Description:
Reports the findings of a doctoral study that examined the assessment of practicum in early childhood initial teacher education and, in particular, the way in which practicum assessment was enacted and experienced by early childhood student teachers, associate teachers, and teacher educators within institutional contexts. Provides insights into how teacher educators define their role, what they look for and hope for in the assessment process, as well as the challenges faced in making authentic, appropriate and informed assessment decisions. Source: National Library of New Zealand Te Puna Matauranga o Aotearoa, licensed by the Department of Internal Affairs for re-use under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 New Zealand Licence.
Description:
Reports the findings of a doctoral study that examined the assessment of practicum in early childhood initial teacher education and, in particular, the way in which practicum assessment was enacted and experienced by early childhood student teachers, associate teachers, and teacher educators within institutional contexts. Provides insights into how teacher educators define their role, what they look for and hope for in the assessment process, as well as the challenges faced in making authentic, appropriate and informed assessment decisions. Source: National Library of New Zealand Te Puna Matauranga o Aotearoa, licensed by the Department of Internal Affairs for re-use under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 New Zealand Licence.
Description:
Assessment, teaching and learning are intertwined concepts and are at the heart of quality teaching (Absolum, Flockton, Hattie, Hipkins and Reid, 2009 Ministry of Education (MoE), 2011). With its shifts in assessment-related content, the revision of Te Whariki (MoE, 2017), provides timely opportunity to explore early childhood teachers' understandings and practices related to assessment (McLachlan, 2018).
Description:
Assessment, teaching and learning are intertwined concepts and are at the heart of quality teaching (Absolum, Flockton, Hattie, Hipkins and Reid, 2009 Ministry of Education (MoE), 2011). With its shifts in assessment-related content, the revision of Te Whariki (MoE, 2017), provides timely opportunity to explore early childhood teachers' understandings and practices related to assessment (McLachlan, 2018).
Description:
Explores how building a data culture can support teachers to intentionally gather and use data from a rich array of sources to inform their understandings of children and strengthen their own practices. Focuses on how using data can promote quality across ECE curriculum, pedagogy, assessment, and evaluation. Refers to the authors' Data, Knowledge, Action programme of research to discuss how researchers and teachers have been working together to design and try out new data systems, and the insights gained about the processes and supports needed to develop a data culture and use data effectively in ECE settings. Source: National Library of New Zealand Te Puna Matauranga o Aotearoa, licensed by the Department of Internal Affairs for re-use under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 New Zealand Licence.
Description:
This chapter will provide a brief introduction to literacy research with children in the early years (birth to 8 years) and will identify some of the pressing issues and concerns in research on early literacy. The theoretical framework which underpins many of the studies is explored, identifying that much research into early literacy has employed socio-pyscho-linguistic, social practice and cultural historical explanations of how children learn. The unifying theme of early multi literacies is explored. An overview of the chapters in the book is provided, along with comment on how each chapter contributes to the growing body of early childhood literacy research.
Description:
In order to support children’s physical health and well-being in early childhood education programmes, it is important to understand how teacher practices concerned with physical activity and nutrition can be addressed effectively. Current evidence suggests that young children’s opportunities for physical activity in early childhood are increasingly limited. This study assessed how teachers’ knowledge and skills changed as the result of the implementation of a 10-week physical activity intervention programme (Jumping Beans) and participation in a related professional development programme. Participating teachers in four centres were interviewed before and after the intervention. Overall, qualitative and quantitative data from teacher interview data were highly positive, as a result of their participation. However, further research about how teachers’ skills can be enhanced to intentionally teach with confidence in curriculum domains related to physical health and physical literacy needs to be considered.
Description:
Since the 1990s, New Zealand/Aotearoa has been a leader in providing quality early childhood education (ECE) for children/tamariki and their families/whānau. ECE represents a diverse set of services for children under the age of five. A unique feature of the New Zealand system is the integration of education and care for young children, under the Ministry of Education. Services are licensed as teacher-, whānau- or parent-led, and may be located in centre, community or home settings. A diversity of philosophical approaches to ECE are evident, including services specifically focused on promoting Māori and Pasifika languages and cultures. Recent trends towards increased private, including corporate, ownership and reductions in services offering half-day programmes are also evident. The system is nationally regulated and is monitored and publicly reported by the Education Review Office. The early childhood curriculum, Te Whāriki: He Whariki Matauranga mō ngā Mokopuna o Aotearoa (Ministry of Education, 1996), is holistic, culturally responsive and inclusive of all children and their families. However, there has been no formal evaluation of this curriculum, but recent critique of this document in relation to how equipped teachers and centres are to implement this holistic, competence-based curriculum has been undertaken. Very recently, the Ministry of Education called for an update of Te Whāriki. This chapter will critique the ‘old’ and ‘new’ curriculum in light of the framework, curriculum goals and the cultural gains and restraints the curriculum places on New Zealand parents, teachers and children. Implications for practice and for future research will be explored.
