6 Discussion
6.3 Practical implications
6.3.1 Practical implications in microsystems (ECEC)
This thesis found that children’s early self-regulation (and their academic skills, although this was not covered by the research questions) in ECEC was foundational for their later academic achievement. Results showed there to be substantial SES-related differences in vocabulary and mathematical skills, but not in self-regulation, in the Norwegian ECEC sample. There were gender differences in mathematical skills and self-regulation, but they were small.
ECEC centers in Norway are one of the main microsystems in children’s lives. The proximal processes that children experience during their time in ECEC are of great importance for their development, including in terms of vocabulary, mathematical skills, and self-regulation. So is the extent to which gender- and SES-related differences may be equalized.
These are both factors focused on in this thesis. The process quality of an ECEC center—such as whether it has warm and responsive teachers providing educational and cognitive support—will affect the proximal processes. Self-regulation, for example, develops most quickly during early childhood. Thus, the period children stay in ECEC appears to be a window of opportunity for scaffolding and supporting this skill.
High process quality in ECEC has been found to contribute to children’s future self-regulation and academic achievement—more strongly so for children whose mothers have a low level of education than for children of highly educated mothers (Sylva et al., 2020). This suggests that high-quality ECEC is a prerequisite for the achievement of some overarching goals of the Norwegian educational system, such as the goal of leveling out social differences and giving all children the opportunity to develop in accordance with their potential (Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research, 2017).
Previous research has found that attending universal ECEC (center care) rather than informal care or family daycare is positive for the language development of Norwegian boys and girls (aged one and a half to three
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years) (Lekhal, Zachrisson, Wang, Schjølberg, & von Soest, 2011).
Moreover, it has been documented that attending Norwegian ECEC rather than being cared for at home may have a positive effect on the language skills of children whose mothers have a low level of education (Schjølberg et al., 2008). These findings indicate that ECEC positively affects children’s development and may reduce SES-related differences.
However, despite these findings and although Norwegian ECEC has enjoyed a good reputation, recent studies have shown a need to increase the quality of the educational support provided by teachers and other staff (Bjørnestad et al., 2019; Bjørnestad & Os, 2018).
Warm and responsive relationships are, of course, fundamental for children’s learning and well-being. However, high-quality educational support and a more intentional focus may benefit children’s cognitive and academic development in the Norwegian ECEC. For example, a Norwegian study found that attending ECEC centers with more structured pre-academic activities was positively associated with children’s reading skills in first grade, especially if the children had low self-regulation (Zambrana, Ogden, & Zachrisson, 2020). Further, the Agder Project intervention (Størksen et al., 2016) was found to improve children’s self-regulation (working memory) in the short term and their mathematical skills both in the short term and one year later (Rege et al., 2019), which aligns with other intervention studies including intentional playful activities and games (McClelland et al., 2019; Schmitt, McClelland, Tominey, & Acock, 2015). In fact, the importance of the social environment, such as adult (or more experienced peers) guidance and scaffolding, has been highlighted from Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory (Bodrova & Leong, 2020) to the latest neuroscience (Distefano, Galinsky, & Zelazo, 2020) and of course in the Bioecological Model of Development.
Playful learning, defined as free play and guided play, has been suggested to constitute a sufficient approach when it comes to giving children educational support in academic knowledge and self-regulation
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(Hirsh-Pasek, Golinkoff, Berk, & Singer, 2009). Free, unstructured play is a cornerstone of Norwegian ECEC, but there tends to be less focus on guided play, which may foster academic knowledge and self-regulation through play activities and greater involvement by the teachers. During guided play, teachers are goal-oriented but remain sensitive and responsive to the children’s behavior. One fundamental tenet of guided play is in fact that children learn best when they are engaged and active in the activities, find them meaningful, and interact with peers and teachers (Hirsh-Pasek et al., 2009). In playful learning, teachers serve as facilitators whose role is to inspire play, create play contexts and play time, adapt to where children are, interact with them, and extend their thinking and ideas (Jensen et al., 2019). However, it is a challenging task to be a good facilitator of children’s play. In fact, teachers often switch to instructing directly or to not participating (Jensen et al., 2019).
Moreover, striking the appropriate balance between being goal-oriented and being sensitive and responsive to the children’s behavior in guided play is not an easy role—and it has not been focused on in Norwegian ECEC.
While structural quality in Norwegian ECEC is very well defined and monitored, process quality—such as whether teachers are good facilitators of play and provide educational support—is not (Engel, Barnett, Anders, & Taguma, 2015). The lack of a structured curriculum for Norwegian ECEC gives teachers a great deal of freedom in translating curriculum and expectations into practice (Engel et al., 2015).
In theory, this provides opportunities for individual development and the adaptation of learning opportunities for individual children. However, this presupposes highly qualified teachers, and about half of the Norwegian ECEC workforce lacks a teaching degree. This may give rise to challenges in a situation where the curriculum is free and unstructured.
Hence it is essential for children’s development that the practice and process quality of all teachers be monitored and that appropriate coaching be provided. Moreover, ECEC teachers need to reflect upon
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their own behavior and values in relation to children’s play and learning, for instance with regard to the facilitator role.
The present thesis found girls to outperform boys in mathematical skills and self-regulation. A child is (usually) born as a biological boy or girl, but the child’s development of gender and the influence exerted by gender on other developmental areas both depend on the characteristics of the social contexts where the child finds him- or herself. According to the framework plan for Norwegian ECEC, boys and girls are to be given the same opportunities. However, observations in everyday ECEC settings have revealed that children are met with stereotyped gender expectations (Meland & Kaltvedt, 2017), even though the teachers do not perceive themselves as contributing to the stereotyping of gender differences (NOU 2019:3, 2019; NOU 2019:19, 2019). For this reason, it is essential to continue paying attention to gender differences, increasing the teachers’ knowledge, observing their practice, encouraging them to reflect, coaching them, and investigating issues of gender equality and inequality. In this context, it should be pointed out that a very recent report financed by the Norwegian Directorate for Education and Training introduces methods and tools that ECEC centers can use to promote gender equality (Kjeldsaas, Friis, Johannesen, Renolen, & Emilsen, 2020).
The practical implications of the present thesis mainly concern ECEC.
However, it must be kept in mind that SES- and gender-related differences arise during early childhood, at a time when the family is the most important microsystem for most children, which suggests that interventions targeting parents may be appropriate (Bronfenbrenner &
Morris, 2006). For example, parents should be encouraged and supported to devote more time to their children’s development, use a rich language when interacting with their children, engage in reading- and mathematics-related activities, and provide materials such as books, puzzles, and games for children. When it comes to children’s development of self-regulation, parents’ child-rearing practices are of
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great importance. Scaffolding (e.g., establishing routines, breaking big tasks into smaller chunks) and warm and responsive parent–child relationships (e.g., sensitivity and autonomy support) are examples of child-rearing practices supporting children’s development of self-regulation (Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University, 2011).
Parents should also be encouraged to be aware of their role in transmitting traditional gender roles by signaling different expectations of boys and girls. Teachers may facilitate the development of parents’
child-rearing practices by providing guidance on the above-mentioned topics. Other relevant groups in this context include school nurses and health-center staff.
Finally, the Bioecological Model of Development suggests that the mesosystem should also be targeted. Relationships between microsystems, such as family and ECEC center, have proven to be important in children’s development, and there is a need for a discussion on how best to involve parents in ECEC.