The main findings from a literature review exploring thinking skills in the early years (for children aged three to seven) are summarised, and some practical recommendations for teachers seeking to further promote thinking skills in the early years are provided.

Emeritus Professor Anne Smith, from the Children’s Issues Centre at the University of Otago, was asked to distil three key ideas from their work over the years.

As the first early childhood e-Fellow, the author worked with five case-study children at Westmere Kindergarten to research whether Internet and communication technology (ICT) can enhance young children’s storytelling. This article shares the story of one of the case-study children, Casper, to illustrate the overall research findings, which suggest that ...

Can traditional definitions of professionalism be reconceptualised to respond to the unique and evolving characteristics of quality early childhood practice? As part of a larger analysis, this article explores the views of teachers working in care and education settings on the nature of professional behaviour in early childhood education.

This article looks at how the belief system of “special” education can act as a barrier to inclusion in early childhood education for children with disabilities and their families. The author suggests that changes in special education thought and practice are necessary if early childhood education is to progress inclusion ...

The findings of a recent Teaching and Learning Research Initiative project. Researchers used a collaborative whakawhanaungatanga approach to explore how early childhood educators in settings other than kōhanga reo encourage whānau Māori to participate in early childhood education. They identified strategies by which early childhood educators are implementing their understandings ...

This article looks at ways of bridging the discontinuities young children experience between three settings: the home environment, the early childhood setting, and the new entrant classroom. It highlights the empowerment that occurs for children, families, and teachers in early childhood and school settings when children’s experiences at home are ...

The question of how to define and describe quality in early childhood services has been a matter of debate, both in New Zealand and internationally. This article discusses definitions of quality, drawing on examples from Norway and Japan to demonstrate the complexity involved in judging what is good or bad ...