Exploring the Sources of Stress and Coping Strategies of Turkish Preschool Teachers

This paper identifies preschool teachers' sources of stress, the times they experience high stress, and their ways of coping with stress levels. The study was conducted using a phenomenological design, one of the qualitative research models. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 36 preschool teachers working with children aged 0-6 in state and private schools. As a result of the content analysis, stressors were identified primarily at both interpersonal (positive and effective interactions) and organizational levels (school management and leadership style). It was also found that intense stress was experienced when children were difficult to control, such as during sleeping, eating, and cleaning. Finally, these results confirmed that the teachers used active/active behavioral, and passive/avoidant coping strategies. However, it was understood that preschool teachers perceived stress negatively, and did not see stress as a personal development situation. These results are discussed in terms of their ramifications for preschool education.

Preschool experiences and home learning environments of migrant children in urban China

Internal migration and urban expansion, hallmarks of rapid urbanization in China, have led to an increasing number of children with diverse backgrounds in cities. Cities now include migrants from rural and urban areas, and children from "urban villages" in addition to "urban locals". Parents of young children who migrate from rural to urban areas leave their children behind in rural areas ("left-behind" children) or take them along with them. In recent years, increasing parental migration from one urban area to another has also led to children being "left-behind" in urban areas. This study examined the preschool experiences and home learning environments of rural-origin migrants, urban-origin migrants, and rural-origin locals in comparison to urban locals, leveraging data from the nationally representative China Family Panel Studies (2012-2018) with 2,446 3- to 5-year-olds residing in urban areas. Regression model results indicated that children living in cities who held a rural household registration certificate (hukou) were less likely to attend publically funded preschools and experienced less stimulating home learning environments than urban local children. After controlling for family characteristics (i) rural-origin locals remained less likely to participate in preschool and experienced fewer home learning activities than urban locals; and (ii) there were no differences in preschool experiences and home learning environments between rural-origin migrants and urban locals. Mediation analyses suggested that the relation between hukou status and the home learning environment was mediated by parental absence. Implications of the findings are discussed.

Persistence and fading of the cognitive and socio-emotional benefits of preschool education in a low-resource setting: Group differences and dose-dependent associations in longitudinal data from Vietnam

Introduction

Four analytic approaches examined the effectiveness of preschool education in Vietnam, which provides a context in which national curricula and teaching standards for preschools and schools, high levels of preschool attendance, and fee subsidies for disadvantaged children, limit the heterogeneity in children's experiences that often obscure the outcomes associated with preschool attendance.

Methods

The Young Lives Study provided longitudinal data on children's receptive vocabulary, mathematics, and life satisfaction at 5, 8, 12, and 15 years of age, and on their self-concept and relationships at 12 and 15 years.

Results

The first analysis found that children who attended preschool (n = 1,562 at 5 years of age) had larger vocabularies at 5, 8, 12, and 15 years, greater mathematics knowledge at 5, 8, and 12 years, and higher life satisfaction at 5 and 12 years of age than the small number of children who did not attend preschool (n = 164 at 5 years of age). The second, found that the dose of preschool education (hours per week × 4 × months) received by children who attended preschool was positively associated with their receptive vocabulary and mathematics scores at 5, 8, 12, and 15 years of age, and with their life satisfaction at 5 and 15 years of age. Although the magnitude of the effect for vocabulary declined over time, it remained stable for mathematics. The third analysis found that a high dose of preschool education allowed disadvantaged rural children to achieve comparable or better scores than their urban peers for receptive vocabulary at 8, 12, and 15 years, mathematics at 12 years, and life satisfaction at all ages. The final analysis found that even a low dose of preschool education improved rural children's receptive vocabulary at 5, 8, and 15 years, and their numeracy/mathematics scores at 5, 8, and 12 years.

Discussion

Together, the results suggest that preschool attendance had a small but meaningful positive association with Vietnamese children's cognitive skills and life satisfaction that persisted for at least 10 years. These findings provide insights into the scale, scope, and longevity of effects that can be achieved from scaled-up preschool programs under resource-constrained conditions.

