Awareness of children's developmental problems and sharing of concerns with parents by preschool teachers and childcare workers: The Japanese context.

BACKGROUND: This study aims to determine the extent to which preschool teachers and childcare workers are aware of the presence of developmental problems among children and to what extent they share information with parents about their concerns regarding a child's development or diagnosis of neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs). METHODS: We wrote to all 924 preschools and childcare centres in Japan's Nagano and Yamanashi prefectures to request participants. We then sent survey forms to the preschools and childcare centres that agreed to cooperate for three grades comprising 3-, 4- and 5-year-olds in the school year 2020. We asked the staff member in charge of each child to complete the survey. The survey included questions about the teacher's concerns regarding the possibility of an NDD and whether the matter had been shared with the children's parents. RESULTS: We obtained data for 10 354 children from 206 preschools and childcare centres (response rate = 22.3%). Among these children, 457 (4.4%) had an NDD diagnosis that their parents shared with the teachers. However, the teachers of 1274 children (12.3%) had concerns regarding their development but were not informed by the parents about the diagnosis, if any. These 1274 children included 775 (60.8%) cases where the teachers failed to share their concerns with parents because (1) the teachers could not communicate with parents (n = 119), (2) the teachers were not sure if there was a neurodevelopmental problem (n = 360) and (3) the parents were not aware of the problem (n = 296). CONCLUSIONS: Preschool teachers and childcare workers had concerns about the development of a substantial proportion of children in their charge. However, teachers and childcare workers did not share their concerns regarding many children's developmental problems with their parents. The findings suggest that there are challenges in information-sharing between teachers/childcare workers and parents.

Perceived Stress and Mental Health Literacy Among Chinese Preschool Teachers: A Moderated Mediation Model of Anxiety and Career Resilience.

Purpose: Chinese public mental health is currently characterized by a high prevalence of mental ill health and a low consultation rate, due primarily to the nation's low mental health literacy. Previous studies have shown that occupational stress may be a risk factor for mental health literacy. In China, preschool teachers are under high pressure; however, few studies have examined the mechanisms that mediate and moderate the relationship between preschool teachers' feelings of stress and their mental health literacy. Methods: A questionnaire was administered to 2352 preschool teachers to explore the relationship between their stress perceptions and mental health literacy. Results: Preschool teachers' perceived stress was significantly and negatively associated with their mental health literacy, with anxiety playing a partially mediating role. Preschool teachers' career resilience moderated the relationship between perceived stress and anxiety. Perceived stress positively predicted anxiety for teachers with low levels of career resilience; for teachers with high levels of career resilience, perceived stress still positively predicted anxiety, and the higher the level of career resilience, the weaker the positive prediction of stress perception on anxiety. Conclusion: Perceived stress directly predicted mental health literacy among preschool teachers, and also indirectly predicted mental health literacy through the mediating role of anxiety. Career resilience moderated the relationship between stress perception and anxiety. These findings provide new perspectives on the treatment and prevention of preschool teachers' mental ill health.

The relationship between preschool teacher trait mindfulness and teacher-child relationship quality: the chain mediating role of emotional intelligence and empathy.

The teacher-child relationship plays an important role in children's future development. However, the existing research mainly focuses on the influence of preschool teachers' external conditions on the teacher-student relationship, while the research on the influence of teachers' internal psychological characteristics on the teacher-student relationship is relatively lacking. In this study, three hundred and seventeen preschool teachers were tested were tested with Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire, Emotional Intelligence Scale, Chinese Interpersonal Response Index, and Teacher-student Relationship Scale. The results showed that trait mindfulness positively predicted the quality of parent-teacher relationship (ß = 0.173, p = 0.026). Emotional intelligence played a mediating role in trait mindfulness and teacher-child relationship quality (ß = 0.118, p = 0.004), and empathy played a mediating role in trait mindfulness and teacher-child relationship quality (ß = 0.112, p = 0.001). Meanwhile, emotional intelligence and empathy played a chain mediating role in trait mindfulness and parent-teacher relationship quality (ß = 0.044, p = 0.038). On the one hand, this study enriches attachment theory. The conclusions of this study verify the diversity of proximal factors in attachment theory, and confirm the influence of teachers' own characteristics and abilities on the teacher-child relationship quality. On the other hand, by exploring the factors affecting the teacher-child relationship quality, we can find ways to improve teacher-child relationship from a new perspective, and then provide some new methods and approaches for improving the quality of preschool teacher-child relationship.

