research paper on early childhood development

An official website of the United States government

The .gov means it’s official. Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

The site is secure. The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

• Publications
• Account settings

Preview improvements coming to the PMC website in October 2024. Learn More or Try it out now .

• Advanced Search
• Journal List
• BMJ Glob Health
• v.4(Suppl 4); 2019

Early childhood development: an imperative for action and measurement at scale

Linda richter.

1 Centre of Excellence in Human Development, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg-Braamfontein, South Africa

Maureen Black

2 RTI International, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA

3 Early Childhood Development, Unicef USA, New York City, New York, USA

Bernadette Daelmans

4 Department of Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health, WHO, Geneva, Switzerland

Chris Desmond

5 DST-NRF Centre of Excellence in Human Development, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa

Amanda Devercelli

6 Early Childhood Development, World Bank Group, Washington, District of Columbia, USA

7 Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse, WHO, Geneva, Switzerland

Günther Fink

8 Household Economics and Health Systems, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Basel, Switzerland

9 Global Health and Population, Harvard University T H Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Jody Heymann

10 Fielding School of Public Health and WORLD Policy Analysis Center, University of California, Los Angeles, California, USA

Joan Lombardi

11 Early Opportunities, Washington, District of Columbia, USA

Chunling Lu

12 Division of Global Health, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Department of Global Health and Social Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Sara Naicker

Emily vargas-barón.

13 RISE Institute, Washington, District of Columbia, USA

Experiences during early childhood shape biological and psychological structures and functions in ways that affect health, well-being and productivity throughout the life course. The science of early childhood and its long-term consequences have generated political momentum to improve early childhood development and elevated action to country, regional and global levels. These advances have made it urgent that a framework, measurement tools and indicators to monitor progress globally and in countries are developed and sustained. We review progress in three areas of measurement contributing to these goals: the development of an index to allow country comparisons of young children’s development that can easily be incorporated into ongoing national surveys; improvements in population-level assessments of young children at risk of poor early development; and the production of country profiles of determinants, drivers and coverage for early childhood development and services using currently available data in 91 countries. While advances in these three areas are encouraging, more investment is needed to standardise measurement tools, regularly collect country data at the population level, and improve country capacity to collect, interpret and use data relevant to monitoring progress in early childhood development.

Summary box

• New knowledge of the extent to which experiences during early childhood shape health, well-being and productivity throughout the life course has prompted action to improve early childhood development at the country, regional and global levels.
• Advances have been made in three areas of measurement needed to achieve these goals: population-level child assessments, population proxies of children at risk of poor childhood development, and country and regional profiles of drivers and supports for early childhood development.
• Regular, country-comparable, population-level measurements of childhood development, as well as threats to development and available supports and services, are needed to drive progress and accountability in efforts to improve early childhood development.

Introduction

Scientific findings from diverse disciplines are in agreement that critical elements of lifelong health, well-being and productivity are shaped during the first 2–3 years of life, 1 beginning with parental health and well-being. 2 The experiences and exposures of young children during this time-bound period of neuroplasticity shape the development of both biological and psychological structures and functions across the life course.

Adversities during pregnancy and early childhood, due to undernutrition, stress, poverty, violence, chronic illnesses and exposure to toxins, among others, can disrupt brain development, with consequences that endure throughout life and into future generations. 3 4 Children whose early development is compromised have fewer personal and social skills and less capacity to benefit from schooling. These deficits limit their work opportunities and earnings as adults. 5 A corollary of early susceptibility to adversity includes responsiveness to opportunities during these early years. As a result, interventions during the first 3 years of life are more effective and less costly than later efforts to compensate for early adversities and to promote human development. 6

It is estimated that, in 2010, at least 249 million (43%) children under the age of 5 years in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) were at risk of poor early childhood development (ECD) as a consequence of being stunted or living in extreme poverty. 7 This loss of potential is costly for individuals and societies. The average percentage loss of adult income per year is estimated at 26%, increasing the likelihood of persistent poverty for these children, families and societies. 5 Assuming 125 million children are born each year with a global average of poor infant growth, 8 the estimated annual global income loss is US$177 billion. 9 These impacts have serious consequences on economic growth. Recent World Bank estimates suggest that the average country’s per capital gross domestic product would be 7% higher than it is now had stunting been eliminated when today’s workers were children. 10 At the global level, human capital accounts for as much as two-thirds of the wealth differences between countries. ECD is the foundation of human capital. 11

Supported by a growing body of evidence and increasing global interest in this field, ECD is included in the 2015 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Target 4.2 is ‘improved access to quality early childhood development, care and pre-primary education’. Progress towards achieving this target is measured by indicator 4.2.1, ‘the proportion of children under 5 years of age who are developmentally on track in health, learning and psychosocial well-being, by sex’. ECD is closely linked to other SDGs as well, for example, eradicate poverty (1), end hunger and improve nutrition (2), ensure healthy lives (3), achieve gender equality (5), reduce inequality in and among countries (10), and promote peaceful societies (16), and it is implied in several more. 5

The United Nations Global Strategy for Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health, 2016–2030 synthesises the 17 SDGs in three strategies: survive, thrive and transform. Survive refers to sustained and increased reductions in preventable deaths of women, newborns, children and adolescents, as well as stillbirths; thrive refers to children receiving the nurturing care necessary to reach their developmental potential; and transform refers to comprehensive changes in policies, programmes and services for women, children and adolescents to achieve their potential. 12

ECD has also become an important component of other global agendas, including Scaling Up Nutrition, the Global Partnership for Education, the Global Financing Facility for Every Woman Every Child, the Every Woman Every Child movement, the work plans of the WHO, Unicef and the World Bank Group, the G20, 13 international funding agencies, and philanthropic foundations. 7

These multifaceted findings have generated political momentum to improve ECD as a critical phase in the life course, making it urgent to develop measurement tools and indicators to monitor progress globally and in countries. Advances in measurement are needed to support efforts to motivate and track political and financial commitments, and to monitor implementation and impact. This means that we must be able to determine how many and which children are thriving, and on track in health, learning and psychosocial well-being.

Measurement of children’s progress in childhood is acknowledged to be challenging because development is by nature dynamic and children have varying individual trajectories. Well-validated instruments of individual development are complex and require extensive training and expertise. These challenges are amplified in efforts to make measurements across populations of children. Taking these limitations into account, we review progress in three areas of measurement that are contributing data to the current political momentum for ECD and efforts to monitor implementation and impact. Progress is being made to construct a feasible country-comparable measure of young children’s development that could be incorporated into national surveys, to improve proxies of population levels of young children at risk of poor early development, and to generate country profiles of determinants, drivers and coverage for early childhood development and services, using currently available data.

A new initiative to construct a population measure of ECD

A direct measure of the development of children 0–5 years that could be administered globally and used both within and across countries is urgently needed. Efforts have been made since the 1980s to develop a globally applicable measure of ECD, with the major challenges being individual and cultural variations in the onset of early skills. 14

Currently, the Early Child Development Index (ECDI) is included as the indicator of SDG goal 4, target 4.2. It is a composite index, first introduced in Unicef’s fourth Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) in 2010. It is derived from 10 caregiver-reported questions designed for children aged 36–59 months to assess four domains of development: literacy-numeracy, learning/cognition, physical development and socioemotional development. Some items are acknowledged to be unsuitable for assessing development, 15 and efforts are under way to revise the index, as well as to include items applicable to children younger than 3 years of age.

Three research efforts have collaborated to create the Global Scale for Early Development (GSED): the Infant and Young Child Development from the WHO, 16 the Caregiver-Reported Early Development Instrument from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, 17 and the Developmental Score from the Global Child Development Group at the University of the West Indies. 18 The goals of the GSED are to develop two instruments for measuring ECD (0–3 years) globally: a population-based instrument and a programme evaluation instrument, as described in table 1 .

Global Scale for Early Development: population and programme measures

The GSED takes advantage of large-scale and cohort studies from many countries and is harmonising efforts to generate population-based and programmatic evaluation measures of the development of children aged 0–3 years old that can be used globally ( table 2 ). The scale will be available for country testing in 2019. The aim is to have the population-based measure incorporated into national surveys, including Unicef’s MICS and the US Agency for International Development’s Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS), to produce globally comparable monitoring data. Efforts are also under way to harmonise the revision of ECDI and the development of GSED to align on child outcome measurement from birth to 59 months of age.

Development and validation of the Global Scale for Early Development

CREDI, Caregiver-Reported Early Development Instrument; D-score, Developmental Score; IYCD, Infant and Young Child Development.

A country-comparable proxy for population levels of risk of poor childhood development

Information about children’s risk for poor development is important, as is identifying areas for intervention. To track these, a proxy measure of population levels of young children at risk of suboptimal development has been calculated.

Stunting and poverty were used in the first published estimation in 2007 of the global prevalence of risk to children’s development. The initial choice of indicators was based on evidence that they both predict poor cognitive development and school performance. 19 20 Additional advantages are that their definitions are standardised and many countries have data on both indicators. 21

Lu et al 21 updated the earlier values to 2010, using the 2006 WHO growth standards and World Bank poverty rates (US$1.25 per person per day), leading to an estimate of 249 million children or 43% of all children under 5 years of age in LMICs being at risk of poor childhood development. The accuracy and comparability of the later estimates benefited greatly from major advances in both data availability and estimation methods. 21

To estimate the long-term consequences of poor ECD, studies focus on estimating the impact on subsequent schooling and labour market participation and wages. The current estimate, that the average percentage of annual adult income lost as a result of stunting and extreme poverty in early childhood is about 26%, is supported by follow-up adult data from early life interventions. Two programmes have found wage increases between 25% in Jamaica attributed to a psychosocial intervention 22 and 46% in Guatemala attributed to a protein supplement. 23

In order to improve the estimate of risk, efforts are under way to include additional risks experienced in ECD known to affect health and well-being across the life course. For example, adding low maternal schooling and exposure to harsh punishment to stunting and extreme poverty, for 15 countries with available data from MICS in 2010/2011, increased the number of children estimated to be at risk of poor childhood development substantially. 5

Country profiles of ECD

Population-based measures of early child development and proxies of children at risk give an indication of prevalence, and indicators of disparity can be derived according to gender, urban–rural location and socioeconomic status. However, they do not include drivers, determinants nor coverage of interventions that could improve childhood development.

The Countdown to 2015 for Maternal, Newborn and Child Survival , established in 2005, set a precedent by creating mechanisms to portray multidimensional aspects of progress towards improving maternal and child health, and is testimony of its value. 24 Countdown to 2030 , which tracks maternal, child and adolescent health and nutrition goals, has expanded to address the broader SDG agenda, including ECD, health in humanitarian settings and conflict, and adolescent health and well-being. 25 26 It includes coverage and equity of essential interventions, as well as indicators of determinants and the enabling environment provided by policies.

This approach has been applied to ECD using the Nurturing Care Framework, 27 launched at the 71st World Health Assembly. The concept of nurturing care was introduced in the 2017 Lancet Series Advancing Early Child Development: From Science to Scale . Nurturing Care Framework comprises conditions for early development: good health and nutrition; protection from environmental and personal harm; affectionate and encouraging responses to young children’s communications; and opportunities for young children to learn through exploration and interpersonal interactions. 7

These early experiences are nested in caregiver–child and family relationships. In turn, parents, families and other caregivers require support from a facilitating environment of policies, services and communities. Policies, services and programmes can protect women’s health and well-being, safeguard pregnancy and birth, and enable families and caregivers to promote and protect young children’s development. 6

The Nurturing Care Framework has been used to produce ECD profiles for 91 LMICs. 28 Countries were selected either to ensure alignment of ECD with Countdown to 2030 , or because more than 30% of children are estimated to be at risk of poor ECD in 2010, using the methods described in Lu et al 21 and Black et al . 7

These country profiles, which consist of currently available data from LMICs, are laid out to represent the Nurturing Care Framework. The profiles consist of the following sections:

• Selected demographic indicators of the country relevant to early child development: total population, annual births, children under 5 years of age and under-5 mortality.
• Threats to ECD, including maternal mortality, young motherhood, low birth weight, preterm births, child poverty, under-5 stunting, harsh punishment and inadequate supervision.
• The prevalence of young children at risk of poor child development disaggregated by gender and rural–urban residence, and lifetime costs of growth deficit in early childhood in US dollars.
• The facilitating policy environment for caregivers and children, as indexed by relevant conventions and national policies.
• Support and services to promote ECD in the five areas of nurturing care: early learning, health, nutrition, responsive caregiving, and security and safety.

Most of the existing data are published in Unicef’s annual State of the World’s Children. Convention and policy data come from, among others, the United Nations Treaty Collections and the International Labour Organization.

Figure 1 shows an example of the country profiles, with the country name replace by ‘Country Profiles’.

An example of an early childhood development (ECD) country profile. CRC, convention on the rights of the child.

In a forthcoming paper, Lu and Richter (2019) describe in detail the updated estimates of children at risk of poor childhood development using the newly released poverty line of US$1.9 per person per day to estimate that, in 2015, 233 million children or 40.5% of children under 5 years of age were at risk of poor childhood development. Figures 2 and 3 show the estimates of risk for poor ECD across a decade, from 2005 to 2010 and 2015, and using the 2010 data variations between children at risk living in rural and urban areas. Gender is not illustrated here because, in most countries, the differences are small and not statistically significant.

Decline in the number of countries with high proportions of young children at risk of poor development between 2005 and 2015.

Differences in risk of poor development among urban and rural children in 63 countries (most recent years with available data).

Figure 2 shows that, between 2005 and 2010, countries with two-thirds of young children at risk (>67%) declined in both central Europe and South-East Asia. There was little change in countries with high proportions of young children at risk in sub-Saharan Africa during this period, and by 2015 countries with the highest proportion of children at risk were in Central and Southern Africa.

Estimates on the prevalence of children at risk of poor development in urban and rural areas were derived using DHS, MICS and country data for 63 countries with available data in most recent years ( figure 3 ). The differences are strikingly high, with more rural children at risk than their urban counterparts in 50 countries (differences of more than 20%). Almost all countries with 40% point differences were in sub-Saharan Africa. 28

There are additional indicators that ideally should be included in a monitoring framework, but currently lack comparable country data. Data are usually unavailable because reliable, valid instruments feasible for multicountry administration are still in development, or the instruments are not yet included in representative surveys. In particular, there are as yet no global population-based indicators for assessing responsive caregiving. Suggestions have been made that data should be collected on whether information about ECD and caregiver–child interaction is publicly disseminated, whether home visits or groups are provided for parents at high risk of experiencing difficulties providing their children with nurturing care, and whether affordable good quality child day care is available for families who need it. 29 National data on laws and policies that support responsive caregiving are also insufficient, for example, wages and other forms of income to enable families to provide for their young children. 30

Additional data gaps concern risks arising from poor parental mental health, 31 low maternal schooling, and maternal tobacco and alcohol use, among others, prevalence of childhood developmental delays and disabilities, 32 and maltreatment and institutionalisation of young children. 33 There is also no comparable information on government budget allocation to ECD or household expenditure on ECD services care, among others.

