SEA-CECCEP

Emotional Regulation Across Home and School Contexts: A Qualitative Case Study of a 7-Year-Old Child in a Conflictual Indonesian Family

Afrilliany — 2026-08-11

This study aims to analyze the emotional regulation of a 7-year-old child growing up in a conflictual family environment in Indonesia. The study employed a qualitative descriptive approach using a single case design. The subject was a 7-year-old child living with his mother as a single parent in an extended family environment characterized by recurring interpersonal conflict. Data collection was conducted through semi-structured interviews with the mother, aunt, and class teacher, non-participatory observation of the child's emotional behavior, and supporting documentation. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis involving data reduction, data presentation, conclusion drawing, and verification, with validity ensured through triangulation of techniques and sources. The findings indicate that exposure to family conflict influenced the child's emotional responses, which tended to be reactive within the home context. However, the child also demonstrated emotional regulation through diversion strategies by distancing himself from the source of conflict. In the school environment, the child exhibited more adaptive and stable emotional regulation, highlighting the role of environmental support as a protective factor. While this study is limited to a single case and does not aim for generalization, it contributes to a contextual understanding of emotional regulation within Indonesian family dynamics and underscores the importance of supportive school environments and adaptive parental modeling.

Integrating Drawing and Writing: A Meaning-Making Approach in Brunei Preschool Classrooms

Siti Noorhanida Md Yussof — 2026-08-11

This paper examines how drawing and writing interact in preschool classrooms in Brunei Darussalam and how classroom practices influence children’s engagement with early writing. This qualitative exploratory study investigated how preschool children used drawing and writing together during classroom literacy activities in a Brunei government preschool. In Brunei preschools, writing is commonly introduced as part of school readiness and early academic preparation. However, young children often demonstrate greater engagement when drawing is incorporated into literacy activities as part of the meaning-making process. Drawing frequently serves as children’s first mode of expressing ideas, telling stories, and communicating experiences, yet it is sometimes treated as separate from writing in classroom practice. Data were generated through classroom observations, field notes, and examples of children’s drawing and writing. The findings indicate that children moved naturally between drawing and writing when they were encouraged to express ideas freely and participate in meaningful literacy activities. In contrast, highly structured writing tasks focused on copying, correctness, and worksheet completion often resulted in more compliance-oriented participation and reduced engagement. The study also highlights a pedagogical tension within the context of Sistem Pendidikan Negara Abad ke-21 (SPN21), where teachers balance holistic, child-centred learning with school-readiness expectations. The paper argues that recognising drawing as a meaningful component of early writing can strengthen children’s motivation, communication, creativity, and participation in literacy activities while supporting developmentally appropriate early literacy practices in preschool classrooms.

Family Drawings as a Window into Preschoolers’ Socio-Emotional and Cognitive Development

Suman Aslam Perwez — 2026-08-11

The integration of visual narratives, specifically through family drawings, presents a novel approach to understanding children's socio-emotional landscape. Young children tend to think creatively but cannot express themselves very well. This study examines how children use family drawings to express their feelings, perceptions, and understanding of family dynamics, aiming to provide educators, caregivers, psychologists, and parents with deeper insights into the child's inner world. The researchers collected family drawings from a diverse group of 3–4-year-old preschool students at a private school in Karachi, Pakistan. These drawings were analyzed along with audio recordings of the children's explanations of their artwork. The research analyzed the visual aspects of the family drawings, such as the sizes, positioning, and actions of family members, to understand the children's views on power dynamics, emotional bonds, and social roles within their families. The drawing analysis focused on several key parameters such as the use of colour, the depiction of family structure, the difference between male and female, and the inclusion of emotive features such as smiling faces. Overall, the drawings mostly showed the use of bright and vibrant colours, indicating active engagement and expression. The drawings reflected diverse family roles and identities, with some including extended family members beyond the immediate household. In several drawings, children added objects such as cars, trucks, and dolls, which appeared to reflect their personal interests or connections to their everyday environment. While some children were able to clearly explain and describe their drawings, others found it difficult to verbally express what they had illustrated. These and other findings from the data provides insights to caregivers, educators and parents into young children's perceptions and understanding of their family relationships and social world. Understanding these findings can help them to identify the emotional, social, and cognitive needs of young children and suggest interventions to create a supporting learning environment where their socio-emotional and cognitive needs are met.

From Compliance to Partnership: Rethinking 7KAIH Implementation in Family–School Collaboration

Fauziah Rahmat — 2026-08-11

This study examines the implementation of the Seven Habits of Great Indonesian Children (7KAIH) program in early childhood education through the perspective of home–school partnerships. Using a qualitative case study approach, the research was conducted at a private early childhood education institution in Garut Regency, West Java, Indonesia. Data were collected through online questionnaires completed by 14 parents and 23 monthly parental reports documenting children’s habituation practices at home. The data were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis to explore parents’ perceptions, experiences, and involvement in implementing the program within family contexts. The findings show that parents generally had highly positive perceptions of the 7KAIH program and considered it beneficial for children’s character development. However, positive acceptance did not always result in consistent implementation in daily life. Variations in parental involvement were influenced by situational factors such as work demands, household conditions, time limitations, parental fatigue, and the quality of communication with schools. The study also found that reporting mechanisms functioned ambivalently as both reflective spaces and instruments of institutional control. In many cases, reporting shifted into symbolic administrative compliance rather than meaningful reflection on children’s development. Drawing on Heckhausen’s action regulation perspective, the findings indicate a gap between motivational acceptance and volitional consistency in maintaining habituation practices. Furthermore, the study highlights that effective implementation of habituation programs depends not only on program design but also on the quality of trust-based and adaptive home–school partnerships. The study concludes that transformational school leadership is essential in developing humane, reflective, flexible, and context-sensitive partnership cultures. Habituation programs should be integrated realistically into family routines through approaches such as habit stacking so that character formation can develop gradually and sustainably within everyday family life.

Government Prioritization of Parental Engagement Programs: A Case Study of the ‘Parents as Partners’ Programme in Odisha, India

Nikita Jawa — 2026-08-11

A substantial body of research demonstrates that parental engagement positively influences children's educational outcomes. However, considerably less attention has been paid to how governments prioritise and institutionalise parental engagement within public education systems, particularly in marginalised and indigenous contexts. This study examines Odisha's Parents as Partners (PAP) programme, a government-led initiative implemented in tribal residential schools, to understand how parental engagement emerged as a governance priority and the institutional mechanisms through which it was operationalised. A qualitative case study design was adopted, drawing on seven semi-structured interviews with state, district and school-level stakeholders and one focus group discussion involving four parents. Data were analysed using inductive thematic analysis in NVivo 12 through iterative coding, cross-case comparison and triangulation with government documents and secondary literature. Bronfenbrenner's Bioecological Framework and Kingdon's Multiple Streams Framework guided the interpretation of the findings. The findings demonstrate that the programme represents more than a parental engagement intervention; it reflects a broader shift in educational governance in which parental engagement became institutionalised through political leadership, cross-sectoral coordination and redesigned school-community relationships. While the programme strengthened communication, increased parents' sense of ownership and fostered greater trust between schools and families, persistent structural barriers including poverty, geographic isolation, teacher shortages and institutional capacity constraints continued to limit equitable participation. The study argues that sustainable parental engagement depends not only on parental motivation or school-level practices but also on government prioritisation and institutional support. By conceptualising parental engagement as a governance challenge rather than solely a pedagogical intervention, the paper extends existing parental engagement literature and offers practical lessons for governments seeking to strengthen educational inclusion in marginalised communities.