A comparative study of postgraduate theses in pedagogy and preschool education in Austria and Turkey

In this study, postgraduate theses in the fields of pedagogy and preschool education in Austria and Turkey are compared in terms of factors such as similarity index, research designs and quality of academic writing. To achieve this goal, a commonly-used web-based plagiarism detection service was used to determine the similarity indexes of 258 theses prepared in the two countries (124 from Austria, 134 from Turkey) by checking them against existing sources such as articles, theses, and books; and a relational screening model was used to determine the degree of correlation among variables. In addition, the research topics, research designs, and data collection tools employed in each thesis were identified and content analysis was performed on selected theses with an eye to gaining a sense of the methodological approaches used in pedagogy in Austrian and Turkish universities and making comparisons between the two countries. Our results suggest that the mean similarity index between the postgraduate theses in Austria is 8.78 (Std. Dev. 4.91), while the mean similarity index between the postgraduate theses prepared in Turkey is 25.10 (Std. Dev. 9.85). Our analysis indeed indicates that 91% (n 113) of the theses prepared at Austrian universities and only 13% (n 17) of the theses prepared at Turkish universities did not exceed the acceptable similarity index of 15%. The fact that 87% of the theses written in Turkey are dramatically similar to the available resources shows that many of the studies carry potential risks in terms of originality and plagiarism.

Evaluation of the Performance of Anganwadi Workers in Delivering Integrated Child Development Services in the Rural Field Practice Area of a Tertiary Medical College in South India

Background and objective To meet the overall developmental needs of children below six years, adolescent girls, and expectant and nursing mothers, the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) was launched on 2nd October 1975 via the network of Anganwadis. It included a range of services like supplementary nutrition, preschool education, immunization, health check-up, referral services, and nutrition and health education. The majority of Karnataka's population resides in rural areas (61.3%) and among them, children (aged zero to six years) constitute around 12.05%. The incidence of mortality and morbidity among vulnerable groups is quite high. A total of 204 ICDS project areas have been sanctioned in Karnataka till 2012, out of which 63,377 Anganwadi centers (AWCs) from 185 projects have been functional. Findings show an alarming gap of 12 million beneficiaries for the required services. Mere 44% of children between 12 and 23 months have received complete immunization. The scheme has reached a stage where enriching its contents is more crucial than concentrating on universalization. Our study has tried to recognize the hindrances in the delivery of ICDS services by evaluating the performance of Anganwadi workers (AWWs), which in turn will optimize the benefit for the beneficiaries. Materials and methods This was a community-based, cross-sectional, descriptive study conducted over a period of six months. The tertiary medical college covers a population of 16,231 in its rural catchment area, whose health needs are served by 21 AWCs. All 21 centers were included in the study through the universal sampling method. Data collection commenced after obtaining clearance from the Institutional Ethics Committee and permission from the Program Officer and Child Development Project Officer (CDPO) of the concerned ICDS block. Informed consent was taken from all the AWWs. Data to evaluate the performance of AWWs were collected using a pre-validated and pre-structured questionnaire. Performance was evaluated by allotting scores to each question. Results Among the 21 AWWs interviewed, 38.1% belonged to the age group of 41-50 years. Of them, 76.2% achieved the correct number of target home visits per day. Growth charts were plotted correctly by the workers in only 60% of centers. Only 57.1% of centers stored raw food materials safely, away from infestation. In 71.4% of centers, the health staff had immunized the children appropriately. Only 38.1% of AWWs had the knowledge of giving paracetamol tablets to the mothers in case of fever and were also giving vitamin syrup to the children. Only 19% of AWWs responded correctly regarding the importance of Village Health and Nutrition Days (VHND). In our study, 11 (52.4%) workers had "good" knowledge about delivering different services under the ICDS scheme, eight (38.1%) had "poor" knowledge while two (9.5%) workers had "satisfactory" knowledge. Conclusion The present study gives some insight into the existing situation in rural AWCs. Although the majority of AWWs had good knowledge about delivering different services under the ICDS scheme, further improvement is needed for optimizing the outcome.

Evaluation of a Program of Aquatic Motor Games in the Improvement of Motor Competence in Children from 4 to 5 Years Old

The present study aimed to verify whether a program of initiation to the aquatic environment composed of motor games (motor stories, learning environments and motor circuits) is more effective in the acquisition of aquatic skills in early childhood education than a traditional program. For this purpose, the Escala de Competencia Motriz Acuática for 4–5 year-old children was used before and after both programs. This scale has two factors, one named Familiarization, linked to more elementary aquatic abilities, and the Immersion factor, which integrates more advanced aquatic abilities. The two programs were used as independent variables, and there was a sample of 17 children over six weeks. The results show that both programs improved the acquisition of aquatic skills. The program that integrated motor games impacted the improvement of skills related to the Immersion factor significantly more.