Multidisciplinary scientific evidence and political momentum are focusing on ECD as a critical phase in enhancing health and well-being across the life course. Additional measurements and indicators for monitoring and evaluation are urgently needed to support expansions in implementation and investment, and to report progress. New data will stimulate global, regional and national action, and in turn motivate for more areas of ECD to be covered in national surveys.

The Nurturing Care Framework provides a platform for three important areas of work. First, very significant progress is being made through the revision of the ECDI and the development of the GSED, a short caregiver-reported population measure of ECD that could feasibly be included in DHS, MICS and other nationally representative household surveys. The GSED will enable ECD to be tracked at population levels, and for programmes and services to be monitored and evaluated in comparable ways.

Second, a country-comparable proxy of the risk of poor ECD developed from 2004 data and updated with 2010 data has been extended to 2015, enabling comparisons to be made globally, regionally and by country across the last decade. Plans are in place to update these estimates regularly, and to add new risks as data for more countries become available.

Third, using these estimates, data included in Countdown to 2030 , and additional data from MICS and policy databases, initial profiles have been constructed for 91 LMICs. The profiles are organised according to the ecological model of the Nurturing Care Framework with policies, services and programmes supporting families and caregivers to provide good health and nutrition, security and safety, opportunities for early learning, and responsive caregiving for young children to thrive. The further development of these profiles is overseen by a multiagency committee as part of Countdown to 2030 and are freely available ( http://www.ecdan.org/countries.html and https://nurturing-care.org/?page_id=703 ). Unicef will update the country data annually and the profiles will be reproduced every 2 years.

However, as indicated earlier, substantial gaps in national and global data on topics of concern to ECD remain. The current global estimation on burden of risks, for example, does not include known risk factors other than stunting and extreme poverty, as a result of which the existing burden calculation is considerably underestimated. 5 The limited information on ECD investments at the country and global levels is exacerbated by the lack of appreciation of what constitute essential and continuous services, standard indicators for measuring ECD interventions and policies, as well as systematically collected data. Country capacity needs to be strengthened and ECD costing modules integrated into existing household income or expenditure surveys, and routinely collected from specific types of programmes. Clear definitions are needed to track donor contributions to ECD, and efforts should be made to address data issues, including collecting data from emerging donor countries (eg, China), foundations and international non-governmental organisations that are playing an increasing role in financing ECD, as has been called for by the G20. 33 National policies, strategic plans and laws which support ECD through nurturing care should be tracked for this intersectoral area.

To improve measurements of risks, intervention coverage, policies, financial commitments and impact on young children’s development, more investment is needed to regularly collect and disseminate data at the national and subnational levels. Analytical gaps at the country and global levels exist, especially with respect to equity analyses by household wealth, maternal education and rural–urban location, as well as by gender and child age within 0–5 years.

In conclusion, progress has been extremely positive, but too slow and too fragmented for the bold global agenda of ECD and the Nurturing Care Framework. The alliance with Countdown to 2030 is helpful as there is much to be learnt from the initiative’s experience under the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), as well as collaboration with the SDGs. The country profiles boldly portray what we currently know about ECD in some of the most at-risk conditions and will prove a valuable tool for advocacy and implementation, including to improve measurement. Successful implementation and impact are dependent on accountability supported by regularly updated reliable and valid information.

Acknowledgments

Robert Inglis (Jive Media Africa, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa) and Frank Sokolic (EduAction, Durban, South Africa) for assistance with the country profiles and maps.

Handling editor: Seye Abimbola

Contributors: All authors meet the conditions for authorship: substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work, or the acquisition, analysis or interpretation of data; drafting the work or revising it critically for important intellectual content; final approval of the version published; and agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

Funding: This study has been funded by Conrad N Hilton Foundation and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Competing interests: None declared.

Patient consent for publication: Not required.

Provenance and peer review: Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.

Data sharing statement: Data on the country profiles are publicly available on the websites cited in the paper.

InBrief: The Science of Early Childhood Development

This brief is part of a series that summarizes essential scientific findings from Center publications.

Content in This Guide

Step 1: why is early childhood important.

• : Brain Hero
• : The Science of ECD (Video)
• You Are Here: The Science of ECD (Text)

Step 2: How Does Early Child Development Happen?

• : 3 Core Concepts in Early Development
• : 8 Things to Remember about Child Development
• : InBrief: The Science of Resilience

Step 3: What Can We Do to Support Child Development?

• : From Best Practices to Breakthrough Impacts
• : 3 Principles to Improve Outcomes

The science of early brain development can inform investments in early childhood. These basic concepts, established over decades of neuroscience and behavioral research, help illustrate why child development—particularly from birth to five years—is a foundation for a prosperous and sustainable society.

Brains are built over time, from the bottom up.

The basic architecture of the brain is constructed through an ongoing process that begins before birth and continues into adulthood. Early experiences affect the quality of that architecture by establishing either a sturdy or a fragile foundation for all of the learning, health and behavior that follow. In the first few years of life, more than 1 million new neural connections are formed every second . After this period of rapid proliferation, connections are reduced through a process called pruning, so that brain circuits become more efficient. Sensory pathways like those for basic vision and hearing are the first to develop, followed by early language skills and higher cognitive functions. Connections proliferate and prune in a prescribed order, with later, more complex brain circuits built upon earlier, simpler circuits.

The interactive influences of genes and experience shape the developing brain.

Scientists now know a major ingredient in this developmental process is the “ serve and return ” relationship between children and their parents and other caregivers in the family or community. Young children naturally reach out for interaction through babbling, facial expressions, and gestures, and adults respond with the same kind of vocalizing and gesturing back at them. In the absence of such responses—or if the responses are unreliable or inappropriate—the brain’s architecture does not form as expected, which can lead to disparities in learning and behavior.

The brain’s capacity for change decreases with age.

The brain is most flexible, or “plastic,” early in life to accommodate a wide range of environments and interactions, but as the maturing brain becomes more specialized to assume more complex functions, it is less capable of reorganizing and adapting to new or unexpected challenges. For example, by the first year, the parts of the brain that differentiate sound are becoming specialized to the language the baby has been exposed to; at the same time, the brain is already starting to lose the ability to recognize different sounds found in other languages. Although the “windows” for language learning and other skills remain open, these brain circuits become increasingly difficult to alter over time. Early plasticity means it’s easier and more effective to influence a baby’s developing brain architecture than to rewire parts of its circuitry in the adult years.

Cognitive, emotional, and social capacities are inextricably intertwined throughout the life course.

The brain is a highly interrelated organ, and its multiple functions operate in a richly coordinated fashion. Emotional well-being and social competence provide a strong foundation for emerging cognitive abilities, and together they are the bricks and mortar that comprise the foundation of human development. The emotional and physical health, social skills, and cognitive-linguistic capacities that emerge in the early years are all important prerequisites for success in school and later in the workplace and community.

Toxic stress damages developing brain architecture, which can lead to lifelong problems in learning, behavior, and physical and mental health.

Scientists now know that chronic, unrelenting stress in early childhood, caused by extreme poverty, repeated abuse, or severe maternal depression, for example, can be toxic to the developing brain. While positive stress (moderate, short-lived physiological responses to uncomfortable experiences) is an important and necessary aspect of healthy development, toxic stress is the strong, unrelieved activation of the body’s stress management system. In the absence of the buffering protection of adult support, toxic stress becomes built into the body by processes that shape the architecture of the developing brain.

Policy Implications

• The basic principles of neuroscience indicate that early preventive intervention will be more efficient and produce more favorable outcomes than remediation later in life.
• A balanced approach to emotional, social, cognitive, and language development will best prepare all children for success in school and later in the workplace and community.
• Supportive relationships and positive learning experiences begin at home but can also be provided through a range of services with proven effectiveness factors. Babies’ brains require stable, caring, interactive relationships with adults — any way or any place they can be provided will benefit healthy brain development.
• Science clearly demonstrates that, in situations where toxic stress is likely, intervening as early as possible is critical to achieving the best outcomes. For children experiencing toxic stress, specialized early interventions are needed to target the cause of the stress and protect the child from its consequences.

Suggested citation: Center on the Developing Child (2007). The Science of Early Childhood Development (InBrief). Retrieved from www.developingchild.harvard.edu .

Related Topics: toxic stress , brain architecture , serve and return

Explore related resources.

• Reports & Working Papers
• Tools & Guides
• Presentations
• Infographics

Videos : Serve & Return Interaction Shapes Brain Circuitry

Reports & Working Papers : From Best Practices to Breakthrough Impacts

Briefs : InBrief: The Science of Neglect

Videos : InBrief: The Science of Neglect

Reports & Working Papers : The Science of Neglect: The Persistent Absence of Responsive Care Disrupts the Developing Brain

Reports & Working Papers : Young Children Develop in an Environment of Relationships

Tools & Guides , Briefs : 5 Steps for Brain-Building Serve and Return

Briefs : 8 Things to Remember about Child Development

Partner Resources : Building Babies’ Brains Through Play: Mini Parenting Master Class

Podcasts : About The Brain Architects Podcast

Videos : FIND: Using Science to Coach Caregivers

Videos : How-to: 5 Steps for Brain-Building Serve and Return

Briefs : How to Support Children (and Yourself) During the COVID-19 Outbreak

Videos : InBrief: The Science of Early Childhood Development

Partner Resources , Tools & Guides : MOOC: The Best Start in Life: Early Childhood Development for Sustainable Development

Presentations : Parenting for Brain Development and Prosperity

Videos : Play in Early Childhood: The Role of Play in Any Setting

Videos : Child Development Core Story

Videos : Science X Design: Three Principles to Improve Outcomes for Children

Podcasts : The Brain Architects Podcast: COVID-19 Special Edition: Self-Care Isn’t Selfish

Podcasts : The Brain Architects Podcast: Serve and Return: Supporting the Foundation

Videos : Three Core Concepts in Early Development

Reports & Working Papers : Three Principles to Improve Outcomes for Children and Families

Partner Resources , Tools & Guides : Training Module: “Talk With Me Baby”

Infographics : What Is COVID-19? And How Does It Relate to Child Development?

Partner Resources , Tools & Guides : Vroom

Digital parenting and its impact on early childhood development: A scoping review

• Published: 07 May 2024

Cite this article

• Yun Nga Choy 1 ,
• Eva Yi Hung Lau 1 &
• Dandan Wu   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-1855-3570 1  

110 Accesses

Explore all metrics

Digital parenting refers to the parenting practices that maximize the benefits and minimize potential risks of children’s interactions with digital media and online spaces. Balancing the pros and cons of early digital usage is a challenge for many caregivers. This scoping review synthesizes evidence regarding digital parenting practices and their impact on children's digital use and development, drawing from 40 studies published in international peer-reviewed journals between 2010 and 2023. Four themes have emerged from this scoping review. Firstly, parental perspectives on early digital use diverged into positive views (as ‘educational aids’), negative views (as ‘distractions’), and cultural differences. Secondly, children's digital use was influenced by digital parenting practices, specifically parental modeling, parenting style, parental mediation and the intended purpose of children's digital use. Thirdly, a correlation was noted between varying results of digital parenting and children's digital use, with outcomes manifested in children's digital literacy, parent–child relationships, social-emotional and language development, behavioral issues, and emergent literacy. Fourthly, influential factors were child ages, parental and family-related factors (including gender, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, family structure, religion, and parents' digital literacy), and the type of digital resources. The review suggests that future research should concentrate on training programs to enhance parental digital literacy skills and employ monitoring tools to better assess children's digital use.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price includes VAT (Russian Federation)

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Rent this article via DeepDyve

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Universal Digital Programs for Promoting Mental and Relational Health for Parents of Young Children: A Systematic Review and Meta‐Analysis

Parental risk factors and moderators of prolonged digital use in preschoolers: A meta-analysis

A mixed method research on increasing digital parenting awareness of parents

Data availability.

The data are available from the authors upon reasonable request.

Anandari, D. R. (2016, February). Permissive parenting style and its risks to trigger online game addiction among children. In Asian Conference 2nd Psychology & Humanity (pp. 773-781).

Arksey, H., & O’Malley, L. (2005). Scoping studies: Towards a methodological framework. International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 8 (1), 19–32. https://doi.org/10.1080/1364557032000119616

Article   Google Scholar  

Bedford, R., Saez de Urabain, I. R., Cheung, C. H., Karmiloff-Smith, A., & Smith, T. J. (2016). Toddlers’ fine motor milestone achievement is associated with early touchscreen scrolling. Frontiers in Psychology, 7 , 1108. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01108

Benedetto, L., & Ingrassia, M. (Eds.). (2021). Parenting: Studies by an Ecocultural and Transactional Perspective . BoD–Books on Demand.

Google Scholar  

Beyens, I., & Beullens, K. (2017). Parent-child conflict about children’s tablet use: The role of parental mediation. New Media & Society, 19 (12), 2075–2093. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444816655099

Buabbas, A., Hasan, H., & Shehab, A. A. (2021). Parents’ attitudes toward school students’ overuse of smartphones and its detrimental health impacts: Qualitative study. JMIR Pediatrics and Parenting, 4 (2), e24196. https://doi.org/10.2196/24196

Cao, S., Dong, C., & Li, H. (2021). Digital parenting during the COVID-19 lockdowns: how Chinese parents viewed and mediated young children's digital use.  Early Child Development and Care , 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1080/03004430.2021.2016732

Cao, S., & Li, H. (2023). A Scoping Review of Digital Well-Being in Early Childhood: Definitions, Measurements, Contributors, and Interventions. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20 (4), 3510. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20043510

Chia, M. Y. H., Komar, J., Chua, T. B. K., & Tay, L. Y. (2022). Associations between Parent Attitudes and on-and off-Screen Behaviours of Preschool Children in Singapore. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19 (18), 11508. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191811508

Chou, H. L., Chou, C., & Chen, C. H. (2016). The moderating effects of parenting styles on the relation between the internet attitudes and internet behaviors of high-school students in Taiwan. Computers & Education, 94 , 204–214. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2015.11.017

Clark, L. S. (2011). Parental mediation theory for the digital age. Communication Theory, 21 (4), 323–343. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2885.2011.01391.x

Collier, K. M., Coyne, S. M., Rasmussen, E. E., Hawkins, A. J., Padilla-Walker, L. M., Erickson, S. E., & Memmott-Elison, M. K. (2016). Does parental mediation of media influence child outcomes? A meta-analysis on media time, aggression, substance use, and sexual behavior. Developmental Psychology, 52 (5), 798. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0000108

Dardanou, M., Unstad, T., Brito, R., Dias, P., Fotakopoulou, O., Sakata, Y., & O’Connor, J. (2020). Use of touchscreen technology by 0–3-year-old children: Parents’ practices and perspectives in Norway, Portugal and Japan. Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, 20 (3), 551–573. https://doi.org/10.1177/1468798420938445

Darling, N., & Steinberg, L. (2017). Parenting style as context: An integrative model. Interpersonal development (pp. 161–170). London: Routledge.

