Music, in early childhood education : teachers' levels of confidence and happiness

This paper presents the results of a study which investigates early childhood teachers&rsquo; levels of confi dence<br />and happiness in conducting music activities with young children. A sample of 284 in-service and preservice<br />early childhood teachers in Hong Kong participated in the study. Two new research instruments<br />entitled Teachers Music Confi dence Scale (TMCS) and Teachers Happiness Scale (THS) were designed for<br />data collection to answer the research questions. Results showed that early childhood teachers have the<br />highest and the lowest level of confi dence in singing and composing/improvising respectively. In-service<br />teachers showed higher confi dence and happiness levels in conducting several musical activities with<br />young children than pre-service teachers. There was also a statistically signifi cant relationship between<br />these two variables. Implications for engagement in music are discussed in the paper.

Preservation of confucian values in early childhood education : a study of experts’ and educators’ views

Confucian values form the core of the Chinese culture, penetrating all levels of social life, and also set the standards for family, community and political behavior. The teaching of values is deemed to be an important aspect of young children&rsquo;s education and usually the responsibility for this is seen to rest with the family. Much interest has been generated recently on the teaching of core values in early childhood curriculum in order to encourage tolerance, acceptance, trust, openness, and honesty in children. Research on Confucianism is popularly conducted in different cultural contexts all over the world. Furthermore research has shown that Confucianism continues to exert a major influence on the everyday lives of Asian communities. Given the interest in Confucian values, this research study was designed to examine the expressed views of three cohorts of professionals in Hong Kong about the preservation of such values and their application to early childhood teaching. This study confirmed the view that there is a need to preserve cultural values to enable the child to be accepted in the society, especially with the value of &lsquo;Ren&rsquo; helping one to learn how to interact with others and with the value of &lsquo;Li&rsquo; further defining the appropriate behaviour in this interaction.

A content analysis of early childhood teachers’ theoretical and practical experiences with infants and toddlers in Australian teacher education programs

&nbsp;In Australia, the growth in the provision of early childhood services for very young children aged birth to three years has placed increased demands on pre-service teachers as new policy stipulates the need for qualified early childhood teachers. While many teacher education programs offer early childhood courses, they have traditionally had a greater focus on kindergarten and the formal years of schooling. Less is known about the amount of time devoted to developing the specialist educational capacity for teaching and caring for infants and toddlers. This paper explores 55 Australian early childhood teacher undergraduate education programs to provide data regarding what pre-service teachers learn about children from birth to three years of age during their formal program of study. It explores: if pre-service teachers engage in practical experiences with this age range; what content they learn; and how knowledge for this age range is assessed. Utilising information from fully accessible public program websites, data in the form of course details were examined to reveal the extent and nature of courses inclusive of teaching and learning focusing on children aged from birth to three years. Of the 55 programs, 18 programs provided practical experience with infants and toddlers, and to a lesser extent content was evident and assessed. Most of the programs which included a focus on birth to three years of age were delivered by Victorian institutions. Findings are important for the future of early childhood teacher education in Australia and hold key messages for teacher registration bodies.

Mono-cultural approach in multicultural education: mapping the contours of multicultural early childhood education in New Zealand

There has been an increase in research activities in multicultural early childhood education in New Zealand. This article provides a critical review of these activities. This is an attempt to unravel the aspirations and complexities associated with the educational policies and practices with children of culturally diverse backgrounds. The conclusion from this literature review is that despite the multicultural principles that support democracy and equitability in education in New Zealand, a monocultural approach is still pervasive in multicultural early childhood classrooms.

Effective family partnerships in early childhood education and care: An investigation of the nature of interactions between educators and parents

This Doctoral dissertation presents findings of a research study exploring the nature of the interactions between early childhood educators and parents as they reflect a framework of partnership centred on mutuality, trust, reciprocity and shared decision making. Examining the nature of the relationships. In examining the interactions , the study found that while mutuality, trust and reciprocity were evident in the interactions between the parents and the educators, shared decision making, where parents were mutual partners in the decision making around their child, was not evident.

The Effects of the Word of Wisdom Meditation Technique on the Development of Executive Function Skills in Early Childhood Education

This theory-based paper examines the definition of Executive Functioning (EF) skills, their importance in the early childhood classroom and how to aid in their natural development. The Word of Wisdom meditation technique is considered as a viable alternative to increase the natural development of EF skills in early childhood.

The intensification of performativity in early childhood education

Operating within a neoliberal education reform context, performativity and teaching in schools has been a focus of study for a number of years. However, less is known about the effects of performativity on teaching and curriculum in the early childhood (preschool) context. Making a case for the intensification of performativity in Australian early childhood education, this paper reports on findings from a doctoral study and draws on research literature from the past fourteen years to illustrate how performative measures have increasingly affected teaching and curriculum. The way that performativity has intensified is discussed in three chronological phases, performativity emerging, consolidating and normalised. Teacher interview transcripts and curricular related policies were analysed using critical discourse analysis and Ranson&rsquo;s typology of accountability regimes. Findings reveal that early childhood teachers have different ways of responding to performativity, with the teacher featured in this paper displaying three types of performative accountability: anxiety, confidence, and disregard. An implication arising from this paper&rsquo;s findings illustrates how the effects of performativity on teaching and curriculum can be complex, contradictory and at times, unintended.

