Early Childhood Folio vol. 17 no. 2 (2013)

Each article in this issue of Early Childhood Folio raises questions about values and aspirations for children, and the power of beliefs, both silent and overt, to influence policy and pedagogy ...

This article describes the findings of a series of qualitative research studies which explored the technologies with which children aged 3–5 years old play, the forms of learning related to these activities, and the conditions which shaped their experiences with digital resources. Three forms of learning were observed in educational settings and an additional form identified when children engaged with technologies at home. However, the proactive support of adults was… Read more

This article describes how two critical literacy activities were successfully incorporated into an early childhood centre in Aotearoa New Zealand. The article discusses the design of the activities, how the activities worked in the classroom, and the children’s perceived learning. The article concludes that critical literacy activities with young children are possible. This was achieved through the use of critical questions and critical conversations that address issues that… Read more

This article explores identity-work stories of three newly qualified early childhood teachers in Aotearoa New Zealand. A small poststructural research study investigated how five newly qualified early childhood teachers understood their identities as teachers. Within the data was evidence of three dominant discourses of early childhood education that shaped how the participants understood themselves: the authority discourse, the relational-professionalism discourse, and the… Read more

This article responds to an increasing emphasis on early childhood care and education (ECCE) as preparation for academic success and the child as a future economic resource, manifest in various recent government policy initiatives in Aotearoa New Zealand. The article explores the way this situation has arisen despite the aspirations of openness and plurality in the early childhood curriculum, Te Whāriki, and a tradition of viewing the early years of childhood as… Read more

Information and communication technology (ICT) is acknowledged as being a significant part of many people’s lives, and for many young children it forms the backdrop to their lives. Research suggests the very nature of some ICT requires relational and collaborative pedagogical practices to accompany it. This article draws on findings of a small case study which examined, through a democratic lens, the relationship between ICT and teaching and learning. Exploring three… Read more

In early childhood education in Aotearoa New Zealand it is common practice for teachers to write Learning Stories to document and interpret children’s learning events. What these stories don’t always uncover or articulate, however, are the parallel roles which teachers play in these learning episodes. By widening these stories to include the part played by teachers, Learning Stories become more than just an interpretation of the events for children, they become part of a… Read more

This article presents the voices of Aboriginal Australians who participated in the Children, Carer, Community action research project, which aimed to identify factors for growing responsive and culturally respectful learning spaces in remote West Kimberley. Specifically, responses to two open-ended research questions, “What do you think needs to change to make things better for children in your community?” and “What do you think is important for your child to know, to learn… Read more