The Mealtime Behavior Problems of Children with Developmental Disabilities and the Teacher's Stress in Inclusive Preschools.

With an increasing number of children with developmental disabilities entering inclusive preschools, preschool teachers face more behavioral problems in class. Preschool teachers typically attempt to address mealtime behavior problems of children with and without developmental disabilities simultaneously in class. This study used qualitative research to identify the stress triggers of preschool teachers addressing the mealtime behavior problems of children with developmental disabilities. Five preschool teachers attended semi-structured interviews. The results indicated that most children with developmental disabilities had problems with eating only preferred foods, using eating utensils appropriately during mealtime, becoming distracted from eating, and becoming frustrated with the classroom routine. Although solving these problems triggered stress in the preschool teachers, their stress was mainly in response to the children's parents, other children's imitation of inappropriate mealtime behaviors, and classroom schedule time management. Most of the preschool teachers stated that they had insufficient support. Preschool teachers require specialized information and strategies for improving the mealtime behaviors of children with developmental disabilities.

Negative Bias or Positive Deficiency, or Both? The Relationship Between Individual Authenticity and Depression Among Preschool Teachers: The Sequential Mediation Effects of Mindfulness and Self-Alienation.

Objective: Depression has become a topic of widespread concern around the world, and teachers' depression has also had an important impact on the healthy development of education. However, there are differences in the cognitive theory of depression and positive psychology about the mechanism of depression. This study attempts to verify the related viewpoints of the two viewpoints through empirical research. Methods: Three hundred and twenty eight preschool teachers were measured with authenticity scale, five facet mindfulness questionnaire, center for epidemiologic studies depression scale, and general alienation scale. Results: Individual authenticity negatively predicted depression. Mindfulness can mediate the relationship between individual authenticity and depression. Self-alienation mediates the relationship between individual authenticity and depression. In addition, mindfulness and self-alienation played a sequential mediating role between individual authenticity and depression. Conclusion: Mindfulness and self-alienation play a sequential mediating role between individual authenticity and depression. This study not only confirms the relevant theoretical viewpoints of positive psychology on depression, but also believes that individual depression is not only affected by one's own negative bias but also by one's own positive factors. At the same time, the individual's own positive factors will affect the negative factors. This perspective will provide new literature references to existing relevant theories about depression. In addition, this study will also provide literature reference for early childhood education practice.

Effectiveness of a Recertification Vision Screening Training Module for Preschool Teachers.

Background: Certified training must be provided for lay vision screeners prior to their conduct of a vision screening programme. However, the effectiveness of trained lay screeners does deteriorate over time. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of a recertification vision screening training module using the KieVision™ Preschool Vision Screening Kit for preschool teachers in Malaysia. Methods: This was a randomised control trial. Fifty-nine preschool teachers previously enrolled in a Knowledge Transfer Programme were divided into a Study Group (n = 31) to receive recertification training and a Control Group (n = 28) to attend briefing sessions. Subjects was then asked to perform vision screening on 15 preschool children aged 4 years old-6 years old at their respective premises, then verified by optometrists after 2 weeks from the initial screening on the same children. Results: A total of 894 children were screened, with the Study Group and Control Group screened 49.7% and 50.3%, respectively. There was higher validity in vision screening findings from the Study Group (sensitivity = 66.7%, positive predictive value (PPV) = 61.5%) compared to the Control Group (sensitivity = 36.0 %, PPV = 40.9%). Conclusion: Teachers who received recertification training were more competent in detecting children's vision impairment using KieVision™ Preschool Vision Screening Kit. Thus, timely recertification training should be emphasised to ensure sustainable consistency and reliability of vision screening programmes conducted by lay vision screeners.

