Immigrant families face many cultural and adjustment issues, including children’s engagement in early childhood education (ECE). Through research-based interviews, nine Indian parents shared their perceptions of their children’s experiences in New Zealand ECE. They identified positive experiences and concerns related to curriculum, language development, teacher’s attitudes, children’s participation, and EC ...

In Aotearoa New Zealand, populations of Pacific peoples increased by 45% between 2006 and 2018 (Statistics New Zealand, 2018). Consequently, teachers need to be equipped with knowledge, skills, and resources to be able to respond to Pacific learners and communities appropriately and effectively. This article presents findings from a research ...

Young children learn how to communicate with others through their everyday interactions and social relationships. In this article, we argue that stories about personal experiences are a valuable context for exploring how 1-year-old toddlers learn to engage with others across their family homes and early childhood settings. We demonstrate how ...

This article focuses on the powerful role of Samoan women sustaining the language and culture in Aotearoa. It presents findings from my Master’s thesis that explored the experiences of seven Samoan women who were involved in the establishment of three a’oga amata (Samoan early childhood centres) in Christchurch (Togiaso, 2017) ...

Early childhood education (ECE) settings in Aotearoa New Zealand are becoming increasingly ethnically superdiverse. This article draws on a research project that examined the cultural challenges that Japanese children sometimes encounter in New Zealand ECE contexts which was undertaken for my Doctor of Education. Data were analysed using a conceptual ...

This article presents findings from a doctoral study which examined the ways teaching teams in six New Zealand early childhood education (ECE) centres fostered and supported young children’s scientific experiences. The focus of this article is the pedagogical practice of using provocations to facilitate scientific opportunities. The way provocations fostered ...

Despite more than a century of academic scrutiny on parental discipline of children, parents’ use of positive discipline practices is not well understood. This article draws from a larger study (Southey, 2020) aimed at understanding the prosocial practices parents use to guide their children’s social, emotional, and behavioural development, and ...

He Taonga te Tamaiti, Every Child a Taonga: Early Learning Action Plan 2019–2029 (Ministry of Education, 2019) presents goals directed towards strengthening quality provision in early childhood education (ECE) in Aotearoa New Zealand, including actions needed to attract and retain a diverse range of kaiako in the sector. Because “Kaiako ...

Excessive noise levels in early childhood centres have a direct impact on the learning of young children, as well as on the wellbeing of teachers. Psycho-acoustic studies show that noise is a key factor contributing to elevated adult stress levels and annoyance, leading to lower levels of adult sensitivity to ...

Working theories form an overarching learning outcome interdependent with learning dispositions in Te Whāriki. Working theories encompass children’s embodied, communicative, and social efforts to learn, think, and develop knowledge that enables children to participate effectively in their families, communities, and cultures. To support children’s learning and participation, kaiako are expected ...