Peer interaction in mixed age groups: a study in the computer area of an early childhood education center in Portugal

The study was developed as a teacher-research project during initial teacher education – Masters Degree of Early Childhood and Primary Education, in Portugal. It analysed the interactions between children of 3 to 6 years old, during the use of the computer as a free choice activity, confronting situations between peers of the same age and situations between peers of different ages. The focus of the analysis was the collaborative interactions. This was a qualitative study. Children could choose the computer, amongst other interest areas, and work for around an hour in pairs. In the computer, children used mainly educational games. During four weeks, the interactions between the pairs were audio recorded. Field notes and informal interviews to the children were also used to collect data. Eleven children were involved in the study with ages ranging from 3 to 6 years old. Baseline data on children’s basic computer proficiency was collected using the Individualized Computer Proficiency Checklist (ICPC) by Hyun. The recorded interactions were analysed using the types of talk offered by Scrimshaw and Perkins and Wegerif and Scrimshaw: cumulative talk, exploratory talk, disputational talk, and tutorial talk. This framework was already used in a study in an early childhood education context in Portugal by Amante. The results reveal differences in computer use and characterize the observed interactions. Seven different pairs of children's interactions were analysed. More than a third of the interactions were cumulative talk, followed by exploratory talk, tutorial talk and disputational talk. Comparing same and mixed age pairs, we observed that cumulative talk is the more present interaction, but in same age pairs this is followed by exploratory talk whereas in the mixed age pairs it is tutorial talk that has the second largest percentage. The pairs formed by the children were very asymmetrical in terms of age and computer proficiency. This lead to the more tutorial interactions, where one children showed the other or directed him/her on how to play. The results show that collaboration is present during the use of a computer area in early childhood education. The free choice of the children means the adults can only suggest pairing suited to specific interactions between the children. Another way to support children in more exploratory talk interactions could be by discussing the way the older children can help the younger ones beyond directing or correcting their work.

Practical Transformations and Transformational Practices : Globalization, Postmodernism, and Early Childhood Education : Advances in Early Education and Day Care

Both traditional and progressive curricula are inadequate for the task of responding to the economic, political, social, and cultural changes that have occurred as a result of globalization. This book documents some of the ongoing work occurring in early childhood settings that is aimed at improving, and ultimately transforming, early childhood practice in these changed and changing times. The authors do not simply critique developmental approaches or the increasing standardization of the field. Instead, they describe how they are playing around with postmodern ideas in practice and developing unique approaches to the diverse educational circumstances that confront early childhood educators. Whether it is preparing teachers, using materials, or developing policies, each chapter provides readers with possibilities for enacting pedagogies that are responsive to the contemporary circumstances shaping the lives of young children.

Creating deep and broad change through research and systems approaches in early childhood education for sustainability

The co-authors raise two matters they consider essential for the future development of ECEfS. The first is the need to create deep foundations based in research. At a time of increasing practitioner interest, research in ECEfS is meagre. A robust research community is crucial to support quality in curriculum and pedagogy, and to promote learning and innovation in thinking and practice. The second 'essential' for the expansion and uptake of ECEfS is broad systemic change. All level within the early childhood education system - individual teachers and classrooms, whole centres and schools, professional associations and networks, accreditation and employing authorities, and teacher educators - must work together to create and reinforce the cultural and educational changes required for sustainability. This chapter provides explanations of processes to engender systemic change. It illustrates a systems approach, with reference to a recent study focused on embedding EfS into teacher education. This study emphasises the apparent contradiction that the answer to large-scale reform lies with small-scale reforms that build capacity and make connections.

Early childhood education for sustainability : why it matters, what it is, and how whole centre action research and systems thinking can help

The global financial crisis, global pandemics, global warming and peak oil are indicative of a world facing major environmental, social and economic problems. At the same time, world population continues to rise and global inequalities deepen. Children are the most vulnerable to the impacts of unsustainable living with specific harms arising because of their physical and cognitive vulnerabilities. Nevertheless, children do not have to be victims in the face of these challenges. Education, including early childhood education, has an important role to in building resilience and capabilities in children that equip them as active and informed citizens now and in the future and who are capable of contributing to healthy and sustainable ways of living. Drawing on educational change literature, action research, education for sustainability, health promotion and systems theory, this paper outlines three strategies that can help reorient early childhood education towards sustainability. One strategy is the adoption of whole centre approaches to sustainability and education for sustainability. This means working across the whole of a centre’s operations – curriculum and pedagogy, physical and social environments, its partnerships and community connections. The second strategy – applied in conjunction with the first – is the use of action research to investigate the early childhood setting and to create the desired changes. The third strategy is the adoption of systems thinking as a way of leveraging support and momentum for change so that education for sustainability goes beyond the initiatives of individual teachers and centres, and becomes a systems-wide imperative.

Migrant and refugee children, their families, and early childhood education

One of the effects of globalization is the increasing movement of people around the globe. Transnational migration brings demographic changes that produce challenges for education and social services. While there is a growing body of literature about educational concerns associated with migrant and refugee children, young migrant children are not often included in this research because it concentrates on secondary and primary schooling. In this chapter we review the literature that relates to young migrant and refugee children, their families and early childhood education. More specifically, we synthesize the state of knowledge relating to curriculum, parents and teacher education. Following the analysis of recent research, the chapter concludes with some suggestions for further research, policy makers and practitioners.