From 2018 to 2020, teachers at Hillcrest Kindergarten in Hamilton have been working alongside a team of researchers from the University of Waikato in a TLRI-funded research project, “Strengthening belonging and identity of refugee and immigrant children through early childhood education”. The research aims to develop theories and practice strategies ...

This article discusses findings from research investigating ways teachers at one early childhood centre fostered children’s sense of belonging through making cultural connections with children and their families. The research is part of a University of Waikato project, funded by the Teaching and Learning Research Initiative (TLRI), “Strengthening belonging and ...

This article draws from a 2-year TLRI-funded research project looking at how four early childhood centres constructed positive outcomes for children from migrant families. The research questions focused on how the people, places, and practices in early childhood settings support a sense of bicultural belonging to Aotearoa New Zealand, sustain ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...