Mental health promotion in childcare centres: Childcare educators’ understanding of child and parental mental health

Sims, Margaret; Davis, Elise; Davies, Belinda; Nicholson, Jan; Harrison, Linda J.; Herrman, Helen; Waters, Elizabeth; Marshall, Bernie; Cook, Kay; Priest, Naomi

doi:10.5172/jamh.2011.10.2.138

Cited by 12 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 6 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…pairing children to play, help to resolve conflict; Hollingsworth & Winter, 2013); informing parents (e.g. about children's preferences as a way to support friendships) and providing support to parents when possible (Rosenthal, Crowley, & Curry, 2009;Sims et al, 2012). In regular practice, however, most of the time such approaches are not implemented as planned strategies to promote all preschoolers' social skills and competences (Hollingsworth & Winter, 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…These include difficulties in relating and communicating with parents (Sims et al, 2012;Rosenthal et al, 2009), inadequate training and preparation on the topic (Davis et al, 2010;Sims et al, 2012;Wen et al, 2011), inadequate resources for the organisation of activities and large teacher-child ratios (Davis et al, 2010). Of importance, however, are more latent mediating beliefs such as what constitute adaptive social and emotional skills in a certain society and what is the best way for children to develop these skills (i.e.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…Regarding beliefs about socioemotional development per se, existing studies show that early childhood educators note child attributes and behaviours such as self-esteem and self-confidence, independence, ability to settle in the childcare environment, ability to establish relationships with others, being gentle and caring to others, feeling emotionally secure (Sims et al, 2012), sharing and being able to resolve conflict (Hollingsworth & Winter, 2013). Educators' beliefs in the importance of peer interactions and friendships for providing children emotional support and a sense of connection with others as well as for assisting children to develop social skills have also been indicated (Hollingsworth & Winter, 2013;Kemple, Hysmith, & David, 1996).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…about feelings), modelling problemsolving skills with puppets, playing games with the aim to teach social skills (e.g. sharing) (Hollingsworth & Winter, 2013); organising the environment, providing structure, materials and rewards (Davis et al, 2010;Sims et al, 2012); responding to individual or small groups of children, usually when need arises or when problems come up (e.g. pairing children to play, help to resolve conflict; Hollingsworth & Winter, 2013); informing parents (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

A qualitative study of early childhood educators' beliefs and practices regarding children's socioemotional development

Papadopoulou

Tsermidou

Dimitrakaki

et al. 2014

Early Child Development and Care

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Existing research underscores the significance of early childhood experiences in the childcare context for the development of socioemotional skills and competencies. However, the practices adopted within childcare for the enhancement of children's socioemotional development and the factors mediating these practices are less adequately researched. The present study contributes to this understanding, through studying the perceptions of 34 educators working in childcare centres in Greece with regard to children's socioemotional development and its promotion. Results showed that although they acknowledged the significance of social and emotional competencies for children's adjustment, learning and well-being, they did not report consistent use of practices having as a goal the promotion of such skills. Explanations involve on the one hand the lack of formal policy and the existence of structural barriers and on the other hand a perception that socioemotional development is mostly affected by factors beyond their influence. Results are discussed in relation to prior research and in terms of their implications for designing interventions, curricula and staff training. IntroductionThe purpose of the present paper is to explore early childhood educators' perspectives regarding children's socioemotional development and its promotion in the childcare 1 context. The rationale of the study is based on (1) the importance of early socioemotional development for lifelong well-being and achievement and (2) the role of childcare experiences for children's socioemotional development, especially as they are mediated through early childhood educators' beliefs and practices.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

A qualitative study of early childhood educators' beliefs and practices regarding children's socioemotional development

Papadopoulou

Tsermidou

Dimitrakaki

et al. 2014

Early Child Development and Care

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…It has been shown that only a minority of preschoolers with mental health problems are referred by child care services for further assessment and treatment [ 10 ]. An Australian study tried to explore childcare educators' and managers' understanding of child and parental mental health and the early signs of mental health problems [ 11 ]. Qualitative analysis of semi-structured interviews showed that childcare staff were able to explain child wellbeing but were somewhat limited in their knowledge of risk and protective factors for child and parental mental health.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Early childhood educators’ perceptions of preschoolers' mental health problems: a qualitative analysis

et al. 2014

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

BackgroundEarly childhood education services create potentially optimal opportunities to identify and respond effectively to preschoolers' mental health problems. However, little is known about the knowledge, skills and competencies of early childhood educators in the area of mental health. The present study aimed to contribute to this field through conducting focus group interviews with professionals from public early childhood education centres in Greece.MethodsThirty-four educators attended five focus group meetings, with each group consisting of five to nine participants and two discussion facilitators. A thematic analysis was conducted using line-by-line open coding. Constructed codes from the wording used by the participants in the interviews were created, and constant comparisons for developing themes as well as seeking data not conforming to each theme were used independently by two researchers. At the end of this process, no new information was being provided and there was repetition in each of the categories.ResultsThe analysis identified three themes in the data: risk factors for preschoolers' mental health problems, signs of preschoolers' mental health problems and practices of helping preschoolers with mental health problems. Results suggested that early childhood educators had satisfactory awareness of many preschoolers' mental health issues, although they showed a rather limited understanding in some domains. Moreover, they seemed to deliver inadequate practices in responding effectively to children's and families' mental health problems.ConclusionsBest practice training in working with preschoolers, families and mental health services seems essential for helping young children receive the best level of support through early identification and intervention services for possible mental health problems.

show abstract

Exploring the Experiences of Preschool Teachers Working with Children Living with Parental Mental Illness

Laletas

Goodyear

2020

Early Childhood Educ J

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Mental health promotion in childcare centres: Childcare educators’ understanding of child and parental mental health

Cited by 12 publications

References 6 publications

A qualitative study of early childhood educators' beliefs and practices regarding children's socioemotional development

A qualitative study of early childhood educators' beliefs and practices regarding children's socioemotional development

Early childhood educators’ perceptions of preschoolers' mental health problems: a qualitative analysis

Exploring the Experiences of Preschool Teachers Working with Children Living with Parental Mental Illness

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About