Early Childhood Folio vol. 23 no. 2 (2019)

This article explores early childhood teachers’ and leaders’ early responses to the release of the revised early childhood curriculum, Te Whāriki (Ministry of Education, 2017), with a particular focus on teaching and assessment of literacy. The study involved a convergent mixed-method design. Data were collected via a cross-sectional survey of teachers and key informant interviews with leaders of early childhood services. The focus of both survey and interviews was on the Communication /… Read more

Despite implementation of significant legislation and policy initiatives related to human rights and inclusive practices, children with disabilities can still experience discrimination and exclusion in multiple areas of their lives, including in early childhood education (ECE). Evidence of a gap between policies about inclusion and the reality of exclusionary practices in this educational field has been found. To investigate this issue, researchers have explored how negative attitudes and… Read more

Teaching is a highly complex and political endeavour, and as teachers we need to be courageous as we support children to make sense of the increasingly complex and diverse societies that we live in. My doctoral research highlighted a number of issues related to teachers and curriculum. Te Whāriki, the Aotearoa New Zealand early childhood curriculum is the framework for critical socially relevant curriculum, and this letter speaks to teachers whose daily work involves recognising and… Read more

In this article we present some initial findings from a Teacher-led Innovation Fund study undertaken in a kāhui ako based in the small community of Dannevirke. Teachers from the eight early childhood education (ECE) services and six schools have worked together to explore teacher practice and research the impact of teacher pedagogy on the transition, wellbeing, and academic engagement of tamariki in their community. The findings demonstrate that while, initially, there was little… Read more

Practicum is understood as a critical part of initial teacher education, and associate teachers play a vital and influential role for student teachers in their practicum experience. A substantial amount of research has focused on understanding the perspective of student teachers during their practicums, as well as the requirements of the associate teacher role. However, there is little information regarding the motivation of associate teachers in undertaking this type of a role. This article… Read more

Professionalism in early childhood teaching is shaped within contexts, relationships, and multiple discourses of professionalism, as well as historical and enduring maternalism. This article uses posthumanist ideas from Deleuze and Guattari to reframe professionalism as produced in relationships among human and other-than-human aspects of early childhood settings, including materials, theories, and regulations. This article unpacks two data excerpts from a research study into emotions in… Read more