Families are central to the lives of children, and in New Zealand there is a great diversity of family configurations. Bishop (1990) has described children’s literature as having a dual purpose. It may provide a window into another world and it may also act as a mirror for the lives of the reader ...

Early childhood teachers are expected to participate in regular self-review processes that often include the analysis of documents such as centre philosophy and policies. The Education Review Office has identified the need for better analysis of the information gathered for self-review. This article suggests the application of a critical discourse analysis approach to ...

This article explores findings from a study based on experiences of children, parents, and teachers in a changing early childhood education service. The theoretical framework of social constructionist theory underpinned the study. This theory values the multiplicity of meaning-making processes and the existence of many understandings rather than one pure truth. The article pays ...

This article reports on a qualitative study exploring the extent that the Apple iPad can be used to support assessment in an early childhood education (ECE) context. It is part of wider project exploring the educational affordances of the iPad in one ECE context from the perspectives of teachers, parents ...

Online portfolios, which allow teachers, families and children to document and share children’s experiences and learning, are increasingly used by New Zealand early childhood education (ECE) services. This study examined teachers’ and families’ engagement through one online portfolio system. An online survey gathered management, teacher, and whānau perspectives from 80 ...

Documentation of children’s assessment for learning is a vital cog in the turning gears of early childhood education (ECE). This article examines findings from a current research study comparing teacher, parent, and whānau engagement with, and use of, paper-based portfolios traditionally used in an ECE setting and newly introduced online ...

The authors of this article explore one child’s connections between the dispositional learning outcomes recognised during the child’s time at kindergarten, and those of the key competencies of the school curriculum. The kindergarten teachers who worked with the child came to think of these learning dispositions as part of the contents of the ...

This article considers ways in which early childhood educators in Aotearoa New Zealand might draw upon te ao Māori conceptualisations in delivering pedagogies that foster and enhance dispositions of empathy, compassion, and caring, thereby strengthening children’s emotional and social competence as well as their self-control. It first outlines some theoretical considerations from both ...

Relationships lie at the heart of early childhood education principles, curriculum, and pedagogy. Building strong relationships is taken for granted as a capacity all teachers possess; yet this might be an area of practice in which teachers need support and professional guidance. In this article, we examine and discuss what teachers do to ...