The Relationship Between School-Based Research and Preschool Teachers' Teaching Ability: The Mediating Role of Constructivist Beliefs in Teaching.

To understand the relationship between kindergarten school-based research (SBR) and preschool teachers' teaching ability and identify the mechanism by which SBR affects teachers' teaching ability, a survey of randomly sampled preschool teachers in Sichuan Province (N = 625, Mage = 26.61) was conducted online using three scales assessing community learning, teaching ability and teaching philosophy. The survey results showed that the level of SBR reached the upper-middle level. The level of SBR positively predicted the teaching beliefs and teaching ability of preschool teachers. SBR influenced teaching ability through direct and indirect effects, with indirect effects accounting for 23.5% of the total effect; however, only constructivist teaching beliefs played a mediating role in the relationship between SBR and teaching ability via an indirect effect. SBR focused on improvement in teaching ability should not only examine the connection between SBR and practical problems to promote improvement in teachers' teaching ability but also should examine the role of teachers' beliefs and influence teachers' teaching abilities by changing teachers' teaching beliefs.

The Factor Structure of the Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale Adapted for Korean Preschool Teacher Candidates During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic.

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has remarkably challenged preschool teacher candidates, triggering concerns for their psychological well-being and mental health. Valid and reliable instruments to assess elements of mental health are thus required. The self-rating Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale demonstrates promise as an instrument for the identification and quantification of the states of anxiety and depression in non-psychiatric patients. The Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale is widely applied in both clinical and research contexts. However, no psychometric evaluations have been performed for this instrument with non-clinical samples such as preschool teacher candidates in South Korea. This study purposed to establish the factor structure of the Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale and to validate its Korean version and was conducted online with a sample of preschool teacher candidates during the peak of the coronavirus disease 2019 lockdown. Methods: Data were collected from 359 undergraduates currently enrolled in a 4-year early childhood education degree program at a private university in Korea. The sample was randomly split to perform exploratory factor analysis and then confirmatory factor analysis respectively to test competing models hypothesized to reflect the factor structure of the Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale. Results: Supplemental revisions based on confirmatory factor analysis modification indices demonstrated that a correlated 2-factor model with 1 cross-loaded item offered the best fit to the data with adequate internal reliability estimates. Conclusion: Overall, this study confirms the validity and factor structure of the Korean version of the Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale, which is deemed an acceptable instrument that can be used to measure the symptoms of depression and anxiety in Korean preschool teacher candidates.

Effects of a teacher training program to promote physically active play among preschoolers with autism spectrum disorders.

Wellness Enhancing Physical Activity for Young Children (WE PLAY) is an intervention intended to promote physical activity (PA) among typically-developing preschool children in child care settings. It was adapted for use by teachers who educate children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). This study used a multiple baseline design across participants to evaluate the impact of WE PLAY-Autism on teachers' PA facilitating behaviors and on the PA levels of children with ASD. Visual analysis and effect size estimates indicated that two of the three teachers increased their PA facilitating behavior, although this was insufficient to demonstrate a functional relation. Children's (n = 5) PA was measured daily during school hours using accelerometry. Visual analysis, which was further supported by effect size calculations, indicated higher average levels of moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) among preschoolers with ASD in the intervention phase (Tau-UA vs. B = 0.53, p < .001, Hedges' g = 0.99, 95% CI [0.56, 1.43]) and post-training phase (Tau-UA vs. B = 0.55, p < .001, Hedges' g = 1.17, 95% CI [0.73, 1.60]) in comparison to the baseline phase. WE PLAY-Autism is an intervention deserving of further investigation given its meaningful impact on the MVPA of preschoolers with ASD paired with its potential for broad implementation in preschools.

Preschool Education in Turkey During the Covid-19 Pandemic: A Phenomenological Study.

