Investigating the Effect of the State, Stability, and Change in Deep Approaches to Learning From Kindergarten to Third Grade: A Multilevel Structural Equation Modeling Indicator-Specific Growth Model Approach

Spanking and Children's Approaches to Learning: Estimates from a Longitudinal Matched-Sample Design

One form of corporal punishment commonly used in the United States is spanking. Spanking is a well-known risk factor for adverse child development, although its influence on children's approaches to learning (ATL) has been largely overlooked. Existing research is particularly limited in inadequately considering multiple confounds and selection biases in children's exposure to spanking. This study examined the links between spanking and children's ATL, using a matched-group design to strengthen causal estimates among children aged 5 to 7.5 (N = ~12,800) from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2010-2011. Entropy-balanced matching mitigated selection and confounding biases, controlling for a wide array of covariates. The sensitivity of spanking's effects on ATL was also tested by limiting the sample to low-frequency spanking (once in the past week) to address concerns that primarily higher-frequency spanking predicts ATL. Findings indicated that spanking at age 5.5 was associated with less positive ATL at ages 6.5 and 7.5. These results remained significant when limited to low-frequency spanking. This study's findings suggest that spanking may hinder children's development of positive approaches to learning, which holds significant implications for lifelong well-being. This study contributes to the growing literature on the potential negative effects of physical punishment on child development across multiple domains.

Improving the Learning in Life Education for Young Children Aged 3 to 6 Years: A Review on the Research Themes of Early Childhood Life Education in Taiwan

The National Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations and the NCL (National Central Library) Taiwan Periodical Literature database were used to analyze dissertations and journal articles on early childhood life education. The researcher explored the research themes of life education for young children aged 3 to 6 years in Taiwan and offered strategies for improving learning in early childhood life education. Eight categories of themes were examined. In addition, the curriculum development of learning in early childhood life education was identified: (1) life event core curriculum, (2) sympathy core curriculum, (3) example core curriculum, and (4) anima core curriculum. Several teaching approaches of learning in early childhood life education are proposed: (1) teaching through picture books, (2) learning through experience, (3) teaching through instructional media, (4) teaching through concept mapping, (5) teaching through stories, and (6) teaching through parent-teacher collaboration. Developing and implementing the strategies of learning in early childhood life education is crucial for cultivating psychological wellbeing in young children and improving the quality of Taiwan's early childhood education system.