Judith Duncan

Children’s perspectives on their learning: exploring methods

This paper reports on efforts to access four‐year‐old children’s perspectives on their learning experiences. Interviews with children in various contexts were carried out using photographs of recent activities to stimulate discussion and recall. Small group interviews with a researcher or teacher; one‐to‐one interviews between researcher and child; researcher interviews with target child and a friend; researcher interviews with target child and a parent; and informal conversations between a researcher and child in the context of play and activities were the varying methods used. All contexts elicited useful information on children’s perspectives, although the focus groups were difficult to manage. Photographs were an effective way of locating the conversation in the child’s experience and adults were able to provide a supportive framework to encourage children to interpret their interests and involvement in learning. Children’s perspectives are an important source of information about what engages them in learning and why.

“The value is enormous — It’s priceless i think!” New Zealand preschool teachers’ understandings of the early childhood curriculum in New Zealand — A comparative perspective

SummaryThis article examines a group of New Zealand preschool teachers’ perspectives on their early childhood curriculum —Te Whãriki: He Whãriki Maatauranga mo ngaa Mokopuna o Aotearoa (Ministry of Education, 1996). In this discussion we focus on the teachers’ understandings of the meaning, value and focus of this curriculum document. This is part of a small-scale qualitative study based on in-depth interviews with eight and nine preschool teachers undertaken in each of three countries — Norway, Sweden and New Zealand (during 1999–2002). We conclude this article with a comparative discussion of some of the similarities and differences between the three countries.RésuméCet article porte sur les opinions d’un groupe d’enseignants du préscolaire de Nouvelle-Zélande sur le programme d’éducation préscolaireTe Whãriki: He Whãriki Maatauranga mo ngaa Mokopuna o Aotearoa (Ministry of Education, 1996). Dans cette discussion nous nous concentrons sur la compréhension des enseignants du sens, de la valeur et du cœur de ce programme. Ceci constitue une partie d’une étude qualitative à petite échelle, basée sur des entretiens en profondeur avec huit ou neuf enseignants du préscolaire et menée dans trois pays: la Norvège, la Suède et la Nouvelle-Zélande (de 1999 à 2002). Nous terminons cet article par une discussion comparative de certaines similarités et différences entre les trois pays.ResumenEste artículo examina las perspectivas de un grupo de profesores Neo Zelandeses de preescolar con respecto a sus programas de estudio de educación temprana —Te Whãriki: He Whãriki Maatauranga mo ngaa Mokopuna o Aotearoa (Ministerio de Educación, 1996). La discusión se concentra en el entendimiento de los maestros sobre el significado, valor y enfoque del programa de estudio. Esta discusión es parte de un estudio cualitativo de pequeña escala basado en entrevistas detalladas con ocho o nueve profesores de preescolar, las cuales se llevaron a cabo en tres países — Noruega, Suecia y Nueva Zelanda durante 1999–2002. El artículo concluye con una discusión comparativa de algunas similitudes y diferencias entre los tres países.

A gossip or a good yack? Reconceptualizing parent support in New Zealand early childhood centre based programmes 1

Parental support has been an increasingly essential part of New Zealand early childhood (EC) education services over the last 20 years. This support has taken many shapes and forms over this time period, and has depended on the differing philosophies of the EC education services. What this support ‘looks like’ and how it is delivered is directly connected to the goals and aims of these services. This paper will discuss the results from a small qualitative study that looked at how three New Zealand EC centres—two kindergartens and one child care centre—supported family resilience; that is, the ability of an individual and family to ‘cope’ with and ‘recover’ from significant adversity or stress, in ways that are not only effective but may result in increased ability to ‘respond’ to and ‘protect’ their families from future adversity. From semi‐structured interviews with teachers, parents, and family support services associated with each of the three centres, the concept of planned parent education programmes, as meaningful support, is re‐examined in the light of the ideas of a ‘gossip’ or a ‘good yack’. This research was funded by the New Zealand Ministry of Social Development.

New Zealand Free Kindergartens: Free or Freely Forgotten?.