This study investigated the repercussions of the Covid-19 pandemic on preschool education and sought answers to how preschool education is implemented, what kind of activities are held, what kind of challenges need to be overcome, and what measures need to be taken to sustain preschool education. The sample consisted of 25 preschool teachers and 30 parents recruited using criterion sampling, a purposive sampling method. The study was based on phenomenology, which is a qualitative research design. Data were collected using a semi-structured interview form and video records of participants performing educational practice within two months. Data were analyzed using inductive content analysis. Participants stated that the Covid-19 pandemic had numerous adverse effects on preschool education and that they held art, science, and mathematics activities and games to sustain education but faced numerous challenges during the process. They also emphasized that measures should be taken to sustain preschool education during pandemics.

Development of Dyslexia Health Education Module (DHEM) for Preschool Teachers

@#Introduction: Dyslexia, which is a learning disability that affects many aspects of children’s development, has a prevalence of 5 – 17%, worldwide. There are many negative perceptions towards children with dyslexia, and one of it is when there is lack of teachers’ knowledge about this problem. Aim: The objective of this study is to develop and discuss on a newly developed module on dyslexia, i.e. Dyslexia Health Education Module (DHEM) for preschool teachers, Method: This module is developed using the ADDIE model (A-Analysis, D-De- sign, D-Develop, I- Implement, E-Evaluate). The content of DHEM consists of general information for pre-school teachers about dyslexia, identification and intervention for dyslexia among children as well as its mental health implications. Results: The newly developed module was found to have a good content validity with a score of 0.7 when evaluated by eight expert panels from respective fields. The Cronbach alpha’s value for reliability test was 0.90. These findings suggest that this module is good, reliable and applicable. Discussion: It is hoped that with the development of DHEM, this would increase teachers’ knowledge on dyslexia among children in Malaysia, especially in recognizing at-risk children and consequently may lead to early intervention in managing the problem. This study also suggests that future longitudinal studies should be carried out using this module to ensure its effectiveness in the long run.

Current status and influencing factors of job burnout in rural preschool teachers in Sichuan Province / 中国职业医学

OBJECTIVE: To understand the current status and influencing factors of job burnout in rural preschool teachers. METHODS: A stratified cluster random sampling method was used to investigate the job burnout and social support of 756 rural preschool teachers in Sichuan Province using the Maslach Burnout Inventory, Educators Survey and Social Support Revalued Scale. RESULTS: The positive rate of job burnout was 22.1%(167/756), and the positive rates of emotional exhaustion, reduced personal achievement, and depersonalization were 13.1%, 10.7% and 1.2%, respectively. The results of unconditional logistic regression analysis showed that post status, daily working hours, subjective support and utilization of support were all related to job burnout(P<0.05). Among them, in-post and daily working hours >10 hours were risk factors of job burnout, high subjective support and utilization of support were the protective factors of job burnout. CONCLUSION: The situation of job burnout in rural preschool teachers in Sichuan Province is not serious, post status, daily work hours and social support can affect their job burnout.

Preschool Teachers’ Knowledge on Dyslexia: A Malaysian Experience

@#Introduction: Teachers play a vital role in identifying students with dyslexia. The acquisition of this knowledge will help teachers to classify students who are at risk of dyslexia. The objective of this study is to identify the level of teachers’ knowledge about dyslexia that comprises of its general knowledge, diagnosis, symptoms and treatments. A cross sectional study was done upon 138 preschool teachers. This research was conducted by using ‘Knowledge and Beliefs about Developmental Dyslexia’ questionnaire, which consists of 36 items with 3 Likert scale questions. Findings revealed that the level of general knowledge possessed by the pre-school teachers was relatively different based on the construct even though they have respectively received the Diploma in Early Childhood Education. On the same hand, most of the respondents were found to be having higher understanding on the general knowledge about dyslexia compared to their understanding on the symptoms, diagnosis and the treatments

