Duration of face mask exposure matters: evidence from Swiss and Brazilian kindergartners' ability to recognise emotions.

Wearing facial masks became a common practice worldwide during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study investigated (1) whether facial masks that cover adult faces affect 4- to 6-year-old children's recognition of emotions in those faces and (2) whether the duration of children's exposure to masks is associated with emotion recognition. We tested children from Switzerland (N = 38) and Brazil (N = 41). Brazil represented longer mask exposure due to a stricter mandate during COVID-19. Children had to choose a face displaying a specific emotion (happy, angry, or sad) when the face wore either no cover, a facial mask, or sunglasses. The longer hours of mask exposure were associated with better emotion recognition. Controlling for the hours of exposure, children were less likely to recognise emotions in partially hideen faces. Moreover, Brazilian children were more accurate in recognising happy faces than Swiss children. Overall, facial masks may negatively impact children's emotion recognition. However, prolonged exposure appears to buffer the lack of facial cues from the nose and mouth. In conclusion, restricting facial cues due to masks may impair kindergarten children's emotion recognition in the short run. However, it may facilitate their broader reading of facial emotional cues in the long run.

Detection of plasma anti-lipopolysaccharide (LPS)antibodies against enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli(EHEC) in asymptomatic kindergarten teachers fromBuenos Aires province

Resumen En Argentina, el síndrome urémico hemolítico causado por Escherichia coli enterohemorrágica (EHEC) tiene la más alta incidencia del mundo. Las infecciones por EHEC tienen un comportamiento endemoepidémico y causan del 20 al 30% de los síndromes de diarrea sanguinolenta en niños menores de 5 años. En el período 2016-2020, se notificaron 272 nuevos casos por año al Sistema de Vigilancia de Salud Nacional. Múltiples factores son responsables de la alta incidencia de SUH en Argentina, incluyendo la transmisión persona-persona. Con el objetivo de detectar posibles portadores asintomáticos de EHEC, realizamos un estudio preliminar de la frecuencia de anticuerpos antilipopolisacáridos contra los serotipos de EHEC más prevalentes en Argentina. El estudio se realizó con muestras de plasma obtenidas de 61 maestras y maestros de jardines de infantes de 26 instituciones del distrito de José C. Paz, localizado en el área suburbana de la provincia de Buenos Aires, Argentina. El 51% de las muestras presentaron anticuerpos contra los serotipos de lipopolisacáridos O157, O145, O121 y O103; el 6,4% de las muestras positivas tuvieron el isotipo IgM (n=2), el 61,3% el isotipo IgG (n=19) y el 32,3% los isotipos IgM e IgG (n=10). Dado que los anticuerpos antilipopolisacáridos presentan usualmente una duración corta, la detección de IgM específica podría indicar una infección reciente. Además, el alto porcentaje de muestras positivas hallado podría indicar una exposición frecuente a las cepas de EHEC en la cohorte estudiada. Asimismo, la gran población de adultos portadores asintomáticos de estas cepas patógenas podría contribuir al comportamiento endémico, a través de la transmisión persona-persona. El perfeccionamiento de programas educacionales continuos en jardines de infantes podría constituir una medida importante para reducir los casos de síndrome urémico hemolítico, no solo en Argentina, sino también en el mundo.

Abstract In Argentina, hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) caused by EHEC has the highest incidence in the world. EHEC infection has an endemo-epidemic behavior, causing 20-30% of acute bloody diarrhea syndrome in children under 5 years old. In the period 2016-2020, 272 new cases per year were notified to the National Health Surveillance System. Multiple factors are responsible for HUS incidence in Argentina including person-to-person transmission. In order to detect possible EHEC carriers, we carried out a preliminary study of the frequency of kindergarten teachers with anti-LPS antibodies against the most prevalent EHEC serotypes in Argentina. We analyzed 61 kindergarten teachers from 26 institutions from José C. Paz district, located in the suburban area of Buenos Aires province, Argentina. Fifty-one percent of the plasma samples had antibodies against O157, O145, O121 and O103 LPS: 6.4% of the positive samples had IgM isotype (n=2), 61.3% IgG isotype (n=19) and 32.3% IgM and IgG (n=10). Given that antibodies against LPS antigens are usually short-lived specific IgM detection may indicate a recent infection. In addition, the high percentage of positive samples may indicate a frequent exposure to EHEC strains in the cohort studied, as well as the existence of a large non-symptomatic population of adults carrying pathogenic strains that could contribute to the endemic behavior through person-to-person transmission. The improvement of continuous educational programs in kindergarten institutions could be a mandatory measure to reduce HUS cases not only in Argentina but also globally.

