Early Childhood Folio 5 (2001)

The latest findings from the longitudinal Competent Children project show that early childhood education continues to have important bearings on children’s performance at age 10. Early childhood education quality is particularly important.

One challenge posed by the development of Te Whāriki is to ensure that assessment and evaluation processes associated with its implementation are in the interests of children and their families. The approach we developed and trialled is closely connected to the strands of Te Whāriki, and starts with the “child’s questions”—one for each strand. In their simplified form, the questions are: Do you know me? (Belonging); Can I trust you? (Well-being);… Read more

Literacy and numeracy have been receiving increasing attention in New Zealand in recent years. This paper discusses how early childhood practitioners might respond to current initiatives in the area of numeracy. Suggestions are offered for fostering early numeracy in ways that are consistent with the early childhood curriculum Te Whāriki, utilising an approach that focuses on children’s learning dispositions, while extending each child’s range of mathematical contexts, purposes and… Read more

Five case studies of starting childcare show that this experience is a complex one for all involved: children, mothers, and teachers. This article presents elements of the experiences of the participants in the study.

When young children move from one educational setting to another, it is important to understand the context of their prior experiences. Most children starting primary school have already experienced transition. Early childhood transitions include starting at an early childhood service or centre, and moving sequentially or concurrently from one early childhood service or centre to another. Our study of transition to school from Pacific early childhood centres describes some culturally… Read more

Since 1996 in Aotearoa/New Zealand, we have had a bicultural early childhood curriculum, Te Whāriki (Ministry of Education, 1996). This document was developed with regard to the early childhood field’s commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi/Treaty of Waitangi. This treaty, signed in 1840 by the British Crown and Maori chiefs, enabled the colonisation of this country. It also guaranteed to Maori their tino rangatiratanga, or self-determination, over their lands, resources, and cultural… Read more

Prejudice often gets in the way of people living together equitably. Learning to see and work with young children’s prejudices and biases is critical in working for equity in the 21st century. Bringing children’s “knowings” about cultural diversity to the fore is essential to this task. Children’s words and silences can challenge us to think more deeply about how they come to know about cultural diversity and about the connections between these “knowings”, bias, and building respectful early… Read more