A Penguin is Not a Giraffe: Categorizing Preschool Children According to Temperament.
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| Title: | A Penguin is Not a Giraffe: Categorizing Preschool Children According to Temperament. |
|---|---|
| Authors: | Maine, Jana1 (AUTHOR), Huelsman, Timothy J.2 (AUTHOR), Gagnon, Sandra Glover2 (AUTHOR) gagnonsg@appstate.edu, Webb, Rose Mary2 (AUTHOR), Kidder-Ashley, Pamela2 (AUTHOR) |
| Source: | Early Childhood Education Journal. Jun2025, Vol. 53 Issue 5, p1807-1821. 15p. |
| Subject Terms: | *Caregivers, *Research personnel, *Preschool children, Zoological nomenclature, Cluster analysis (Statistics), Temperament |
| Abstract: | Temperament is a widely researched trait that significantly influences children's lives. Still, theorists differ in their perspectives on the construct. With their nine dimensions of temperament and three "categories" of children—easy, difficult, or slow to warm up—Thomas and colleagues (1968) laid the foundation for future temperament research. Subsequent researchers have identified temperament profiles that are similar to but not completely consistent with Thomas and colleagues' model. Still, most conceptualizations exist primarily for researchers and may be challenging to translate for educators who work directly with children and their caregivers. Therefore, this study had two aims. First, we used cluster analysis to corroborate and extend research that categorized children into temperament groups. We identified four groups that converge and one group that diverges from previous findings. Our second, more important purpose was to strengthen the link between research and practice by conceptualizing our results in a way that is understandable to educators and caregivers. The challenging task of capturing the nature of each cluster in one or even a few words led us to adopt a zoomorphic approach in which we assigned nonhuman animal names to each group: koalas, penguins, dogs, bobcats, and giraffes. Our findings support previous groupings of children by temperament and provide a consumer-friendly model that facilitates communication between caregivers and educators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Early Childhood Education Journal is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Education Research Complete |
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| Header | DbId: ehh DbLabel: Education Research Complete An: 185036402 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: A Penguin is Not a Giraffe: Categorizing Preschool Children According to Temperament. – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Maine%2C+Jana%22">Maine, Jana</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Huelsman%2C+Timothy+J%2E%22">Huelsman, Timothy J.</searchLink><relatesTo>2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Gagnon%2C+Sandra+Glover%22">Gagnon, Sandra Glover</searchLink><relatesTo>2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> gagnonsg@appstate.edu</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Webb%2C+Rose+Mary%22">Webb, Rose Mary</searchLink><relatesTo>2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Kidder-Ashley%2C+Pamela%22">Kidder-Ashley, Pamela</searchLink><relatesTo>2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR) – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Early+Childhood+Education+Journal%22">Early Childhood Education Journal</searchLink>. Jun2025, Vol. 53 Issue 5, p1807-1821. 15p. – Name: Subject Label: Subject Terms Group: Su Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Caregivers%22">Caregivers</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Research+personnel%22">Research personnel</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Preschool+children%22">Preschool children</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Zoological+nomenclature%22">Zoological nomenclature</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Cluster+analysis+%28Statistics%29%22">Cluster analysis (Statistics)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Temperament%22">Temperament</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: Temperament is a widely researched trait that significantly influences children's lives. Still, theorists differ in their perspectives on the construct. With their nine dimensions of temperament and three "categories" of children—easy, difficult, or slow to warm up—Thomas and colleagues (1968) laid the foundation for future temperament research. Subsequent researchers have identified temperament profiles that are similar to but not completely consistent with Thomas and colleagues' model. Still, most conceptualizations exist primarily for researchers and may be challenging to translate for educators who work directly with children and their caregivers. Therefore, this study had two aims. First, we used cluster analysis to corroborate and extend research that categorized children into temperament groups. We identified four groups that converge and one group that diverges from previous findings. Our second, more important purpose was to strengthen the link between research and practice by conceptualizing our results in a way that is understandable to educators and caregivers. The challenging task of capturing the nature of each cluster in one or even a few words led us to adopt a zoomorphic approach in which we assigned nonhuman animal names to each group: koalas, penguins, dogs, bobcats, and giraffes. Our findings support previous groupings of children by temperament and provide a consumer-friendly model that facilitates communication between caregivers and educators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] – Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright Label: Group: Ab Data: <i>Copyright of Early Childhood Education Journal is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) |
| PLink | https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=ehh&AN=185036402 |
| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.1007/s10643-024-01696-8 Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 15 StartPage: 1807 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Caregivers Type: general – SubjectFull: Research personnel Type: general – SubjectFull: Preschool children Type: general – SubjectFull: Zoological nomenclature Type: general – SubjectFull: Cluster analysis (Statistics) Type: general – SubjectFull: Temperament Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: A Penguin is Not a Giraffe: Categorizing Preschool Children According to Temperament. Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Maine, Jana – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Huelsman, Timothy J. – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Gagnon, Sandra Glover – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Webb, Rose Mary – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Kidder-Ashley, Pamela IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 01 M: 06 Text: Jun2025 Type: published Y: 2025 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 10823301 Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 53 – Type: issue Value: 5 Titles: – TitleFull: Early Childhood Education Journal Type: main |
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