ARC Centre of Excellence for the Digital Child

Limitations of existing screen guidelines combined with the prevalence of parental concerns around children's screen use necessitate the need for novel approaches to screen use management that are family-centred and focus on health-positive rather than restrictive messaging. A health-promoting activity that is inversely associated with excessive child screen use across numerous psychosocial outcomes and may lead to greater improvements in family functioning compared to other activities, is nature exposure. However, the joint and reciprocal relationships between child screen use and nature exposure have not been investigated in the relational family context. Qualitative data was collected from 20 primary caregivers of children aged 5-8 who participated in semi-structured online interviews. A template thematic analysis comprising both deductive (conceptual and definitional scope for coding was determined through an a priori template) and inductive processes guided theme generation. Three main themes were generated, representing commonalities across parent accounts and intersections between key research areas: (1) 'fixation, obsession and displacement', (2) 'is screen use facilitating opportunities or driving disconnection?' and (3) 'parental self-efficacy is fluid'. The findings reveal meaningful interactions between children's screen use and outdoor time, that map onto the interactional theory of childhood problematic media use. We propose family-based nature activities as an additional protective factor for the etiology of problematic child media use. Findings provide a more integrated and nuanced understanding of how children's screen use and engagement with nature interact within the family paradigm. This research may help generate evidence-based alternatives and practical approaches to help parents navigate some of the challenges associated with childhood screen use.

ABSTRACTAimThis review aimed to summarise the evidence related to the feasibility, efficacy for increasing physical activity, and implications of smartwatch activity tracker use in preschool‐aged children.MethodsIn November 2023, we searched Medline, PsycINFO, CINAHL, Web of Science, ProQuest Central and SPORTDiscus. From an initial 7449 studies, we included 15 studies that explored the use of smartwatch activity trackers in preschool children aged three to 5 years. Data were extracted on feasibility, efficacy, and reported advantages and disadvantages of use. We used the preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta‐Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines.ResultsStudies that reported adherence to wear indicate good feasibility. No studies evaluated the efficacy of activity trackers for influencing physical activity and sedentary behaviours. Potential limitations of activity tracker use by preschool children include discomfort and a loss of interest.ConclusionSmartwatch activity trackers may be feasible for use by preschool children, but no studies have explored whether these devices can increase physical activity in this age group. Short‐term use of these devices may encourage physical activity by promoting family discussions and increasing awareness of physical activity, but discomfort and a loss of interest over time may be barriers to long‐term use by young children.

Background: ActiMotus, a thigh-accelerometer-based software used for the classification of postures and movements (PaMs), has shown high accuracy among adults and school-aged children; however, its accuracy among younger children and potential differences between sexes are unknown. This study aimed to evaluate the accuracy of ActiMotus to measure PaMs among children between 3 and 14 years and to assess if this was influenced by the sex or age of children. Method: Forty-eight children attended a structured ~1-hour data collection session at a laboratory. Thigh acceleration was measured using a SENS accelerometer, which was classified into nine PaMs using the ActiMotus software. Human-coded video recordings of the session provided the ground truth. Results: Based on both F1 scores and balanced accuracy, the highest levels of accuracy were found for lying, sitting, and standing (63.2–88.2%). For walking and running, accuracy measures ranged from 48.0 to 85.8%. The lowest accuracy was observed for classifying stair climbing. We found a higher accuracy for stair climbing among girls compared to boys and for older compared to younger age groups for walking, running, and stair climbing. Conclusions: ActiMotus could accurately detect lying, sitting, and standing among children. The software could be improved for classifying walking, running, and stair climbing, particularly among younger children.

Teacher career trajectory studies have identified a small group of positive veteran teachers who have maintained an ongoing enthusiasm for and commitment to teaching. Research into teacher career trajectory frameworks suggests that comfort in the role remains a core tenet in supporting their sense of professional identity. While studies have identified this, there is little research into the subtleties of this tenet and how this helps these positive veteran teachers remain committed to teaching. This article reports on the qualitative findings about comfort in the role in sustaining positive veteran teachers’ commitment to teaching. Further, the article points to key support measures accessed by these teachers to maintain this commitment. The ability to identify what comprises comfort in the role may encourage curriculum organisations and executive school leadership to retain and capitalise on the skills of their positive veteran teachers. This research seeks to examine an important teacher education perspective that provides valuable examples for beginning and early career teachers of practical mechanisms for positive coping mechanisms and maintaining comfort in the role in the longer term in a dynamic and demanding profession.

