Nāu i Whatu te Kākahu, He Tāniko Taku

Search
Close this search box.

Children’s working theories about identity, language, and culture –
O faugamanatu a fanau e sa’ili ai o latou fa’asinomaga, gagana ma aganu’u

Introduction Ma’au i lou ofaga, maua’a i lou faasinomaga. Keep your identity alive to thrive. This 2-year collaborative research project focused on young children’s working theories about identity, language, and culture, how early childhood teachers can nurture and encourage this learning, and how this in turn impacts on children’s participation in early childhood education (ECE) communities. The project builds on a previous Teaching and Learning Research Initiative (TLRI) project that explored children’s working theories in action in five Playcentres in Canterbury (Davis & Peters, 2011). That project showed ways children express and develop working theories, how practitioners understand these, and how best to respond to this learning (Davis & Peters, 2011).

Read More »

What’s special about teaching and learning in the first years? Investigating the “what, hows and whys” of relational pedagogy with infants and toddlers

Introductory statement What is special about teaching infants and toddlers? How can the “what, hows and whys” of infant toddler pedagogy[1] be articulated and enhanced to support learning? These questions were at the heart of a two-year study in which researchers teamed up with teachers in five infant and toddler centres in Auckland and Wellington to gather practice-based evidence about pedagogy as the art and science of teaching and learning in this under-researched area of early childhood education and care. Key findings The study found that theorising about children’s learning through discussions of video data enabled the teachers to “really look” at their teaching and open up taken-for-granted meanings about the

Read More »

Moments of wonder, everyday events: Children’s working theories in action

This two-year research project explored children’s working theories in action. We looked at the ways young children expressed their working theories and how these were understood and fostered in Playcentre[1] environments. The findings show ways that children express and develop working theories, how practitioners understand these, and how best to respond to this learning. Key findings Working theories are rich sites for deep and complex learning. Fostering working theories presents a number of dilemmas for adults working with young children. There are particular ways adults can “be”, and interact with children, that can nurture children’s working theories. Major implications Adults working with young children need to be attuned to the variety

Read More »

Enhancing mathematics teaching and learning in early childhood settings

1. Aims, objectives, and research questions Aim The overall aim of the project was to engage early childhood teachers in investigating and improving their expertise in the teaching and learning of mathematics. The intention of the project was to develop a research environment through which researchers and kindergarten teachers worked collaboratively, using action research methodology, to explore means by which mathematical outcomes for children could be maximised. The research arose from the premise that within the field of mathematics education, while much has been written about mathematical experiences of both learners and teachers in the compulsory (school) sectors of education, very little is documented on mathematical learning and teaching in the

Read More »
Logo White medium small