Showing papers in "International Journal of Early Years Education in 2023"
TL;DR: The relationship between play and learning is often taken for granted both in research and praxis as discussed by the authors , however, the relationship between learning and play and it is often assumed that play is considered an important aspect of early childhood education and care.
Abstract: ABSTRACT Play is considered an important aspect of Early Childhood Education and Care. However, the relationship between play and learning is often taken for granted both in research and praxis. In this article, we study our own research group’s empirical work over a 40-year period, and how we have used the concepts of play and learning. We observed that how the relation between play and learning has been conceptualised, have gone through changes during this period in a number of ways, in line with other research, influenced by policy, and theorised grounded in empirical studies towards what is called Developmental Pedagogy. Children’s perspectives and teacher’s sensitivity and responsiveness have been important features of the process of developing the preschool pedagogy in which play and learning are central. The relationship between play and learning are conceptualised differently, at the same time as the content (sometimes called curriculum in the English-speaking world) are equally important in the early as well as latest steps of this development in research.
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TL;DR: This article investigated how New Zealand teachers in Early Childhood Education (ECE) gathered, documented and utilised assessment information about children's learning and highlighted the benefits of well-written Learning Stories and highlighted interesting ways they can be utilised.
Abstract: This study investigated how New Zealand teachers in Early Childhood Education (ECE) gathered, documented and utilised assessment information about children’s learning. It utilised phenomenological inquiry, with data being gathered through semi-structured interviews with five experienced ECE teachers. The findings highlight the complexity of the predominant narrative assessment format used by the teachers: Learning Stories. The strong reliance on teachers’ fundamental competencies and understanding of the writing process was central to narrative assessment. On the other hand, findings emphasised the benefits of well-written Learning Stories and highlighted interesting ways they can be utilised. This article focuses on two important aspects of ECE assessment. Firstly, the teacher who is the heart of the Learning Story-writing process, and who possesses a complex skill set to connect with people, collect information and articulate an important message about the child as a learner. Secondly, on the Learning Story itself, its benefits and the ways that assessment information can be utilised from them.
TL;DR: A short critique of some of the shifting landscapes in early childhood education can be found in this paper , where the authors discuss ways the field is transforming at the macro-policy level, before considering the changes experienced by children and adults who care for them.
Abstract: Change occurs in young children’s lives as a matter of course. Healthy children grow and develop (Berk 2012). They make multiple horizontal transitions daily, for example moving from mealtime to play, and navigate major vertical transitions, such as starting school (Kagan and Neuman 1998). Children experience changes to their routines at home when their parents make adaptations to working practices (Kim 2020; Snyder et al. 2021), and they experience new approaches to curriculum and pedagogy at first hand in their settings (Manning, Thirumurthy, and Field 2012; Murray 2017; Yang et al. 2022). When educators leave early childhood education (ECE) settings, it is children who must adjust to new educators. Whilst ECE educators may move to new settings for their professional development in strong workforce systems, in weaker systems educators’ dissatisfaction results in the ECE workforce attrition that results in change for children (Nutbrown 2021). War wreaks havoc in children’s lives, often displacing them from their homes and the carers and educators they know (Korp and Stretmo 2020). In recent decades, the pace and variety of change in young children’s environments, including their experiences of ECE, have increased exponentially, affecting young children’s lives in many different ways (Clark 2022). While young children appreciate novel experiences (Murray 2022), they also thrive on continuity and routine (Clark 2022; Zigler and Kagan 1982). Balance may therefore be important. In this short critique of some of the shifting landscapes in ECE, I discuss ways the field is transforming at the macro-policy level, before considering some of the changes experienced by children and adults who care for them. The focus of this editorial on ’Shifting Landscapes in Early Childhood Education’ was inspired by the articles included in this issue of International Journal of Early Years Education. Each addresses one of four shifting landscapes in the ECE field: transformations in early childhood policy and provision, transitioning between locations in early childhood, young children’s encounters with illness or death, and innovations with digital technologies in the early years.