ABSTRACT Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG4) began with the ambition of reducing inequalities in education. This paper unpacks the enactment of SDG4 in Laos in relation to ethnic minority students by three groups of policy actors: policymakers, donor agencies, and teachers in an ethnic minority boarding school. Informed by Nancy Fraser’s three dimensions of social justice (distribution, recognition, and representation), the findings show that SDG4 targets as well as subsequent national policy documents were restricted to the distributive dimension. Even distributive justice for ethnic minorities was limited to basic education and technical and vocational training, with decreased access to university scholarships – a potential pathway out of poverty. Combined with meritocratic approaches and the absence of policy support to alleviate cultural and political disenfranchisement, SDG4 enactment in the Lao context appears to contribute to further difficulties for ethnic minority students’ upward mobility and their capacity to imagine enhanced educational futures.

The importance of incorporating digital technologies into early childhood education is now widely accepted to help position children as creative producers and not just consumers of technology. Early childhood educators in turn have a key role to play in developing technology-related skills and competencies such as coding and computational thinking (CT). In response, internationally a range of tangible coding technologies (TCTs), or digital toys, have been created to foster the development of young children’s coding and CT skills. However, to what extent are children’s developing skills and knowledge encouraged by the design of the TCT itself, and the educators’ pedagogy? This article reports on a study into the impact of one TCT, Cubetto, on the CT of a group of young children in an Early Years Learning Centre in Australia, and how educators encouraged coding and CT using Cubetto. The study revealed that Cubetto not only promoted children’s understanding of the nature of digital technologies but encouraged CT skills such as sequencing, cause-and-effect, and foundational numeracy in a collaborative, constructivist way. This was mediated in turn by the educators’ ability to utilise Cubetto effectively in an inquiry-based STEM learning context. Accordingly, this study notes that the incorporation of TCTs can be beneficial but need careful consideration as to their educational purpose and should be supported by developmentally appropriate pedagogical practices to maximise their potential in developing coding skills and CT in young children.

Fostering young children’s creativity is a desired outcome of STEM learning experiences. Such experiences often incorporate hands-on activities that encourage agency, curiosity, and experimentation. While educators generally have a good understanding of how to nurture creativity within a physical learning environment, less is known about creativity in an online context. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, little research focused on young children’s online learning. During the pandemic, studies involving this age group focused upon the experiences and perceptions of emergency remote learning, rather than intentional online education strategies. This gap creates an opportunity to explore the potential of STEM online learning experiences to meaningfully engage young children in creative thinking. This article analyses key themes emerging from video and interview data obtained during a series of STEM shows and workshops delivered by Scitech to Year 1 children in regional Western Australia, framed by the A-E of Children’s Creativity Framework. Findings illustrate how intentional online learning experiences can engage children creatively, and in turn supports a reframing of perceptions regarding the effectiveness of online delivery for young children.

Marrickville is located in the western heart of inner-city Sydney and is the beneficiary of the centrifugal process that has forced many creatives out of the inner city itself and further out into more affordable suburbs. This locality is built on the lands of the Eora nation. It is one of the most culturally diverse communities in the country but is slowly being gentrified creating tensions between its light industrial heart, its creative industry community and inner city developers. SME’s, co-working spaces and live music venues, are all in jeopardy as they occupy light-industrial warehouses which either have been re-zoned or are under threat of re-zoning. Its location underneath the flight path of major air traffic may indeed be a saving factor in its preservation as the creative industries operate across all major sectors here and the air traffic noise keeps land prices down. Despite these pressures the creative industries in Marrickville have experienced substantial growth since 2011, with the current CI intensity sitting at 9.2%. This is the only region in this study where the cultural production sector holds more than half the employment for specialists and support workers, when compared to creative services.