positively correlated with the population distribution. (2) Spatially, low-level schools were adjacent to high-level schools, and the structure of the three school types showed an uneven distribution overall. The aggregation characteristics of the seven inner districts within Shanghai were relatively balanced, while Pudong District showed the phenomenon of being “high in the southeast and low in the northeast”, and the suburban areas showed an uneven distribution of core district aggregation overall. (3) The longer the construction land growth cycle, the greater the density of school points, and the more consistent the distribution of school points with the direction of construction land expansion. Full article

The aim of the present study was to obtain the prevalence of malocclusions in preschool children in Shanghai, China. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 2335 children aged 3–5 years from kindergartens. Several occlusal parameters were clinically assessed, including second deciduous molar terminal plane, canine relationship, degree of overjet and overbite, anterior and posterior crossbite, and the presence or absence of physiologic spaces and crowding. All parents of subjects were asked to fill in the oral health knowledge questionnaires. The prevalence of malocclusion in primary dentition in Shanghai was 83.9%, and no significant differences were found in genders. Data showed that the prevalence of deep overbite (63.7%) was the highest in children with malocclusion, followed by deep overjet (33.9%), midline deviation (26.6%), anterior crossbite (8.0%) and anterior crowding (6.5%). The results revealed a high prevalence of malocclusion in primary dentition in children aged 3–5 years old of Shanghai, especially in vertical anomalies. The need for preventive orthodontic therapy is extremely desired and oral health education about malocclusion should be strengthened. Full article