Early Childhood Folio Vol 14 no.1 (2010)

Global issues, such as ecological sustainability, can be difficult topics to address in early childhood education. This article reports on a research project exploring an approach based on the idea of “global citizenship”—where care for self, others and the environment are inextricably intertwined. It gives the perspective of one of the researchers and two teachers from a participating Auckland centre. A particular concern for this centre was climate change and the… Read more

Meaningful leadership development opportunities are rare for those working in the New Zealand early childhood education sector. What difference can they make to leadership practice? This article describes the experiences of participants in a study that used a blend of ICT and face-to-face sessions to support leadership learning. For the participants, this approach resulted in an increased awareness of leadership and a greater confidence in leadership practice.

Advocating for children’s rights in early education is an important role for teachers. This role has many challenges, not least of which is understanding what children’s rights are and how they can be used effectively to support children’s learning. This article reports on how teachers in an early care and education centre advocated for children’s rights. Even though these teachers considered themselves advocates for children’s rights, this role was complex and… Read more

This article explores the pedagogy of New Zealand early childhood teachers who have consciously adopted ideas from the early childhood programme of the Italian city of Reggio Emilia. It follows the learning experiences of children involved in a project investigating cows, milking and dairy processing that emerged from children’s interests related to Chinese New Year celebrations for the Year of the Ox.

The transition into early childhood education is a big step for children and their parents. It can help a child settle in if one teacher becomes their “primary caregiver”, giving them someone to relate to and the parents someone to communicate with. This action research project looks at one centre’s “key teacher” system and transition processes and how well they work.

Education settings are one of the key points of contact new migrants have with their host society, so the way early childhood teachers negotiate multiculturalism is important. This article is based on a study from Australia, one of the most multicultural nations on Earth. It examines how, in implementing equality by treating new-migrant families “the same”, the early childhood centres that took part might inadvertently be fostering inequality.