Early Childhood Folio Vol 14 no.2 (2010)

The New Zealand early childhood curriculum, Te Whāriki, has a sociocultural emphasis. As a result it places importance on relationships with families, and the validation of children’s cultures. Yet questions could be asked about how visible culture(s) are within early childhood practice, in terms of whose cultures are being represented, and how this is determined. This article explores these notions, drawing on recent research to illustrate some pathways for… Read more

How can we grow rich, authentic mathematics in early childhood settings? This article focuses on a framework, Te Kākano (the seed), which is a metaphor for growing rich mathematics. Te Kākano is set out in Book 18 of Kei Tua o te Pae and is now central to a new early childhood resource, Te Aho Tukutuku: Early Mathematics, to be published in 2010. This article expands on the background material in Te Aho Tukutuku: Early Mathematics, giving further insight into the… Read more

In early childhood education, the arts have traditionally been taught based on ideas about developmentally appropriate practice and the creative self-expression of the child. This is despite a shift towards sociocultural theory in New Zealand and many parts of the Western world. This article looks at an initial teacher education arts module that, through hands-on experiences, led student teachers to see and do things differently, and to consider a wide range of… Read more

Currently early childhood teachers often ask parents or whānau to write comments in response to their child’s Learning Story. However, it can be difficult to obtain a contribution that leads to parents/whānau participating in their child’s learning and in planning for further learning experiences. This article reports on the development of a new way of involving parents/whānau in assessment—through shared dialogue between the child, parents/whānau and teachers.

This article is offered as a provocation for teachers, encouraging them to reflect on underlying assumptions about the ways in which resources for children’s learning are managed. The article explores how the familiar notion of children’s “freedom of choice” was played out in a centre. It describes how, within the apparent freedom, teacher controls set parameters around the range of available resources and children’s access to them, and defined how they might be used… Read more

In developing Ministry of Health guidelines for early childhood education (ECE) services to support breastfeeding, the authors of this article consulted widely with the health and ECE sectors early in 2009. The article discusses the main themes and issues raised by the parents, educators, advocates and health representatives who participated. Although ECE centres have a mandate to be responsive and reciprocal with children and their families and whänau, the stories… Read more