Accessible Portfolios: Making it Happen in My Centre: an Action Research Study

10.26686/wgtn.16926466 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

◽

Lynne Steele

Keyword(s):

Early Childhood ◽

Action Research ◽

Teaching And Learning ◽

World View ◽

Pedagogical Practices ◽

Theoretical Frameworks ◽

Early Childhood Care ◽

Childhood Care ◽

Self Study ◽

Teacher Researcher

<p>This thesis explores how I improved my portfolios assessment practices by making children s portfolios freely available to children, their parents and whānau in the early childhood care and education centre where I worked. As the teacher researcher I present an insider perspective, my world view on how I improved my pedagogical practices in order to gain a deeper understanding of children s learning, and my role in supporting children s learning. This study has two components, a) the writer as the teacher researcher and, b) accessibility of children s portfolios and the involvement of children in the portfolio process. This study uses a qualitative research design, a mixed methodology of self-study action research and case study. Three theories, ecological, sociocultural, and Donald Schön s (1983) theory of learning and practice have informed and guided this research. This eclectic mix of theoretical frameworks provided me with some valuable insights on ways of examining and using portfolios with children, and understanding children s views on their portfolios. The findings in this study are particular to the centre where I worked and they may not be generalisable to other early childhood care and education centres. Nonetheless, my experiences highlight the potential importance of the process and issues that arise from making portfolios accessible. The findings revealed that my experiences of engaging in self-study action research promoted within the centre a community of learners, and an enquiry approach to teaching and learning. The findings of this study suggest that making portfolios freely available provides children with an understanding of the purpose, contents and ownership of their portfolios. When children frequently use and share their portfolios with peers and teachers it can promote critical self-reflection and self-assessment of their learning. Involving children in the portfolio process makes visible to children the value of their contributions to their learning. Overall, this study has significantly improved my pedagogical practices. It has enhanced teachers learning which has in turn, benefited the children s learning. Beyond that, making the portfolios accessible has strengthened parental understanding of their children s experiences at the centre.</p>

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Teaching and Learning Science in Early Childhood Care and Education

The Wiley Handbook of Early Childhood Care and Education ◽

10.1002/9781119148104.ch16 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 355-375

Author(s):

Valarie L. Akerson

Keyword(s):

Early Childhood ◽

Teaching And Learning ◽

Learning Science ◽

Early Childhood Care ◽

Childhood Care

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“Don’t Delay Learning”: Igniting Promotion of Pedagogical Transformation Strategies in Early Childhood Care Education

International Journal of Learning Teaching and Educational Research ◽

10.26803/ijlter.20.5.10 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 20 (5) ◽

pp. 177-188

Author(s):

Shawe Thulebona ◽

Nhase Zukiswa ◽

Dube Bekithemba

Keyword(s):

Early Childhood ◽

Learning Strategies ◽

Teaching And Learning ◽

Hybrid Approach ◽

Pedagogical Strategies ◽

Face To Face ◽

Care Education ◽

Early Childhood Care ◽

Childhood Care ◽

To Come

The global pandemic COVID-19 has forced traditional teaching pedagogies to meet the new educational demands such as remote learning. The safety measures and regulations of COVID-19, such as social distancing, have challenged all facets of education to transform their pedagogical strategies to mitigate the spread of the pandemic, but the rate has been slow to catch up the lost learning time in Early Childhood Care Education (ECCE). This study, underpinned in critical emancipatory research, responded to two questions: what are the challenges of ECCE in the context of COVID-19 and how ECCE could adapt ways of promoting transformative pedagogical strategies. This article underpins the notion that ECCE practitioners should be equipped with novel technology methodologies that replace traditional face-to-face teaching and learning. However, it is reasonable to believe that face-to-face teaching and learning will not be totally replaced by any other new methodology or fads; it will remain important for some years to come, especially in the lower level classes. A hybrid approach of using both the in-person and distance learning strategies for flexibility and manageability by both learners and practitioners seems promising at the moment. In short, this paper explores the challenges to explore promotion of pedagogical transformation strategies in ECCE, and offers some correctives because this will be an ongoing issue for years to come. There are no easy solutions to be packaged in fancy terminology. We argue that the early promotion of transformative pedagogical strategies will assist the children and make the practitioners’ work more flexible and understandable.

