Child Studies

Centring children in research: A collaborative exploration into child-centredness as method and theory

2024-12-30T10:42:06+00:00

This collaborative article explores child-centredness as a theoretical and methodological concept by asking what it means to centre children in research. The collaborative format offers a heterogeneity of voices on the concept as the contributing authors write, critically and creatively, from a range of different interdisciplinary research perspectives. Writing from the departure point of the key role of child-centred approaches within the field, including recent discussions concerning the need to decentre children/childhood, the goal is to spur and contribute to discussions on the possibilities and challenges of the concept, as well as new ways of approaching it.

Reading Prosody: The Role of Automaticity and Motivational Variables

2024-12-30T10:42:01+00:00

Proficient reading goes beyond the automatic recognition of words; it involves the ability to read a text effortlessly, with expressiveness, intonation, appropriate pauses, and accuracy. Several studies support the idea that prosody is the most prominent skill in reading fluency due to its strong connection with reading comprehension. The present study sought to expand knowledge on the association of prosody with motivational variables, such as self-concept and reading enjoyment, over and above reading speed and accuracy. The study involved 189 third grade students from public schools in the North, Center, and South of Portugal. The results indicate that motivational variables, particularly self-concept, are associated to prosody performance. However, when reading speed and accuracy are included in the model, the motivational variables are no longer predictors of prosody performance. The results are discussed, allowing for reflection on possible implications for practice in the context of early elementary education.

Dialogues between picturebooks for children and childhood sciences and cultures

2024-12-30T12:37:53+00:00

This article brings reflections on contemporary children’s literature in dialogue with the childhood views originated in social sciences and in comparative studies of the Portuguese language. These studies are associated to the hearing of children’s voices and to analytical readings of illustrated books. In the field of social sciences, Daniel Goldin’s, David Buckingham’s and Manuel Sarmento’s research works are here imbricated. The titles we examined were selected during a visit to Portugal in 2022, plus the Brazilian work Inês (2015) by Roger Mello and Mariana Massarani, all of them examples of a literary production that comprehends the young reader’s full interpretation and re-creation skills. The analysis of this material composes a critical fortune, contextualized to demonstrate a net of formation agents of multidisciplinary character that are transformed into plurisignificant crafts in dialogue with child cultures.

Playing and Mathematics: perceptions of children from a public school

2024-12-30T12:37:49+00:00

The objective of this qualitative study is to explore the contribution of play and its relationship with mathematics, based on the perspectives of children in a 5th-grade class at a public school in the municipality of Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil. The research focuses on analyzing drawings and photographs created by the children, which reflect their experiences in the classroom and their connection with mathematical concepts. The information obtained through observations, drawings, photographic records, and dialogues with the participants reveals that, although the children are able to associate mathematics with play and the respective spaces, their representations of ideal mathematics classes are still rooted in traditional practices, far removed from playfulness. This gap indicates the need for a more effective integration of play and mathematics teaching, aiming to make learning more meaningful and engaging for children.

Specific Learning Disorders and Reading

2024-12-30T10:42:04+00:00

Children with a Specific Learning Disorder, with a reading deficit (Dyslexia) reveal difficulties in learning this complex skill. Currently, it is known that acquiring reading is considered an indispensable requirement for communication and social inclusion.

This article aims to address the topic of specific learning disorders, knowing that they affect many school-age children. The main objective of this work is to analyze specific learning disorders, with reading deficits, referring to the main explanatory theories. At a theoretical level, the prevalence of this learning disorder was analyzed, as well as the possible causes, the diagnostic process, including the diagnostic criteria and assessment instruments. Finally, the functioning of the brain during reading in children with a specific learning disorder was addressed. The consequences and warning signs of this disorder for children from an early age were also investigated.

Children’s Pictures in Research Practices across Academic Disciplines

2024-12-30T12:37:51+00:00

With the aim of exploring how children’s pictures are made relevant and given meaning in research, this article analyses how children’s pictures are used, discussed, and studied across different academic disciplines. Altogether, 423 articles published between 2010 and 2023 were thematically analysed. Four themes were identified that run through the research: Health and wellbeing, Competence and the mind, Education, and Agency and opinions. Each have strong connections to academic disciplines but are not simply defined by them. They are connected to specific perspectives on children’s pictures, as well as specific notions of children. The study shows that very few studies focus on children’s pictures per se, or analyse them solely for artistic reasons. Instead, children’s pictures are often included in research with the purpose of making claims that extend beyond the pictures themselves, and beyond picture-making processes.

Editorial – Child Studies as a polychrome mosaic of perspectives

2024-12-26T21:51:23+00:00