An artificial intelligence method for comprehensive evaluation of preschool education quality

The evolution in the quality of teaching for preschool education is worth studying. In this article, we solved the qualitative problems in the comprehensive quality evaluation by suggesting a method of quantitative combination and establishing a set of indicators suitable for the comprehensive quality evaluation of students in the kindergarten. According to the experience summed up by previous scholars, the weight of each index is obtained by an analytic hierarchy process. This study analyzed the defects and causes of fuzzy comprehensive evaluation and the neural network model in the construction of early childhood and preschool education's comprehensive quality evaluation model and propose a Feedforward Neural Network (FNN) model. FNN combined with neural network (NN) and fuzzy logic characteristics introduces fuzzy concepts and fuzzy inference rules into neural networks of neurons, the connection power, and network learning. It improves the learning ability of NN and fuzzy evaluation of the power of expression and effectively exerts the advantages of fuzzy logic and neural network to make up for their shortcomings. However, the convergence speed is very slow. To solve this problem, the similarity measure was used to improve the number of hidden layer nodes of the network. The effectiveness and feasibility of the FNN improved hidden layer nodes are verified by an example so as to realize the automation of comprehensive quality evaluation.

Effects of Group-Play Moderate to Vigorous Intensity Physical Activity Intervention on Executive Function and Motor Skills in 4- to 5-Year-Old Preschoolers: A Pilot Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial

The aim of the present study is to examine the effect of group-play intervention on executive function (EF) in preschoolers. This group-play intervention was integrated as moderate to vigorous physical activity and cognitively loaded exercise to promote EF in preschoolers. An 8-week group-play MVPA intervention program, consisting of a series of outdoor physical and cognitively loaded games, was designed to improve preschoolers' EF. This intervention program was implemented in group-play form, and conducted by teachers who received standardized training before the intervention. Two classes of second grade preschoolers (N = 62) were randomly allocated to experimental (n = 30, M age = 4.16, SD = 0.29) and control (n = 32, M age = 4.7, SD = 0.43) groups. The intervention group received the intervention three times a week, while the control group exercised as usual in preschool. Before, in the middle of, and after the intervention, 10-m running, standing broad jump, throwing, body flexion, balance beam, and skip jump were assessed as tests of motor skills. In addition, three components of EF were measured separately before, in the middle of, and after the intervention: inhibitory control was assessed by using the silly sound Stroop task, working memory was tested using the empty house task, and shifting was assessed using the dimensional change card sorting task. Although both groups showed an increasing trend in terms of motor skills and EF during the intervention, the increasing amounts of the intervention group were significantly higher than the control group. The findings of the present study suggested that group-play intervention has positive effects on aspects of EF in addition to motor skills in preschoolers.

A Radial Basis Function Neural Network Approach to Predict Preschool Teachers' Technology Acceptance Behavior

With the continual development of artificial intelligence and smart computing in recent years, quantitative approaches have become increasingly popular as an efficient modeling tool as they do not necessitate complicated mathematical models. Many nations have taken steps, such as transitioning to online schooling, to decrease the harm caused by coronaviruses. Inspired by the demand for technology in early education, the present research uses a radial basis function (RBF) neural network (NN) modeling technique to predict preschool instructors' technology usage in classes based on recognized determinant characteristics of technology acceptance. In this regard, this study utilized the RBFNN approach to predict preschool teachers' technology acceptance behavior, based on the theory of planned behavior, which states that behavioral achievement, in our case the actual technology use in class, depends on motivation, intention and ability, and behavioral control. Thus, this research design is based on an adapted version of the technology acceptance model (TAM) with eight dimensions: D1. Perceived usefulness, D2. Perceived ease of use, D3. Perceived enjoyment, D4. Intention to use, D5. Actual use, D6. Compatibility, D7. Attitude, and D8. Self-efficacy. According to the TAM, actual usage is significantly predicted by the other seven dimensions used in this research. Instead of using the classical multiple linear regression statistical processing of data, we opted for a NN based on the RBF approach to predict the actual usage behavior. This study included 182 preschool teachers who were randomly chosen from a project-based national preschool teacher training program and who responded to our online questionnaire. After designing the RBF function with the actual usage as an output variable and the other seven dimensions as input variables, in the model summary, we obtained in the training sample a sum of squares error of 37.5 and a percent of incorrect predictions of 43.3%. In the testing sample, we obtained a sum of squares error of 14.88 and a percent of incorrect predictions of 37%. Thus, we can conclude that 63% of the classified data are correctly assigned to the models' dependent variable, i.e., actual technology use, which is a significant rate of correct predictions in the testing sample. This high significant percentage of correct classification represents an important result, mainly because this is the first study to apply RBFNN's prediction on psychological data, opening up a new interdisciplinary field of research.