Dias, P., Brito, R., Ribbens, W., Daniela, L., Rubene, Z., Dreier, M., … & Chaudron, S. (2016). The role of parents in the engagement of young children with digital technologies: Exploring tensions between rights of access and protection, from 'Gatekeepers' to 'Scaffolders'.  Global Studies of Childhood ,  6 (4), 414–427. https://doi.org/10.1177/2043610616676024

Dong, C., & Mertala, P. (2021). Preservice teachers’ beliefs about young children’s technology use at home. Teaching and Teacher Education, 102 , 103325. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2021.103325

Dong, C., Cao, S., & Li, H. (2020). Young children’s online learning during COVID-19 pandemic: Chinese parents’ beliefs and attitudes. Children and Youth Services Review, 118 , 105440. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.105440

Dong, C., Cao, S., & Li, H. (2021). Profiles and predictors of young children's digital literacy and multimodal practices in central China.  Early Education and Development , 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1080/10409289.2021.1930937

Eichen, L., Hackl‐Wimmer, S., Eglmaier, M. T. W., Lackner, H. K., Paechter, M., Rettenbacher, K., … & Walter‐Laager, C. (2021). Families' digital media use: Intentions, rules and activities.  British Journal of Educational Technology ,  52 (6), 2162–2177. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjet.13161

Fan, M., Antle, A. N., & Lu, Z. (2022). The Use of Short-Video Mobile Apps in Early Childhood: a Case Study of Parental Perspectives in China.  Early Years , 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1080/09575146.2022.2038088

Fidan, A., & Seferoğlu, S. S. (2020). Online environments and digital parenting: an investigation of approaches, problems, and recommended solutions. Bartin Üniversitesi Egitim Fakültesi Dergisi, 9 (2), 352–372. https://doi.org/10.14686/buefad.664141

Fitzpatrick, C., Almeida, M. L., Harvey, E., Garon-Carrier, G., Berrigan, F., & Asbridge, M. (2022). An examination of bedtime media and excessive screen time by Canadian preschoolers during the COVID-19 pandemic. BMC Pediatrics, 22 (1), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12887-022-03280-8

Gjelaj, M., Buza, K., Shatri, K., & Zabeli, N. (2020). Digital Technologies in Early Childhood: Attitudes and Practices of Parents and Teachers in Kosovo. International Journal of Instruction, 13 (1), 165–184. https://doi.org/10.29333/iji.2020.13111a

Gou, H., & Perceval, G. (2023). Does digital media use increase risk of social-emotional delay for Chinese preschoolers? Journal of Children and Media, 17 (1), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1080/17482798.2022.2118141

Griffith, S. F. (2023). Parent beliefs and child media use: Stress and digital skills as moderators. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 86 , 101535. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2023.101535

Herodotou, C. (2018). Young children and tablets: A systematic review of effects on learning and development. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 34 (1), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcal.12220

Huber, B., Highfield, K., & Kaufman, J. (2018). Detailing the digital experience: Parent reports of children’s media use in the home learning environment. British Journal of Educational Technology, 49 (5), 821–833. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjet.12667

Hutton, J. S., Dudley, J., Horowitz-Kraus, T., DeWitt, T., & Holland, S. K. (2020). Associations between screen-based media use and brain white matter integrity in preschool-aged children. JAMA Pediatrics, 174 (1), e193869–e193869. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2019.3869

Iqbal, M. K., Iqbal, M. B., Rasheed, I., & Sandhu, A. (2012, October). 4G Evolution and Multiplexing Techniques with solution to implementation challenges. In  2012 International Conference on Cyber-Enabled Distributed Computing and Knowledge Discovery  (pp. 485–488). IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/CyberC.2012.88

Isikoglu Erdogan, N., Johnson, J. E., Dong, P. I., & Qiu, Z. (2019). Do parents prefer digital play? Examination of parental preferences and beliefs in four nations. Early Childhood Education Journal, 47 (2), 131–142. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-018-0901-2

Işıkoğlu, N., Erol, A., Atan, A., & Aytekin, S. (2021). A qualitative case study about overuse of digital play at home.  Current Psychology , 1–11 https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-021-01442-y

Istenič, A., Rosanda, V., & Gačnik, M. (2023). Surveying Parents of Preschool Children about Digital and Analogue Play and Parent-Child Interaction. Children, 10 (2), 251. https://doi.org/10.3390/children10020251

Jago, R., Thompson, J. L., Sebire, S. J., Wood, L., Pool, L., Zahra, J., & Lawlor, D. A. (2014). Cross-sectional associations between the screen-time of parents and young children: Differences by parent and child gender and day of the week. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 11 (1), 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1186/1479-5868-11-54

Kaye, L. (Ed.). (2016). Young children in a digital age: Supporting learning and development with technology in early years . Routledge.

Keya, F. D., Rahman, M. M., Nur, M. T., & Pasa, M. K. (2020). Parenting and child’s (five years to eighteen years) digital game addiction: A qualitative study in North-Western part of Bangladesh. Computers in Human Behavior Reports, 2 , 100031. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chbr.2020.100031

Konca, A. S. (2021). Digital technology usage of young children: Screen time and families.  Early Childhood Education Journal , 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-021-01245-7

Konok, V., & Szőke, R. (2022). Longitudinal Associations of Children’s Hyperactivity/Inattention, Peer Relationship Problems and Mobile Device Use. Sustainability, 14 (14), 8845. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14148845

Konok, V., Bunford, N., & Miklósi, Á. (2020). Associations between child mobile use and digital parenting style in Hungarian families. Journal of Children and Media, 14 (1), 91–109. https://doi.org/10.1080/17482798.2019.1684332

Kulakci-Altintas, H. (2019). Technological device use among 0–3 year old children and attitudes and behaviors of their parents towards technological devices. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 29 (1), 55–61. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-019-01457-x

Lam, L. T. (2015). Parental mental health and Internet Addiction in adolescents. Addictive Behaviors, 42 , 20–23. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2014.10.033

Lau, E. Y. H., & Lee, K. (2021). Parents’ views on young children’s distance learning and screen time during COVID-19 class suspension in Hong Kong. Early Education and Development, 32 (6), 863–880. https://doi.org/10.1080/10409289.2020.1843925

Lauricella, A. R., Wartella, E., & Rideout, V. J. (2015). Young children’s screen time: The complex role of parent and child factors. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 36 , 11–17. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2014.12.001

Lei, H., Chiu, M. M., Cui, Y., Zhou, W., & Li, S. (2018). Parenting style and aggression: A meta-analysis of mainland Chinese children and youth. Children and Youth Services Review, 94 , 446–455. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2018.07.033

Lepicnik-Vodopivec, J., & Samec, P. (2013). Uso de tecnologías en el entorno familiar en niños de cuatro años de Eslovenia. Comunicar: Revista Científica de Comunicación y Educación, 20 (40), 119–126. https://doi.org/10.3916/C40-2013-03-02

Levac, D., Colquhoun, H., & O’Brien, K. K. (2010). Scoping studies: Advancing the methodology. Implementation Science, 5 , 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1186/1748-5908-5-69

Levine, L. E., Waite, B. M., Bowman, L. L., & Kachinsky, K. (2019). Mobile media use by infants and toddlers. Computers in Human Behavior, 94 , 92–99. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2018.12.045

Levy, R. (2009). “You have to understand words … but not read them”: Young children becoming readers in a digital age. Journal of Research in Reading, 32 , 75–91. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9817.2008.01382.x

Lewis, K. L., Howard, S. J., Verenikina, I., & Kervin, L. K. (2023). Parent perspectives on young children’s changing digital practices: Insights from Covid-19. Journal of Early Childhood Research, 21 (1), 76–90. https://doi.org/10.1177/1476718X221145486

Li, P., Legault, J., & Litcofsky, K. A. (2014). Neuroplasticity as a function of second language learning: Anatomical changes in the human brain. Cortex, 58 , 301–324. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cortex.2014.05.001

Lim, S. S. (2016). Through the tablet glass: transcendent parenting in an era of mobile media and cloud computing. Journal of Children and Media, 10 (1), 21–29. https://doi.org/10.1080/17482798.2015.1121896

Livingstone, S., & Helsper, E. J. (2008). Parental mediation of children’s internet use. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 52 (4), 581–599. https://doi.org/10.1080/08838150802437396

Madigan, S., Browne, D., Racine, N., Mori, C., & Tough, S. (2019). Association between screen time and children’s performance on a developmental screening test. JAMA Pediatrics, 173 (3), 244–250. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2018.5056

Mallawaarachchi, S. R., Anglim, J., Hooley, M., & Horwood, S. (2022). Associations of smartphone and tablet use in early childhood with psychosocial, cognitive and sleep factors: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 60 , 13–33. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2021.12.008

Mascheroni, G., Ponte, C., & Jorge, A. (2018). Digital Parenting: The Challenges for Families in the Digital Age, Yearbook 2018 . University of Gothenburg.

McCarthy, D. M., & Bhide, P. G. (2021). Heritable consequences of paternal nicotine exposure: From phenomena to mechanisms. Biology of Reproduction, 105 (3), 632–643. https://doi.org/10.1093/biolre/ioab116

McCloskey, M., Johnson, S. L., Benz, C., Thompson, D. A., Chamberlin, B., Clark, L., & Bellows, L. L. (2018). Parent perceptions of mobile device use among preschool-aged children in rural head start centers. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 50 (1), 83–89. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jneb.2017.03.006

McNeill, J., Howard, S. J., Vella, S. A., & Cliff, D. P. (2019). Longitudinal associations of electronic application use and media program viewing with cognitive and psychosocial development in preschoolers. Academic Pediatric, 19 , 520–528. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acap.2019.02.010

Medawar, J., Tabullo, Á. J., & Gago-Galvagno, L. G. (2023). Early language outcomes in Argentinean toddlers: Associations with home literacy, screen exposure and joint media engagement. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 41 (1), 13–30. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjdp.12429

Mehta, S. K., & Murkey, B. (2020). Effect of COVID-19 Pandemic Imposed Lockdown on Internet Addiction. IAHRW International Journal of Social Sciences Review , 8 (7-9), 285–290. Retrieved from https://ischolar.sscldl.in/index.php/IIJSSR/article/view/208656

Montag, C., & Elhai, J. D. (2020). Discussing digital technology overuse in children and adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond: On the importance of considering Affective Neuroscience Theory. Addictive Behaviors Reports, 12 , 100313. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.abrep.2020.100313

Neumann, M. M. (2018). Parent scaffolding of young children’s use of touch screen tablets. Early Child Development and Care, 188 (12), 1654–1664. https://doi.org/10.1080/03004430.2016.1278215

Neumann, M. M. (2015). Young children and screen time: Creating a mindful approach to digital technology. Australian Educational Computing , 30 (2). http://journal.acce.edu.au/index.php/AEC/article/view/67 . Accessed 15 Apr 2023.

Nevski, E., & Siibak, A. (2016). The role of parents and parental mediation on 0–3-year olds’ digital play with smart devices: Estonian parents’ attitudes and practices. Early Years, 36 (3), 227–241. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429444418

Nikken, P., & de Haan, J. (2015). Guiding young children's internet use at home: Problems that parents experience in their parental mediation and the need for parenting support.  Cyberpsychology: Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberspace ,  9 (1). https://doi.org/10.5817/CP2015-1-3

Nikken, P., & Jansz, J. (2014). Developing scales to measure parental mediation of young children’s internet use. Learning, Media and Technology, 39 (2), 250–266. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439884.2013.782038

Nikken, P., & Opree, S. J. (2018). Guiding young children’s digital media use: SES-differences in mediation concerns and competence. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 27 (6), 1844–1857. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-018-1018-3

Nikken, P., & Schols, M. (2015). How and why parents guide the media use of young children. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 24 (11), 3423–3435. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-015-0144-4

Nur’Aini, A. (2022). The Effect of Parenting in the Digital Era on the Behavior of Elementary School Students.  Jurnal Ilmiah Sekolah Dasar ,  6 (4). https://doi.org/10.23887/jisd.v6i4.56036

Oh, W. O. (2005). Patterns of the internet usage and related factors with internet addiction among middle school students. J Korean Soc Matern Child Health, 9 (1), 33–49.

Pagani, L., Argentin, G., Gui, M., & Stanca, L. (2016). The impact of digital skills on educational outcomes: Evidence from performance tests. Educational Studies, 42 (2), 137–162. https://doi.org/10.1080/03055698.2016.1148588

Papadakis, S., Zaranis, N., & Kalogiannakis, M. (2019). Parental involvement and attitudes towards young Greek children’s mobile usage. International Journal of Child-Computer Interaction, 22 , 100144. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijcci.2019.100144

Papadakis, S., Alexandraki, F., & Zaranis, N. (2022). Mobile device use among preschool-aged children in Greece. Education and Information Technologies, 27 (2), 2717–2750. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-021-10718-6

Park, C., & Park, Y. R. (2014). The conceptual model on smart phone addiction among early childhood. International Journal of Social Science and Humanity, 4 (2), 147. https://doi.org/10.7763/IJSSH.2014.V4.336

Article   MathSciNet   Google Scholar  

Pons-Salvador, G., Zubieta-Méndez, X., & Frias-Navarro, D. (2022). Parents’ digital competence in guiding and supervising young children’s use of the Internet. European Journal of Communication, 37 (4), 443–459. https://doi.org/10.1177/02673231211072669

Purnama, S., Wibowo, A., Narmaditya, B. S., Fitriyah, Q. F., & Aziz, H. (2022). Do parenting styles and religious beliefs matter for child behavioral problem? The mediating role of digital literacy. Heliyon, 8 (6), e09788. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e09788

Rek, M., & Kovačič, A. (2018). Media and Preschool children: The role of Parents as role Models and educaTors. Medijske studije, 9 (18), 27–43. http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0928-1163 .

Rideout, V., & Robb, M. B. (2020).  The Common Sense Census: Media use by kids age zero to eight, 2020 . Common Sense Media. https://www.commonsensemedia.org/sites/default/files/uploads/research/2020_zero_to_eight_census_final_web.pdf

Rideout, V. (2019). The common sense census: Media use by tweens and teens. https://www.commonsensemedia.org/research/the-common-sense-census-media-use-by-tweens-and-teens-2019 . Accessed 20 Feb 2023.

