The project founded by the Italian Ministry of Research and University (MUR) aims to build a prototype of actions/conditions for reorganizing childcare centre activities, a privileged context for the development of cognitive, emotional and social skills, after Covid-19 pandemic.
The Covid-19 pandemic has altered face-to-face interaction with the caregivers, through the coordination of gaze, facial and vocal expressions, which is foundational for the development of secure attachment and emotion regulation, cognitive and social abilities and psychological health and wellbeing.
The project idea is based on 4 innovative elements:
- a outdoor space (a glasshouse equipped with childcare centre materials) where the child can be involved in outdoor activities as a measure to reduce stress and boost different dimensions of child development;
- educators’ use of transparent masks, to make their facial expression and lips visible to promote emotion regulation and language acquisition
- monitoring of safety conditions managed by a pediatrician/infectious disease specialist through (a) specific training for the educators, (b) information meetings for families, (c) increase in risk-prevention measures;
- enhanced attention to children by increasing the number of caregivers: from 1 every 5-6 children to 1 every 3 with the youngest ones, by involving qualified Master’s students in Education Sciences as an integrative resource (with credit recognition).
To achieve the expected prototype a target group of 4 chilcare centres (2 in each of the towns involved in the project: Verona and Bari, for a total of about 100 children) and a control group of 4 other childcare centres (2 in Verona and 2 in Bari) will be involved. Before starting the pilot experimentation (T0) and 4 months later (T1) in all the target and control childcare centres, data will be collected on: (a) children’s emotional regulation and language acquisition; (b) children’s, educators’ and parental distress/wellbeing; (c) socio-sanitary measures indicative of possible benefits/inconveniences (absences from the childcare centre, number and type of diseases). A range of methodologies such as questionnaires, behavioral indicators and physiological indicators will be used.
Keywords
Covid-19 pandemic; stress; emotional development; language development; outdoor activities; safety conditions management; transparent masks
Principal Investigator
Manuela Lavelli, University of Verona
Project Participants
- Marinella Majorano, University of Verona
- Elena Florit, University of Verona
- Claudio Maffeis, University of Verona
- Alessandra Cordiano, University of Verona
- Roberto Ricciuti, University of Verona
- Tamara Bastianello, University of Verona
- Rosalinda Cassibba, Univeristy of Bari
- Gabrielle Coppola, Univeristy of Bari
- Valeria Rossini, Univeristy of Bari
- Giuseppe Moro, Univeristy of Bari
- Nursery Service Department of the Municipalities of Verona and Bari
Duration
12 months (September 2021- )
Publications
Bastianello, T., Silletti, F., Cassibba, R., Coppola, G., Musso, P., Rossini, V., Zusi, C., Unali, I., Florit, E., Majorano, M., Maffeis, C., & Lavelli, M. (under review). Short-term Effects of an Outdoor Activities Intervention on Children’s and Caregivers’ Stress, and Children’s Emotional, Behavioral, and Cognitive Regulation Skills.
Presentations
Bastianello, T., Musso, P., Zusi, C., Silletti, F., Florit, E., Maffeis, C., & Lavelli, M. (2022). Child’s temperament, caregivers’ stress, and child’s emotional-regulatory functioning in daycare centers. Congresso Nazionale AIP (September 27-30, 2022, Padova, Italy). Symposium presentation.
Cassibba, R., Lavelli, M., Coppola, G., Rossini, V., Musso, P., Bastianello, T., & Silletti, F. (2022). Crescere al nido al nido nel periodo della pandemia. Congresso Nazionale AIP (September 27-30, 2022, Padova, Italy).