Assessment of Preschool's Inclusive Participation in Social Responsibility Program Under Institutional Pressure: Evidence From China

China set the goal of expanding early childhood education (ECE) in 2018, by encouraging the development of public interest kindergartens (PIK) to provide high-quality, low-cost preschool services to the general public. This is in response to the challenges of accessibility, affordability, and accountability besetting China’s current ECE system. However, the transition toward PIK has been slow due to various complex problems, including the lackluster willingness of ECE providers to become PIK. To better understand the challenges leading to low participation, this study explores the external pressures affecting ECE providers and evaluates the external factors that influence their level of social responsibility. A stratified-random sampling questionnaire survey solicited responses from 832 ECE personnel representing 261 kindergartens from across China. Our findings suggest that institutional pressure has a positive effect on social responsibility and inclusive participation. We also found that institution visibility positively regulates the relationship between institutional pressure and social responsibility. At the same time, the level of environmental perception positively governs the relationship between social responsibility and participation willingness. Kindergartens should have certain social values, including assuming certain behaviors and participating in social activities in the spirit of social service and ensure multiple subjects’ synergetic governance.

Research on the Impact of the Emotional Expression of Kindergarten Teachers on Children: From the Perspective of the Class Micro-Power Relationship

During the preschool years, the socio-emotional responses children receive from interactions with teachers are incorporated into their own social behaviors. This is one of the key ways in which children acquire social and emotional skills. Based on field studies, it can be found that this learning process is not simple imitation of children, but of a more complex context of group interaction. To further clarify the impact of kindergarten teachers' emotion on the sociometric status and behavior of 3-5 year-old children in their classes, the researchers chose a Montessori mixed-age kindergarten in Beijing as the field site and observed five classes within the kindergarten over a 2-month period in this ethnographic case study. The study found that the power gap between teacher and pupil spreads rapidly to all children in the classroom as a result of the teacher's emotions, and even stimulates power stratification within the children. In addition, there are differences in the social behaviors between the children of different levels of power. As preschool children are in a critical developmental window when social knowledge is being accumulated and social skills are being acquired, using power relations within the kindergarten classroom as an entry point to analyze the impact of teachers' emotions on children's social behavior provides a new breakthrough for the professional development of early childhood education and the better achievement of educational goals.

Effects of Body-Oriented Interventions on Preschoolers' Social-Emotional Competence: A Systematic Review

OBJECTIVE

A growing body of evidence supports the effectiveness of body-oriented interventions (BOI) in educational contexts, showing positive influences on social-emotional competence. Nevertheless, there is a lack of systematization of the evidence regarding preschool years. This is a two-part systematic review. In this first part, we aim to examine the effects of BOI on preschoolers' social-emotional competence outcomes.

DATA SOURCES

Searches were conducted in Pubmed, Scopus, PsycInfo, ERIC, Web of Science, Portal Regional da BVS and CINAHL.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

English, French and Portuguese language articles published between January 2000 and October 2020, that evaluated the effects of BOI implemented in educational contexts on social-emotional competence of preschool children. Only randomized controlled trials (RCT) or quasi-RCT were included.

DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS

Two reviewers independently completed data extraction and risk-of-bias assessment. The level of scientific evidence was measured through the Best Evidence Synthesis.