Detection of plasma anti-lipopolysaccharide (LPS) antibodies against enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) in asymptomatic kindergarten teachers from Buenos Aires province.

In Argentina, hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) caused by EHEC has the highest incidence in the world. EHEC infection has an endemo-epidemic behavior, causing 20-30% of acute bloody diarrhea syndrome in children under 5 years old. In the period 2016-2020, 272 new cases per year were notified to the National Health Surveillance System. Multiple factors are responsible for HUS incidence in Argentina including person-to-person transmission. In order to detect possible EHEC carriers, we carried out a preliminary study of the frequency of kindergarten teachers with anti-LPS antibodies against the most prevalent EHEC serotypes in Argentina. We analyzed 61 kindergarten teachers from 26 institutions from José C. Paz district, located in the suburban area of Buenos Aires province, Argentina. Fifty-one percent of the plasma samples had antibodies against O157, O145, O121 and O103 LPS: 6.4% of the positive samples had IgM isotype (n=2), 61.3% IgG isotype (n=19) and 32.3% IgM and IgG (n=10). Given that antibodies against LPS antigens are usually short-lived specific IgM detection may indicate a recent infection. In addition, the high percentage of positive samples may indicate a frequent exposure to EHEC strains in the cohort studied, as well as the existence of a large non-symptomatic population of adults carrying pathogenic strains that could contribute to the endemic behavior through person-to-person transmission. The improvement of continuous educational programs in kindergarten institutions could be a mandatory measure to reduce HUS cases not only in Argentina but also globally.

Mexican-Origin Adolescent Mothers' Beliefs and Practices Concerning Children's School Readiness.

Parents' academic socialization of their young children is a critical yet understudied area, especially in the context of vulnerable parent-child dyads. The current longitudinal study examined factors that informed mothers' beliefs and practices concerning children's kindergarten readiness in a sample of 204 Mexican-origin adolescent mothers (M age = 19.94). Adolescent mothers' individual characteristics and assets (i.e., parental self-efficacy, educational attainment, educational utility beliefs, knowledge of child development) and sources of stress (i.e., economic hardship, coparenting conflict) were related to the importance they placed on children's social-emotional and academic readiness for kindergarten, their provision of cognitive stimulation and emotional support to their children in the home, and their enjoyment of literacy activities with their child. Moreover, adolescents' perception of parenting daily hassles emerged as a mediator in this process. Findings underscore the importance of considering Mexican-origin adolescent mothers' strengths and assets along with their unique contextual stressors as they relate to beliefs and practices that could have implications for their children's school success.

Early childhood caries, obesity and anthropometric measurements: Is there a relationship?

This brief research report explored the relationship among obesity, anthropometric measurements, and early childhood caries (ECC), in 3-5 years-old children. Three hundred and ninety-one Brazilian preschoolers were given anthropometric examinations for the assessment of general, peripheral, and central adiposity, by the following measures: body mass index (BMI), hip circumference, and waist circumference. Obesity status was determined by BMI according to WHO standards. Parent's age and BMI were assessed by questionnaire, and sucrose exposure was tracked by means of a food diary. For the assessment of ECC, dental examinations were performed according to modified WHO criteria. Also, the presence of dental biofilm in maxillary incisors was detected. A direct association between BMI and ECC was found in the bivariate analysis and the best possibility of logistic regression model showed that hip circumference (HC) values ≥62 centimeters (OR = 1.63; p = 0.033) jointly with the presence of dental biofilm (OR = 2.38; p = 0.000), children's ages ≥37 months (OR = 5.09; p = 0.012), and mothers younger than 35 years (OR = 1.96; p = 0.004) were significantly connected with ECC. In conclusion, peripheral adiposity (represented by HC) in young children was in fact associated with ECC. Thus, hip circumference might be a valuable tool for exploring the relationship between caries and obesity in the early years of life.

Errors of programming and ownership of the robot concept made by trainee kindergarten teachers during an induction training.

Computational thinking in the educational environment has awaken a rising interest, having been included as part of the curricula from the very beginnings of education. Programmable robots have become a valuable positive resource in order to succeed in the development of computational thinking, demanding proper training from kindergarten teachers and trainees in order to be able to teach robotic programming. This article has the purpose to 1) identify the frequent errors made by trainee kindergarten teachers when solving a series of robotic problems in a computational thinking module, which develops in the course of Didactics of Mathematics and 2) determine the level of comprehension of the robot concept acquired by the trainees when solving robotics problems. The research developed in a qualitative methodology manner; the data used for this article were collected through the solving of five robotic problems and an open-ended question that had to be answered by each of the 25 participants individually. The results showed that, in general, the most frequent error appeared in problems in which movements were set in a Euclidean space of two dimensions. That is to say, the problems' solving required a selection of different commands: turn, moving forward and/or backwards. Moreover, more than half of the participants who answered the open-ended question succeeded in owning the robot concept once they had solved the problems.

