This article presents a fine-detail analysis of one observation from a wider ethnographic study of four-year-old children in a primary school in mid-Wales. The social interactions of the participating children show the multifaceted nature of children’s everyday social organisation. By investigating the complexities of children’s social interactions, their social competencies ...

This article explores teaching games of chase in the early childhood curriculum. It identifies three areas of teacher involvement: (1) developing a framework for playing games, which prompts the teacher to create teaching strategies that consider both the value of and issues with games in early childhood; (2) engaging with ...

This article looks at the experiences of same-gender parents and their children when they encounter and challenge heteronormativity in early education settings. Drawing on a study that investigated how lesbians and gay men create and maintain family in contemporary New Zealand society, the article highlights the disparity between family experiences ...

The articles in this edition of Early Childhood Folio are likely to generate thinking that challenges taken-for-granted practice and beliefs. They all draw on research within early childhood settings.

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...