TL;DR: In this article , a focus on fun, adventure, excitement and creativity as indicators of intrinsic motivation and engagement in children's learning experiences is proposed as a more observable and less contentious platform for planning pedagogy.
Abstract: Many scholars discuss the role of play in early childhood education and the notion that play is the child’s vehicle for learning (Bodrova and Leong 2015). The justification for this is partly due to the power of play to engage children in the process of learning; it creates dispositions for intrinsic learning which are self-motivating and inherently rewarding. Play-based learning is often positioned as an approach to overcome the lack of motivation to learn which can be caused by schools if they impose mechanisms which Bruner (1966, 127) suggests ‘fail to enlist the natural energies that sustain spontaneous learning’. As a result, play is thought to alleviate the potential for learning to be mundane, tedious, or repetitive because children see play as exciting and fun. These positive dispositions associated with play stem from children’s familiarity with playing – a process which is typically engrained in childhood by parents and caregivers from birth – creating a sense of control and ownership for children to direct their actions and experiences, or to exhibit control over others in certain play situations (Corsaro and Eder 1990). Play, however, has not always been the solution to obstacles in children’s learning. While play is a useful or familiar term to encompass many elements of pedagogy, the terminology of structuring or planning play specifically for learning can often cause challenges, particularly in relation to the adult’s role in the process (Wood 2010). The fact that play is variously defined and debated (Howard 2017) leads to uncertainty amongst educators about how best to facilitate play experiences to optimise learning potential. Furthermore, play definitions are sometimes met with criticism, particularly when exploring ‘pure play’ versus ‘structured play’. Its self-directed intrinsically motivated nature is brought into question when considering adult-led play experiences, for example. In general, divergent ideologies occur where child-centred versus institutionally structured play, bound by regulations and curriculum, occur (Canning 2020) fuelling the complexity for supporting children’s learning through play. The debates about what play is, or is not, can create roadblocks to confidently scaffolding learning experiences for children. Yet play is not the only mechanism through which pedagogy can be developed, planned and experienced and a potential solution to this dilemma is to adopt broader explorations of pedagogy, which focus on harnessing the key positive contributions that play makes to children’s learning – for example, engagement and intrinsic motivation. Developing plans for pedagogy around these concepts may offer a new potential in leading children’s learning. In response to the above raised concerns about play-based pedagogy, I propose a focus on fun, adventure, excitement and creativity as some indicators of intrinsic motivation and engagement in children’s learning experiences and as a more observable and less contentious platform for planning pedagogy. I argue that we need to redirect our focus towards these embodied or emotionally endowed characteristics of experience to facilitate children’s engagement in the learning process. Play is still prominent, and essential, as a key approach or technique to fostering fun, adventure, excitement and creativity but in this scenario play is not the headline. Here I suggest we reverse the narrative. Rather than start with an adult envisaged playscape in the hope it fuels learning through intrinsic motivation and engagement,
TL;DR: In this paper , a case study of a four-year-old child and her family living temporarily for her father postgraduate studies in Canada is presented, where the role of multimodal home practices in the emergent biliteracy development of the child is discussed.
Abstract: This study explores the literacy and social practices of a young Omani emergent bilingual child who is beginning to develop bilingualism and biliteracy in Arabic and English through social interactions. One case study of a four-year-old child and her family living temporarily for her father postgraduate studies in Canada is presented. Framed on socio-cultural understandings of literacy development, the study discusses the role of multimodal home practices in the emergent biliteracy development of the child and generates new understandings about children’s social practices that are embedded in their daily lives. The study also explores the role of these cultural practices in navigating between two systems of language and culture. The findings make visible how children’s engagement with the social context of home, whether physical or through digital media, can enhance their biliteracy development.
TL;DR: In this article , the authors focused on factors associated with the students' social ability to develop healthy relationships in kindergarten classrooms and found that higher scores in cooperation, social collaborative game and social skills for sustaining friends are positively associated with peer acceptance and friendship.