Rode, J. A. (2009). Digital parenting: designing children’s safety.  People and computers XXIII celebrating people and technology , 244–251. https://doi.org/10.14236/ewic/HCI2009.29

Rohr, C. S., Arora, A., Cho, I. Y., Katlariwala, P., Dimond, D., Dewey, D., & Bray, S. (2018). Functional network integration and attention skills in young children. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, 30 , 200–211. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dcn.2018.03.007

Sivrikova, N. V., Ptashko, T. G., Perebeynos, A. E., Chernikova, E. G., Gilyazeva, N. V., & Vasilyeva, V. S. (2020). Parental reports on digital devices use in infancy and early childhood. Education and Information Technologies, 25 (5), 3957–3973. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-020-10145-z

Stites, M. L., Sonneschein, S., & Galczyk, S. H. (2021). Preschool parents’ views of distance learning during COVID-19. Early Education and Development, 32 (7), 923–939. https://doi.org/10.1080/10409289.2021.1930936

Strouse, G. A., Newland, L. A., & Mourlam, D. J. (2019). Educational and fun? Parent versus preschooler perceptions and co-use of digital and print media. AERA Open, 5 (3), 2332858419861085. https://doi.org/10.1177/2332858419861085

Thurlow, R. (2009). Improving emergent literacy skills: Web destinations for young children. Computers in the Schools, 26 , 290–298. https://doi.org/10.1080/07380560903360210

Timmons, K., Cooper, A., Bozek, E., & Braund, H. (2021). The impacts of COVID-19 on early childhood education: Capturing the unique challenges associated with remote teaching and learning in K-2. Early Childhood Education Journal, 49 (5), 887–901. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-021-01207-z

Valkenburg, P. M., Krcmar, M., Peeters, A. L., & Marseille, N. M. (1999). Developing a scale to assess three styles of television mediation:“Instructive mediation”,“restrictive mediation”, and “social coviewing.” Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 43 (1), 52–66. https://doi.org/10.1080/08838159909364474

Wahyuningrum, E., Suryanto, S., & Suminar, D. R. (2020). Parenting in digital era: A systematic literature review. Journal of Educational, Health and Community Psychology, 3 , 226–258. https://doi.org/10.12928/jehcp.v9i3.16984

Wang, C., Qian, H., Li, H., & Wu, D. (2023). The status quo, contributors, consequences and models of digital overuse/problematic use in preschoolers: A scoping review.  Frontiers in Psychology ,  14 . https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1049102

Wartella, E., Kirkpatrick, E., Rideout, V., Lauricella, A., & Connell, S. (2014). Media, technology, and reading in Hispanic families: A national survey. Center on Media and Human Development at Northwestern University and National Center for Families Learning . http://web5.soc.northwestern.edu/cmhd/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/NWU.MediaTechReading.Hispanic.FINAL2014.pdf . Accessed 10 Mar 2023.

WHO. (2019). New WHO guidance: Very limited daily screen time recommended for children under 5. https://www.aoa.org/news/clinical-eye-care/public-health/screen-time-for-children-under-5?sso=y . Accessed 10 Mar 2023.

Wu, C. S. T., Fowler, C., Lam, W. Y. Y., Wong, H. T., Wong, C. H. M., & Yuen Loke, A. (2014). Parenting approaches and digital technology use of preschool-age children in a Chinese community. Italian Journal of Pediatrics, 22 (1), 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1186/1824-7288-40-44

Wu, D., Dong, X., Liu, D., & Li, H. (2023). How Early Digital Experience Shapes Young Brains: A Scoping Review. Early Education and Development . https://doi.org/10.1080/10409289.2023.2278117

Xie, H., Peng, J., Qin, M., Huang, X., Tian, F., & Zhou, Z. (2018). Can touchscreen devices be used to facilitate young children’s learning? A meta-analysis of touchscreen learning effect. Frontiers in Psychology, 9 , 2580. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02580

Yang, H., Ng, W. Q., Yang, Y., & Yang, S. (2022). Inconsistent media mediation and problematic smartphone use in preschoolers: Maternal conflict resolution styles as moderators. Children, 9 (6), 816. https://doi.org/10.3390/children9060816

Yaşaroğlu, C., & Sönmez, D. (2022). Evaluating the digital parenting levels of parents of primary school students during the pandemic based on different variables. Research on Education and Media, 14 (2), 97–107. https://doi.org/10.2478/rem-2022-0027

Download references

This research was funded by the Departmental Research Grant (Reference Number: DRG2022-23/008) at the Department of Early Childhood Education in the Education University of Hong Kong.

Author information

Authors and affiliations.

Department of Early Childhood Education, Faculty of Education and Human Development, The Education University of Hong Kong, 10 Lo Ping Road, Tai Po, New Territories, Hong Kong, Hong Kong S.A.R., China

Yun Nga Choy, Eva Yi Hung Lau & Dandan Wu

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Dandan Wu .

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interests, additional information, publisher's note.

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

This manuscript is one of the chapters in Yun Nga Choy's EdD thesis.

See Table  5 .

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Choy, Y.N., Lau, E.Y.H. & Wu, D. Digital parenting and its impact on early childhood development: A scoping review. Educ Inf Technol (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-024-12643-w

Download citation

Received : 11 July 2023

Accepted : 21 March 2024

Published : 07 May 2024

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-024-12643-w

Share this article

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

• Digital parenting
• Digital devices
• Scoping review
• Early digital use
• Find a journal
• Publish with us
• Track your research

• Open access
• Published: 20 February 2015

Qualitative Research in Early Childhood Education and Care Implementation

• Wendy K. Jarvie 1  

International Journal of Child Care and Education Policy volume  6 ,  pages 35–43 ( 2012 ) Cite this article

66k Accesses

2 Citations

Metrics details

Governments around the world have boosted their early childhood education and care (ECEC) engagement and investment on the basis of evidence from neurological studies and quantitative social science research. The role of qualitative research is less understood and under-valued. At the same time the hard evidence is only of limited use in helping public servants and governments design policies that work on the ground. The paper argues that some of the key challenges in ECEC today require a focus on implementation. For this a range of qualitative research is required, including knowledge of organisational and parent behaviour, and strategies for generating support for change. This is particularly true of policies and programs aimed at ethnic minority children. It concludes that there is a need for a more systematic approach to analysing and reporting ECEC implementation, along the lines of “implementation science” developed in the health area.

Introduction

Research conducted over the last 15 years has been fundamental to generating support for ECEC policy reform and has led to increased government investments and intervention in ECEC around the world. While neurological evidence has been a powerful influence on ECEC policy practitioners, quantitative research has also been persuasive, particularly randomised trials and longitudinal studies providing evidence (1) on the impact of early childhood development experiences to school success, and to adult income and productivity, and (2) that properly constructed government intervention, particularly for the most disadvantaged children, can make a significant difference to those adult outcomes. At the same time the increased focus on evidence-informed policy has meant experimental/quantitative design studies have become the “gold standard” for producing knowledge (Denzin & Lincoln, 2005 ), and pressures for improved reporting and accountability have meant systematic research effort by government has tended to focus more on data collection and monitoring, than on qualitative research (Bink, 2007 ). In this environment the role of qualitative research has been less valued by senior government officials.

Qualitative Research-WhatIs It?

The term qualitative research means different things to different people (Denzin & Lincoln, 2005 ). For some researchers it is a way of addressing social justice issues and thus is part of radical politics to give power to the marginalised. Others see it simply as another research method that complements quantitative methodologies, without any overt political function. Whatever the definition of qualitative research, or its role, a qualitative study usually:

Features an in depth analysis of an issue, event, entity, or process. This includes literature reviews and meta studies that draw together findings from a number of studies.

Is an attempt to explain a highly complex and/or dynamic issue or process that is unsuited to experimental or quantitative analysis.

Includes a record of the views and behaviours of the players — it studies the world from the perspective of the participating individual.

Cuts across disciplines, fields and subject matter.

Uses a range of methods in one study, such as participant observation; in depth interviewing of participants, key stakeholders, and focus groups; literature review; and document analysis.

High quality qualitative research requires high levels of skill and judgement. Sometimes it requires pulling together information from a mosaic of data sources and can include quantitative data (the latter is sometimes called mixed mode studies). From a public official perspective, the weaknesses of qualitative research can include (a) the cost-it can be very expensive to undertake case studies if there are a large number of participants and issues, (b) the complexity — the reports can be highly detailed, contextually specific examples of implementation experience that while useful for service delivery and front line officials are of limited use for national policy development, (c) difficultyin generalising from poor quality and liable to researcher bias, and (d) focus, at times, more on political agendas of child rights than the most cost-effective policies to support the economic and social development of a nation. It has proved hard for qualitative research to deliver conclusions that are as powerful as those from quantitative research. Educational research too, has suffered from the view that education academics have over-used qualitative research and expert judgement, with little rigorous or quantitative verification (Cook & Gorard, 2007 ).

Qualitative Research and Early Childhood Education and Care

In fact, the strengths of qualitative ECEC research are many, and their importance for government, considerable. Qualitative research has been done in all aspects of ECEC operations and policies, from coordinating mechanisms at a national level (OECD, 2006 ), curriculum frameworks (Office for Children and Early Childhood Development, 2008 ), and determining the critical elements of preschool quality (Siraj-Blatchford et al., 2003 ), to developing services at a community level including effective outreach practices and governance arrangements. Qualitative research underpins best practice guides and regulations (Bink, 2007 ). Cross country comparative studies on policies and programs rely heavily on qualitative research methods.

For public officials qualitative components of program evaluations are essential to understanding how a program has worked, and to what extent variation in outcomes and impacts from those expected, or between communities, are the result of local or national implementation issues or policy flaws. In addition, the public/participant engagement in qualitative components of evaluations can reinforce public trust in public officials and in government more broadly.

In many ways the contrast between quantitative and qualitative research is a false dichotomy and an unproductive comparison. Qualitative research complements quantitative research, for example, through provision of background material and identification of research questions. Much quantitative research relies on qualitative research to define terms, and to identify what needs to be measured. For example, the Effective Provision of PreSchool Education (EPPE) studies, which have been very influential and is a mine of information for policy makers, rely on initial qualitative work on what is quality in a kindergarten, and how can it be assessed systematically (Siraj-Blatchford et al., 2003 ). Qualitative research too can elucidate the “how” of a quantitative result. For example, quantitative research indicates that staff qualifications are strongly associated with better child outcomes, but it is qualitative work that shows that it is not the qualification per se that has an impact on child outcomes-rather it is the ability of staff to create a high quality pedagogic environment (OECD, 2012 ).

Challenges of Early Childhood Education and Care

Systematic qualitative research focused on the design and implementation of government programs is essential for governments today.

Consider some of the big challenges facing governments in early childhood development (note this is not a complete list):

Creating coordinated national agendas for early childhood development that bring together education, health, family and community policies and programs, at national, provincial and local levels (The Lancet, 2011 ).

Building parent and community engagement in ECEC/Early Childhood Development (ECD), including increasing parental awareness of the importance of early childhood services. In highly disadvantaged or dysfunctional communities this also includes increasing their skills and abilities to provide a healthy, stimulating and supportive environment for young children, through for example parenting programs (Naudeau, Kataoka, Valerio, Neuman & Elder, 2011 ; The Lancet, 2011 ; OECD, 2012 ).

Strategies and action focused on ethnic minority children, such as outreach, ethnic minority teachers and teaching assistants and informal as well as formal programs.

Enhancing workforce quality, including reducing turnover, and improved practice (OECD, 2012 ).

Building momentum and advocacy to persuade governments to invest in the more “invisible” components of quality such as workforce professional development and community liaison infrastructure; and to maintain investment over significant periods of time (Jarvie, 2011 ).

Driving a radical change in the way health/education/familyservicepro fessions and their agencies understand each other and to work together. Effectively integrated services focused on parents, children and communities can only be achieved when professions and agencies step outside their silos (Lancet, 2011 ). This would include redesign of initial training and professional development, and fostering collaborations in research, policy design and implementation.

There are also the ongoing needs for,

Identifying and developing effective parenting programs that work in tandem with formal ECEC provision.

Experiments to determine if there are lower cost ways of delivering quality and outcomes for disadvantaged children, including the merits of adding targeted services for these children on the base of universal services.

Figuring out how to scale up from successful trials (Grunewald & Rolnick, 2007 ; Engle et al., 2011 ).

Working out how to make more effective transitions between preschool and primary school.

Making research literature more accessible to public officials (OECD, 2012 ).

Indeed it can be argued that some of the most critical policy and program imperatives are in areas where quantitative research is of little help. In particular, qualitative research on effective strategies for ethnic minority children, their parents and their communities, is urgently needed. In most countries it is the ethnic minority children who are educationally and economically the most disadvantaged, and different strategies are required to engage their parents and communities. This is an area where governments struggle for effectiveness, and public officials have poor skills and capacities. This issue is common across many developed and developing countries, including countries with indigenous children such as Australia, China, Vietnam, Chile, Canada and European countries with migrant minorities (OECD, 2006 ; COAG, 2008 ; World Bank, 2011 ). Research that is systematic and persuasive to governments is needed on for example, the relative effectiveness of having bilingual environments and ethnic minority teachers and teaching assistants in ECEC centres, compared to the simpler community outreach strategies, and how to build parent and community leadership.

Many countries are acknowledging that parental and community engagement is a critical element of effective child development outcomes (OECD, 2012 ). Yet public officials, many siloed in education and child care ministries delivering formal ECEC services, are remote from research on raising parent awareness and parenting programs. They do not see raising parental skills and awareness as core to their policy and program responsibilities. Improving parenting skills is particularly important for very young children (say 0–3) where the impact on brain development is so critical. It has been argued there needs to be a more systematic approach to parenting coach/support programs, to develop a menu of options that we know will work, to explore how informal programs can work with formal programs, and how health programs aimed young mothers or pregnant women can be enriched with education messages (The Lancet, 2011 ).

Other areas where qualitative research could assist are shown in Table 1 (see p. 40).

Implementation Science in Early Childhood Education and Care

Much of the suggested qualitative research in Table 1 is around program design and implementation . It is well-known that policies often fail because program design has not foreseen implementation issues or implementation has inadequate risk management. Early childhood programs are a classic example of the “paradox of non-evidence-based implementation of evidence-based practice” (Drake, Gorman & Torrey, 2005). Governments recognise that implementation is a serious issue: there may be a lot of general knowledge about “what works”, but there is minimal systematic information about how things actually work . One difficulty is that there is a lack of a common language and conceptual framework to describe ECEC implementation. For example, the word “consult” can describe a number of different processes, from public officials holding a one hour meeting with available parents in alocation,to ongoing structures set up which ensureall communityelementsare involved and reflect thespectrum of community views, and tocontinue tobuild up community awareness and engagement over time.

There is a need to derive robust findingsof generic value to public officials, for program design. In the health sciences, there is a developing literature on implementation, including a National implementation Research Network based in the USA, and a Journal of Implementation Science (Fixsen, Naoom, Blasé, Friedman & Wallace, 2005 ). While much of the health science literature is focused on professional practice, some of the concepts they have developed are useful for other fields, such as the concept of “fidelity” of implementation which describes the extent to which a program or service has been implemented as designed. Education program implementation is sometimes included in these fora, however, there is no equivalent significant movement in early childhood education and care.

A priority in qualitative research for ECEC of value to public officials would then appear to be a systematic focus on implementation studies, which would include developing a conceptual framework and possibly a language for systematic description of implementation, as well as, meta-studies. This need not start from scratch-much of the implementation science literature in health is relevant, especially the components around how to influence practitioners to incorporate latest evidence-based research into their practice, and the notions of fidelity of implementation. It could provide an opportunity to engage providers and ECE professionals in research, where historically ECEC research has been weak.

Essential to this would be collaborative relationships between government agencies, providers and research institutions, so that there is a flow of information and findings between all parties.

Quantitative social science research, together with studies of brain development, has successfully made the case for greater investment in the early years.There has been less emphasis on investigating what works on the ground especially for the most disadvantaged groups, and bringing findings together to inform government action. Yet many of the ECEC challenges facing governments are in implementation, and in ensuring that interventions are high quality. This is particularly true of interventions to assist ethnic minority children, who in many countries are the most marginalised and disadvantaged. Without studies that can improve the quality of ECEC implementation, governments, and other bodies implementing ECEC strategies, are at risk of not delivering the expected returns on early childhood investment. This could, over time, undermine the case for sustained government support.