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Food Reciprocity and Sustainability in Early Childhood Care and Education in Aotearoa New Zealand

Australian Journal of Environmental Education ◽

10.1017/aee.2014.46 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 31 (1) ◽

pp. 74-85 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Jenny Ritchie

Keyword(s):

Early Childhood ◽

New Zealand ◽

Pedagogical Practices ◽

Education For Sustainability ◽

Childhood Education ◽

Aotearoa New Zealand ◽

Early Childhood Care ◽

Childhood Care ◽

Indigenous Perspectives ◽

Sustainability Practices

AbstractThis article offers a perspective from early childhood care and education in Aotearoa New Zealand. It draws from the data of four recent studies to demonstrate pedagogical practices informed by Indigenous (Māori) perspectives. Māori values, such as manaakitanga (caring, hospitality, generosity) and whanaungatanga (relatedness), are shown featuring in routines focused on provision of food and serving as a key focus of early childhood education for sustainability. It is argued that providing opportunities for children to become engaged with growing, cooking and sharing food enables them to operationalise compassion towards themselves, others and the environment, reconnecting with the source of their food and demonstrating generosity and care to others (both human and more-than-human) in their communities. This can be viewed as a pedagogical response to the increasing encroachment of neoliberalism, with its incumbent individualism and lack of collectivist consciousness or concern for the environment, into education settings. Furthermore, drawing upon Indigenous perspectives honours traditional, localised wisdom regarding sustainability practices.

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Unveiling Malaysian parents’ perspectives on existing quality of early childhood care and education

Perspectives of science and education ◽

10.32744/pse.2021.1.22 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 49 (1) ◽

pp. 318-328

Author(s):

Dan Dan Tang ◽

◽

Mogana Dhamotharan ◽

Mohd Nazri Abdul Rahman ◽

◽

...

Keyword(s):

Early Childhood ◽

Teaching And Learning ◽

National Policy ◽

Legal Framework ◽

Parent Communication ◽

Deviation Analysis ◽

Early Childhood Care ◽

Childhood Care ◽

Group Interviews

Introduction. Early childhood care and education is majorly concerning around the world. Malaysian government has formulated childhood care and education national policy and legal framework to protect the rights of childhood. However, the Education Blueprint of Malaysia acknowledged that serious problems still remain with the quality of education and the investment in education is not as high as expected. The objective of the study is to investigate parents' perspectives of quality ECCE programs with regard to center characteristics of environment, teachers, principals, curriculum as well as parent's communication and involvement opportunities. Materials and methods. Study has selected mix method approach where parent perspectives of existing quality of early childhood care and education (ECCE) in the selected states of Malaysia been obtained. The 629 questionnaires samples were distributed among the parent 's having a child in a pre-school and 22 parents took part in the focus group interviews, designed to elicit their perspectives of ECCE programs with regard to center characteristics, environment, teachers, principals, and curriculum as well as parent involvement and communication opportunities Results. Demographically results shows 60.8% female and 39.2% male participants have contributed with 32% age 31-35 years old, about 38.1% Malay followed by 32.2% Chines and 18% Indian ethnicity races were part of this study. The standard deviation analysis indicated that Parents’s perceptive on Centre Characteristics is (M=4.039, SD= 0.796) Parents’ Views on Environment (M=3.582, SD=0.953); Parents’ Views on Teachers and Principals (M=4.197, SD=0.731) Parents’ Views on Curriculum ((M=3.735, SD=0.771) and Parents’ Views on Parent Communication and Involvement Opportunities (M=4.171, SD=0.630). The overall statistical analysis shows parents’ perceptive is satisfactory on the quality of ECCE programmes. Conclusion. Study has concluded that parents have found ECCE programmes much effective where children not only enjoy but their learning improves. Parents have appreciated the quality of hygiene level and facilities in pre-school are up to the mark and standard but further can be improved. Quality of curriculum should have multilingual instruction and play based teaching and learning is suggested by the parent’s to improve.

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