Association between tracking of extracurricular sports practice and weight status during childhood: a prospective cohort study

ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: Overweight and obesity have reached epidemic prevalences. Obesity control involves many factors and needs to begin early in childhood. OBJECTIVES: To ascertain the association between tracked extracurricular sports practice and weight status; and to analyze tracking of overweight and obesity among school-aged children. DESIGN AND SETTING: Prospective cohort study conducted in 13 public schools in Cianorte, Paraná, in 2012-2016. METHODS: The sample comprised 2459 schoolchildren in Cianorte, of mean age 6.3 years at baseline and 9.4 years at follow-up. Body mass index was calculated from body mass and height measurements. The children were grouped as normal weight, overweight or obese. Information on extracurricular sports practice was collected through the dichotomous question "Do you participate in any extracurricular sports?" ("yes" or "no"). RESULTS: Tracking of weight status showed that 75.5% maintained this, with kappa of 0.530. Tracking of extracurricular sports practice showed that 80.9% maintained this, with low concordance (kappa of 0.054). Weight status correlation between baseline and follow-up showed that overweight or obese individuals were 4.65 times (CI: 4.05-5.34) more likely to maintain the same classification or move from overweight to obese at follow-up. Correlation of extracurricular sports practice with overweight or obesity at follow-up was not significant. CONCLUSIONS: These results demonstrated that overweight or obese children were at higher risk of gaining weight than were normal-weight children. In addition, the proportion of these children who maintained extracurricular sports practices over the years was low. Maintenance of this variable was not associated with weight status.

Short-Term and Long-Term Educational Outcomes of Infants Born Moderately and Late Preterm.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the relationship of moderate and late preterm birth (320/7-366/7 weeks) to long-term educational outcomes. STUDY DESIGN: We hypothesized that moderate and late preterm birth would be associated with adverse outcomes in elementary school. To test this, we linked vital statistics patient discharge data from the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development including birth outcomes, to the 2015-2016 school year administrative data of a large, urban school district (n = 72 316). We compared the relative risk of moderate and late preterm and term infants for later adverse neurocognitive and behavioral outcomes in kindergarten through the 12th grade. RESULTS: After adjusting for socioeconomic status, compared with term birth, moderate and late preterm birth was associated with an increased risk of low performance in mathematics and English language arts, chronic absenteeism, and suspension. These risks emerged in kindergarten through grade 2 and remained in grades 3-5, but seemed to wash out in later grades, with the exception of suspension, which remained through grades 9-12. CONCLUSIONS: Confirming our hypothesis, moderate and late preterm birth was associated with adverse educational outcomes in late elementary school, indicating that it is a significant risk factor that school districts could leverage when targeting early intervention. Future studies will need to test these relations in geographically and socioeconomically diverse school districts, include a wider variety of outcomes, and consider how early interventions moderate associations between birth outcomes and educational outcomes.

[Occurrence of visible molds in French schools and nurseries]. / Moisissures visibles dans les écoles et crèches en France.

Children exposure to molds in the school and preschool environment is not well described in France. A nationwide survey was performed in 2009-2011 in 310 schools and nurseries from France including two oversea territories, Reunion and Martinique. It showed that 5 % of the audited rooms had visible molds, mainly on the ceiling. These rooms belonged to 34 buildings (11 %). The multivariate analysis shows that several factors are associated with visible molds in rooms: the presence of textile wall covering, the location of the building in a suburban area, the size of the building (less visible molds in large buildings), the absence of a ventilation system with exhaust located in the room, and the absence of double-glazed windows. The prevalence of visible molds is comparable to the one observed in large European studies: 7 % of the 334 classrooms in the frame of the SINPHONIE project and 11 % of the buildings in 193 elementary schools in the HITEA study.