Abstract: The scope of this study was to discriminate factors, which could improve students’ social relationships in kindergarten classrooms. In this research, 147 volunteer children participated, 67 female students and 80 male students. Every student was between 4.5 and 5.5 years old and they were all attending urban public kindergarten located in central Greece. This study focuses on factors associated with the students’ social ability to develop healthy relationships in kindergarten classrooms. Direct observations of children’s friendship skills and social play participation, questionnaires for children’s social behaviour filled out by teachers and sociometric data were gathered for data analysis. The collected data ware analysed through correlational and Multiple Linear Regression Analysis. Results indicate that social behaviour, social play and social skills for developing friendships have an impact on children’s relationships. Higher scores in ‘cooperation’, ‘social collaborative game’ and ‘social skills for sustaining friends’ are positively associated with peer acceptance and friendship. All of the above are highly significant variables for the prediction of healthy relationships in early childhood. All models showed effects, which are meaningful in socio-pedagogical applications.
TL;DR: In this article , a grounded theory study was conducted to understand parents' emotions and coping strategies regarding their child's initial placement in an Israeli special education kindergarten, which revealed that the majority of the parents’ emotions were directed towards their surroundings, whilst coping strategies focused on external social aspects.
Abstract: ABSTRACT The aim of this grounded theory study was to understand parents’ emotions and coping strategies regarding their child’s initial placement in an Israeli special education kindergarten. Proper placement is essential to effectively support children with developmental disabilities (DD), yet parents tend to approach assessment procedures with dread. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were held with 60 parents of children with DD (ages 4-6) who underwent placement procedures in the previous two years. Qualitative content analysis revealed three themes: external emotions of worry about the future, shame, fear of stigma, and trust issues towards professional staff; internal coping strategies of rationalisation and denial; external coping strategies of concealment and search for help. Findings revealed parents’ emotions were directed towards their surroundings, whilst coping strategies were directed both inwards and outwards. Therefore, the majority of the parents’ emotions and coping strategies focused on external social aspects. This in-depth understanding of parents’ reactions to the placement process may help educational staff focus their support on external attributes, thereby strengthening the staff-parent partnership and easing the entry process of children with DD into special education kindergartens.
TL;DR: In this paper , the authors argue that more opportunities are needed for early childhood teachers to be recognized as consumers and producers of research and validated as researchers of their own practice, and support their self-efficacy and confidence as researchers.
Abstract: There are increasing demands for teachers to continue to improve the quality of education. This focus is evident in the Early Childhood Education and Care sector in Australia where the professionalisation agenda is tied to teacher professional learning. While the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (AITSL) has strengthened expectations on teachers to engage with research and become inquirers into their own practice, current early childhood documents that guide practice use non-descript terms without ascribing them to research or researching. We argue that greater opportunities are needed for early childhood teachers to be recognised as consumers and producers of research and validated as researchers of their own practice. Professional learning programs, such as the Supporting Oral Language Development (SOLD) Program outlined in this paper, provide the potential to acknowledge and build the research skills of early childhood teachers, thereby supporting their self-efficacy and confidence as researchers.
TL;DR: In this paper , the authors analyzed the daily plans of preschool teachers and found that they were mainly paper-based classroom activities instead of illustrating a broad use of various learning environments and opportunities.
Abstract: Daily plans are the key tool for teachers to ensure their delivery meets the expectations of the programme, and math activities are one of the important activities required to be offered daily in the early years to form the foundations of future math knowledge. As outdoor environments provide various learning opportunities, assessing the math activities offered in daily plans is necessary, in part to review teachers’ practices. Therefore, analysing the preschool teachers’ daily plans was the aim of this research. Semi-structured interviews with preschool teachers and some shared daily plan examples were used to collect data. The findings show a discrepancy between teachers’ statements and the plans used. Although the participating teachers pointed to the use of the outdoors for math activities, the shared daily plans were limited in practice in their use of the out-of-classroom opportunities. The daily plans that teachers offered were mainly paper-based classroom activities instead of illustrating a broad use of various learning environments and opportunities. This finding indicates that preschool teachers might benefit from professional development courses that encourage them to address the early mathematics needs of children in their daily plans and through pedagogic practices that use a wide range of outdoor learning environments.
