Understanding Culturally Responsive Play Through Drama-Based Pedagogy

2021 ◽

pp. 617-634

Author(s):

Holly B. McCartney ◽

Joshua Rashon Streeter ◽

Aaron T. Bodle

Keyword(s):

Early Childhood ◽

Culturally Responsive ◽

School Administrators ◽

Role Play ◽

Critical Role ◽

Empirical Work ◽

Scientific Support ◽

Neurological Research ◽

Definition Of ◽

Early Childhood Settings

In this chapter, the authors outline three critical professional and ethical considerations for school leaders in early childhood settings to consider when examining the importance of including play in early childhood curricula. Beginning with an exploration of the critical role play serves in the lives of young children and positing that fundamentally, play is broadly supported across the domains of early childhood through theoretical and empirical work as well as more recent scientific support from neurological research. The authors outline a broader definition of play beyond a Eurocentric vision, and the ways in which school administrators can and should view play as culturally responsive pedagogy through the use of drama-based pedagogy.

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Supporting toddlers as competent story navigators across home and early childhood contexts

10.18296/ecf.0095 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 3-8

Author(s):

Amanda White ◽

Irene Padtoc

Keyword(s):

Early Childhood ◽

Young Children ◽

Social Relationships ◽

Critical Role ◽

Home Language ◽

Personal Story ◽

Personal Experiences ◽

Role Of Teachers ◽

Early Childhood Settings

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 Lexie, aged 16 months, communicated multimodally as she contributed to a personal story about her experience of eating lunch. Lexie’s competence as a storyteller was supported by a teacher who shared her cultural background and home language. Lexie’s story highlights the critical role of teachers in supporting story interactions in attuned and reciprocal ways that allow the competencies of 1-year-old toddlers as learners and communicators to be recognised and extended.

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A Comparative Study of Immigrant Children Starting Childcare

Exceptionality Education International ◽

10.5206/eei.v27i2.7753 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 27 (2) ◽

Author(s):

Karen Guo

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Early Childhood ◽

New Zealand ◽

Comparative Study ◽

Learning Environments ◽

Critical Role ◽

Approaches To Learning ◽

The United States ◽

Immigrant Children ◽

Early Childhood Settings

This comparative study investigated the experiences of starting childcare of three immigrant children in three different learning environments in New Zealand. The notion of learning environment was explored as a way of thinking about how different people, places, and approaches to learning have interacted to create a particular site for the children’s beginning experiences in early childhood settings. The study sheds light on multiple perceptions and experiences with regard to immigrant children and their learning. Child observations, child interviews, and teacher and parent interviews were conducted in each child’s setting. Findings suggest that early childhood environments played a critical role in supporting immigrant children’s transition from homes to early childhood centres if they were informed by the principles of familiarity, care, and collaboration. Immigrant children’s motivation to drive their own learning also provoked reflection on education both in New Zealand and other immigrant-receiving countries such as Canada, the United States, and Australia.

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Children’s ‘working theories’ as curriculum outcomes

10.1093/oso/9780198747109.003.0016 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Sally Peters ◽

Keryn Davis ◽

Ruta McKenzie

Keyword(s):

Early Childhood ◽

New Zealand ◽

Adult Child ◽

Early Childhood Curriculum ◽

Complex Thinking ◽

Young Learners ◽

Early Childhood Settings ◽

Te Whāriki ◽

Sense Of Wonder

This chapter explores how children make sense of their world through the development and refinement of ‘working theories’. Working theories are a key item for young learners, and are emphasized in the New Zealand early childhood curriculum Te Whāriki. Children’s working theories develop in environments where they have opportunities to engage in complex thinking with others, observe, listen, participate, and discuss, within the context of topics and activities. It is through interactions and activities that children begin to own the ideas and beliefs of their culture and begin to make sense of their worlds. However, fostering this learning in early childhood settings is not always easy, and requires skilled adults who can respond appropriately. We explore and discuss the nature of children’s working theories and ways in which adult–child interactions can enhance or inhibit a sense of wonder and curiosity.