Description:
Since the 1990s, New Zealand/Aotearoa has been a leader in providing quality early childhood education (ECE) for children/tamariki and their families/wh
Efficacy of a compulsory homework programme for increasing physical activity and improving nutrition in children: A cluster randomised controlled trial
Description:
This edited collection provides an in-depth exploration of different aspects of contemporary early childhood literacy research and the implications for educational practice. Each chapter details how the research was conducted and any issues that researchers encountered in collecting data with very young children, as well as what the research findings mean for educational practice. It includes photographs of effective literacy practice, detailed explanations of research methods so the studies can be replicated or expanded upon, and key features for promoting effective literacy practice in early childhood settings. This book is an essential read for everyone who is interested in exploring the complexities and challenges of researching literacy acquisition in the youngest children.
Description:
Children’s physical activity levels have decreased significantly over the past 20 - 30 years, coinciding with obesity rates reaching epidemic levels. There is little research into typically developing preschool (birth to 5 year-olds) children’s physical activity, with the majority of research focusing on children at risk of motor skill or neurological deficiencies. This review examines current research into young children’s development, especially motor development and physical activity, the effectiveness of intervention programmes for promoting children’s physical development and the various methods used to assess physical development. A decrease in children’s physical activity levels has coincided with an increase in obesity rates. Further research is needed to determine culturally and contextually appropriate and effective interventions for preschool children. Areas for further research include preschool children’s physical activity, particularly in regards to movement guidelines and requirements for this age-group and ways to overcome potential barriers to meeting physical activity requirements. Young children’s physical activity and motor skill proficiency may be an important predictor of later-life physically active behaviors. Physical literacy and physical activity interventions within early childhood education could potentially support academic skills as well as physical skills and behaviors.
Description:
Children’s physical activity levels have decreased significantly over the past 20 - 30 years, coinciding with obesity rates reaching epidemic levels. There is little research into typically developing preschool (birth to 5 year-olds) children’s physical activity, with the majority of research focusing on children at risk of motor skill or neurological deficiencies. This review examines current research into young children’s development, especially motor development and physical activity, the effectiveness of intervention programmes for promoting children’s physical development and the various methods used to assess physical development. A decrease in children’s physical activity levels has coincided with an increase in obesity rates. Further research is needed to determine culturally and contextually appropriate and effective interventions for preschool children. Areas for further research include preschool children’s physical activity, particularly in regards to movement guidelines and requirements for this age-group and ways to overcome potential barriers to meeting physical activity requirements. Young children’s physical activity and motor skill proficiency may be an important predictor of later-life physically active behaviors. Physical literacy and physical activity interventions within early childhood education could potentially support academic skills as well as physical skills and behaviors.
Description:
This research explored the biliteracy experiences of three kōhanga reo children as they started school in one of three school settings: a bilingual unit, a mainstream classroom, and kura kaupapa Māori. A Kaupapa Māori approach underpinned this research and guided the case study methodology employed. The children’s literacy experiences were observed on school entry and parents and teachers from each setting were interviewed regarding their aspirations for children and approaches to literacy. Key findings include the importance of effective teaching strategies, relationship building, the classroom environment, the reading programme employed, and approaches to assessment. The study highlights the importance of teachers who have culturally responsive pedagogies and can adapt pedagogies to meet the literacy learning needs of kōhanga reo children as they transition to school. It also highlights the need for further understanding of biliteracy learning in Aotearoa New Zealand schools, and the importance of assessment tools appropriate for bilingual children.
Description:
Since the 1960s, concerns for beginning teachers have attracted extensive attention. High attrition rates among beginning teachers have been an international challenge, which is costly for a nation's budget. To improve the retention of new teachers, it is imperative to understand what beginning teachers have experienced in their professional practice. This qualitative research examined the career development trajectories of beginning kindergarten teachers in China. The experiences of 23 kindergarten teachers from Nanjing were investigated through semi-structured interviews. Using grounded theory, this research identified four main themes and four career development trajectories. Themes include orientation, mastery, re-examination and self-validation, while career development trajectories reveal that teacher career development is not unilinear, but diverse. These findings are crucial in raising the awareness of researchers and practitioners about the diversities and possibilities of teacher career development trajectories. Further implications for researchers, teacher educators and kindergarten teachers are discussed.
Description:
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This study was funded by MOE (Ministry of Education in China) Project of Humanities and Social Sciences (Grant Number: 17YJA880025), The 13th Five-year Plan for Educational Science in Jiangsu Province (Grant Number: B-a/2016/01/34), and Excellent Preschool Teacher Preparation Program of MOE.