(Des) Valorização da atividade física na pré-escola por professores / (No) Valorization of physical activity in early schools by teachers / (Des)valorización de la actividad física en educación preescolar por parte de los maestros

Resumo O objetivo deste estudo foi analisar a importância e a frequência de atividades cotidianas, dadas pelos professores de pré-escolas, em dois estados brasileiros. Eles preencheram um questionário sobre as atividades feitas pelas crianças. A maioria dos professores (90%) considerou tais atividades importantes, mas apenas 15% indicaram frequência diária de atividades físicas. As atividades que tendem ao sedentarismo foram as mais frequentes e as mais importantes e não há oferta suficiente de atividades físicas. Estratégias de intervenção e diálogo entre professores, pais, governos, bem como outros setores da sociedade, precisam ser implantadas para elevar os níveis de atividade física na pré-escola e combater o estilo de vida sedentário.

Abstract The goal of this study was to analyze importance and frequency of daily activities given by preschool teachers from two Brazilian states. They completed a questionnaire about the activities carried out by children. Most of them (90%) considered such activities as important but just 15% of them indicated a daily frequency of physical activity. Sedentary activities were more often and more important and they do not offer enough physical activities. Intervention strategies and dialogue among teachers, parents, government as well other communities sectors are need to be implanted in order to elevate physical activities levels in preschool children and combat sedentary lifestyle.

Resumen El objetivo de este estudio fue analizar la importancia y la frecuencia de las actividades diarias impartidas por los maestros de preescolar en dos estados brasileños. Los maestros completaron un cuestionario sobre las actividades feitas por los niños. La mayoría de profesores (90%) considera que esas actividades son importantes aunque solo el 15% señalaron que la frecuencia de las actividades físicas era diaria. Las actividades que tienden hacia un estilo de vida sedentario son los más frecuentes y las más importantes, y no hay suficiente oferta de actividades físicas. Deben implantarse estrategias de intervención y diálogo entre maestros, padres, gobierno y otros sectores de la sociedad para aumentar los niveles de actividad física en preescolar y combatir el estilo de vida sedentario.

Directive and nondirective social support in the workplace - is this social support distinction important for subjective health complaints, job satisfaction, and perception of job demands and job control?

AIMS: Social support is associated with well-being and positive health outcomes. However, positive outcomes of social support might be more dependent on the way support is provided than the amount of support received. A distinction can be made between directive social support, where the provider resumes responsibility, and nondirective social support, where the receiver has the control. This study examined the relationship between directive and nondirective social support, and subjective health complaints, job satisfaction and perception of job demands and job control. METHODS: A survey was conducted among 957 Norwegian employees, working in 114 private kindergartens (mean age 40.7 years, SD = 10.5, 92.8% female), as part of a randomized controlled trial. This study used only baseline data. A factor analysis of the Norwegian version of the Social Support Inventory was conducted, identifying two factors: nondirective and directive social support. Hierarchical regression analyses were then performed. RESULTS: Nondirective social support was related to fewer musculoskeletal and pseudoneurological complaints, higher job satisfaction, and the perception of lower job demands and higher job control. Directive social support had the opposite relationship, but was not statistically significant for pseudoneurological complaints. CONCLUSIONS: It appears that for social support to be positively related with job characteristics and subjective health complaints, it has to be nondirective. Directive social support was not only without any association, but had a significant negative relationship with several of the variables. Nondirective social support may be an important factor to consider when aiming to improve the psychosocial work environment. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinicaltrials.gov: NCT02396797. Registered 23 March 2015.

Seizure management by preschool teachers: A training concept focussing on practical skills.

