Peace Innovation for Development of Peaceful Practices in Early Childhood Caregivers

Abstract

The research article consisted of the following objectives: 1) to investigate context and the needs for the development of peaceful practices in early childhood caregivers; 2) to analyze concepts of modern science and the Buddhist peaceful means conducive to the development of peaceful practices in early childhood caregivers; and 3) to develop and present peace innovation for the development of peaceful practices in early childhood caregivers. The study employed a mixed-method research design, incorporating an exploratory sequential approach. Qualitative data were collected through in-depth interviews with 22 participants, including child specialists, child psychologists, experts in Buddhism and peaceful mans, as well as focus group discussions with 7 participants. Quantitative data were gathered via a pilot experiment involving 17 early childhood caregivers. The tools used for the pretest and posttest included a participant observation form and an after-action review approach. The data were analyzed using t-tests and content analysis and were presented descriptively.

From the study, the following results were found: 1) Factors affecting the development of peaceful practices in early childhood caregivers include parental issues, such as a lack of readiness and understanding of early childhood caregiving. These challenges lead to quality problems among early childhood caregivers, such as insufficient knowledge in providing care to children, a lack of understanding of children’s nature, and poor emotional self-management; 2) A model early childhood caregiver should embody the Buddhist principle of peaceful practices, specifically the Brahmavihāra (the four sublime states of mind), which include mettā (loving-kindness), karuṇā (compassion), muditā (empathetic joy), and upekkhā (equanimity); and 3) The development of peace innovation for peaceful practices in early childhood caregivers involved the implementation of a training with four practice modules and a follow-up process to foster awareness. The study found that the posttest scores of early childhood caregivers were significantly higher than the pretest scores, with a t-test value of 3.34 at a 0.05 level of statistical significance. Participants reported a high level of satisfaction with the training and effectively applied the knowledge in their work. This training resulted in the development of a new framework, referred to as the 'CARE' model.