Research Activities

Child Research Network Asia (CRNA)

Research Activities

CRNA Collaborative Research: ECEC Teachers' Perception of "Resilience" and Their Practical Measures to Its Promotion in Asian Countries

Since our establishment in 2016, CRNA has held various collaborative activities with researchers from eight Asian countries and regions.¹⁾ As the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the world, we initiated a survey focusing on the resilience of children (the ability to adapt and bounce back from difficulties) to enhance children's well-being even under hardship.

In 2021, we conducted the "Survey on Children's Daily Life among 8 Asian Countries 2021" on mothers in eight countries, and found that a child's resilience was strongly associated with their well-being in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.²⁾ Results also showed that support from parents and childcare facilities (ECEC teachers) was an important factor associated with children's resilience.

As a follow-up study, we then conducted an interview survey on ECEC teachers in eight countries in 2023-2024 to identify how children's resilience is nurtured in childcare facilities. We found that there are countries that recognize the importance of the concept of resilience and consciously implement activities and programs to nurture it, while some countries implement efforts to nurture resilience inherent in their practices, even if the teachers are not quite familiar with the term. It was also found that understanding and approaches varied among ECEC teachers, even within the same country. Here we will show the main results of the study.

1) Eight Asian countries and regions: Japan, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand

2) For details on the "Survey on Children's Daily Life among 8 Asian Countries 2021," please click here.

[Update Information on Interview Survey 2024 Country Reports]

Philippines's country report has been posted. (2024/6/28)
Malaysia's country report has been posted. (2024/6/21)
Taiwan's country report has been posted. (2024/6/14)
Singapore's country report has been posted. (2024/6/7)

Outline of Research

Name of Survey	Interview Survey at Childcare Facilities on Practices Nurturing Resilience in Children
Research Theme	Nurturing Children's Resilience: Discussing from ECEC Teachers' Childcare Practices in Asian Countries
Research Questions	1. How the terms "resilience" and "social-emotional skills" are perceived and understood by ECEC teachers? 2. What are the efforts and practices by ECEC teachers in nurturing children's resilience?
Participating countries/regions	Japan, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, and Thailand
Survey method	Interview survey (Semi-structured online interview)
Survey Period	Preliminary Survey: September to October 2023 Main Survey: December 2023 to February 2024
Subjects	Preliminary Survey: Principals and senior teachers (4-8 per country, 45 in total) Main Survey: ECEC teachers mainly in charge of 4 to 6-year-olds (approx. 10 per country, 82 in total)
Survey Items	Preliminary Survey: Perception and understanding of the terms "resilience" and "social-emotional skills"/Perception and understanding of the terms "resilience" and "social-emotional skills" by the ECEC teachers at their facility (estimates by the principals and senior teachers)/Efforts and practices implemented at the facility to nurture "resilience" and "social-emotional skills" Main Survey: Perception and understanding of the terms "resilience" and "social-emotional skills"/Perception of what "difficulties" or "adversities," "adapt successfully" or "bounce back" would be for 4-6-year-olds/ Efforts and practices implemented at the facility to nurture "resilience" and "social-emotional skills"/Interaction in designated scenarios related to resilience