It is time for a rebalancing of government research activity towards qualitative research, complemented by scaled up collaborations with ECEC providers and research institutions. A significant element of this research activity could usefully be in developing a more systematic approach to analysing and reporting implementation, and linking implementation to outcomes. This has been done quite effectively in the health sciences. An investment in developing an ECEC ‘implementation science’ would thus appear to be a worthy of focus for future work.

Bink, S. (2007). A Large-scale Policy Research Programme: A Canadian Experience. In Centre for Educational Research and Innovation, Evidence in Education: Linking Research and Policy (pp. 109–116). Paris: OECD Publishing.

Chapter   Google Scholar  

COAG (Council of Australian Governments). (2008). A National Partnership Agreement on Indigenous Early Childhood Development . Retrieved from http://www.coag.gov.au/coag_meeting_outcomes/2008-10-2/docs/indigenous_early_childhood_NPA.pdf

Cook, T. & Gorard, S. (2007). What Counts and What should Count as Evidence. In Centre for Educational Research and Innovation, Evidence in Education: Linking Research and Policy (pp 33–49). Paris: OECD Publishing.

Denzin, N. K. & Lincoln, Y. S. (Eds.). (2005). The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Research (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Google Scholar  

Drake, R. E., Essock, S. M., & Torrey, W. C. (2002). Implementing adult “tool kits” in mental health . Paper presented at the NASMHPD conference, Tampa, FL.

Engle, P. L., Fernald, L. C. H., Alderman, H., Behrman, J., O’Gara, C., Yousafzai, A., Cabral de Mello, M., Hidrobo, M., Ulkuer, N., Ertem, I. & Iltus, S. (2011). Strategies for reducing inequalities and improving developmental outcomes for young children in low-income and middle-income countries. The Lancet , 378 (9799), 1339–1353.

Article   Google Scholar  

Fixsen, D. L., Naoom, S. F., Blasé, K. A., Friedman, R. M. & Wallace, F. (2005). Implementation Research: A Synthesis of the Literature (FMHI Publication #23) . Retrieved from University of South Florida, Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute, the National Implementation Research Network website: http://nirn.fpg.unc.edu/sites/nirn.fpg.unc.edu/files/resources/NIRN-MonographFull-01-2005.pdf

Grunewald, R., & Rolnick, A. (2007). A Productive Investment: Early Childhood Development, In M. Young & L. Richardson (Eds.), Early Child Development From Measurement to Action: A Priority for Growth and Equity (pp. 15–26). Washington, DC: The World Bank.

Jarvie, W.K. (2011). Governments and Integrated Early Childhood Development Policies and Services . Paper presentedat the 2011 International Conference on Early Childhood Development, Beijing.

Naudeau, S., Kataoka, N., Valerio, A., Neuman, M. J. & Elder, L. K. (2011). Investing in Young Children: An Early Childhood Development Guide for Policy Dialogue and Project Preparation . Washington, DC: The World Bank.

OECD. (2006). Starting Strong II: Early Childhood Education and Care . Paris: OECD Publishing.

OECD. (2012). Starting Strong III: A Quality Toolbox for Early Childhood Education and Care . Paris: OECD Publishing.

Office for Children and Early Childhood Development, Department of Education and Early Childhood Development. (2008). A Research Paper to inform the development of an early years learning framework for Australia . Retrieved from http://deewr.gov.au/Earlychildhood/Policy_Agenda/EarlyChildhoodWorkforce/Documents/AResearchPapertoinformthedevelopmentofAnEarlyYears.pdf

Siraj-Blatchford, I., Sylva, K., Taggart, B., Sammons, P., Melhuish, E., & Elliot, K. (2003). The Effective Provision of PreSchool Education (EPPE) Project: Intensive Case Studies of Practice across the Foundation Stage (Technical Paper 10). London: DfEE/Institute of Education, University of London.

The Lancet. (2011). The Debate: Why hasn’t the world embraced early childhood development? [Video Post] Retrieved from http://www.thelancet.com/series/child-development-in-developing-countries-2

The World Bank. (2011). Early Child Development in China: Breaking the Cycle of Poverty and Improving Future Competiveness (Report No. 53746-CN). Retrieved from https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/9383/709830PUB0EPI0067926B09780821395646.pdf?sequence=1

Download references

Author information

Authors and affiliations.

School of Business, University of New South Wales at Canberra, Northcott Dr., Canberra, ACT, 2600, Australia

Wendy K. Jarvie ( visiting professor )

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Wendy K. Jarvie .

Additional information

This paper was originally prepared for the OECD Early Childhood Education and Care Network Meeting, 24 January 2012, Oslo, Norway.

Rights and permissions

Open Access  This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made.

The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder.

To view a copy of this licence, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ .

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article.

Jarvie, W.K. Qualitative Research in Early Childhood Education and Care Implementation. ICEP 6 , 35–43 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/2288-6729-6-2-35

Download citation

Published : 20 February 2015

Issue Date : November 2012

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/2288-6729-6-2-35

Share this article

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

• early childhood education and care
• implementation
• qualitative research
• implementation science
• ethnic minority children

• NAEYC Login
• Member Profile
• Hello Community
• Accreditation Portal
• Online Learning
• Online Store

Popular Searches:   DAP ;  Coping with COVID-19 ;  E-books ;  Anti-Bias Education ;  Online Store

Social & Emotional Development: For Our Youngest Learners & Beyond

You are here

Perhaps more than ever, mental health and social interactions have been on the minds of many over the past year. A pandemic, ongoing systemic injustices, and a contentious political season combined to create uncertainty and stress for adults and children alike. What do these stressors mean for the mental health of our youngest learners? In what ways can early childhood educators nurture the social and emotional lives and learning of children from birth through age 8?

This issue of  Young Children  offers research-supported responses to these questions with a cluster of articles devoted to intentional practices that promote social and emotional development: The first four articles in this cluster focus on the specific social and emotional needs of infants and toddlers, and the development of these important articles represents a unique collaboration between NAEYC and ZERO TO THREE to collectively concentrate our respective journals on the emotional health of infants and toddlers.

The catalyst for this issue was threefold:

• the shared interest in supporting the early childhood education workforce to have the resources and tools necessary for meeting the needs of the youngest children in their care
• the understanding that social and emotional development is critical to learning and a fundamental aspect of infant and early childhood mental health (IECMH)
• the recognition of the power of collaboration to elevate the vital role of early childhood educators in supporting IECMH

Mary Jane Maguire-Fong opens this  Young Children  cluster with “What Babies Ask of Us: Contexts to Support Learning about Self and Other.” She details how early childhood educators can listen to, observe, and guide infants and toddlers through thoughtfully prepared play spaces, daily routines, and everyday interactions. In “‘You’re Okay’ May Not be Okay: Using Emotion Language to Promote Toddlers’ Social and Emotional Development,” Elizabeth K. King harnesses that keen awareness and planning to outline how educators can use anti-oppressive emotion language strategies with toddlers.

Tapping into these same powers of observation and reflection, Claire Vallotton, Jennifer Mortensen, Melissa Burnham, Kalli Decker, and Marjorie Beeghly present “Becoming a Better Behavior Detective: Applying a Developmental and Contextual Lens on Behavior to Promote Social and Emotional Development.” Educators can use this 5-Step Reflective Cycle to identify and be responsive to infants’ and toddlers’ behaviors and needs. Of course, following these steps depends on our own emotional presence and well-being. In an accompanying piece to this article, Holly Hatton-Bowers and colleagues offer recommendations for “Cultivating Self-Awareness in Our Work with Infants, Toddlers, and Their Families: Caring for Ourselves as We Care for Others.”

Finally, in “When in Doubt, Reach Out: Teaming Strategies for Inclusive Early Childhood Settings,” Christine Spence, Deserai Miller, Catherine Corr, Rosa Milagros Santos, and Brandie Bentley capture how an early childhood educator learns to actively participate in early intervention processes through effective communication and collaboration. This cluster also features a special Rocking and Rolling column defining IECMH and outlining how early childhood educators play a role in fostering infants’ and toddlers’ emotional well-being.

For educators of older children, it is vital to understand that the roots of social and emotional learning begin in infancy. In addition to the cluster articles, you’ll find pieces devoted to social and emotional learning in preschool and elementary settings, including articles that

• outline the ARC framework to help children learn to recognize and manage their emotions, particularly those who have experienced trauma
• describe effective strategies for fostering responsibility in young children
• distinguish between friendship and kindness in preschool settings

The articles in the  ZERO TO THREE Journal  explore a variety of issues related to IECMH in early childhood education settings, including: how infants’ and toddlers’ mental health is paramount to their ability to form healthy relationships, regulate their emotions, and learn; the role of IECMH consultation, the impact of COVID, and equity and power dynamics; and trauma-informed care and the importance of teachers’ mental health, particularly in the context of multiple, long-term stressors affecting every layer of the early childhood education system and society as a whole. The issue also recognizes the valuable role of advocacy and policy and provides suggestions for how early childhood professionals can bring their expertise to influence effective policy change for babies and families.

We hope that the readers of  Young Children  and the  ZERO TO THREE Journal  will turn to both publications to discover perspectives and find valuable resources to support their work with infants, toddlers, and their families. Links to selected articles from each issue are available on each journal’s web page.

—Annie Moses, editor in chief, with Stefanie Powers, editor in chief,  ZERO TO THREE Journal , and Kathy Reschke, editorial assistant,  ZERO TO THREE Journal

Above: Children in Maureen Linnane’s toddler class used cardboard materials to create a collage.

Below: This piece comes from Chandler, the young toddler son of an NAEYC staff member, as he explored art materials.

Is your classroom full of children’s artwork? To feature it in  Young Children , see the link at the bottom of the page or email  [email protected]  for details.

Send your thoughts on this issue, and on topics you’d like to read about in future issues of Young Children, to  [email protected] .

Would you like to see your children’s artwork featured in these pages? For guidance on submitting print-quality photos (as well as details on permissions and licensing), see  NAEYC.org/resources/pubs/authors-photographers/photos .

Annie Moses, PhD, is director of periodicals at NAEYC and serves as editor in chief of  Young Children  and  Teaching Young Children .

Stephanie Powers is the editor in chief at ZERO TO THREE Journal.

Kathy L. Reschke, PhD, is senior content specialist for ZERO TO THREE. Dr. Reschke contributes to the design and development of competency-based professional development products and services. She developed the content for the ZERO TO THREE Critical Competencies for Infant-Toddler Educators™ course manuals, online course, and coaching program. [email protected]

Vol. 76, No. 1

Print this article

• Open access
• Published: 03 May 2024

Early childhood caries, climate change and the sustainable development goal 13: a scoping review

• Morẹ́nikẹ́ Oluwátóyìn Foláyan 1 , 2 ,
• Robert J Schroth 1 , 3 ,
• Olunike Abodunrin 4 ,
• Ola B. Al-Batayneh 1 , 5 , 6 ,
• Arheiam Arheiam 1 , 7 ,
• Tshepiso Mfolo 1 , 8 ,
• Jorma I. Virtanen 1 , 9 ,
• Duangporn Duangthip 1 , 10 ,
• Carlos A Feldens 1 , 11 &
• Maha El Tantawi 1 , 12  

BMC Oral Health volume  24 , Article number:  524 ( 2024 ) Cite this article

347 Accesses

1 Altmetric

Metrics details

Sustainable development goal 13 centres on calls for urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts. The aim of this scoping review was to map the published literature for existing evidence on the association between the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 13 and early childhood caries (ECC).

The scoping review followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) guidelines. In August 2023, a search was conducted in PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus using search terms related to SDG13 and ECC. Only English language publications were extracted. There was no restriction on the type of publications included in the study. A summary of studies that met the inclusion criteria was conducted highlighting the countries where the studies were conducted, the study designs employed, the journals (dental/non-dental) in which the studies were published, and the findings. In addition, the SDG13 indicators to which the study findings were linked was reported.

The initial search yielded 113 potential publications. After removing 57 duplicated papers, 56 publications underwent title and abstract screening, and two studies went through full paper review. Four additional papers were identified from websites and searching the references of the included studies. Two of the six retrieved articles were from India, and one was China, Japan, the United States, and the United Kingdom respectively. One paper was based on an intervention simulation study, two reported findings from archeologic populations and three papers that were commentaries/opinions. In addition, four studies were linked to SDG 13.1 and they suggested an increased risk for caries with climate change. Two studies were linked to SDG 13.2 and they suggested that the practice of pediatric dentistry contributes negatively to environmental degradation. One study provided evidence on caries prevention management strategies in children that can reduce environmental degradation.

The evidence on the links between SDG13 and ECC suggests that climate change may increase the risk for caries, and the management of ECC may increase environmental degradation. However, there are caries prevention strategies that can reduce the negative impact of ECC management on the environment. Context specific and inter-disciplinary research is needed to generate evidence for mitigating the negative bidirectional relationships between SDG13 and ECC.

Peer Review reports

Introduction

Worldwide, the mean temperatures have climbed by approximately 1 °C (1.7 °F) since 1880, with projections indicating a potential warming of around 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 °F) by 2050 and a more substantial increase of 2–4 degrees Celsius (3.6–7.2 degrees Fahrenheit) by 2100 [ 1 ]. This alteration holds significance due to the immense heat energy required to elevate the earth’s average annual surface temperature, even by a slight margin, considering the vast extent and heat-retaining capacity of oceans. The approximately 2-degree Fahrenheit (1-degree Celsius) upswing in the global average surface temperature since the pre-industrial period (1880–1900) might appear modest, yet it equates to a substantial accumulation of heat [ 2 ].

Climate change is a huge concern for health, and its impact is felt globally. According to the World Meteorological Organization, greenhouse gas emissions are more than 50% higher now than in 1990 [ 3 ], and the World Health Organization (WHO) reports that global warming is causing long-lasting changes to the climate system that threatens irreversible consequences [ 4 ]. About 91% of geo-physical disasters are climate-related and they have tremendous human impact. Between 1998 and 2017, there were about 1.3 million deaths and 4.4 billion injuries due to the consequences of climate change [ 5 ].

The suggested health effects of climate change include changes in the prevalence and geographical distribution of respiratory diseases [ 6 , 7 ]. Respiratory diseases such as asthma and its medicines increase the risk of caries [ 8 , 9 , 10 ]. The increase in greenhouse gas emissions and global warming are associated with an increase in geophysical disasters [ 11 ]. These disasters result in humanitarian crises [ 12 ] which likely increase the burden of dental disease, including early childhood caries (ECC) [ 13 ]. The emitted gases that deplete the ozone layer include methane and nitrous oxide emissions [ 14 ]. Methane is suggested to have an inverse association, and nitrous oxide has a direct association with global ECC prevalence [ 15 ].

