Early Education Journal
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An introduction to early childhood education in China: A consideration of quality
No full textResearch has shown that there are strong relationships between quality in early childhood and children’s outcomes (Howes, et al. 2008). It is argued that preschool quality covers structural quality and process quality, therefore, this paper introduces preschool quality in China within this framework. Structural quality involves class size, child-staff ratio, teacher qualification, amount of space per child, resources, daily routine, and layout of play centre, while process quality is presented by illustrating two specific preschool programs. Description and consideration of preschool quality in China can help broaden early childhood educators’ horizons and inspire them to reflect on their educational practice
Soft skills surfacing in collaborative reading practices at home and early childhood centre
No full textWhen children and adults take part in reading collaboratively, both the child and the adult are active in sharing and contributing to the story. The benefit of this mutual engagement is that teachers and family members are able to introduce the child to reading comprehension skills and soft skills in meaningful and playful ways. When reading comprehension skills are developed through active engagement with a story, rather than passively listening to the story, soft skills such as curiosity, creativity, resilience, imagination and meta-cognitive skills develop (Claxton, Costa & Kallick, 2016). This article investigates how teachers and parents can introduce a child to literacy skills while simultaneously developing soft skills through collaborative reading, as an important building block in preparation for school
Designing a funding system for Playcentre: Lessons from History
No full textThe strategic plan for early learning in 2019 calls for co-design of a funding model with the Playcentre Federation. This paper reviews the impacts of past funding policies on Playcentres and concludes that any new funding model should be based around Playcentre practices by talking with those who understand Playcentre operations. A new model must guarantee small and rural centres a minimum income so they remain sustainable; and funding the support provided by the Federation must be included. The paper concludes by imagining services which accommodate both parents-as-educators and teachers, removing the necessity for separate funding models
Walking the talk: Leadership in New Zealand early childhood settings
No full textThere are few publications on leadership within centres in New Zealand early childhood settings. Thornton, Wansbrough, Clarkin-Phillips, Aitken and Tamati (2009) noted, “The limited literature on notions of leadership in ECE reveals a lack of agreement about what leadership means or looks like” (p. 8). The authors also noted that the variety of centres (e.g., privately owned, community based, teacher led, parent led, etc.) added to the confusion of what leadership looked like in the early childhood settings. This has led to the existence of different leadership styles which may have contributed to this lack of consensus.
This article attempts to address this confusion by reporting on two aspects of recent research on leadership conducted in a variety of early childhood settings:
The importance of the leader having a vision.
The leader’s espoused theories and theories in use.
These are discussed in relation to data collected during the case studies. The participants of the study were those who had overall responsibility of their centres and have been called the designated leader (DL) for the purposes of this article. The discussion that follows clarifies the two named aspects from the findings, plus some suggestions for further research
Weaving Te Whāriki Aotearoa New Zealand’s early childhood curriculum document in theory and practice: (3rd ed)
No full textN/
Building bridges: Developing an ECE presence in Kāhui Ako
No full textEducation is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world. (Nelson Mandela, 2003)Kāhui Ako provide kaiako with opportunities to collaborate with other professionals and to learn about and collaboratively address the educational challenges reflected in the community. (Ministry of Education, 2017)
These two quotes exemplify my thoughts about working within a Kahui Ako (Community of learning). What a wonderful and interesting perspective: to work collaboratively with other professionals for the benefit of learners within one’s community. It sounded ideal to me. In this paper I will talk about some of my experiences of joining a Kahui Ako
