A name is the starting point to acknowledge the existence of ourselves and others in our lives. However, we live in a society where name-based biases and discrimination have permeated. As ...transnational parent researchers, we examined our children's names and naming practices through the practice of Suda 수다, which is an open-ended nonhierarchical conversational environment and deep/emotional storytelling, drawing on our own onto-epistemological stances. We intend to uncover implicit and hidden racial discourses against Asian/Asian American children's names and naming practices through our children's names and naming practices. The data reveal that our children's names embrace our cultural beliefs, faiths, the wishes of parents, and family histories while being entangled with discrimination and racial discourses. Our children were also actively negotiating and (re)constructing their self-representation by having more than one name. This study provides implications regarding racially minoritized children's names and naming practices in school and future research.
This study examines how reading bullying-themed children's picture books and role-playing based on these books help young children develop perspective-taking abilities and empathy as well as ...understanding of bullying. Twenty-one 5-year-old children enrolled in a Flower Garden childcare center located in a metropolitan city in South Korea participated in this study, as well as their teacher Ms. Min. Over the course of six weeks, six role-playing activities based on the bully-themed picture books were implemented according to the following four steps: (1) story reading and discussion, (2) planning for role-playing, (3) role-playing, and (4) reflection. Findings showed that children initially did not convey much empathy toward victims of bullying. As the book readings and role-playing progressed, however, children considered different perspectives, made connections with their own experiences, and expressed sympathy. They used various vocalization, facial expressions, and physical movements to express their feelings during the role-playing activities. Furthermore, they offered their own ideas about what actions should be taken to solve bullying issues.
In spite of increasing international concern and the long-term effects of bullying on children's development, bullying in early childhood has been overlooked and underestimated, with both children ...and adults having difficulties in recognizing and understanding it. This study explores how young children respond to bully-themed stories, what and how they expressed in writing letters to characters from the stories, and how their attitudes towards and understanding of bullying have changed through a series of reading, discussing and writing about bullying. Drawing from social-constructivist theory, this study was conducted in a classroom of 20 5-year-old children in a metropolitan city in Korea using a qualitative study approach. The children were involved in a large group reading about bullying and follow-up letter-writing activities led by their teacher. The findings show that the approach used in this study helped children clearly understand and recognize bullying. Specifically, the letter-writing activities after reading and discussing bullythemed stories enhanced their understanding of bullying and helped them empathize with the characters. The children also showed various ways of solving problems/issues and practised getting along with other children. Approaches to more meaningful and effective planning and implementing activities for bullying education in the early childhood classroom are discussed.
This collaborative autoethnography describes the multiple subject positions and dynamics of our identities as transnational female teacher educators. Decolonizing mainstream epistemology and research ...tradition, we explore a unique dialogic research process called the suda methodology. The aims are twofold. First, to theorize suda as our framework as well as a research methodology, we explain, describe, and construct the meanings of suda, which is derived from Korean cultural background. Second, we show our suda sessions and discuss how the suda approach helped us challenge against mainstream epistemology, which is also a journey to build our academic home in a rhizomatic way.
This self-study explores the experiences and challenges that we as mothers of young children and teacher educators have faced during the COVID-19 pandemic. While describing what our children ...experienced through remote learning and how we tried to support their learning, we reflect on their former school experiences and our teacher education practices. To do this, we address the following two research questions: (1) What were our children's experiences in remote learning during the pandemic?; and (2) What were our experiences as mothers and teacher educators in supporting our children's remote learning during the pandemic? Adopting a collaborative self-study methodology, we collected stories of our experiences as mothers and teacher educators during our children's remote learning. Our data were collected through participant observations, field notes, and artifacts that our children created, as well as learning materials received from their teachers and schools during the period. In addition, we recorded virtual conferences and wrote reflective journals. The suda approach, which was developed as a research method by the authors was used for data analysis. Originally from Korean culture, suda in simple English is 'chatting extensively.' It is different from small talk or chit-chat, though, as it can take a large amount of time, covering several stories in depth. The findings provide several implications for teacher education, school policy, and educational research.
