Now it’s the end of 2019, and a new year is at the door. We hope all of the KIT study children stay healthy and enjoy their life at school and in families.
This issue has several items of interest. They are: an introduction to Singapore Longitudinal Early Development Study (SG LEADS), some KIT research findings, a brief profile of Prof. Po-Hsi Chen at National Taiwan Normal University, and a book review of Floppy Ears, a picture book written by Ruth Louise Symes about how a little rabbit saves her brother and other animals.
SG LEADS (Singapore Longitudinal Early Development Study)
SG LEADS was initiated by the Centre for Family and Population Research at National University of Singapore in 2017. The first wave of the national survey started in 2018 collecting data from children aged 0-6 while the second wave will be launched in 2020 to investigate the same cohort of child participants. The survey explores questions about children’s language development, child care arrangement, social skill development, and family/culture/economic environments. To learn more about factors that promote or impede child development, SG LEADS is conducted in collaboration with researchers from a wide range of disciplines, including psychology, economics, geography. Due to a great deal of similarities between Taiwan and Singapore, the results of SG LEADS can provide researchers in Taiwan with valuable insights into a variety of social issues. Please visit https://fass.nus.edu.sg/cfpr/sgleads/ for more information about SG LEADS.
Highlight of KIT Findings
Cognitive development: The child imitates an adult’s behavior after a certain period of time delay, such as reading, doodling on a piece of paper, or trying to turn on the TV with a remote control.
Children at 3 months of age (N=6588)
[ Not yet: 100%
Children at 6 months of age (N=6739)
[ Intermediate: 1%, Beginning: 1.2%, Not yet: 97.8%
Children at 1 years of age (N=6870)
[Proficient: 49.1%, Intermediate: 23.9%, Beginning: 14.7%, Not yet: 12.3%
Language development: The one-year-old child can speak out the names of objects in his/her living environment (e.g., “a ball” or “a cup”). (N=6869)
[Proficient: 2.5%, Intermediate: 7.9%, Beginning: 2.6%, Not yet: 87%
Physical-motor development: The one-year-old child can run steadily for a distance without falling. (N=6874)
[Proficient: 2.4%, Intermediate: 2.3%, Beginning: 6%, Not yet: 89.3%
Social-emotional development: When the one-year-old child receives something he/she likes, he/she shows happy or excited expressions. (N=6874)
[Always: 57.2%, Often: 32%, Sometimes: 8.7%, Rarely: 1.3%, Never: 0.8%
Responds from parents:
I should demand the three-year-old child to become better and better, to help him/her improve. (N=2164)
[Strongly agree: 7.6%, Agree: 52%, Disagree: 37.8%, Strongly disagree: 2.6%
I don’t have a sense of achievement unless the three-year-old child’s learning performance is outstanding. (N=2164)
[Strongly agree: 4.2%, Agree: 29%, Disagree: 54.5%, Strongly disagree: 12.3%
Responds from caregivers:
The adult should teach the three-year-old child to get better and better, as a way to help the child improve. (N=296)
[Strongly agree: 10.1%, Agree: 47%, Disagree: 34.5%, Strongly disagree: 8.4%
The three-year-old child’s high academic achievement is the basis for the adult’s sense of accomplishment. (N=296)
[Strongly agree: 4.4%, Agree: 40.5%, Disagree: 39.2%, Strongly disagree: 15.9%
About Prof. Po-Hsi Chen
Prof. Po-Hsi Chen works at the Department of Educational Psychology and Counseling, National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU). He currently holds the position of incumbent director of Research Center for Psychological and Educational Testing (RCPET) at NTNU, an institute that develops test items for the Comprehensive Assessment Program for Junior High School Students (CAP). He is also the head of Research Center for Internet Testing at NTNU.
Prof. Chen’s research interests are in testing and assessment, statistics in psychology and education, and computerized adaptive tests. His academic expertise greatly benefits the KIT project. He gave professional advice on the development of KIT survey and supported the computerized assessment and the design of survey and inventory.
Book Review
Floppy Ears, a picture book written by Ruth Louise Symes about how a little rabbit saves her brother and other animal friends from getting eaten, depicts the importance of being self-aware of strengths. Its English version is available at Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/dp/1842552643), and readers can find its Chinese version at Books.com.tw (https://www.books.com.tw/products/0010459784). Click https://youtu.be/kBhvxs-oyvw to listen.