Purpose
The study investigates different patterns of engagement in Swedish kindergarten children by analysing both global engagement (teacher-assessed) and observed condition-based engagement. The researchers seek to identify clusters of children showing homogeneous patterns of engagement, determine the proportion of children in each cluster, as well as explore correlations between these patterns and the children’s age, gender, hyperactivity, and status as second-language learners. By highlighting these factors, the researchers hope to provide insight into how different aspects of engagement can be promoted in kindergarten.
Result
The results identified five distinct engagement profiles among the children, some of which showed discrepancies between teacher-assessed global engagement and observed momentary engagement. Children with high hyperactivity often had higher observed engagement than global engagement, while second-language learners showed the opposite tendencies. The study concludes that global and condition-based engagement measure different aspects of child engagement, and the researchers recommend using both methods to achieve a holistic understanding of children’s participation in kindergarten.
Design
The study uses a combined method to measure child engagement, where kindergarten teachers assessed global engagement using the ‘Child Engagement Questionnaire’ (CEQ), while observers measured momentary engagement using ‘Child Observation in Preschool’ (COP). Data were collected from 494 children in Swedish kindergartens, and analyses included cluster analysis to identify different engagement patterns among the children. In addition, variables such as age, hyperactivity and second-language status were included to investigate how these factors affect the children’s engagement in everyday kindergarten activities.
References
Ritoša, A., Almqvist, L., Danielsson, H., & Granlund, M. (2024). Profiles of state and trait engagement of preschool children. Early Education and Development, 35(8), 1758–1772.
Online year: 2023
Issue year: 2023
Review year: 2023