Climate change is also associated with food insecurity, which is linked to caries [ 16 , 17 ]. The risk of ECC may also increase with economic development, industrialization, and urbanization [ 18 , 19 ], a phenomenon associated with increased gas emission and ozone depletion [ 20 ]. On the other hand, climate change also leads to arid conditions and high alkalinity in the ground waters, which promote fluoride release from clay and fluorite-bearing minerals [ 21 , 22 ]. High temperatures promote longer residence times of ground waters, thereby leading to high fluoride contents of the water from water-rock interactions [ 21 , 22 ]. Although fluorides in water are beneficial for dental health leading to reduced risk of ECC, excessive exposure to fluoride can result in severe fluorosis [ 23 ] which increases the risk of caries [ 24 , 25 ].

The plausible link between climate change and ECC makes the Sustainable Development Goal 13 (SDG13) a subject of interest for pediatric dental care. The SDG 13 is focused on preventing and or tackling problems posed by climate change. It acknowledges that climate change is causing a rise in the occurrence and severity of extreme weather events, including floods, heatwaves, droughts, and tropical cyclones. These, in turn, heighten health risks due to damage to vital infrastructure, disruption of essential services like water and sanitation, education, energy, health, and transportation, exacerbation of water management challenges, and a decrease in agricultural output and food security [ 26 , 27 , 28 ]. These micro-, meso- and macro-level effects of climate change may increase the risk of ECC as it may cause disruption in access to preventive and curative care, limited access to health promotion, prevention information and education and increase the impact of food insecurity on ECC [ 29 , 30 ].

A positive impact on ECC control may be linked with efforts at strengthening the resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters (SDG13.1); improving education, awareness and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning (SDG 13.2); and integrating climate change measures into national policies, strategies, and planning (SDG 13.3) [ 26 ]. . Furthermore, incorporating the commitment made by developed-country parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, aimed at addressing the requirements of developing nations (13.A); and promoting mechanisms for raising capacity for effective climate change-related planning and management with focus on marginalized communities among others (SDG 13.B) [ 24 ], could also influence ECC control. This is because the prevalence of ECC is higher in developing countries [ 31 ] and among marginalized communities [ 32 ]. The conceptual framework for the association between climate change and ECC is presented in Fig.  1 .

Conceptual framework for the relationship between climate change and ECC. Target 13.1 | Strengthen Resilience and Adaptive Capacity to Climate Related Disasters. Target 13.2 | Integrate Climate Change Measures into Policies and Planning. Target 13.3 | Build Knowledge and Capacity to Meet Climate Change.Target 13.A | Implement the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. Target 13.B | Promote Mechanisms to Raise Capacity for Climate Planning and Management

The aim of this scoping review was to identify the existing evidence on the association between climate change and climate change-related factors (disasters, sustainable management of natural resource, and human security) with ECC.

We conducted a systematic search to identify scientific literature on the association between climate change and ECC. Our scoping review was conducted according to the JBI guidelines for scoping review [ 33 ] and reported in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews guidelines (PRISMA-ScR) [ 34 ].

Research questions

The following questions guided this review: (i) What is the existing evidence on the association between climate change and ECC? and (ii) What are the factors related to climate change (disasters, sustainable management of natural resource, human security) associated with ECC?”

Articles identification

The initial search was conducted on three electronic databases (PubMed, Web of Science and Scopus) in August 2023. The search was performed using the key terms as shown in Appendix 1. Publications from the inception of each database to August 2023 were screened. No protocol was published for this review. Additional search was conducted by reviewing the references of eligible publications and by searching the semantics scholar website.

Selection of articles

Article inclusion was performed in four phases. The first phase was conducted by one reviewer (MET) who conducted the search in the three databases for the information. In the second phase, two reviewers (OA, MOF) screened the titles and abstracts of all identified manuscripts and removed the duplicates. In phase three, two reviewers (OA, MOF) reviewed the full text of the manuscripts independently and compared results to achieve consensus. In addition, and reference lists of potentially relevant publications were manually searched. Lastly, the information generated was shared with two experts for their review (MET and RJS).

Eligibility criteria

Articles were included if they focused on children younger than 6 year of age or if they did not specifically exclude this age group. In addition, studies that identified ECC as dependent or independent factors in relation to climate change or climate change related factors were included. No study design was excluded based on study design. There was no language restriction for the search conducted in the three databases. Language restrictions were introduced at the phase of review of the full texts. Articles not published in English were excluded. We also excluded studies that focused on the prevalence of ECC or on climate change exclusively.

Data charting

Specific information from the included publications was extracted. This includes information on the first author’s name, year of publication, study location, World Health Organization’s region where the study was conducted (African (AFR), Eastern Mediterranean (EMR), European (EUR), Region of the Americas (AMR), South-East Asian (SEAR), and Western Pacific (WPR)) [ 35 ], study design, study objectives, main findings and conclusion on the association between SDG13 and ECC, and whether the article was published in dental or non-dental journal. Information from each publication was compiled and summarized in Table  1 . The summarized data were then shared with two experts (RJS and AA) for their review. Publications were included only when there was a consensus between the experts and the earlier three reviewers. The final consensus document was also shared with members of the Early Childhood Caries Advocacy Group ( www.eccag.org ) to identify any other relevant publication that might not have been retrieved by the original search strategy.

Data analysis

We performed a descriptive analysis of the extracted items. These descriptions encompassed the World Health Organization’s region and countries where the studies were conducted, the study designs employed, the journals (whether dental or non-dental) in which the studies were published, and the findings. Interpretive inductive analyses of the objectives and conclusions of the studies were also conducted. In addition, an analysis was conducted linking the study findings with an SDG13 indicator.

Role of the funding source

The study was funded out-of-pocket. This had no role in the study design, data collection, analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

Figure  2 shows the process undertaken to identify relevant literature. The initial search of the three databases yielded 113 potential publications. Fifty-seven duplicated papers were removed, leaving 56 papers that underwent title and abstract screening. Of these, 54 papers were excluded leaving only two papers for study inclusion [ 36 , 37 ]. In addition, two publications were identified from search in the semantic scholar website and another two identified by searching the references of one of the studies that met the eligibility criteria [ 36 ]. These additional four papers provided data on potential connections between climate change and caries [ 16 , 38 , 39 , 40 ]. One of the six papers assessed the impact of management of ECC on climate change and ECC [ 37 ]. Table  1 presents further details regarding the six included publications.

Flow diagram based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses 2020 flowchart template of the search and selected process

Overview of studies

Two of the six retrieved articles were from India (SEAR) [ 36 , 38 ], one was from China (the SEAR) [ 37 ], the US (AMR) [ 16 ], the UK (EUR) [ 39 ] and Japan (WRP) [ 40 ], respectively. The three papers from 2021 to 2023 were published in dental journals [ 16 , 36 , 39 ] while the three older papers were published between 2007 and 2019 in non-dental journals [ 37 , 38 , 40 ]. One paper was an intervention simulation study [ 39 ], two reported findings from archeologic populations [ 37 , 40 ] and three papers that were commentaries/opinions [ 16 , 36 , 38 ].

The study objectives covered a range of topics from highlighting the need for environmentally-friendly solutions within dental practices to mitigate the ecological footprint of dental procedures [ 36 ], to the exploration of how environmental factors like climate may have influenced dental health in ancient populations [ 37 , 40 ], and broader discussions on considerations and adaptation strategies to address the evolving environmental challenges of oral health management and outcomes in the context of global climate disruption [ 16 , 39 ].

The study conclusions highlighted the interconnectedness between climate change, environmental sustainability, subsistence patterns, and oral health outcomes. It highlighted that the use of environmentally harmful dental materials contributes to environmental degradation and climate change [ 36 ]; climate change-induced shifts in subsistence economy, heat and oxidative stress, air quality that can significantly impact oral health outcomes [ 37 ] including increasing the risk for caries [ 16 , 38 , 39 ]. Alternative materials should be explored to mitigate these detrimental effects [ 36 ], and strategic approaches can be adopted to manage the impact of dental caries preventive on the climate [ 39 ].

In addition, the studies were linked to two targets of SDG13: specifically, SDG 13.1, which emphasizes enhancing resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters globally [ 16 , 37 , 38 , 40 ]; and SDG 13.2, which focuses on integrating climate change measures into national policies, strategies, and planning [ 36 , 39 ]. The four studies linking caries to SDG 13.1 suggests that adaptive measures to climate changes may increase the risk of caries. The two studies linking caries to SDG 13.2 indicate that pediatric dental practices have a negative impact on environmental degradation, consequently contributing adversely to climate change. However, one of the two studies proposes that specific actions can be taken to mitigate the environmental impact of caries prevention practices in children [ 39 ].

This scoping review identified articles that discussed how the discipline of pediatric dentistry’s carbon footprint can contribute to climate change. The studies identified a bi-directional relationship between caries and climate change. First, that adaptive processes for climate change can increase the prevalence of caries. Second, that the management of caries contributes to environmental degradation. Third, that purposeful strategic approaches to caries prevention in children can reduce the detrimental impact of caries management on the environment. These findings support our study hypothesis on the possible links between ECC and climate change.

However, the evidence supporting the study hypothesis are limited to commentaries, suggested archeological evidence and simulation studies. Studies on the impact of climate change are only starting to evolve. Methodological challenges may have limited the investigations into the link between climate change and ECC. Martens and McMichael identified a range of methodologies that could be used for studying the impact of climate change on health [42]. These methodologies are applicable for the study of the impact of climate change on oral health such as the evaluation of the impact of climate changes on shifts in the range and densities of caries predisposing organisms in the oral cavity, and children’s vulnerability to ECC. The current study identified an investigation that used implementation science approach to demonstrate how caries preventive practices in children can reduced the negative impact of dental practice on the environment [ 37 ]. It is therefore feasible to not only conduct studies to provide evidence on the link between ECC and climate change, but to demonstrate how the management of ECC can reduce environmental degradation. More studies are needed to identify context specific management strategies for ECC management that can be brought to scale.

One of the studies suggests a link between heat related climate changes and ECC [ 37 ]. We postulate that this link may result from the warming phenomenon that triggers an increase in water consumption. Existing evidence suggests that variations in water consumption levels between the coldest and warmest periods can fluctuate from 20% to as high as 60% [ 41 ]. Additionally, the intake of fluids per unit of body weight is most pronounced among infants and diminishes with advancing age [ 42 ]. Consequently, there may be a probable cumulative rise in children’s fluoride consumption due to global warming. This stems from multiple sources, including fluoride present in drinking water, fluoride-containing toothpaste, fluoride supplements, infant formula, beverages made with fluoridated water, cow’s milk from animals raised in fluoride-containing environments [ 43 , 44 ], and crops cultivated in soil with elevated fluoride content due to interactions with water and rocks [ 17 , 20 ]. The permissible threshold for fluoride intake is influenced by climatic conditions [ 45 ], with severely elevated fluoride intake, severe fluorosis, and a potential elevated risk of dental caries [ 22 , 23 , 46 ]. Geothermal temperature has been viewed as one cause for high fluoride levels recorded in groundwater (from deep aquifers and geothermal springs) [ 47 ]. On the other hand, Beltrán-Aguilar et al. demonstrated no association between outdoor temperature and the total water consumption of children aged 1 to 10 in the United States. This observation remained consistent even after accounting for age, gender, race/ethnicity, or poverty status [ 48 ]. . We, however, found no study addressing the link between outdoor temperature, consumption of water including fluoridated water and the prevalence of ECC. Future studies are needed to identify the pathophysiological pathways between climate change and ECC risks if there is truly a link.

It is also possible that the oxidative stress associated with climate change, arising from a disparity in the generation of pro-oxidant elements and the presence of antioxidant defenses [ 49 ] may be associated with enamel hypoplasia as highlighted by Temple [ 40 ]. Enamel hypoplasia may result from SOD1-mediated ROS accumulation disruption of normal enamel structure through alternative cervical loop cell proliferation and downregulation of RhoA and ROCK in ameloblasts [ 50 ]. Enamel hypoplasia is associated with an increased in the risk for ECC [ 51 , 52 ].

There are, however, other possible pathophysiological pathways for the increased risk of ECC due to climate change not highlighted in the publications mapped in this scoping review. One plausibility may be linked to global warming that has the potential to induce pronounced aridification [ 53 ]. A temperature increases of 2 degrees Celsius would precipitate further arid conditions in 15% of semi-arid climates, potentially impacting over 25% of the globe [ 54 ]. This intensified aridification historically led to the desiccation of crops and increased dependence on marine resources for sustenance, akin to occurrences around 2000 B.C [ 55 ]. . This shift towards marine food sources is likely to encourage diets lacking in essential nutrients, potentially resulting in an increased rate of new bone formation on the outer surface of bones (periosteal new bone formation) [ 55 ]. However, there is a suggestion that carious lesions, premature tooth loss, and dental enamel hypoplasia might not necessarily experience an upswing due to aridification [ 55 ]. Studies on the pathways to link ECC and climate change are therefore, critically needed, to be able to take collective global actions to mitigate the negative oral health impact climate change may have on children.

Another pathophysiological pathway that may link climate change with an increase in the risk for ECC is the impact of rapid climate shifts on soil composition, solubility, and plant absorption [ 56 ]. These alterations could lead to a notable shift in the concentration of certain trace elements within plants, attributed to heightened translocation, improved photosynthetic capacity, and enhanced growth. Conversely, the warming process might result in reduced trace element concentrations in tubers, indicating that the tuber growth rate surpasses its ability to take in metals at elevated temperatures [ 57 ]. The presence of trace elements in plants contributes to the development of enamel and dentin [ 58 ], although the precise mechanisms governing the integration of trace elements into soils and, subsequently into human teeth require further elucidation [ 59 ]. The plausibleness of these interactions requires further investigations as the current study highlights that the objectives of the accessible studies on ECC and climate change are limited in the scope of their explorations.

In addition, the necessity for studies tailored to specific contexts highlights the limited regional coverage in current research examining the connections between ECC and climate change. Notably, our investigation revealed very few studies on this sub a lack of studies conducted in the AFR and EMR regions. Despite expectations that climate changes will alter rainfall patterns, impacting agriculture and diminishing food security while exacerbating water security issues in Africa [ 60 ], there is a notable absence of corresponding studies. Similarly, anticipated climate changes in the EMR region are expected to result in under-nutrition, respiratory illnesses, mental health issues, allergic reactions, and pulmonary diseases due to dust storms [ 61 ]. Despite being the two-worst impacted region in terms of health consequences resulting from climate change [ 62 ], these regions are currently underrepresented in evidence generation regarding the impact of climate change on health, including oral health. Consequently, significant gaps exist in our awareness and understanding of these links, potentially limiting mitigation and adaptation efforts [ 61 ]. It is, therefore, important to strengthen efforts to generate evidence from all regions with particular attention paid to AFR and EMR.

The suggested pathophysiological pathways for linking ECC and climate change clearing indicates the interconnectedness between climate change, environmental sustainability, subsistence patterns, and oral health outcomes. There is, therefore, the need for interdisciplinary and collaborative studies. One method that can be used to study the link between ECC and climate change is the integrated eco-epidemiologic models to identify the impact of climate change or stratospheric ozone depletion on the profile of organisms that cause caries; the thermal-related impact of climate change on the fluoride content of ground waters and its impact on caries risks; or the impact of ozone depletion on tooth structure and caries risk. These forms of study may present major scientific challenges in conceptualizing and technical difficulty with assessing the oral health impacts of these changes [42]. Eco-epidemiologic models will require a lot more anticipatory thinking and mathematical modelling of potential future impacts, which will be useful for policymakers [ 63 ].