TL;DR: In this paper , a case study explores the impact of a thinking-based teacher training and professional development program on the quality of classroom interactions and on students' metacognitive capacity in early childhood education and elementary first-grade classrooms.
Abstract: This case study explores the impact of a thinking-based teacher training and professional development programme on the quality of classroom interactions and on students’ metacognitive capacity in early childhood education and elementary first-grade classrooms. The study was conducted in a Spanish school, and the sample comprised 13 educators and 117 students aged 4 to 7 years old. The self-assessment scale of cultural forces for the promotion of thinking was used to analyze the change in the self-perception of teachers after the completion of the thinking-based training programme. The Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS) was used to assess teacher–student interactions, and the drawing-telling technique was used to analyze students’ metacognitive capacity. The results reveal that the thinking-based teacher training improved their self-assessment as teachers that promote thinking, enhance the quality of classroom interactions (organisation and learning support), and develop children’s metacognitive processes. These findings indicate that a culture of thinking helps to develop key skills for twenty-first-century teachers and students.
TL;DR: Wang et al. as discussed by the authors put play as the core and base activity in kindergarten and implemented play-based curriculum reform in China, which is the most effective way in China.
Abstract: ABSTRACT In 2001, the Chinese Ministry of Education issued Guidelines for Preschool Education (GPE) (trial version) to call on early childhood practitioners to use a child-centred and play-based approach to teaching and learning. In order to implement the requirements, many kindergartens in China have carried out the play-based kindergarten curriculum reform. Among them, there are three successful trial cases in China on putting play as the core and base activity in kindergarten. They are Anji play in Zhejiang province (south east China), Lijin play in Shandong Province (east China) and Gamification of the curriculum in Jiangsu Province (east China). All the kindergartens there whether private or public start to change the old group teaching and return play to young children. The similarities of three play modes are: open and constantly changing play environment, adequate play time, multiple teachers’ roles and child-centred play evaluation. Play-based curriculum in these three cases are top-down reform, which is the most effective way in China.
TL;DR: This article examined the influence of media and merchandise on children's understandings of gender and found that both boys and girls valued the more active traits portrayed by the contemporary princesses, while both genders valued physical appearance and gendered behaviours.
Abstract: ABSTRACT This study, based on interpretative phenomenological methodology, examines the influence Disney media and merchandise may have on children’s understandings of gender. Although there are various studies in this area, most focus on the Disney Princesses’ effects on girls’ gender development and few directly elicit the views of both girls and boys (Golden and Jacoby 2018). The current study attempts to address this gap by investigating how girls and boys, aged five to eight years, interpret messages circulated by Disney to make sense of the gendered norms and roles of its characters. Participatory visual methods used were a draw and talk exercise and an image-values line activity. Critical discourse analysis identified two key gender discourses: physical appearance and gendered behaviours, with children’s exclusionary binary opinions core to both. However, both boys and girls valued the more active traits portrayed by the contemporary princesses. Through adopting a feminist poststructuralist lens, this study contributes to the existing body of knowledge that informs of ways to deconstruct stereotypes with children to promote positive gender development in childhood.
TL;DR: In this article , children aged 3-4 years were exposed in alternate weeks to pre-read-aloud prompts which engaged them in their own thinking about the story that was about to be read to them.
Abstract: This research report is on fostering young children's metacognitive skills. The study was conducted at a private early childhood education center in a Midwestern city in the United States in 2020. The design of the study was a mixed approach including Time Series experimentation, naturalistic observation, and interviews. Children aged 3–4 years were exposed in alternate weeks to pre-read-aloud prompts which engaged them in their own thinking about the story that was about to be read to them. The children tried to make predictions about the story before the story was read. After the story was read, the children were assessed on their abilities to think about what their thoughts and predictions were before the story was read aloud to them. Data were collected for a total of 11 weeks from two large groups of 20 children each, and one small group of 6 children. Comparison of the data revealed systematic differences between the treatment and non-treatment weeks. During the treatment weeks, more preschoolers experienced thought loop-backs, indicating some connection to their predictions. The results are discussed and implications for further research are drawn.