Teaching for Emergent Disciplinary Drawing in Science? Comparing Teachers’ and Children’s Ways of Representing Science Content in Early Childhood Classrooms

This classroom-based study aims to contribute knowledge about children’s opportunities to make use of drawing to make meaning in science. Employing a social semiotic approach to drawing, we examine what ways of representing science content that are (1) made available by the teacher and (2) adopted in children’s drawings. We analysed observation data from 11 science lessons in early childhood classrooms (children aged 3 to 8 years), including the drawings that children made during those lessons (129 drawings in total). Our findings suggest that the semiotic resources that teachers provide have a large impact on how children represent science content in their drawings. Moreover, we interpret that teachers strive to support children’s ‘emergent disciplinary drawing’ in science, since they predominantly provided semiotic resources where the science content was generalised and decontextualised. Finally, we propose that ‘emergent disciplinary drawing’ is incorporated as an element of science pedagogy in ECE practice and ECE teacher education.

Play in early childhood classrooms during COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic posed major challenges for the lives of children in terms of school closures, loss of routine, reduced social contact, bereavement and trauma. The pandemic also gave rise to a focus on play as a fundamental support for children’s wellbeing. This study examined early childhood teachers’ practices surrounding play upon returning to school in Ireland after lockdown restrictions which included a six-month period of school closures. Building on previous research on play in early childhood education during the early stages of the pandemic, this qualitative study examined the practices of 12 primary school teachers in early childhood classrooms (children aged 3-8 years). Through reflexive thematic analysis of three focus groups, four themes were identified that encapsulated teachers’ practices regarding play in the early childhood classroom upon returning to school following school closures: 1) play was more organised and structured (i.e. teachers planned for play); 2) teachers incorporated COVID-19-specific regulations around health and safety into play practices (3) play in the classroom embodied similar characteristics and qualities as pre-COVID-19; and 4) play was a recognised priority in the early childhood classroom. For educational policy, these findings highlight play as a ‘go-to’ strategy by teachers for supporting children in formal education during a pandemic and indicate that play is a well-established context that can be used in educational policies to support children’s learning, especially during and after times of crises.