Other study methods include the use of epidemiological surveillance techniques, assessment of the oral health impact of climate change using ecological frameworks, monitoring of the direct oral health impact of seasonal variations, natural disasters, marine ecosystems and ecosystems health, food production and food security, and emerging and resurgent infectious diseases [ 63 ]. Other methods include the use of retrospective study, integrated assessment modelling on oral health, and landscape epidemiology of caries profiles using remote censoring, Geographic Information system and spatial statistics [ 63 ]. The study methodologies, however, need to promote interdisciplinary research adapted for the modelling of complex processes and handling of attendant uncertainties [ 64 ].

The results confirmed the hypothesis regarding the connection between ECC and climate change, and mapping exercise highlighted areas where existing evidence has focused and identified new areas for further research. This is crucial not only for establishing links between ECC and all SDG13 indicators but, more importantly, for identifying ways to mitigate the negative bidirectional relationships between ECC and SDG13. Of interest are the archaeological studies identified in this study [ 37 , 40 ]. These archaeological studies provide valuable insights into the historical and cultural determinants of caries, offering a unique perspective on the complex interplay between environmental, dietary, and sociocultural factors. By incorporating archaeological evidence into research and policy, stakeholders can advance efforts to address ECC and promote oral health within the framework of Sustainable Development Goal 13. Climate change is a major public health concern, and stakeholders need to proactively engage in mitigating the risk of poor oral health associated with poor climate controls using evidence that can be generated through multiple research strategies.

This scoping review, however, has a few limitations. First, our search was restricted to English literature only, potentially resulting in the omission of studies on the correlation between ECC and climate change published in other languages. This language restriction was solely applied during the article selection process for full-text review, ensuring transparency regarding the number of eligible reports available in languages other than English [ 65 ]. The decision to limit our search to English literature was made due to the inability to read and interpret literature written in other languages. Second, our search was limited to three data bases which may have led to the omission of relevant articles not captured by the search strategy, potentially introducing selection bias. The scope of the study is also limited to children under 6 years limiting the generalizability of findings to other age groups. Despite the limitations the study highlights plausible links between ECC and climate change that can be explored empirically in future studies.

In conclusion though there is the plausibility of climate change having an impact on the health of the dentition and the risk for caries. Studies are needed to generate empirical evidence of the impact of climate change on caries risk in children. This will help with the formulation of policies and the design of programs that can help policymakers and decision-makers proactively prevent the increase in the prevalence of ECC as we move into the future. Addressing these complex relationships is essential for developing holistic strategies to promote both environmental sustainability and oral health.

Data availability

No datasets were generated or analysed during the current study.

Abbreviations

Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature

ScR-Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews guidelines

Collins M, Knutti R, Arblaster J, et al. Long-term climate change: projections, commitments and irreversibility. In: Stocker TF, Qin D, Plattner G-K, et al. editors. Climate Change 2013: the physical science basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY: Cambridge University Press; 2013. https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar5/syr/ .

Google Scholar  

Lindsey R, Dahlman L, Climate Change, NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. August, : Global Temperature. State of the Climate: Global Climate Report for 2022. January 18, 2023. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/monthly-report/global/202213 . Accessed: 26 2023.

World Metrological Organization. More bad news for the planet: greenhouse gas levels hit new highs. 26 October 2022. https://public.wmo.int/en/media/press-release/more-bad-news-planet-greenhouse-gas-levels-hit-new-highs . Accessed: 7th January 2023.

World Health Organization. Climate change and health. 30. October 2021. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/climate-change-and-health . Accessed 7th January 2023.

Wallemacq P, House R. Economic losses, poverty & disasters: 1998–2017. Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters. United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction. 2018. https://www.undrr.org/publication/economic-losses-poverty-disasters-1998-2017 .

Centers for disease control and prevention. Climate Effects on Health. 25 April 2022. https://www.cdc.gov/climateandhealth/effects/default.htm#:~:text=The%20health%20effects%20of%20these,and%20threats%20to%20mental%20health . Accessed: 7th January 2023.

Rocque RJ, Beaudoin C, Ndjaboue R, Cameron L, Poirier-Bergeron L, Poulin-Rheault R-A, Fallon C, Tricco AC, Witteman HO. Health effects of climate change: an overview of systematic reviews. BMJ Open. 2021;11:e046333. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2020-046333 .

Article   PubMed   PubMed Central   Google Scholar  

Arafa A, Aldahlawi S, Fathi A. Assessment of the oral health status of asthmatic children. Eur J Dent. 2017;11:357–63.

Pacheco-Quito E-M, Jaramillo J, Sarmiento-Ordoñez J, Cuenca-León K. Drugs prescribed for Asthma and their adverse effects on Dental Health. Dentistry J. 2023;11(5):113. https://doi.org/10.3390/dj11050113 .

Article   Google Scholar  

Alavaikko S, Jaakkola MS, Tjäderhane L, Jaakkola JJK. Asthma and caries: a systematic review and Meta-analysis. Am J Epidemiol. 2011;174(6):631–41. https://doi.org/10.1093/aje/kwr129 .

Article   PubMed   Google Scholar  

World Metrological Organization. Weather-related disasters increase over past 50 years, causing more damage but fewer deaths. 31 August 2021. Available: https://public.wmo.int/en/media/press-release/weather-related-disasters-increase-over-past-50-years-causing-more-damage-fewer . Accessed 7 January 2023.

https:// www.rescue.org/article/how-climate-change-drives-humanitarian-crises .

Joury E. Syria Profile of the Epidemiology and Management of Early Childhood caries before and during the time of Crisis. Front Public Health. 2019;7:271. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2019.00271 .

Portmann RW, Daniel JS, Ravishankara AR. Stratospheric ozone depletion due to nitrous oxide: influences of other gases. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2012;367(1593):1256–64. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2011.0377 .

Article   CAS   PubMed   PubMed Central   Google Scholar  

Folayan MO, Tantawi ME, Gaffar B, et al. An ecological study of the association between environmental indicators and early childhood caries. BMC Res Notes. 2020;13(1):474. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13104-020-05321-w .

Hackley DM. Climate change and oral health. Int Dent J. 2021;71(3):173–7. https://doi.org/10.1111/idj.12628 .

Holmes RD. Is food insecurity associated with dental caries? Evid Based Dent. 2024 Jan 5. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41432-023-00960-x .

El Tantawi M, Folayan MO, Mehaina M, Vukovic A, Castillo JL, Gaffar BO, Arheiam A, Al-Batayneh OB, Kemoli AM, Schroth RJ, Lee GHM. Prevalence and data availability of early childhood caries in 193 United Nations countries, 2007–2017. Am J Public Health. 2018;108(8):1066–72.

Foláyan MO, Amalia R, Kemoli A, et al. Scoping review on the link between economic growth, decent work, and early childhood caries. BMC Oral Health. 2024;24:77. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12903-023-03766-6 .

Folayan MO, El Tantawi M, Schroth RJ, Kemoli AM, Gaffar B, Amalia R, Feldens CA. ECCAG. Association between Environmental Health, Ecosystem Vitality, and early childhood caries. Front Pediatr. 2020;8:196. https://doi.org/10.3389/fped.2020.00196 .

Ali W, Aslam MW, Junaid M, Ali K, Guo YK, Rasool A, Zhang H. Elucidating various geochemical mechanisms drive fluoride contamination in unconfined aquifers along the major rivers in Sindh and Punjab. Pakistan Environ Pollut. 2019;249:535–49.

Article   CAS   PubMed   Google Scholar  

Podgorski J, Labhasetwar P, Saha D, Berg M. Prediction modeling and mapping of groundwater fluoride contamination throughout India. Environ Sci Technol. 2018;52(17):9889–98.

McInnes PM, Richardson BD, Cleaton-Jones PE. Comparison of dental fluorosis and caries in primary teeth of preschool-children living in arid high and low fluoride villages. Community Dent Oral Epidemiol. 1982;10(4):182–6. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0528.1982.tb00376.x .

Mann J, Mahmoud W, Ernest M, Sgan-Cohen H, Shoshan N, Gedalia I. Fluorosis and caries prevalence in a community drinking above-optimal fluoridated water. Community Dent Oral Epidemiol. 1990;18(2):77–9.

Ganesh C, Ganasundram N, Maragathavalli G, Maheswari TNU. Prevalence of Dental Caries in different grades of Dental Fluorosis in Salem and Dharmapuri districts aged 15 to 17 years. J Indian Acad Oral Med Radiol. 2013;25(4):251–5.

United Nations Environmental Program. Goal 13: Climate Action. [no date]. https://www.unep.org/explore-topics/sustainable-development-goals/why-do-sustainable-development-goals-matter/goal-13 . Accessed: 30 September 2023.

Suzuki-Barrera K, Teramoto A, Sáez-Chandía J, Nakakuki K, Bracchiglione J. Oral Health interventions in Natural disasters: a scoping review. Disaster Med Public Health Prep. 2023;17:e388. https://doi.org/10.1017/dmp.2023.62 .

Mosca NG, Finn E, Joskow R. Dental care as a vital service response for disaster victims. J Health Care Poor Underserved. 2007;18(2):262–70. https://doi.org/10.1353/hpu.2007.0042 .

Folayan MO, Chukwumah NM, Onyejaka N, et al. Appraisal of the national response to the caries epidemic in children in Nigeria. BMC Oral Health. 2014;14:76. https://doi.org/10.1186/1472-6831-14-76 .

Bugis BA. Early childhood caries and the impact of current U.S. Medicaid program: an overview. Int J Dent. 2012;2012:348237. https://doi.org/10.1155/2012/348237 .

Rai NK, Tiwari T. Parental factors influencing the development of early childhood caries in developing nations: a systematic review. Front Public Health. 2018;6:64. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2018.00064 .

Ismail AI, Lim S, Sohn W, Willem JM. Determinants of early childhood caries in low-income African American young children. Pediatr Dent. 2008;30(4):289–96.

PubMed   Google Scholar  

Peters MDJ, Godfrey C, McInerney P, Munn Z, Tricco AC, Khalil H. Chapter 11: Scoping Reviews (2020 version). Aromataris E, Munn Z, editors. JBI Manual for Evidence Synthesis. JBI; 2020. https://synthesismanual.jbi.global . https://doi.org/10.46658/JBIMES-20-12 .

Page MJ, McKenzie JE, Bossuyt PM, Boutron I, Hoffmann TC, Mulrow CD, Shamseer L, Tetzlaff JM, Akl EA, Brennan SE, et al. The PRISMA 2020 statement: an updated guideline for reporting systematic reviews. BMJ. 2021;372:71.

World Health Organisation. Countries. https://www.who.int/countries . Accessed: 10 December 2023.

Acharya S. The impact of climate change on paediatric dentistry. Indian J Dent Res. 2023;34:87–9.

Lyne A, Ashley P, Johnstone M, Duane B. The environmental impact of community caries prevention - part 1: fluoride varnish application. Br Dent J. 2022;233(4):287–94. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41415-022-4901-7 .

Khanna S. Climate Change & Oral Health: current challenges & Future Scope. Int J Environ Sci Dev. 2010;1(2):190–2.

Temple DH. Dietary variation and stress among prehistoric Jomon foragers from Japan. Am J Phys Anthropol. 2007;133(4):1035–46. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.20645 .

Cheung C, Zhang H, Hepburn JC, Yang DY, Richards MP. Stable isotope and dental caries data reveal abrupt changes in subsistence economy in ancient China in response to global climate change. PLoS One., McMichael AJ. Environmental Change, Climate and Health. Cambridge University Press. 2002. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511535987.

Heller KE, Sohn W, Burt BA, Eklund SA. Water consumption in the United States in 1994-96 and implications for water fluoridation policy. J Public Health Dent. 1999 Winter;59(1):3–11. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1752-7325.1999.tb03228.x Erratum in: J Public Health Dent 2000 Winter;60(1):4.

Galagan DJ, Vermillion JR, Nevitt GA, Stadt ZM, Dart RE. Climate and fluid intake. Public Health Rep (1896). 1957;72(6):484–90.

Erdal S, Buchanan SN. A quantitative look at fluorosis, fluoride exposure, and intake in children using a health risk assessment approach. Environ Health Perspect. 2005;113(1):111–7. https://doi.org/10.1289/ehp.7077 .

Whelton HP, Ketley CE, McSweeney F, O’Mullane DM. A review of fluorosis in the European Union: prevalence, risk factors and aesthetic issues. Community Dent Oral Epidemiol. 2004;32(Suppl 1):9–18. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0528.2004.00134.x .

Dongzagla A, Jewitt S, O’Hara S. Assessment of fluoride concentrations in drinking water sources in the Jirapa and Kassena-Nankana municipalities of Ghana. Groundw Sustain Dev. 2019;9:100272.

Wondwossen F, Astrøm AN, Bjorvatn K, Bårdsen A. The relationship between dental caries and dental fluorosis in areas with moderate- and high-fluoride drinking water in Ethiopia. Community Dent Oral Epidemiol. 2004;32(5):337–44. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0528.2004.00172.x .

Onipe T, Edokpayi JN, Odiyo JO. A review on the potential sources and health implications of fluoride in groundwater of Sub-saharan Africa. J Environ Sci Health Tox Hazard Subst Environ Eng. 2020;55(9):1078–93. https://doi.org/10.1080/10934529.2020.1770516 .

Article   CAS   Google Scholar  

Beltrán-Aguilar ED, Barker L, Sohn W, Wei L. Water Intake by Outdoor temperature among children aged 1–10 years: implications for Community Water Fluoridation in the U.S. Public Health Rep. 2015 Jul-Aug;130(4):362–71. https://doi.org/10.1177/003335491513000415 .

Halliwell B. Biochemistry of oxidative stress. Biochem Soc Trans. 2007;35(Pt 5):1147–50. https://doi.org/10.1042/BST0351147 .

Xu Y, Zhang Y, Zheng J, Xu M, Yang Y, Guo W. ROS-Mediated enamel formation disturbance characterized by Alternative Cervical Loop cell proliferation and downregulation of RhoA/ROCK in Ameloblasts. Oxid Med Cell Longev. 2022;2022:5769679. https://doi.org/10.1155/2022/5769679 .

Hong L, Levy SM, Warren JJ, Broffitt B. Association between enamel hypoplasia and dental caries in primary second molars: a cohort study. Caries Res. 2009;43(5):345–53. https://doi.org/10.1159/000231571 .

Castañeda-Sarmiento S, Uchima Koecklin KH, Barahona Hernandez MB, Santos GP, Bruno Luyo JC, Sánchez Sotomayor JC, Ruiz-Yasuda C, Apaza ZR, Adasme DP, Torres Ricse DA, Mendoza Ballena ME, Salcedo A, Ramirez-Sotelo LR, Blanco-Victorio DJ, Arieta-Miranda J, Torres-Ramos G. Association between developmental defects of enamel and early childhood caries in children under 6 years old: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Heliyon. 2022;8(9):e10479. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e10479 .

