scholarly journals Religious Festivals in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) Institutions: A Norwegian Case Study

2017 ◽  
Vol 16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kari Krogstad
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Early Childhood Education ◽  
National Curriculum ◽  
Childhood Education ◽  
Religious Festivals ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Education And Care ◽  
Teachers And Parents ◽  
The Ideal

This paper investigates how teachers at Norwegian early childhood education and care (ECEC) institutions interpret the national curriculum’s mandate that children should learn about religion and religious festivals. The results from an empirical study conducted in one religiously diverse ECEC, which is attended by children from both Christian and Muslim families, serve as the context for this analysis. The study identifies discrepancies between the ideal provided by the national curriculum and the reality described by teachers and parents. In the case of the ECEC studied, religion as such causes uneasiness among the teachers. As a result, Christian festivities focus more on traditions than religion, and Muslim holidays are ignored. Parents are largely uninformed about the purpose and content related to religious festivities at their children’s ECEC. A starting point in addressing teachers’ uncertainty over how to comply with the curricular mandate is to design pedagogical activities around religious festivities that aim to achieve learning and mutual understanding among the children.

Trust, Empathy and Time: Relationship Building with Families Experiencing Vulnerability and Disadvantage in Early Childhood Education and Care Services

2017 ◽  
Vol 42 (4) ◽  
pp. 4-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wendy Roberts
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Early Childhood Education ◽  
Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis ◽  
Social Inclusion ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Relationship Building ◽  
Childhood Education ◽  
Care Services ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Education And Care

THIS ARTICLE IDENTIFIES some key enablers and barriers in early childhood education and care (ECEC) environments in Australia encountered by early childhood educators and professionals (ECEPs) and by the children and their families experiencing vulnerability and disadvantage. Improving educational outcomes can change the cycle of disadvantage for children and their families. This research asks both the providers and users of services concurrently about what they think is important and effective. This qualitative case study used Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) to analyse semi-structured interview data gathered from 30 families and their children and 33 qualified ECEPs. The research focused on the enablers and barriers around social inclusion, access, participation and engagement at the different levels of system, service, children and their families, and ECEPs. The study found that the participant groups shared an understanding that empathy, trust and time proved key to relationship building as a starting point in addressing some of the key barriers. Social inclusion, access, participation and engagement are key to early learning success in early childhood—a time integral to overall health, wellbeing and future role in society. This study has led to the development of a new model for engagement and relationship building.

scholarly journals Math Skills Prioritised in the Evaluation of Early Childhood Education

2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 115-132
Author(s):  
Crislaine De Anunciação Roveda ◽  
Cristina Cavalli Bertolucci ◽  
João Alberto Da Silva
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Early Childhood Education ◽  
National Curriculum ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Math Skills ◽  
Mathematical Skills ◽  
Childhood Education ◽  
Monetary System ◽  
Documentary Analysis

This study deals with the matter of evaluation in early childhood education concerning mathematical knowledge. It aims to identify which skills are prioritised in the evaluation of preschool classes from a public school. The methodological design is the Case Study, and it is based on the documentary analysis. Fifty-two descriptive evaluation documents elaborated by eight teachers were analysed, taking into account the objectives provided by the Brazilian National Curriculum for Early Childhood Education. The data indicate that most of the mathematical skills related to “Number and Numbering System”, “Greatness and Measures” and “Space and Shape” are evaluated and recorded in the documents. It is noteworthy the absence of references to the notions of successor and predecessor, comparison of numeric writings, the monetary system, and bi and three-dimensional representations of objects.

scholarly journals 'It's all the things'? Exploring teachers' views on the notion of 'community' in early childhood education

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Judith Hamer
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Early Childhood Education ◽  
Physical World ◽  
Political Discussion ◽  
Diverse Range ◽  
Childhood Education ◽  
Study Centre ◽  
Education And Care ◽  
The Rich

