scholarly journals Space speaks: A portrait of an early childhood centre and the affordances provided by the learning environment

2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 26-34
Author(s):  
Katrina McChesney ◽  
Jeanette Clarkin-Phillips
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Early Childhood Education ◽  
Learning Environment ◽  
Learning Environments ◽  
Reggio Emilia ◽  
Children And Families ◽  
Childhood Education ◽  
Education And Care ◽  
Early Childhood Learning

The quality of early childhood education and care fundamentally depends on teachers’ wise practice. However, the environments in which that education and care occur can influence, inform, and shape teachers’ practice, and children’s and families’ experiences. This article draws on a written “portrait” of the learning environment created at one New Zealand early childhood education (ECE) centre, capturing both physical and non-physical aspects of the environment and highlighting the affordances the environment offered to children and families/whānau. A Reggio Emilia lens is used to inform analysis of the learning environment and the associated affordances. The portrait (McChesney, 2020) and this article may support practitioners by providing a vision of what can be in terms of early childhood learning environments, and by providing a possible framework for self-review and inquiry.

Social Investment and Childcare Expansion

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margarita León
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Early Childhood Education ◽  
Perfect Match ◽  
Preschool Education ◽  
Conceptual Level ◽  
Social Investment ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
Childhood Education ◽  
Education And Care

The chapter first examines at a conceptual level the links between theories of social investment and childcare expansion. Although ‘the perfect match’ between the two is often taken for granted in the specialized literature as well as in policy papers, it is here argued that a more nuance approach that ‘unpacks’ this relationship is needed. The chapter will then look for elements of variation in early childhood education and care (ECEC) expansion. Despite an increase in spending over the last two decades in many European and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries, wide variation still exists in the way in which ECEC develops. A trade-off is often observed between coverage and quality of provision. A crucial dividing line that determines, to a large extent, the quality of provision in ECEC is the increasing differentiation between preschool education for children aged 3 and above and childcare for younger children.

scholarly journals Australian Research in Early Childhood Education and Care: Insights Into the Actual; Imagining the Possible

2021 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 291-310
Author(s):  
Susanne Garvis ◽  
Sivanes Phillipson ◽  
Shane N. Phillipson
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
Early Childhood ◽  
Early Childhood Education ◽  
Diverse Range ◽  
Childhood Education ◽  
Research Areas ◽  
Research Perspectives ◽  
Education And Care ◽  
Teacher Aides

Early childhood education and care (ECEC) remains a priority area for public policy, internationally and in Australia. However, an analysis of empirical research published internationally up to 2008 has identified a bias toward positivist methodologies within a “scientific/psychological’ rather than educational perspective and with a focus on the interactions between preschoolers, family, and child care variables. For some researchers, this bias raises concerns that public policy in ECEC is based on limited research perspectives. This chapter examines research focusing on the Australian context and published between 2010 and 2014 to determine whether this bias exists in Australian research. We explore the quality of ECEC research to develop an overall understanding of the current situation of ECEC research in Australia. Our findings suggest that Australian research in ECEC is very dissimilar to research published internationally, especially in its reliance on qualitative paradigms and a focus on the educators (principals, teachers, and teacher aides). The strong qualitative focus may allow a diverse range of voices within the ECEC sector to be heard and identified, moving beyond traditional notions of historically marginalized individuals and communities that dominate other education research areas.

scholarly journals Quality Improvement Of Early Childhood Education Through The Utilization Of Multimedia

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 174
Author(s):  
I Ketut Sudarsana
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Quality Improvement ◽  
Early Childhood Education ◽  
Child Development ◽  
Literature Study ◽  
Childhood Education ◽  
Teachers And Parents ◽  
Early Childhood Learning

<p>This paper aimed to describe the improvement of the quality of early childhood learning by utilizing various multimedia. The method used was a literature study by exploring various thoughts in various sources that have focused on conducting studies on early childhood education and various multimedia developed. Improving the quality of early childhood learning is very important to be performed in an effort to educate children as early as possible, so that children grow and develop as intelligent individuals, both intellectually, emotionally and spiritually. Teachers and parents need to understand and use various multimedia and guide children so that various aspects of development such as phases and tasks of child development can take place optimally.</p>

Babies’ transition between family and early childhood education and care: a mosaic of discourses about quality of services

2020 ◽  
Vol 40 (4-5) ◽  
pp. 429-448
Author(s):  
Gabriela G. De C. Tebet ◽  
Natália Santos ◽  
Julia Costa ◽  
Bruna Lima Santos ◽  
Loani Cristina Buzo Pontes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Early Childhood Education ◽  
Quality Of Services ◽  
Childhood Education ◽  
Education And Care

scholarly journals Interactions between children and their early childhood educators: The effect of cultural match on communication

2019 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 48-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gwendalyn Webb ◽  
Cori Williams
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Early Childhood Education ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Care Setting ◽  
Early Childhood Setting ◽  
Cultural Match ◽  
Childhood Education ◽  
Education And Care ◽  
Aboriginal Children

This paper describes the findings of research into children’s interactions with educators who were of the same or different culture from that of the children. The research investigated the effect of cultural context on the children’s communication and the quality of their interactions in one mainstream early childhood setting. Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal educators were video-recorded interacting with Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal children in an early childhood education and care setting. The interactions between the children and their educators were categorised according to whether the culture of the educator matched that of the child (cultural match), or not (cultural non-match). The interactions were transcribed and the children’s communication analysed across a variety of linguistic measures. Results indicated that the children’s communication with their educators differed in qualitative but not quantitative measures in response to cultural match. These findings support the need for further research in this area.

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