Pörtner HO, Roberts DC, Adams H, Adler C, Aldunce P, Ali E, et al. Climate change 2022: impacts, adaptation and vulnerability. IPCC; 2022.

Park CE, Jeong SJ, Joshi M, et al. Keeping global warming within 1.5°C constrains emergence of aridification. Nat Clim Change. 2018;8:70–4. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-017-0034-4 .

Caine AC, Roberts CA, Kennet D. A community in transition: analysis of health and well-being in people living during and following aridification. Int J Osteoarchaeology. 2022;32(5):1082–95. https://doi.org/10.1002/oa.3134 .

Karmakar R, Das I, Dutta D, Rakshit A. Potential effects of Climate Change on Soil properties: a review. Sci Int. 2016;4:51–73.

Li Y, Zhang Q, Wang R, et al. Temperature changes the dynamics of trace element accumulation in Solanum tuberosum L. Clim Change. 2012;112:655–72. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-011-0251-1 .

Shaik I, Dasari B, Shaik A, Doos M, Kolli H, Rana D, Tiwari RVC. Functional role of Inorganic Trace elements on enamel and dentin formation: a review. J Pharm Bioallied Sci. 2021;13(Suppl 2):S952–6. https://doi.org/10.4103/jpbs.jpbs_392_21 .

Anjan P, Elina C. Role of soils and its Trace element concentration on human Dental Health: an overview. Asian J Water Environ Pollut. 2021;18(2):77–83.

Tadesse D. November. Th e impact of climate change in Africa. Institute for Security Studies Paper 220. 2010.

Khader YS, Abdelrahman M, Abdo N, Al-Sharif M, Elbetieha A, Bakir H, et al. Climate change and health in the Eastern Mediterranean countries: a systematic review. Rev Environ Health. 2015;30(3):163–81. https://doi.org/10.1515/reveh-2015-0013 .

Patz J, Campbell-Lendrum D, Gibbs H, Woodruff R. Health Impact Assessment of Global Climate Change: expanding on comparative risk Assessment Approaches for Policy making. Annu Rev Public Health. 2008;29:27–39. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.publhealth.29.020907.090750 .

Martens WJ. Health impacts of climate change and ozone depletion: an ecoepidemiologic modeling approach. Environ Health Perspect. 1998;106(1):241–51. https://doi.org/10.1289/ehp.98106s1241 .

McMichael AJ, Haines A, Slooff R, Kovats S, World Health Organization Office of Global and Integrated Environmental Health. Climate change and human health: an assessment /prepared by a Task Group on behalf of the World Health Organization, the World Meteorological Association and the United Nations Environment Programme. World Health Organization. 1996. https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/62989 . Accessed: 7th January, 2023.

Pieper D, Puljak L. Language restrictions in systematic reviews should not be imposed in the search strategy but in the eligibility criteria if necessary. J Clin Epidemiol. 2021;132:146–7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclinepi.2020.12.027 .

Download references

Not applicable.

Author information

Authors and affiliations.

Early Childhood Caries Advocacy Group, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada

Morẹ́nikẹ́ Oluwátóyìn Foláyan, Robert J Schroth, Ola B. Al-Batayneh, Arheiam Arheiam, Tshepiso Mfolo, Jorma I. Virtanen, Duangporn Duangthip, Carlos A Feldens & Maha El Tantawi

Department of Child Dental Health, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria

Morẹ́nikẹ́ Oluwátóyìn Foláyan

Dr. Gerald Niznick College of Dentistry, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada

Robert J Schroth

Lagos State Health Management Agency, Lagos, Nigeria

Olunike Abodunrin

Department of Orthodontics, Pediatric and Community Dentistry, College of Dental Medicine, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates

Ola B. Al-Batayneh

Department of Preventive Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid, Jordan

Department of Dental Public Health, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Benghazi, Benghazi, Libya

Arheiam Arheiam

Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Dentistry, Department of Community Dentistry, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa

Tshepiso Mfolo

Faculty of Medicine, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway

Jorma I. Virtanen

College of Dentistry , The Ohio State University, Ohio, Columbus, USA

Duangporn Duangthip

Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Universidade Luterana Do Brasil, Canoas, Brazil

Carlos A Feldens

Department of Pediatric Dentistry and Dental Public Health, Faculty of Dentistry, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt

Maha El Tantawi

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Contributions

M.O.F conceived the study. The Project was managed by M.O.F., Data curating was done by O.A., M.ET. and M.O.F. Data analysis was conducted by M.O.F., O.A. and M.ET. M.O.F. developed the first draft of the document. D.D. drew the figure of the conceptual framework. O.A., A.A., T.M., O.B.A-B., R.J.S., D.D. J.I.V., C.A.F., and M.E.T. read the draft manuscript and made inputs prior to the final draft. All authors approved the final manuscript for submission.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Morẹ́nikẹ́ Oluwátóyìn Foláyan .

Ethics declarations

Ethics approval and consent to participate, consent for publication, competing interests.

Morẹ́nikẹ́ Oluwátóyìn Foláyan and Maha El Tantawi are Senior Editor Board members with BMC Oral Health. Duangporn Duangthip and Jorma Virtanen are Associate Editors. All other authors declare no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Publisher’s note.

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary Material 1

Supplementary material 2, rights and permissions.

Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver ( http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/ ) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated in a credit line to the data.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article.

Foláyan, M.O., Schroth, R.J., Abodunrin, O. et al. Early childhood caries, climate change and the sustainable development goal 13: a scoping review. BMC Oral Health 24 , 524 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12903-024-04237-2

Download citation

Received : 13 December 2023

Accepted : 08 April 2024

Published : 03 May 2024

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1186/s12903-024-04237-2

Share this article

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

• Climate change
• Sustainable natural resource management
• Human security
• Carbon footprints
• Dental treatment
• Preventive dentistry
• Pediatric dentistry

BMC Oral Health

ISSN: 1472-6831

• Submission enquiries: [email protected]
• General enquiries: [email protected]

Exploring the Relationship Between Early Life Exposures and the Comorbidity of Obesity and Hypertension: Findings from the 1970 The British Cohort Study (BCS70)

• Find this author on Google Scholar
• Find this author on PubMed
• Search for this author on this site
• ORCID record for Sebastian Stannard
• For correspondence: [email protected]
• ORCID record for Rhiannon K Owen
• ORCID record for Ann Berrington
• ORCID record for Nida Ziauddeen
• ORCID record for Simon DS Fraser
• ORCID record for Shantini Paranjothy
• ORCID record for Rebecca B Hoyle
• ORCID record for Nisreen A Alwan
• Info/History
• Supplementary material
• Preview PDF

Abstract Background: Epidemiological research commonly investigates single exposure-outcome relationships, while childrens experiences across a variety of early lifecourse domains are intersecting. To design realistic interventions, epidemiological research should incorporate information from multiple risk exposure domains to assess effect on health outcomes. In this paper we identify exposures across five pre-hypothesised childhood domains and explored their association to the odds of combined obesity and hypertension in adulthood. Methods: We used data from 17,196 participants in the 1970 British Cohort Study. The outcome was obesity (BMI of over 30) and hypertension (blood pressure>140/90mm Hg or self-reported doctors diagnosis) comorbidity at age 46. Early life domains included: prenatal, antenatal, neonatal and birth, developmental attributes and behaviour, child education and academic ability, socioeconomic factors and parental and family environment. Stepwise backward elimination selected variables for inclusion for each domain. Predicted risk scores of combined obesity and hypertension for each cohort member within each domain were calculated. Logistic regression investigated the association between domain-specific risk scores and odds of obesity-hypertension, controlling for demographic factors and other domains. Results: Adjusting for demographic confounders, all domains were associated with odds of obesity-hypertension. Including all domains in the same model, higher predicted risk values across the five domains remained associated with increased odds of obesity-hypertension comorbidity, with the strongest associations to the parental and family environment domain (OR1.11 95%CI 1.05-1.18) and the socioeconomic factors domain (OR1.11 95%CI 1.05-1.17). Conclusions: Targeted prevention interventions aimed at population groups with shared early-life characteristics could have an impact on obesity-hypertension prevalence which are known risk factors for further morbidity including cardiovascular disease.

Competing Interest Statement

R.O. is a member of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) Technology Appraisal Committee, member of the NICE Decision Support Unit (DSU), and associate member of the NICE Technical Support Unit (TSU). She has served as a paid consultant to the pharmaceutical industry and international reimbursement agencies, providing unrelated methodological advice. She reports teaching fees from the Association of British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI). R.H. is a member of the Scientific Board of the Smith Institute for Industrial Mathematics and System Engineering.

Funding Statement

This work is part of the multidisciplinary ecosystem to study lifecourse determinants and prevention of early-onset burdensome multimorbidity (MELD-B) project which is supported by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR203988). The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care.

Author Declarations

I confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained.

The details of the IRB/oversight body that provided approval or exemption for the research described are given below:

Ethics approval for this work has been obtained from the University of Southampton Faculty of Medicine Ethics committee (ERGO II Reference 66810).

I confirm that all necessary patient/participant consent has been obtained and the appropriate institutional forms have been archived, and that any patient/participant/sample identifiers included were not known to anyone (e.g., hospital staff, patients or participants themselves) outside the research group so cannot be used to identify individuals.

I understand that all clinical trials and any other prospective interventional studies must be registered with an ICMJE-approved registry, such as ClinicalTrials.gov. I confirm that any such study reported in the manuscript has been registered and the trial registration ID is provided (note: if posting a prospective study registered retrospectively, please provide a statement in the trial ID field explaining why the study was not registered in advance).

I have followed all appropriate research reporting guidelines, such as any relevant EQUATOR Network research reporting checklist(s) and other pertinent material, if applicable.

Data Availability

The BCS70 datasets generated and analysed in the current study are available from the UK Data Archive repository (available here: http://www.cls.ioe.ac.uk/page.aspx?&sitesectionid=795).

http://www.cls.ioe.ac.uk/page.aspx?&sitesectionid=795

View the discussion thread.

Supplementary Material

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word about medRxiv.

NOTE: Your email address is requested solely to identify you as the sender of this article.

Citation Manager Formats

• EndNote (tagged)
• EndNote 8 (xml)
• RefWorks Tagged
• Ref Manager
• Tweet Widget
• Facebook Like
• Google Plus One
• Addiction Medicine (323)
• Allergy and Immunology (627)
• Anesthesia (163)
• Cardiovascular Medicine (2365)
• Dentistry and Oral Medicine (287)
• Dermatology (206)
• Emergency Medicine (378)
• Endocrinology (including Diabetes Mellitus and Metabolic Disease) (833)
• Epidemiology (11758)
• Forensic Medicine (10)
• Gastroenterology (702)
• Genetic and Genomic Medicine (3725)
• Geriatric Medicine (348)
• Health Economics (632)
• Health Informatics (2388)
• Health Policy (929)
• Health Systems and Quality Improvement (895)
• Hematology (340)
• HIV/AIDS (780)
• Infectious Diseases (except HIV/AIDS) (13300)
• Intensive Care and Critical Care Medicine (767)
• Medical Education (365)
• Medical Ethics (104)
• Nephrology (398)
• Neurology (3486)
• Nursing (198)
• Nutrition (522)
• Obstetrics and Gynecology (673)
• Occupational and Environmental Health (661)
• Oncology (1818)
• Ophthalmology (535)
• Orthopedics (218)
• Otolaryngology (286)
• Pain Medicine (232)
• Palliative Medicine (66)
• Pathology (445)
• Pediatrics (1031)
• Pharmacology and Therapeutics (426)
• Primary Care Research (420)
• Psychiatry and Clinical Psychology (3171)
• Public and Global Health (6133)
• Radiology and Imaging (1276)
• Rehabilitation Medicine and Physical Therapy (744)
• Respiratory Medicine (825)
• Rheumatology (379)
• Sexual and Reproductive Health (372)
• Sports Medicine (322)
• Surgery (400)
• Toxicology (50)
• Transplantation (172)
• Urology (145)

ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

This article is part of the research topic.

Education for the Future: Learning and Teaching for Sustainable Development in Education

Blending Pedagogy: Equipping Student Teachers to Foster Transversal Competencies in Future-oriented Education Provisionally Accepted

• 1 Department of Education, Faculty of Educational Sciences, University of Helsinki, Finland

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

Blended teaching and learning, combining online and face-to-face instruction, and shared reflection are gaining in popularity worldwide and present evolving challenges in the field of teacher training and education. There is also a growing need to focus on transversal competencies such as critical thinking and collaboration. This study is positioned at the intersection of blended education and transversal competencies in the context of a blended ECEC teacher-training program (1000+) at the University of Helsinki. Blended education is a novel approach to training teachers, and there is a desire to explore how such an approach supports the acquisition of transversal competencies and whether the associated methods offer something essential for the development of teacher training. The aim is to explore what transversal competencies this teacher-training program supports for future teachers, and how students reflect on their learning experiences. The data consist of documents from teacher-education curricula and essays from the students on the 1000+ program. They were content-analyzed from a scoping perspective. Students' experiences of studying enhanced the achievement of generic goals in teacher education, such as to develop critical and reflective thinking, interaction competence, collaboration skills, and independent and collective expertise. We highlight the importance of teacher development in preparing for education in the future during the teacher training. Emphasizing professional development, we challenge the conventional teaching paradigm by introducing a holistic approach.

Keywords: blended teacher training, Transversal competencies, future of education, Teacher Education, early childhood education

Received: 19 Jan 2024; Accepted: 15 May 2024.

Copyright: © 2024 Niemi, Kangas and Köngäs. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) . The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Dr. Laura H. Niemi, Department of Education, Faculty of Educational Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, 00014, Uusimaa, Finland

People also looked at

Title: Integration of Fourth Industrial Revolution in teaching and learning during COVID-19 pandemic

Authors : Awelani V. Mudau; Lettah Sikhosana

Addresses : Department of Science and Technology Education, College of Education, University of South Africa, South Africa ' Department of Science and Technology Education, College of Education, University of South Africa, South Africa

Abstract : The aim of this paper was to explore how Fourth Industrial Revolution shaped teaching and learning during the COVID-19 pandemic in some schools located in Gauteng and Mpumalanga provinces, South Africa. This paper employed a qualitative interpretative multiple case study design. We selected four teachers who separately taught in early childhood development, intermediate phase, senior phase and further education and training phases purposefully. Data was collected telephonically through semi-structured interview and analysed using a typology approach. We inferred from the results that teachers had challenges with teaching and learning resources, unlimited access to internet and socio-economic background. There were also challenges related to teachers' background on the usage of Fourth Industrial Revolution and the lack of support from the School Management Teams. Therefore, we recommended that the relevant stakeholders within the education sector to provide resources such as smart-boards, computers, and unlimited internet access in schools lacking such facilities.

Keywords : Fourth Industrial Revolution; 4IR; COVID-19; School Management Teams; SMTs; integration; blended learning.

DOI : 10.1504/IJICT.2024.138560

International Journal of Information and Communication Technology, 2024 Vol.24 No.6, pp.35 - 56

Accepted: 24 Nov 2023 Published online: 12 May 2024 *

Keep up-to-date

• Our Newsletter ( subscribe for free )
• New issue alerts
• Inderscience is a member of publishing organisations including: