Child-Friendly Schools: An Assessment of Kindergartens

Abstract

Child Friendly School (CFS) is a democratic environment based on children's rights, where all students are accepted, teaching-learning processes are organized according to children's interest needs, health, safety and protective measures are taken for children and gender-based discrimination is not provided. Preschool education institutions, which are considered to be very effective on the future of the child and the society, should be child friendly in this way. The aim of this study is to identify the teaching-learning environment of independent kindergartens in the context of a child-friendly. The data of the study was obtained from the independent kindergarten in different socioeconomic environments with "CFS Diagnostic Form". According to the results, it was seen that in terms of effectiveness, the physical areas and materials of the schools were sufficient, but the places and qualifications that increase the effectiveness of teaching were insufficient; in terms of inclusiveness, all children attend school without discrimination in terms of inclusiveness, but female students have low access to school; in terms of democratic participation, means are used to ensure communication with the environment, in terms of healthy, safe and protective environment, physical requirements are fulfilled, necessary measures are taken, but ventilation and out-of-school safety measures are not sufficient and in terms of gender sensitivity, there is no discrimination based on gender. It has been concluded that the independent kindergartens are largely child-friendly, despite some inadequacies.

Analysis of Kindergarten Teachers on Pedagogical Content Knowledge

“…Teacher knowledge on the curriculum (KEC) supports the abilities of teachers to provide a learning environment according to the context or stage of children's development, and all of these are factors affecting early childhood learning (Inan, 2010). The result of another study that supports the importance of knowledge about learning strategies is revealed by Cobanoglu & Sevim (2019) that children must feel comfortable with learning in a school environment.…”

Quality Early Learning: Nurturing Children's Potential

“…Safe learning environments provide adequate toilet facilities, garbage disposal, and handwashing in classrooms or in centers' common spaces (Cobanoglu and Sevim 2019). For example, in Mindanao, the Philippines, ECE centers and primary schools purchased cost-effective, sturdy 500-gallon plastic water tanks, rainwater catchment devices, rubber pipes, and washbasins.…”

“…Security protocols to manage emergencies (earthquakes, floods, fire, and the like) and universal access to safe spaces are necessary for overall safety (Britto 2017;Duarte, Jaureguiberry, and Racimo 2017). ECE centers and schools should provide educators and children with the necessary places and instructions to minimize hazardous environments (Cobanoglu and Sevim 2019) and to manage the community's safety during emergencies. An interesting low-cost example of evacuation equipment combining safety and child well-being is the Chilean evacuation slide.…”

Parental involvement of marginalized children’s education in Yogyakarta

“…One of the problems faced by educational institutions that emphasize the importance of developing aspects of life skills is that they still require improvements to the curriculum, teaching facilities, teaching methods, learning media, competent teachers, and evaluation tools (Prasetyo et al, 2021). Developed a culture-based learning model in elementary schools with an orientation to inculcate noble values in accordance with local government policies (Ghufron et al, 2017), without ignoring the national curriculum (Cobanoglu & Sevim, 2019;Suharta & Septiarti, 2018).…”