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Training may enhance early childhood educators’ self-efficacy to lead physical activity in childcare

BMC Public Health ◽

10.1186/s12889-021-10400-z ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Brianne A. Bruijns ◽

Andrew M. Johnson ◽

Jennifer D. Irwin ◽

Shauna M. Burke ◽

Molly Driediger ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Early Childhood ◽

Self Efficacy ◽

Critical Role ◽

Early Childhood Educators ◽

Outdoor Play ◽

Future Research ◽

Intervention Component ◽

Space Extension ◽

The Impact

Abstract Background Early childhood educators (ECEs) play a critical role in promoting physical activity (PA) among preschoolers in childcare; thus, PA-related training for ECEs is essential. The Supporting PA in the Childcare Environment (SPACE) intervention incorporated: 1. shorter, more frequent outdoor play sessions; 2. provision of portable play equipment; and, PA training for ECEs. An extension of the SPACE intervention (the SPACE-Extension) incorporated only the shorter, more frequent outdoor play periods component of the original SPACE intervention. The purpose of this study was to explore the individual impact of these interventions on ECEs’ PA-related self-efficacy and knowledge. Methods ECEs from the SPACE (n = 83) and SPACE-Extension (n = 31) were administered surveys at all intervention time-points to assess: self-efficacy to engage preschoolers in PA (n = 6 items; scale 0 to 100); self-efficacy to implement the intervention (n = 6 items); and, knowledge of preschooler-specific PA and screen-viewing guidelines (n = 2 items). A linear mixed effects model was used to analyze the impact of each intervention on ECEs’ self-efficacy and knowledge and controlled for multiple comparison bias. Results The SPACE intervention significantly impacted ECEs’ self-efficacy to engage preschoolers in PA for 180 min/day (main effect), and when outdoor playtime was not an option (interaction effect). Further, the interaction model for ECEs’ knowledge of the total PA guideline for preschoolers approached significance when compared to the main effects model. Participants within the SPACE-Extension did not demonstrate any significant changes in self-efficacy or knowledge variables. Conclusions Findings from this study highlight the benefit of ECE training in PA with regard to fostering their PA-related self-efficacy and knowledge. Future research should explore the impact of PA training for ECEs uniquely in order to determine if this intervention component, alone, can produce meaningful changes in children’s PA behaviours at childcare.

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Supporting Children’s Healthy Development During Mealtime in Early Childhood Settings

Early Childhood Education Journal ◽

10.1007/s10643-020-01137-2 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Adrien D. Malek-Lasater ◽

Kyong-Ah Kwon ◽

Diane M. Horm ◽

Susan B. Sisson ◽

Dipti A. Dev ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Early Childhood ◽

Healthy Development ◽

Early Childhood Settings

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Public Personnel Management Process Capability Assessment

Public Personnel Management ◽

10.1177/0091026019833412 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 49 (1) ◽

pp. 111-140 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Ebru Gökalp ◽

Onur Demirörs ◽

P. Erhan Eren

Keyword(s):

Personnel Management ◽

Critical Role ◽

Process Capability ◽

Software Process Improvement ◽

Management Process ◽

Process Definition ◽

Multiple Case ◽

Generate Process ◽

The Government ◽

Definition Of

Personnel management plays a critical role in the success of public organizations. Our literature review shows that there is a lack of systematic guidance on how to improve Public Personnel Management Process (PPMP) quality. Software Process Improvement and Capability Determination (SPICE) is a process assessment framework that is successfully used by software organizations during the past two decades. The framework can also be used as a baseline to generate process capability models for different specific domains/sectors. We have utilized this approach for the government domain and we developed the process definition of PPMP. To observe the benefits and usability of the model, we have performed a multiple case study, including the assessments of three organizations’ PPMP capability levels and the development of action plans for PPMP improvement. The findings show that the proposed approach is applicable for identifying the PPMP capability levels and is capable of providing a roadmap for moving to the next level.

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