Since the 1980s in New Zealand, the kindergarten service, once called the ‘flagship’ within early childhood education, has changed in reaction to the need for ‘diversity’ and ‘responsiveness’ to its communities and restructured government requirements. This paper draws on life‐history interviews with a small group of New Zealand kindergarten teachers. The teachers’ stories demonstrate the tensions between teaching within a neoliberal context, while traditional values and philosophies of the kindergarten service remain the preferred discursive practices of the teachers.

New Zealand kindergarten teachers and sexual abuse protection policies

Abstract Much media attention has focused on the risks for men from allegations of sexual abuse while working with young children, as teachers, health professionals and community workers. The focus of many of these accounts has been on the issues for men often ignoring the wider context for both men and women who work with children in this changing climate of increased suspicion and decreasing trust. This paper draws on life (his) her-story interview material from New Zealand kindergarten teachers to discuss the changing nature of protection for children and staff in New Zealand Free Kindergartens. Kindergarten association policies, designed for protecting children from abuse while attending kindergarten, and staff from allegations of abuse, are examined by drawing on Foucault’s notion of surveillance.

Children's Perspectives on Physical Discipline: A New Zealand Example

Ten childrens views from New Zealand were investigated on the use of physical discipline in a small study that was an adaptation of a larger study conducted in 1998 by Willow and Hyder in the United Kingdom. This paper reports on childrens views of smacking as a method of discipline in New Zealand families. A significant finding is that childrens reports of physical discipline are at odds with adult assumptions on the effects of the use of physical discipline.

New Zealand children’s spirituality in Catholic schools: teachers’ perspectives

This article discusses the findings of a small‐scale study undertaken with a sample of 10 teachers in Catholic schools in New Zealand. Spirituality is recognised as an important dimension of Catholic schools and this study explored the teachers’ perspectives of their own understanding of spirituality, of children’s spirituality and the influence of context on children’s spiritual lives. The findings demonstrated the significance of the teachers’ own awareness of spirituality and the importance of the teacher–child relationship in acknowledging, responding to and supporting child spirituality.

“She's always been, what i would think, a perfect day-care child”: Constructing the subjectivities of a New Zealand child

SUMMARY Drawing on Foucaults tools on subjectivity, the positions offered to Sarah in an early childhood centre and new entrant school classroom are examined. This paper draws on data from interviews with Sarah, her mother, and her teachers, which problematise the discursive meanings for Sarahs continuing educational experiences and her sense of ‘self’.

Mapping Parents’ Movements and Interaction: Reconceptualizing Parent Support

Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) centers are often considered solely as child spaces, child places, and child-focused environments. As discussed in chapter 1, we argue that ECEC services are uniquely positioned to provide quality ECEC and to support parents, whānau (extended family), and families. Internationally, ECEC services have been trialing innovative and inclusive programs that position the child and their families and whānau as important partners in supporting the learning and growth of children and the resilience of the family and whānau (Dalli, 1997; Hayden, 2002; Hayden & Macdonald, 2000; Munford, Sanders, Maden, & Maden, 2007; Shulruf, 2005; Whalley, 1999, 2006). These models and initiatives have included parents and family members as integral to the ECEC setting, and the benefits of such initiatives are beginning to be recognized by governments, as well as by communities themselves (see also chapters 4, 5, 6, and chapter 11 in this volume for further discussions of these themes).

Culturally contested corporeality: Regulation of the body in New Zealand and Japanese early childhood education

Children’s bodies occupy a culturally contested space in the early childhood arena. In New Zealand, children’s bodies have increasingly become the focus of regulation. The early childhood centre has become a site of constant surveillance, turning teachers into ‘disciplinary individuals’ who are internally controlled by their own behaviour. This increased regulation mirrors that of other Western contexts. In contrast, Japanese early childhood education still places children’s bodies at the centre of preschool life. Shared embodied experiences serve to consolidate certain traits and qualities identified as Japanese and intimate physical contact is valued. This article is based on ethnographic research conducted at an early childhood centre in New Zealand and a kindergarten in Japan. We argue that in New Zealand early childhood circles, the child’s body has become the focus of civilising routines which limit physical touch between adults and children, and minimise attention to the body. Asian early childhood education contexts are often depicted as overly controlling. However, we suggest that while Japanese children’s bodies may be subject to routine and management, they are viewed through a lens of nostalgia and innocence which allows for greater freedom of the corporeal.