Brinquedos alternativos em escolas infantis de uma cidade do interior de são paulo / Alternative toys for children in schools of a são paulo interior city

RESUMO Brincar é uma ação criativa que pode contribuir para o desenvolvimento infantil. Porém, mudanças diminuíram as possibilidades de brincar. O objetivo deste estudo foi construir brinquedos com material alternativo para as crianças atendidas em escolas infantis, ampliando as possibilidades do brincar na escola. Etapa a) oficina com 26 professoras; etapa b) estação de brinquedos alternativos com participação das crianças. Na oficina, houve diálogos entre as professoras e foram a confeccionados 38 brinquedos. Na estação, os pre-escolares se beneficiaram mais do brinquedo que os bebês, dado que os pais dos bebês ficaram com eles no colo a maior parte do tempo. As opções de brincar foram ampliadas, além de possibilitar vivências motoras. Os brinquedos alternativos podem ser utilizados na pré-escola como uma opção que propicia diversão e favorece o desenvolvimento de habilidades.

ABSTRACT Play is a creative action that can contribute to child development. However, changes decreased the opportunities to play. The objective of this study was to build alternative toys with alternative materials to children in nursery and preschool to amplify possibilities to play in the school. Step a) workshop with 26 teachers; step b) station of alternative toys with children's participation. In the workshop, there were dialogues among the teachers and the production of 38 toys. At the station, preschoolers got more benefits than babies as the fathers of the babies hold them most of the time. Play options were amplified and it also brought motor experiences. Alternative toys can be used in pre-school as an option that provides fun and favors the development of skills.

Docencia Masculina en la educación infantil: discurso de negación de la comunidad escolar / Male teachiers in early childhood education: denial discourse of the school community

En este artículo se abordan las relaciones entre creencia y pensamiento humano. Los procesos de pensamiento no sólo abarcan lo cognitivo, sino también aspectos de naturaleza afectiva y/o socioculturales (creencias). Se presenta el sistema de creencias de la comunidad escolar de una guardería. Los datos analizados constituyen un recorte de una investigación doctoral cualitativa titulada - Estudio de las representaciones sobre estudiantes del sexo masculino de la carrera de Pedagogía que desarrollan su práctica profesional en guarderías. Se evidencia la influencia de las creencias en el raciocinio humano, así como la existencia de otros factores que operan en los procesos de pensamiento y revelan la complejidad de las relaciones entre cultura y sujeto que legitiman posiciones hegemónicas de prejuicio y discriminación. (AU)

This article addresses the relationship between belief and the thinking process which not only imply the cognitive, but also aspects of affective and/or sociocultural nature (beliefs). The school community's belief system in day-care centers is presented. The analyzed data constitutes a cutout of a qualitative doctoral research titled "Study of the representations on male students of the teaching career who develop their professional practice in kindergarten centers". The article shows the influence of beliefs in human reasoning, as well as the existence of other factors that operate in the thinking processes and reveals the complexity of the relations between culture and individual that legitimize hegemonic positions of prejudice and discrimination (AU)

Influência dos fatores biológicos e socioeconômicos no desenvolvimento neuropsicomotor de pré-escolares / The influence of biological and socio-economic factors in neuro-psychomotor development of kindergarten children

O objetivo do estudo foi caracterizar as variáveis socioeconômicas e psicossociais de crianças que frequentam creches públicas e avaliar a influência destes fatores no desenvolvimento neuropsicomotor. Realizou-se um estudo analítico-observacional transversal com 61 crianças, de ambos os sexos, com idade de quatro a seis anos, frequentadoras das creches públicas na cidade de Goiânia (GO). O desenvolvimento infantil foi avaliado pelo teste de triagem de Denver II e foi aplicado questionário socioeconômico, classificação ABEP e questionários sobre os dados biológicos e clínicos da criança com os pais. Verificou-se que 77% das crianças avaliadas apresentaram risco na classificação global do teste de Denver II, sendo típicas nas áreas psicossocial, motor fino, motor amplo e linguagem. A análise da influência dos fatores revelou que a renda familiar (até R$2.000,00) esteve associada com maior porcentagem de risco no desenvolvimento da linguagem (64%). Os demais fatores não tiveram diferença estatisticamente significativa. Conclui-se que crianças aparentemente normais possam apresentar risco em seu desenvolvimento e a necessidade de novos estudos que apontem a influência significativa dos fatores socioeconômicos e psicossociais sobre o desenvolvimento neuropsicomotor.

Socio-economic and psycho-social variables of children in government-run kindergartens are characterized and the influence of such factors on neuro-psychomotor development evaluated. A transversal analytic-observational study was undertaken with 61 children, males and females, aged 4 ­ 6 years, in kindergartens in Goiânia GO Brazil. Child development was assessed by Denver Selection Test II and a socio-economic questionnaire, ADEP classification and questionnaires on the children´s biological and clinical data were undertaken. Seventy-seven percent of children rank risk mark in global classification of Denver Test II, typically within the psychosocial area, fine motor, wide motor and language. Analysis for factor influence revealed that family income (up to R$ 2000) was associated with greater risk percentage in language development (64%). There was no statistical difference for the other factors. Although results revealed that apparently normal children showed development risk, further studies are required to weigh the significant influence of socio-economic and psycho-social factors on neuro-psychomotor development.

Caracterización de la esfera socio-afectiva de preescolares sin amparo filial / Characterization of the sphere partner affective of kindergartens, without son-and-daughter protection

Introducción: la esfera socio-afectiva, desde las edades tempranas de la vida, incluye experiencias emocionales, socializadoras y motivacionales que permiten al niño relacionarse con los otros, respondiendo a determinadas costumbres, creencias, normas de convivencia y modelos de interacción. Objetivo: caracterizar la esfera socio-afectiva de preescolares sin amparo filial, pertenecientes al círculo interno Lu-Xun, de Arroyo Naranjo. Métodos: se realizó un estudio observacional, descriptivo, de corte transversal, durante el año 2014. La muestra la integraron 20 niños, con edades entre 3 y 5 años, a los que se les aplicó pruebas proyectivas, que permitieron valorar el estado actual de sus habilidades socio-afectivas. Resultados: el 100 por ciento reflejó, en sus dibujos, estados de ánimos desfavorables, pobreza en sus contenidos y escasa creatividad e imaginación. El 60 por ciento mostró dificultades en el control muscular. El 70 por ciento exhibió dificultades en las relaciones de intercambio, con pobre capacidad de socialización. El 95 por ciento mostró preferencias adecuadas a su edad, con gran inclinación hacia el juego y las flores, gustando de paseos y golosinas. El 50 por ciento mostró niveles de afectividad adecuados hacia determinada figura parental. El 45 por ciento mostró dificultades en las habilidades narrativas, con pobre vocabulario. El 95 por ciento transmitió, en las historias relatadas, conflictos en el área doméstica. Conclusiones: la esfera socio-afectiva se caracterizó, en el orden intrapersonal, por baja autoestima, necesidades insatisfechas, en especial la de abrigo y cuidados maternos, con proyección de miedos e inseguridad. En el orden interpersonal, existieron dificultades en el intercambio social y en la efectividad del aprendizaje(AU)

Introduction: The sphere partner affective, from the youths of life, he includes emotional experiences, socializadoras and motivational that they permit the little boy getting acquainted with others, answering to determined way of life, beliefs, standards of cohabitation and models of interaction. Objective: Characterizing the sphere partner affective of kindergartens, without son-and-daughter protection, pertenecientes to the internal Circle Lu Xun, of Arroyo Naranjo. Methods: The observational accomplished a study itself, descriptive, de transversal cut, during the year 2014. Sample was integrated by 20 children, with ages among 3 and 5 years, to the ones that were applied tests projective, the fact that they permitted appreciating the present-day status of his abilities partner affective. Results: The 100 percent reflected, in his drawings, states of unfavorable tempers, poverty in his contents and scarce creativity and imagination. The 60 % showed difficulties in muscular control. The 70 percent exhibited difficulties in exchange relationships with scant capability, of socialization. The 95 percent showed adapted preferences to his age, with great inclination toward the game and flowers, liking walks and sweets. The 50 percent showed levels of adapted affectivity toward determined to figure parental. The 45 percent showed difficulties in narrative abilities with scant vocabulary. The 95 percent transmitted conflicts in the area domestic, in related stories. Conclusions: The sphere partner affective characterized, in the order intrapersonal, for low self-esteem, unsatisfied needs itself, specially the one belonging to coat and maternal cares, with projection of fears and insecurity. In the interpersonal order, difficulties existed in the social interchange and in the effectiveness of learning(AU)

Gestational Age and Kindergarten School Readiness in a National Sample of Preterm Infants.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the association of gestational age with school readiness in kindergarten reading and math skills. We hypothesized that compared with infants born at 39-41 weeks, infants born at lower gestational ages would have poorer school readiness. STUDY DESIGN: The study sample comprised 5250 children from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Birth Cohort, assessed with specialized reading and math assessments at kindergarten. Poor school readiness was characterized by reading and math theta scores ≥1.5 SD below the sample mean. The aOR and 95% CI of poor school readiness were estimated using multivariate logistic regression, examining gestational age continuously and categorically (very preterm [VPT], moderate/late preterm [M/LPT], early term [ET], and term). Pairwise comparisons were performed to test for differences by gestational age category. RESULTS: There was an association between gestational age and poor school readiness for reading and math, with the suggestion of a threshold effect in children born at ≥32 weeks gestation. In adjusted models, in VPT infants, the aORs of poor school readiness in reading and math were 2.58 (95% CI, 1.29-5.15) and 3.38 (95% CI, 1.66-6.91), respectively. For infants born M/LPT and ET, the odds of poor school readiness in reading did not differ from those of children born full-term, however. CONCLUSIONS: Compared with term infants, the highest odds of poor school readiness in reading and math were seen in VPT infants, with lower odds of poor school readiness in children born at ≥32 weeks gestation. Ongoing developmental surveillance before kindergarten is indicated for VPT infants.

Crianças, infância e escolarização: tessituras na transição da educação infantil para o ensino fundamental de nove anos / Children, childhood and schooling: adjustment in the transition from kindergarten to primary school nine years old / Niños, infancia y escolarización: tesitura en la transición desde el educación infantil hasta la educación primaria de nueve años

O presente artigo busca compreender as concepções de crianças, infância e escolarização dos praticantes dos cotidianos (professores com formação em Educação Física, professora regente com formação em Pedagogia e coordenador de turno com formação em Educação Física da EMEF "Espírito Santo"). Para tanto, caracterizou-se como um estudo de caso etnográfico e utilizou, como fontes, narrativas produzidas por meio de registros de campo, entrevista e grupos de conversa. Os dados evidenciam a criação de estratégias para incorporar nas crianças culturas escolares. Esse caminho é produzido pelas experiências dos autores cotidianos em produzir momentos que articulem as práticas culturais das crianças com as intencionalidades do Ensino Fundamental de nove anos.

The following article aims to understand the concepts of children, childhood and education of practitioners of everyday (Teachers graduated in physical education, conductor teacher graduated in Pedagogy and coordinator graduated in Physical Education EMEF "Espírito Santo"). Therefore, ethnographic study case became attributed and used as narrative sources produced through record fields, interview and discussion groups. The results show the creation of strategies to incorporate in the children the school cultures. That path is produced by the author's experiences in producing moments that articulate the cultural practices of children with the intentions of the Nine Years of Elementary School Education.

En este artículo se busca entender las concepciones de niños, infancia y escolarización de los practicantes del cotidiano (profesora com formación en Educación Física, profesora regente com formación en Pedagogía y coordinador de turno con formación en Educación Física de la EMEF "Espíritu Santo"). Para ello, se caracterizó como un estudio de caso etnográfico y utilizó como fuentes narrativas producidas a través de registros de campo, entrevistas y grupos de discusión. Los datos muestran las estrategias utilizadas por los practicantes para incorporar las culturas escolares en los niños es tensionada por sus conceptos de niños e infancia produciendo una estrategia que articula las culturas infantiles y escolares.

Combining sigma-lognormal modeling and classical features for analyzing graphomotor performances in kindergarten children.

This paper investigates the advantage of using the kinematic theory of rapid human movements as a complementary approach to those based on classical dynamical features to characterize and analyze kindergarten children's ability to engage in graphomotor activities as a preparation for handwriting learning. This study analyzes nine different movements taken from 48 children evenly distributed among three different school grades corresponding to pupils aged 3, 4, and 5 years. On the one hand, our results show that the ability to perform graphomotor activities depends on kindergarten grades. More importantly, this study shows which performance criteria, from sophisticated neuromotor modeling as well as more classical kinematic parameters, can differentiate children of different school grades. These criteria provide a valuable tool for studying children's graphomotor control learning strategies. On the other hand, from a practical point of view, it is observed that school grades do not clearly reflect pupils' graphomotor performances. This calls for a large-scale investigation, using a more efficient experimental design based on the various observations made throughout this study regarding the choice of the graphic shapes, the number of repetitions and the features to analyze.

Aprendizaje de letras en niños preescolares de nivel socioeconómico bajo / Letter learning in preschool children growing in poverty

El trabajo que se informa se propuso explorar las diferencias individuales en las habilidades asociadas al aprendizaje de letras en 50 niños de 5 años de edad y de nivel socioeconómico bajo. Motivó este estudio la evidencia existente acerca de las dificultades que el dominio de las letras representa para parte de los niños en contextos de pobreza. A fin de identificar las variables que diferenciaban a los niños con mayor o menor facilidad para el aprendizaje de letras, se administraron pruebas que evalúan sensibilidad fonológica, memoria visual, memoria fonológica y denominación rápida. A continuación, se llevó adelante una situación experimental de aprendizaje de letras desconocidas, a las que se asignaron pseudo -nombres elaborados en base a las características de los nombres de las letras en español. En dos sesiones se presentaron cuatro letras (dos por sesión) y se evaluó la capacidad de los niños para reconocerlas por su nombre. En función del desempeño en la situación de aprendizaje de letras se dividió al grupo en niños con alto y bajo nivel de desempeño y se comparó a los subgrupos en las restantes habilidades evaluadas. La única tarea en la que se obtuvieron diferencias significativas fue en la prueba de denominación rápida de objetos, tarea que capturaría el componente de asociación visual-verbal del aprendizaje de letras. Se analizan las implicancias educativas de estos hallazgos.

Together with phonological sensitivity, letter knowledge has been shown to be one of the best predictors of reading acquisition (Lerväg, Bratën & Hulme, 2009; Muter, Hulme, Snowling & Stevenson, 2004). But letter learning represents a considerable challenge for many children growing in poverty contexts, as evidenced by studies conducted with both selected and unselected samples of different ages (Diuk, Serrano & Ferroni, 2013; Duncan & Seymour, 2000). Even though letter knowledge has been largely attributed to experiential factors such as learning opportunities provided by a child's home or school, there is growing evidence that individual differences in several cognitive and linguistic variables are related to the ease with which children learn letter names or sounds. This paper aimed at exploring letter learning in 50 Argentine, 5-year-old children growing in poverty. Children were tested towards the end of their kindergarten year. An experimental training situation was adapted from Levin, Shatil-Carmon and Asif-Rave (2006). In this situation children were presented with unknown letters (letters from the Cyrillic alphabet). Pseudonames for these letters were created attending to the characteristics of letter names in Spanish. Training involved a card game consisting of a mixed pile of letter cards and picture cards. In each round of the game, the child uncovered one card after the other from the pile and, when a letter card turned up, he or she was asked to provide the letter's name. Children were presented with four letters, two per session. A point was awarded when the child could accurately name each letter. In order to identify cognitive and linguistic variables which might establish individual differences among children in the ease of acquiring letter names, before the training situation children were given tests evaluating phonological sensitivity (syllable and initial sound recognition), phonological memory (digit span and pseudoword repetition), visual memory and rapid naming (RAN) of objects, colors and digits. Based on the scores in the letter learning situation, two subgroups of children were established. The high- and the low - performing subgroups were then compared on the cognitive and linguistic variables previously examined. No differences between groups were obtained in either phonological sensitivity test, in phonological memory (digit span or pseudoword repetition) or visual memory. Statistically significant differences were only found in the rapid naming of objects (results from the rapid naming of colors and digits tests were excluded from analyses given that a high percentage of the sample could not name all five colors or numbers included in the task). The precise cognitive substrate tapped by rapid naming tasks has given rise to considerable debate in the field of Reading Psychology, but there is a growing consensus that these tasks probably capture the efficiency of basic neural mechanisms participating in the establishment of visual-verbal associations (Lervåg & Hulme, 2009). In terms of educational implications, rapid naming has proven to be hard to improve (de Jong & Vrielink, 2004). However, abilities strongly associated with RAN, such as reading fluency, can be enhanced through practice, even if rapid naming itself doesn't improve. RAN performance could consequently be considered an indication of the intensity of the intervention a child will need to achieve learning. Given that many low-income children have few opportunities for learning letter names and sounds in their communities, the fact that current kindergarten curricula do not include teaching letters may put many children in the situation of having to acquire alphabet knowledge in a short period of time once they enter 1st grade. Individual differences in rapid naming can thus be expected to play a role in the ease with which children learn in such a demanding context.

Aprendizaje de letras en niños preescolares de nivel socioeconómico bajo / Letter learning in preschool children growing in poverty

El trabajo que se informa se propuso explorar las diferencias individuales en las habilidades asociadas al aprendizaje de letras en 50 niños de 5 años de edad y de nivel socioeconómico bajo. Motivó este estudio la evidencia existente acerca de las dificultades que el dominio de las letras representa para parte de los niños en contextos de pobreza. A fin de identificar las variables que diferenciaban a los niños con mayor o menor facilidad para el aprendizaje de letras, se administraron pruebas que evalúan sensibilidad fonológica, memoria visual, memoria fonológica y denominación rápida. A continuación, se llevó adelante una situación experimental de aprendizaje de letras desconocidas, a las que se asignaron pseudo -nombres elaborados en base a las características de los nombres de las letras en español. En dos sesiones se presentaron cuatro letras (dos por sesión) y se evaluó la capacidad de los niños para reconocerlas por su nombre. En función del desempeño en la situación de aprendizaje de letras se dividió al grupo en niños con alto y bajo nivel de desempeño y se comparó a los subgrupos en las restantes habilidades evaluadas. La única tarea en la que se obtuvieron diferencias significativas fue en la prueba de denominación rápida de objetos, tarea que capturaría el componente de asociación visual-verbal del aprendizaje de letras. Se analizan las implicancias educativas de estos hallazgos.(AU)

Together with phonological sensitivity, letter knowledge has been shown to be one of the best predictors of reading acquisition (Lervõg, BratÙn & Hulme, 2009; Muter, Hulme, Snowling & Stevenson, 2004). But letter learning represents a considerable challenge for many children growing in poverty contexts, as evidenced by studies conducted with both selected and unselected samples of different ages (Diuk, Serrano & Ferroni, 2013; Duncan & Seymour, 2000). Even though letter knowledge has been largely attributed to experiential factors such as learning opportunities provided by a childs home or school, there is growing evidence that individual differences in several cognitive and linguistic variables are related to the ease with which children learn letter names or sounds. This paper aimed at exploring letter learning in 50 Argentine, 5-year-old children growing in poverty. Children were tested towards the end of their kindergarten year. An experimental training situation was adapted from Levin, Shatil-Carmon and Asif-Rave (2006). In this situation children were presented with unknown letters (letters from the Cyrillic alphabet). Pseudonames for these letters were created attending to the characteristics of letter names in Spanish. Training involved a card game consisting of a mixed pile of letter cards and picture cards. In each round of the game, the child uncovered one card after the other from the pile and, when a letter card turned up, he or she was asked to provide the letters name. Children were presented with four letters, two per session. A point was awarded when the child could accurately name each letter. In order to identify cognitive and linguistic variables which might establish individual differences among children in the ease of acquiring letter names, before the training situation children were given tests evaluating phonological sensitivity (syllable and initial sound recognition), phonological memory (digit span and pseudoword repetition), visual memory and rapid naming (RAN) of objects, colors and digits. Based on the scores in the letter learning situation, two subgroups of children were established. The high- and the low - performing subgroups were then compared on the cognitive and linguistic variables previously examined. No differences between groups were obtained in either phonological sensitivity test, in phonological memory (digit span or pseudoword repetition) or visual memory. Statistically significant differences were only found in the rapid naming of objects (results from the rapid naming of colors and digits tests were excluded from analyses given that a high percentage of the sample could not name all five colors or numbers included in the task). The precise cognitive substrate tapped by rapid naming tasks has given rise to considerable debate in the field of Reading Psychology, but there is a growing consensus that these tasks probably capture the efficiency of basic neural mechanisms participating in the establishment of visual-verbal associations (LervÕg & Hulme, 2009). In terms of educational implications, rapid naming has proven to be hard to improve (de Jong & Vrielink, 2004). However, abilities strongly associated with RAN, such as reading fluency, can be enhanced through practice, even if rapid naming itself doesnt improve. RAN performance could consequently be considered an indication of the intensity of the intervention a child will need to achieve learning. Given that many low-income children have few opportunities for learning letter names and sounds in their communities, the fact that current kindergarten curricula do not include teaching letters may put many children in the situation of having to acquire alphabet knowledge in a short period of time once they enter 1st grade. Individual differences in rapid naming can thus be expected to play a role in the ease with which children learn in such a demanding context.(AU)

Comprensión y producción textual narrativa en preescolares / Text narrative comprehension and production in pre-kindergarten

Este estudio buscó identificar y describir las habilidades de comprensión y producción textual narrativa de 158 estudiantes de transición de estrato 1 y 2 de colegios públicos de la ciudad de Barranquilla (Colombia). Para evaluar esta capacidad se les pidió a los niños que narraran un texto que se les había leído anteriormente. Las muestras de lenguaje se analizaron utilizando el software SALT y posteriormente se utilizó el software SPSS para realizar los análisis descriptivos. Se consideró la estructura organizativa microestructura, macroestructura y superestructura desde el nivel de comprensión literal e inferencial. Se encontró que la mayoría de los niños tienen un desarrollo narrativo acorde con su edad, sin embargo, la elaboración inferencial fue escasa, lo que posiblemente afectó la comprensión de la historia por parte de los mismos.

This study aimed to identify and describe the skills of textual narrative comprehension and production in pre-kindergarten students belonging to 1st and 2nd social strata of public schools of the city of Barranquilla (Colombia). To evaluate this capability, the children were asked to narrate a text that had been narrated to them; the language samples were analyzed using the software SALT. The organizational structure of microstructure, macrostructure and superstructure was considered from the level of literal and inferential comprehension, finding that most children have a narrative development according to their age, however the inferential elaboration was low, what possibly affected the understanding of story by children.