RESULTS

Nineteen studies were included. There was strong evidence that BOI do not improve anger/aggression, delay of gratification and altruism. Nevertheless, there was moderate evidence that BOI effectively improve other social-emotional outcomes, such as empathy, social interaction, social independence, general internalizing behaviors, and general externalizing behaviors. The lack of scientific evidence was compromised by the methodological quality of the studies.

CONCLUSION

BOI effectively improve specific social-emotional competences of preschool children.

SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION

PROSPERO, identifier CRD42020172248.

Effectiveness of Sexual Abuse Prevention Training Program Developed by Creative Drama for Preschoolers: An Experimental Study

The purpose of the study is to determine the effectiveness of the "My Body is Special" Training Program (MBS-TP), which was developed using the creative drama method to gain information about body recognition and body safety in preventing sexual abuse in children. This is an experimental study conducted with a control group using a pretest/posttest design. This study was carried out in two preschools in Turkey, involving 87 children in the 5-6 age group. MBS-TP was applied to children in the intervention group through eight sessions over 3 weeks. Results indicate that the body's private areas were guessed at lower rates in the intervention group in the pretest (vagina/vulva 13.6%, penis 2.3%) than the posttest (vagina/vulva 77.3%, penis 68.2%). In the control group, in both the pretest (vagina/vulva 7.7%, penis 0%) and posttest (vagina/vulva 11.5%, penis 0%) knowledge was at similarly low rates. There was a statistically significant increase in the knowledge of "saying, doing, telling, reporting" skills of protecting their bodies for children in the intervention group in the posttest. The "MBS-TP" was found to be effective in increasing ability to recognize parts of the body and body safety techniques for preventing sexual abuse in children aged 5-6.

Pre-service Teachers Learning to Teach English as a Foreign Language to Preschool Learners in Macau: A Longitudinal Study

Language teacher beliefs have received increasing research attention for the past few decades. However, little is known about the beliefs of pre-service teachers in the pre-primary English as a foreign language (EFL) education context. This qualitative case study extends this line of inquiry by investigating the trajectory of student teachers' beliefs about teaching English to pre-primary learners in Macau within a teacher education course. The participants included 60 pre-service teachers taking an English Language Activities course in their third year of a 4-year Bachelor of pre-primary education program. The data comprised written reflections collected at three points in time during the 16-week course: at the beginning of the course, mid-way through the course, and at the end of the course. The findings showed five broad themes, constituted from 15 subthemes, regarding (1) learners and learning, (2) teaching, (3) subject, (4) self, and (5) learning to teach. The major themes have been documented in the literature, but several subthemes were identified for the first time in the context of pre-primary EFL teacher education. More importantly, the findings revealed that some of the subthemes were newly shaped and several subthemes were reshaped as a consequence of taking the course. The findings were interpreted in relation to the content of the course, the experiential learning opportunities, the pre-service teachers' prior experiences of language learning and teaching, and the local language teaching and learning context. Implications for pre-service teacher education programs are discussed.

Slow wave sleep in naps supports episodic memories in early childhood

Naps have been shown to benefit visuospatial learning in early childhood. This benefit has been associated with sleep spindles during the nap. However, whether young children's naps and their accompanying physiology benefit other forms of declarative learning is unknown. Using a novel storybook task, we found performance in children (N = 22, mean age = 51.23 months) was better following a nap compared to performance following an equivalent interval spent awake. Moreover, performance remained better the following day if a nap followed learning. Change in post-nap performance was positively associated with the amount of time spent in slow wave sleep during the nap. This suggests that slow wave sleep in naps may support episodic memory consolidation in early childhood. Taken in conjunction with prior work, these results suggest that multiple features of brain physiology during naps may contribute to declarative memory processing in early childhood.

Can Motion Graphic Animation About Snakes Improve Preschoolers' Detection on Snakes? A Study of Inattentional Blindness

This study created a motion graphic (MG) animation about the danger of snakes within a story telling structure, which is different from a traditional science animation that relies on explanatory language to explain the scientific concept. The effects of the two types of animations on children's attentional perception on snakes were compared by an inattentional blindness (IB) task. Three groups of children undertook the IB task with one control group who did not watch the animation and the other two groups who watched the MG and the traditional styled animation, respectively in advance. The results showed that: (1) Children who watched the animation were significantly more likely to detect the unexpected snake images in the IB task than those who did not watch the animation; (2) Children who watched the MG animation showed a higher detection rate on the snake images than those who watched the traditional animation. The findings indicate that the intervention of animation would increase children's attentional perception on the key concepts significantly. The MG animation has more impact than the traditional animation on children's attentional perception on the key information. This study demonstrates that MG animation may have a significant value in promoting science education for young children that merits further explorations in depth.