PURPOSE: Prolonged seizures can cause severe harm and even death. For seizures lasting longer than 5min, an administration of rescue medication is therefore recommended. Caregivers such as preschool teachers should be able to administer correctly anticonvulsive rescue medication to children. METHODS: A training concept for preschool teachers on seizure management focussing on practical skills was developed. To assess the success of the training, a structured interview on attitudes relating to rescue medication administration was conducted. The number of committed errors during administration of a rectal/buccal rescue medication to dummy dolls was compared before and after training. RESULTS: 210 teachers from 115 preschools participated while all teachers from 303 preschools had been invited. The self-reported level of confidence in their own skills to administer anticonvulsive rescue medication increased from 5 to 8 on a scale from 1 to 10 (p<0.001). The number of participants who agreed to administer rescue medication rose from 195/210 (92.8%) before training to 209/210 (99.5%, p<0.001) after training for the rectal route, and from 173/210 (82.4%) to 209/210 (99.5%, p<0.001) for the buccal route. For teachers who administered rescue medication before and after training, the number of administrations without any administration errors rose from 1/195 (0.5%) to 117/195 (60.0%, p<0.001) for the rectal route, and from 13/173 (7.5%) to 95/173 (54.9%, p<0.001) for the buccal route. CONCLUSION: A training for preschool teachers boosted the level of self-confidence relating to administration of anticonvulsive rescue medication. Teachers also committed fewer errors when administering rescue medication to dummy dolls.

Relationship among social support,work engagement and mental health in preschool teachers / 中国职业医学

OBJECTIVE: To explore the relationship among social support,work engagement and mental health in preschool teachers. METHODS: By cluster random sampling method,348 preschool teachers from cities and countryside in Henan Province were selected as study subjects. A questionnaire survey was conducted using the Social Support Rating Scale,the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale and the Symptom Checklist-90( SCL-90) to analyze the relationship among social support,work engagement and mental health. RESULTS: The social support total score,the dimension scores of objective support,subjective support and support utilization were( 40. 90 ± 10. 48),( 8. 93 ± 2. 87),( 23. 79 ± 5. 85) and( 8. 17 ± 1. 94),respectively. The work engagement total score,the vitality,devotion and concentration dimension scores were( 71. 69 ±20. 18),( 24. 91 ± 9. 06),( 21. 44 ± 6. 93) and( 25. 34 ± 7. 58),respectively. The SCL-90 total score was( 1. 85 ±0. 63). Each dimension score of social support was positively correlated with each dimension score of work engagement( P < 0. 01). The SCL-90 total score was negatively correlated with each dimension score of social support and work engagement( P < 0. 01). The 3 dimensions of social support including objective support,subjective support and support utilization had significant direct effect( the standard path coefficients were- 0. 21,- 0. 27 and- 0. 23,respectively,P < 0. 01) on mental health. They also had indirect effect(- 0. 13,- 0. 16 and- 0. 12,respectively) on the mental health through work engagement among preschool teachers which accounted for 38. 00%,37. 00% and 34. 00% of their total effects(- 0. 34,- 0. 43 and- 0. 35,respectively). CONCLUSION: The social support and work engagement are important factors influencing the mental health of preschool teachers. The work engagement acts as a partial mediator between social support and mental health.

Current Status in Management of Children with Atopic Dermatitis and Knowledge and Practice of Preschool Teachers

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to describe current status in management of children with atopic dermatitis and to examine knowledge and care practices of preschool teachers. METHODS: A survey using a self-administered questionnaire was conducted. Knowledge and practice were measured with the questionnaire by Park (2011). Data were analysed using SPSS.WIN 20.0. RESULTS: Of the teachers, 81.3% managed children with atopic dermatitis depending on parents' needs and 58.9% reported difficulties due to limited knowledge and expressed a need for continuing education and provision of educational guidelines. Preschool teachers had a mean score for knowledge about atopic dermatitis of .75 out of 1 point. Among three domains of knowledge, signs & symptoms had the highest score and management, the lowest. The mean score for care practices for children with atopic dermatitis was 3.4 out of 4 points. Among the four domains of care practices, food had the highest score and dress & bedclothes, the lowest. Knowledge and practice of the teachers were different according to responsibility in management and educational need. The correlation between knowledge and practice was not significant. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that educational programs and strategies should be developed to increase preschool teachers' knowledge and improve care practice for children with atopic dermatitis.