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EARLY CHILDHOOD SIG Archive 2008

NZARE National Conference 2008 (Manawatu)

E nga mana
E nga reo
E nga iwi o te motu
Rau Rangitira ma
Tena koutou Tena koutou Tena kautou katoa!

The theme of the conference was Education in change: policies, research, and practice to improve student outcomes. The conference provided an ideal opportunity to consider what is needed to improve student outcomes.

NZARE Herbison  Lecture – Overview of lecture

Professor Joy Cullen

The lecture examined the interface of policy, research, and practice, in the context of early childhood education. This area has developed in NZ as a voluntary education sector, marked by a separate curriculum and diverse services. Today, government commitment to participation in quality inclusive early childhood settings is evident in the regulations, policies, teacher resources and teacher development programmes that have evolved since the launch of the Te Whariki curriculum in 1996. The increasing investment of public funding in early childhood education has been accompanied by claims that early childhood education makes a difference to a child’s life chances. The question asked by Prof Cullen was

“What New Zealand evidence underpins this claim?”

The question was examined in relation to variables such as: an ideologically-driven curriculum; increased use of qualitative methodologies; key researchers in curriculum initiatives; and the Ministry of Education as major research funding agency.

» Download lecture (PDF, 164K)

A FEW OTHER ECE PRESENTATIONS

Mana relies on a sense of community: Otaki Kindergarten centre of innovation research.
(Dr Val Podmore, Sue Barrett (Otaki Kindergarten) and Sarah Te One)

Innovations at Otaki Kindergarten: an ecological approach to working with the community whanau, tamariki to nurture the mana of the child; and, nurturing a respect for the environment and indigenous knowledge of sustainable science.  (Will send out articles from presentations when they arrive)

Children’s perceptions of their rights in a New Zealand setting (Sarah Te One)
Sarah's doctorate research project, investigates perceptions of children’s rights in three case study early childhood centres, based on conversational interviews with Kindergarten, play centre children. Sarah is going to send me her presentation and other documentation.

Voices of early childhood practicum placements: Kaupapa, protocols, processes and practices  (Jo Perry and Mary-Liz Broadley).
Pilot project looking at kaupapa, protocols, processes and practices within current views wit the aim of understanding the context of this teaching tool. The catalyst for this presentation stems from the 2008 inaugural Tamaki Makaurau Associate Teachers Symposium. Through exploring the questions that began during this forum, we sought to sigh-post possible change initiatives which will enhance the relationships and learning for all practicum participants. (NZRECE journal – research note sent to journal)

Learning, teaching and ICT’s: An early childhood perspective (Ann Hatherly,Vince Ham Tara Fagan, Helen Laird, Susan Clare)
The ECE ICT pilot programme is a MOE funded initiative stemming from Foundations for Discovery (2005). This presentation examined ECE integration of ICTs into their teaching and learning through three lenses: how the centres are using ICTs to enhance children’s ability to direct their own learning; the impact of the ECE ICT PL programme on teacher/centre change after 2 years of participation; the efficacy of action research as a methodology for professional learning in the ECE sector.

Moving beyond just minding babies: The state of play in early childhood educational settings with infants (Jean Rockel)

Jean, our passionate advocate for infants (in fact all tamariki) in ECE, discussed teachers’ views of play.  Researchers  across nine countries engaged in international research project on play and education which was initiated by OMEP (Organisation Mondiale L’Education Prescholaire). The Aotearoa research project involved a collective endeavour from five NZ Universities who investigated the play experiences of toddlers in five diverse education and care contexts throughout Aotearoa. The video-as-data from ‘a day in the life of a toddler’ aligned to Rogoff’s (2003) framework. The findings of the project found that permeating influences of whanau, culture, and wider society features alongside traditional notions of play and learning. This feedback was also analysed in relation to current teacher-education programmes, curriculum, and pedagogy for teachers and toddlers of Aotearoa.

This is just a few of the many enriching ECE presentations. I would like invite other ECE conference attendees to submit a summary conference report for our sector!

Kia Ora  Mary-Liz