New year, new hope. We wish our readers, young and old, a happy and healthy new year!
This issue includes: an introduction to TransMONEE (Transformative Monitoring for Enhanced Equity) database, some KIT research findings, a brief profile of Prof. Fong-Ruey Liaw at National Taiwan Normal University, and a book review of Reading with Dad, a storybook written by Richard Jorgensen about the relationship between a loving father and his daughter.
TransMONEE (Transformative Monitoring for Enhanced Equity)
TransMONEE database was initiated by the UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre in 1992. The purpose of creating the database is to collect and analyze data relevant to children and their family in Central and Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CEE/CIS).
The TransMONEE database is regularly updated by the National Statistical Offices (NSOs) in the countries of CEE/CIS. Its social and economic indicators are divided into ten topics: population, fertility, mortality, health, education, child protection, juvenile justice and crime, social protection, child-wellbeing, and economy. The TransMONEE data can inform decisions and policies made by governments, schools, and civil society organizations. It also represents a useful tool for researchers who are interested in the social and economic issues that affect the well-being of children, women, and families. Please visit http://transmonee.org/ for more information.
Highlight of KIT Findings
Cognitive development: When the one-year-old child is playing with something (e.g., a toy), he/she stops playing if you tell him/her to do something else. (N=6874)
[Proficient: 19.8%, Intermediate: 30.8%, Beginning: 30.4%, Not yet: 19%
Language development: The one-year-old child can identify different sounds from his/her living environment (e.g., bird chirping or the sound of a car). (N=6874)
[Proficient: 21.8%, Intermediate: 19.9%, Beginning: 27.9%, Not yet: 30.4%
Physical-motor development: The one-year-old child can transfer an object from one hand to another hand. (N=6874)
[Proficient: 88.4%, Intermediate: 6.9%, Beginning: 3.2%, Not yet: 1.5%
Social-emotional development: The one-year-old child appears fearful and anxious (e.g., crying or hiding behind his/her parent) when he/she sees a doctor/nurse with a needle preparing for his/her immunization injection. (N=6874)
[Always: 16.8%, Often: 12%, Sometimes: 11.7%, Rarely: 15.2%, Never: 44.2%
Responds from parents:
I look at the one-year-old child while I feed him/her. (N=6874)
[Very often: 73.5%, Often: 21.3%, Sometimes: 3.3%, Rarely: 1.8%
I let the one-year-old child watch TV/computer or play on a device while I feed him/her. (N=6874)
[Very often: 3.7%, Often: 6.6%, Sometimes: 16.7%, Rarely: 73%
Responds from caregivers:
On busy and chaotic days, I am more irritable and less patient if the three-year-old child misbehaves or gets into trouble. (N=296)
[ Often: 3%, Sometimes: 36.8%, Rarely: 60.1%
I listen closely to what the three-year-old child says and respond to him/her positively. (N=296)
[Very often: 41.6%, Often: 56%, Sometimes: 2.4%
About Prof. Fong-Ruey Liaw
Prof. Fong-Ruey Liaw works at the Department of Human Development and Family Studies, National Taiwan Normal University. Her research is committed to ECE (early childhood education) administration and policy, ECE assessment, ECE curriculum, and transition from kindergarten to first grade. She was the director of the kindergarten of NTNU for four years and has advised numerous government departments and public/private kindergartens.
Prof. Liaw contributes greatly to the KIT project due to her extensive experience of early childhood education, in research and practice. She is the coordinator of the KIT project conducted in the northern region of Taiwan. Also, she is the person in charge of a KIT sub study which investigates the family and school environments of children aged 6-8.
Book Review
Reading with Dad, a picture book written by Richard Jorgensen about the parent-child relationship, illustrates how the book reading activity unites family members together across generations. Its English version is available at Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/dp/0931674417/), and readers can find its Chinese version at Books.com.tw (https://www.books.com.tw/products/0010268552). Click https://youtu.be/iZOXzgq-L2Y to listen.