Early Childhood Folio 10 (2006)

As the first early childhood e-Fellow, the author worked with five case-study children at Westmere Kindergarten to research whether Internet and communication technology (ICT) can enhance young children’s storytelling. This article shares the story of one of the case-study children, Casper, to illustrate the overall research findings, which suggest that the case-study children’s desire to tell their stories and to communicate their ideas independently of text conventions led them into a… Read more

Can traditional definitions of professionalism be reconceptualised to respond to the unique and evolving characteristics of quality early childhood practice? As part of a larger analysis, this article explores the views of teachers working in care and education settings on the nature of professional behaviour in early childhood education.

This article looks at how the belief system of “special” education can act as a barrier to inclusion in early childhood education for children with disabilities and their families. The author suggests that changes in special education thought and practice are necessary if early childhood education is to progress inclusion for all.

The findings of a recent Teaching and Learning Research Initiative project. Researchers used a collaborative whakawhanaungatanga approach to explore how early childhood educators in settings other than kōhanga reo encourage whānau Māori to participate in early childhood education. They identified strategies by which early childhood educators are implementing their understandings of Tiriti-based commitments in Te Whāriki.

The introduction this year of the draft key competencies (paralleling the five strands of Te Whāriki) brings an exciting new development to the early childhood as well as the primary and secondary sectors. This article discusses learning dispositions and their relation to the key competencies, and suggests three ways in which a new continuity might be forged between early childhood and primary school curricula when the proposed key competencies are put into place.

This article looks at ways of bridging the discontinuities young children experience between three settings: the home environment, the early childhood setting, and the new entrant classroom. It highlights the empowerment that occurs for children, families, and teachers in early childhood and school settings when children’s experiences at home are known and valued.

The question of how to define and describe quality in early childhood services has been a matter of debate, both in New Zealand and internationally. This article discusses definitions of quality, drawing on examples from Norway and Japan to demonstrate the complexity involved in judging what is good or bad, what is quality early childhood education, and what is not.