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This study aimed to describe environmental literacy teaching in early childhood education, which consists of teacher competence and the implementation of ecological literacy learning. This study used a qualitative case study design, with data collected from interviews, observations, and reflective journals. Data were collected through semistructured interviews with four teachers, two children, and one parent. This research was conducted at Sabilina Islamic Kindergarten, an Early Childhood Education institution in Bekasi City, West Java Province, which carries out the flagship Sabilina Sayangi Bumi (Sasami) program. The Sasami Program aims to build a caring character for the environment through various environmental activities designed by teachers. Interviews were conducted on teacher competence, implementation of ecological literacy learning in schools, instilling environmental literacy values, and assessment. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with instructors, students, and parents to gather data. The results indicated that the teachers had good pedagogical skills. Teachers can master effective learning management by developing a curriculum that supports environmental literacy learning, preparing learning plans, selecting appropriate materials based on the child's age, conducting assessments, and paying attention to early childhood learning principles. The implementation of ecological literacy through sorting trash, reduce-reuse-recycle (3R), a little gardening, animal lovers, instill the value of environmental literacy, and conducting assessments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multicultural education for early childhood is important because it is considered a central idea in its contribution to the rapprochement of contemporary society. This qualitative study examines the thoughts of 71 teachers regarding their thinking and involvement in educational dance based on local cultural interventions as a new form of multicultural education for children. Observations of the multicultural learning process in several Kindergartens and Elementary Schools as well as in-depth interviews with teachers of children aged 6-9 years are data collection techniques to identify needs and problems related to multicultural education. These findings describe four categories related to multicultural education for children that can become a provision for 21st-century skills and illustrate the importance of educational dance as a tool for children's cultural dexterity in the future. Further research is recommended to develop products that can increase tolerance for diversity in children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sharpening working memory skills, inhibition, and mental flexibility of children in many studies have proven school readiness and long-term academic success. The aim of this research is to determine the impact of dancing and listening to music on children's executive functions using the interpretive paradigm with a qualitative case study method. The respondents were seven parents of children aged between 7-8 years. This study used online interviews for the data collection. A typological analysis of qualitative data acquired during the COVID-19 pandemic in the dimensions of working memory, inhibition, and mental flexibility was used to categorize how children's executive functioning might develop in parental care. Several typologies were identified, giving rise to three ideal typologies as a result of the analysis of research questions. Firstly, it is important to develop children's working memory through different new strategies (typology 1); secondly, positive reinforcement was the strongest factor in inhibition development (typology 2); and finally, dancing with music as a support for mental development and development of thinking (typology 3). The research outcomes require increasing adults' abilities around children to manage diverse learning stimuli and integrate art in them to build working memory, inhibition, and ideal mental flexibility of children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of various dance strategies and early childhood teachers’ pedagogical competence on creating a positive classroom climate which is important for children’s academic achievement and social development. This study used a quasi-experimental ex-post facto design method, with ANOVA to analyse data and test the hypotheses. The respondents in this study involved 176 early childhood teachers. The study found a result of sig. 0.036, indicating that the use of various dance strategies can have a significant positive influence on classroom climate. Other findings indicated that a ‘creative’ dance strategy that is student-centred, has a greater positive influence on classroom climate than an ‘imitative’, teacher-centred strategy. Future studies are expected to follow up on other factors that can influence classroom climate as a key to successful learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]