This study explored early childhood student teachers of color's (ECSToCs) development of cultural competence during their fieldwork experience. Nine female students of color enrolled in an early ...childhood education fieldwork course participated in this study. Employing a qualitative research methods approach, we analyzed multiple data including students' reflection papers on culture and diversity, teaching philosophy papers, interview transcripts, lesson plans on cultural diversity, and post-teaching reflection. The findings showed: (a) ECSToCs' perceptions of culture were highly influenced by their lived experiences including their bilingual, bicultural, and schooling experiences; (b) ECSToCs' awareness of and attitude toward diversity were implicated by their parents' lived experiences and knowledge; and (c) they viewed culture as a pedagogical and methodological tool to guide their teaching practices, emphasizing asset-based approach. This study contributes to developing effective instructional strategies to elevate ECSToCs' cultural competence in their teaching.
Although previous studies have underlined the importance of social interactions, multicultural education, prediction/imagination, and bilingual/bi-literacy learning, the intersection of all these ...four areas is yet to be explored. This qualitative case study explored how young bilingual readers create meanings and develop literary responses through prediction, imagination, and social interaction while reading multicultural literature. As part of a larger longitudinal study, this study focused on kindergarten-age Korean-English bilingual children at a Korean Language School in a Midwestern city in the United States. The data were collected over five months using audio/video recordings, open-ended interviews, and children's artifacts. The findings suggest that creative participation and social interactions using two languages help young bilingual readers to engage deeply with the reading and encourage multiple perspectives.
Early childhood (EC) education has usually involved in-person teaching and learning. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has imposed remote teaching on EC practitioners and complicated practicum students' ...fieldwork experiences. This study explored EC practicum students' fieldwork experiences in the U.S. during the pandemic and their preparedness for online teaching and technology employment and integration. Participants included 28 students enrolled in Directed Field Experience in Spring 2021. A mixed-methods approach incorporating multiple sources of data, including reflection papers, interviews, and questionnaires, was used. The findings showed that the EC practicum students changed their perceptions of and attitudes toward a remote field experience course and online teaching with young children over the semester. Additionally, EC practicum students' challenges and professional and academic growth were evident in their reporting. These findings have implications for the development of effective strategies for alleviating EC practicum students' challenges, facilitating their professional growth, and providing resources to integrate digital technology in their teaching in developmentally appropriate ways.
There are many students experiencing homelessness in the U.S. school systems. However, homelessness in children's literature has been studied little. This article discusses how homelessness is ...portrayed and illustrated in children's picture books published in the U.S. A total of 25 books, written in English and published in the U.S. from 1990 to 2016 for pre-k to 3rd grade readers, were selected for analysis. Drawing on the perspectives of post-structural lens of discourse and critical literacy, the analysis revealed that homelessness has been addressed in stereotypical ways, centering on mainly male adults living in public spaces. People experiencing homelessness were described as passive recipients of help from others with pathological view and subjects with no voices for their situations. The solution for homelessness was limited, temporary, and seasonal in the books. Homelessness was also portrayed as an individual matter rather than being caused by structural social inequities.
Although the benefits of poem writing have been emphasised in a variety of contexts, there has been an understandable lack of knowledge about how to promote young children's multicultural/multiracial ...awareness using poetry writing. Adopting a qualitative case study approach, the current article explores how poem writing after reading and discussing multicultural picture books helps Korean kindergarten children develop an understanding of racial diversity and equality. As part of a large-scale research project on multicultural education in South Korea, this study focuses on data collected over a five-month period including participatory observations, in-depth interviews and written materials. Findings suggest that writing poetry can function as a means to foster children's critical awareness of racial diversity and equality and can help them find their own identities. How to make poetry- writing activities more meaningful and effective in the early childhood classroom is discussed. Author abstract
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