<p>This thesis explores the multiple meanings of ‘community’ within early childhood education (ECE). Utilising a qualitative, interpretive approach, this exploratory case study has sought to gain an in-depth understanding of how teachers view the meaning of ‘community’ within a typical, non-community-owned ECE centre. Rogoff’s (1984, 1995) three planes of sociocultural activity (personal, interpersonal and institutional) have been utilised as a theoretical framework to more fully understand the rich context of this case study centre. Findings from this study highlight that practices of this centre primarily focus inwards on the education and care of the enrolled children and the support of their families within the ECE ‘centre community’. However, despite this, the teachers both collectively and individually also reflect a diverse range of views on the notion of ‘community’ in terms of people, place and connections, including views that look outwards to consider the child within the context of their wider social and physical world. This study concludes that there needs to be a much larger social and political discussion about the notion of ‘community’ within the wider ECE sector, including the role and provision of ECE, not only in terms of the care and education of children but within society as a whole.</p>

scholarly journals Constructing deficit data doppelgängers: The impact of datafication on children with English as an additional language

2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 253-265 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mandy Pierlejewski
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Early Childhood Education ◽  
School Readiness ◽  
Communication Skills ◽  
Childhood Education ◽  
Number Of Children ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Education And Care ◽  
The Impact ◽  
British Culture

In this article, an evaluation of the English early childhood education context reveals children constructed as data. The complex, chaotic and unpredictable nature of the child is reconstituted in numerical form – a form which can be measured, compared and manipulated. Children are reconceptualised as data doppelgängers, ghostly apparitions which emulate the actual embodied child. The focus of early childhood education and care thus moves from child-centred to data-centred education. The author specifically focuses on the impact of this aspect of the performative regime on children who have English as an additional language – an under-researched area in the field. Foucault’s work on governmentality is used as a theoretical lens through which to understand the process of datafication. The author uses a composite child, generated from a number of children from her experience as a teacher, as a starting point for discussion. This reveals children as disadvantaged, as their home languages are no longer used to assess communication skills. Their data doppelgängers are not useful to the teacher as they are unable to demonstrate a Good Level of Development – a key measure of school readiness in English policy. The author argues that in post-Brexit-vote Britain, subtle changes to early childhood education increase disadvantage, promoting white, British culture and thus marginalising those from other cultures.

scholarly journals When are we going to have the real school? A case study of early childhood education and care teachers’ experiences surrounding education during the COVID-19 pandemic

2020 ◽  
Vol 45 (4) ◽  
pp. 336-347
Author(s):  
Hem Chand Dayal ◽  
Lavinia Tiko
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Early Childhood Education ◽  
Young Children ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Case Study Research ◽  
Small Island ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Childhood Education ◽  
Education And Care

In this study, we set out to explore how two private, early childhood education and care centres in a small island developing state in the Pacific are coping with schooling during the COVID-19 lockdown period. In particular, we used a case-study research approach to explore teachers’ feelings about the situation and what actions or strategies the centres have devised to continue to support education of young children. We also report on the challenges and opportunities that teachers have experienced in teaching remotely. The case studies suggest that teachers feel worried not only about their personal lives, but also about their professional lives as teachers. The findings also reveal how the two early childhood education and care centres innovate in delivering education in a time of severe crisis. Glimpses of success are visible in terms of making teaching and learning possible and meaningful even with very young children. These findings provide useful insights into teaching and learning during a pandemic.

scholarly journals Online Learning for Early Childhood (Case Study in Indonesia)

2021 ◽  
Vol 56 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sri Tatminingsih ◽  
Tiara Oktarianingsih ◽  
Della Raymena Jovanka
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Online Learning ◽  
Early Childhood Education ◽  
Young Children ◽  
Capital City ◽  
Survey Method ◽  
Childhood Education ◽  
Teachers And Parents ◽  
Online Form

This article describes online learning in early childhood education in Indonesia. Particular attention is paid to the Greater Jakarta area, which is a buffer area of the capital city of Indonesia. This study used a survey method with a questionnaire containing five open-ended questions that the respondents could fill in freely. The questionnaire was distributed through an online form to early childhood education teachers and parents of young children. Respondents' answers were grouped based on their similarity and sorted based on the number of answers, then analyzed quantitatively and descriptively. The results showed that online learning is difficult to implement in early childhood education. The enforced application of online learning in early childhood actually creates many obstacles and causes an unfavorable impact on early childhood behavior while learning. However, online learning in early childhood must still be implemented during a pandemic as it is the only option. The solution to increase the abilities and skills of teachers in planning and implementing online learning include the ability to involve parents. The results of this study are expected to be a reference by teachers, parents, and early childhood education providers in implementing effective online learning in early childhood education in a fun way and paying attention to the characteristics of early childhood.