Analysis of Motor Intervention Program on the Development of Gross Motor Skills in Preschoolers

This study aimed to investigate the influence of a structured movement activity program on the motor development of children aged three to five years attending preschool. Participants were 136 preschool students with normative development at three to four years old who lived in the Region of Murcia (Spain). The McCarthy Children’s Psychomotricity and Aptitude Scales (MSCA) battery of psychomotor tests was used to evaluate the motor development profiles of preschoolers before and after the intervention. The sample was divided into two groups: an intervention group (28 students) and a comparison group (108 students). A structured 24 week physical education program was used in the intervention group. An experiential program based on free play was used in the comparison group during the same period. Preschoolers in both groups got a significant improvement in the contrast of pre-intervention with post-intervention in limb coordination. Statistically significant differences in the post-intervention measurements between the comparison group and the intervention group on arm and leg coordination were observed, whereby the intervention group presented higher arm coordination values (F_1,134 = 14,389, p = 0.000, η² = 0.097) and higher leg coordination values (F_1,134 = 19,281, p = 0.000, η² = 0.126) than the comparison group. It was pointed out that structured physical activity education is better educational methodology than free play to achieve adequate motor development in preschool children.

Validity and Internal Consistency of the Preschool-FLAT, a New Tool for the Assessment of Food Literacy in Young Children from the Training-To-Health Project

Background: The importance of assessing “food literacy” since youth has been highlighted and, to this purpose, valid and consistent instruments are needed. This study aimed to assess the validity and internal consistency of the preschool-FLAT (Food Literacy Assessment Tool). Methods. 505 children from 21 kindergartens, recruited within the Training-to-Health Project in Palermo (Italy), underwent oral sessions and activities on food-related aspects. Their knowledge/skills were recorded in the preschool-FLAT. The following scale measures were assessed: Content validity; internal consistency (Chronbach’s alpha coefficients); construct validity (Structural Equation Modeling—SEM); discriminant validity (intervention subgroup of 100 children vs. control group of 27 children). Results. Acceptable content validity of a 16-items scale and overall adequate internal consistency were revealed: Content validity index (CVI) 0.94, content validity ratio (CVR) 0.88, Chronbach’s alpha 0.76. The SEM revealed a 4-factor model fitting the data well (comparative fit index 0.939, root mean square error of approximation 0.033). Discriminant validity was good (intervention group scoring higher than control, p < 0.001, unpaired Student’s t-test). Conclusion. The preschool-FLAT revealed good psychometric properties, adequate validity and internal consistency. This is the only instrument in the literature specifically targeted to 3–6 years old children that could be effectively used to assess food literacy.

A Pilot Study of Two Different Constraint-Induced Movement Therapy Interventions in Children With Hemiplegic Cerebral Palsy After Botulinum Toxin Injection During Preschool Education

Introduction: To establish a pilot study on applying two low dose (40 h) constraint-induced movement therapy (CIMT) interventions in children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy (CP) after botulinum toxin (BoNT-A) injection during preschool education. Methods: Five children with spastic CP (mean age: 5.31 years; Gross Motor Function Classification System level I and II) undergoing regular BoNT-A injections and rehabilitation programs were included. Participants were randomly allocated to one of two CIMT programs (40 h): a 2-week 4-hours/day CIMT program and a 4-week 2-hours/day CIMT program. One CIMT program was performed 1 month after a BoNT-A injection, and then the second program was implemented with the next injection. The outcomes were measured by changes in Goal Attainment Scaling (GAS), the grasp and Visual-Motor Integration (VMI) test in Peabody-Developmental Motor Scales (PDMS), the self-care scale on the Functional Skill Scale, and the Caregiver Assistance in Chinese Version of Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory (PEDI-C), Anxiety and Oppositional Defiance Problems of Achenbach System of Empirically-Based Assessment before and after the CIMT interventions, and at every 2 months' follow-up thereafter. Results: The mean age of the participants was 5.31 years, BMI was 16.7 (kg/m²), VIQ was 86.4 ± 8.5, and dose of BoNT-A injection in the upper limb was 42 ± 26.6 units. Grasp, VMI, and self-care on the Functional Skill Scale were significantly better in the 4-week 2-hours/day CIMT program (p < 0.001, p = 0.001, p < 0.001). GAS, grasp, VMI, two 2 self-care scales of PEDI were significantly improved after the CIMT programs, and improvement continued for up to 4 months after the programs. There was no clinical evidence showing changes in the scores for anxiety and oppositional defiance problems during the study period. Conclusions: The preliminary findings, although limited, suggest a potential therapeutic role for the school-based CIMT program after BoNT-A injection. The 4-week 2-hours/day CIMT program might be better than a 2-week 4-hours/day program in terms of self-care and hand function when performed in kindergarten in this pilot study. Furthermore, this pilot study provides valuable information; therefore, it is crucial to include more CP children and blinded assessors for hand function and ADL in the future study.

From What Age Is Mental Rotation Training Effective? Differences in Preschool Age but Not in Sex

Currently, there is evidence that spatial skills training leads to an improvement of such skills, although studies with children in the Preschool stage are very scarce. This paper aims to examine the effectiveness of mental rotation (MR) training and sex differences in preschool children. Two experiments were carried out. Experiment 1 included 59 children of 1st course (aged between 3 and 4 years) and Experiment 2, 61 children of 2nd course (aged between 4 and 5 years) of Preschool Education, distributed into control and training groups. The results showed a significant improvement in the MR ability of the training group (measured through a different test than the one used for training) only in the older children, and a tendency toward significance in the younger participants. Moreover, no sex differences in MR or group differences across age groups were found. These results regarding MR training support the malleability of spatial skills approach, particularly in 4–5 year-old preschoolers. This malleability should be enhanced in our educational system, as well as the implementation of educational and social policies that tend toward equality between sexes in the development of spatial skills. This can promote an equitable access to academic careers requiring high spatial skills such as engineering, science, technology or mathematics, in which nowadays women are underrepresented.

The Impact of a Motor-Cognitive Remediation Program on Attentional Functions of Preschoolers With ADHD Symptoms

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study was to measure the impact of the motor-cognitive remediation program (MCRP) that uses sensorimotor and visual-motor imagery techniques on attentional functions in preschoolers with ADHD symptoms.

METHOD

A total of 15 high-risk preschoolers were selected based on high ADHD symptoms. An experimental group participated in the MCRP and was compared with a control group. The MCRP consisted of 30 activities, 3 times a week, during 12 weeks.

RESULTS

Children in the experimental group improved significantly for orienting (selective attention) and executive control (inhibition, stopping, and engaging mental operations) compared with the control group.

CONCLUSION

These results are a first step to support the postulate that training specific attentional functions by sensorimotor activities and visual-motor imagery has an impact on the cognitive network of attention. This study suggests the potential value of MCRP addressed to preschoolers with ADHD symptoms.

Structural Equation Modeling of the Effects of Family, Preschool, and Stunting on the Cognitive Development of School Children

A recent study based on a sample of 1,580 children from five adjacent geographical locations in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, was carried out to examine the association of nutrition, family influence, preschool education, and disadvantages in geographical location with the cognitive development of school children. Data were collected on the children from 2009 to 2011 for this developmental study and included cognitive scores and information on the health and nutrition of the children. The current study analyzed the association of demographic variables (geographical location (site)), child variables (sex, preschool education and socioeconomic status), parental level of education (maternal and paternal), child’s health (HIV status and hemoglobin level) and anthropometric measures of nutritional status (height-for-age) with children’s cognitive outcomes. The hypothesis is that the nutritional status of children is a pathway through which the indirect effects of the variables of interest exert influence on their cognitive outcomes. Factor analysis based on principal components was used to create a variable based on the cognitive measures, correlations were used to examine the bivariate association between the variables of interest in the preliminary analysis and a path analysis was constructed, which was used for the disaggregation of the direct and indirect effects of the predictors for each cognitive test in a structural equation model. The results revealed that nutritional status directly predicts cognitive test scores and is a path through which other variables indirectly influence children’s cognitive outcome and development.