scholarly journals Negotiating and appropriating the 'one person, one language' policy within the complex reality of a multilingual crèche in Strasbourg

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eloise Caporal-Ebersold ◽  
Andrea Young
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Early Childhood Education ◽  
Language Policy ◽  
Early Years ◽  
Childhood Education ◽  
Education And Care ◽  
The One ◽  
Children's Interests ◽  
The City

The aim of this article is to analyse the early childhood education and care (ECEC) language policy in the city of Strasbourg, focusing on an ethnographic case study of a newly established bilingual English–French crèche in the city. In France, establishing an early childhood education structure – more specifically, a day care centre catering to young children – involves close coordination with national, departmental, and local government entities. Associations that embark on this process go through a long administrative process. Taking this fact into consideration, we maintain that to understand the language policy in ECEC, it is imperative to examine the overlapping participation of different government entities and services from the national, regional, departmental, city, and local levels. Our data reveal that the conceptualization of the language policy at a newly created bilingual crèche structure was highly influenced by top-down language policies and pervading language ideologies. Yet, the crèche personnel needed to interpret, negotiate, and appropriate this policy in order to consider its feasibility and to take into account the children's interests and welfare within the normal functioning of this early years structure.

scholarly journals READING AND WRITING IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION: CONTEXTS AND PRACTICES UNDER DEBATE

2019 ◽  
Vol 49 (174) ◽  
pp. 100-129
Author(s):  
Maria Fernanda Rezende Nunes ◽  
Patrícia Corsino
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Early Childhood Education ◽  
National Curriculum ◽  
Reading And Writing ◽  
Childhood Education ◽  
Writing Practices ◽  
Curriculum Guidelines ◽  
Education And Care ◽  
Good Reading ◽  
Experience Education

Abstract The article reports an analysis of interviews and observations carried out in 27 schools by the research team in charge of project “Boas práticas de leitura e escrita na educação infantil” [Good reading and writing practices in Early Childhood Education], which encompasses 7 counties in different Brazilian regions. Good practices are the ones in which childhood and experience, education and care are creation binomials based on the Diretrizes Curriculares Nacionais para a Educação Infantil [National Curriculum Guidelines for Early Childhood Education] (DCNEI - 2009). The article introduces the profile of the assessed schools and analyzes the observation records according to space and materials and interaction and interlocution categories. Based on the results, it is essential to seek an identity for early childhood education based on the dialogic way teachers listen and respond to children. Ludic-symbolic practices prevail in daycare centers, whereas these practices are added with more directive practices in pre-schools, which are substantiated by contents linked to literacy.

scholarly journals The Parents’ Values of Early Childhood Education and Care in Russia: Discovering the Dimensions via Coding and Category Clustering

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olga Savinskaya
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Early Childhood Education ◽  
Professional Competence ◽  
Social Institution ◽  
Emotional Climate ◽  
Scientific Debate ◽  
Childhood Education ◽  
Social Burden ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Education And Care

In this study I explore parents’ perceptions of kindergarten as a social institution for the provision of early childhood education and care (ECEC). Global reforms of this important part of the welfare state are a starting point for the research. Redefining welfare ideology and minimizing the social burden on the state leads to the public and scientific debate about the value of early childhood education and its role in investing in human development. In-depth interviews with 30 mothers were analyzed by coding and category clustering. The results show that parents understand the service provided by a kindergarten as complex, aimed primarily at daytime children’s education and development in a specifically organized educational space performed by professional educators. The greatest parental value is children’s opportunity to be socialized or "learn how to communicate," to resolve conflicts and to find compromises, and to relate their behavior with group-mates and peers followed by the development of life skills, surviving with routines, as well as the associated skill initiative. At the same time, the main professional competence of the educator is seen in her/his ability to create a positive emotional climate, an atmosphere of openness for the realization of a child’s individuality and to create a space for comfortable communication with parents.

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