The brave and the foolhardy: Encouraging excursions in early childhood contexts in Aotearoa New Zealand

Presenters: Dr Lisa Terreni, Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington and Dr Debbie Ryder, Te Rito Maioha

Excursions (field trips) can provide new and exciting learning opportunities outside of early childhood education (ECE) centres, enriching education programmes.

This presentation looks at the findings from research studies by Terreni (2017) and Ryder (2019) who found that excursions, for the most part, were alive and well in ECE centres at the time of their studies. Nonetheless, Covid 19 has placed many restrictions on centres over the past few years which may have curtailed excursions. However, with changes to Covid regulations and the Ministry of Education’s new funding model for Learning Outside the Classroom (now called Enriching Local Curriculum) new and exciting excursion opportunities have arisen for EC centres!

Making more science happen

Presenter: Dr Sola Freeman, Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington

Drawing on the key findings from on her PhD research, Sola will explore the shift in pedagogical practices that occurred for the teachers involved in the Collaborative Action research (CAR) study.

The findings highlighted the importance of the teachers’ role in recognising and fostering children’s scientific experiences. The shift in teachers’ pedagogical practices, adjustments to centre environments, and their role in responding to children’s interests enabled science in a variety of ECE settings. Through their active participation in supporting and extending children’s science interests with intentional teaching practices and provocations, teachers enabled rich and authentic scientific interactions with children.

Celebrating transition partnerships

Presenter: Associate Professor Sally Peters, University of Waikato

Much has been written about the transitions young children and their families encounter. Te Whāriki provides a framework for ECE teachers, who support children and whānau with many of these experiences.

In this presentation, we will explore and celebrate some of the (sometimes surprising) partnerships that can enhance transitions. Taking a look at local and international research we can consider the benefits for learning and wellbeing for transitions within ECE and beyond as children move to school. These ideas will also be discussed within the context of the current Curriculum Refresh for schools and kura.

Exploring teacher responses to peer conflict

Presenters: Dr Anna Strycharz-Banaś, Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington and Rebecca Miller, Mt Cook Preschool

This workshop draws on our TLIF project looking at peer conflict and the way in which teachers’ responses to conflict influences peer interactions in the moment and long term.

We will start by exploring our own (as kaiako) understanding of conflict and our habitual responses to it. Then we will move to understand how our habitual thinking about conflict can have an impact on the way in which we respond to peer conflict. We will finish by exploring how what we say and do can influence how children see each other.

Visual arts in ECE: strengthening intentional teaching through a network PLC approach

Presenter: Dr Rachel Denee, Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington

The visual arts enrich young children’s learning when teachers take an active and intentional role. However, in Aotearoa early childhood education, visual arts teaching is still largely enacted with a set-up-and-stand-back approach.

Rachel Denee’s research investigated early childhood teachers’ practices and perceptions about visual arts and explored the potential of the network Professional Learning Community approach to improve visual arts pedagogy. Rachel’s study showed that sustained professional learning including guided practice and reflection can shift underlying beliefs and improve teaching. This presentation will outline important implications for visual arts pedagogy and effective professional learning approaches for teachers.

New Zealand Early Childhood Teachers’ Experiences with Middle Eastern Children and Families: Insights from Case Studies

Presenter: Dr Mehri Irajzad, Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington

Drawing on the findings from a mixed method study that investigated the experiences of Middle Eastern children and their parents in the context of New Zealand early childhood centres, this presentation will share key findings from four qualitative case studies.

Against the background of findings from a national survey of Middle Eastern parents who had children enrolled in early childhood centres in 2019, the case studies investigated teachers’ practices and perspectives with respect to Middle Eastern families and included observations of four children in their early childhood setting together with interviews with their parents.

The findings indicated some incongruence between the early childhood discourses promoted by the teachers and Middle Eastern parents’ expectations. Some teachers were keen to implement practices that were reflective of families’ individual needs, while others perceived Middle Eastern families as a homogenous group with similar needs. Possible implications for early childhood pedagogy are suggested to meet the needs of increasingly diverse educational contexts in Aotearoa.

Empowering teachers to self-identify as leaders in ECE

Presenter: Dr Christina Egan Marnell, Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington

The New Zealand Teaching Council’s Leadership Strategy vision advocates for every teacher to develop their leadership capability. However, there is a complexity in the ways ECE teachers identify with leadership, restricted by a belief that leadership requires a formal title, with teachers often unaware of their own leadership practices. When we focus on the practice of leadership, rather than the individual person, we create opportunities for leadership to emerge from collective action.

Drawing on the findings from Christina’s doctorate research, we will explore ways in which teachers can reconceptualise their knowledge of leadership and be empowered to self-identify as leaders and how a supportive workplace culture can encourage and promote leadership.

Connecting through continuity

Presenters: Toni Christie, Lauren Ryan, and Bridget McBride, Childspace Early Childhood Institute

Continuity refers to the practice of kaiako working alongside a small group of tamariki and their whānau for their entire early childhood experience.

Through our recent TLIF research we have been able to take a closer look at our continuity practices at Childspace Ngaio and how these practices enable us to provide consistent, secure and trusting attachment relationships that wrap-around each child and whānau.

This workshop will explore our research findings and discuss the practical implications and logistics of a continuity model.

Talking with children about their own and others’ artworks

Presenters: Dr Lisa Terreni, Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington, and Dr Rosemary Richards, Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology

Visual art is an early and important literacy for young children that can assist them to express ideas about, and make meaning of, their lived and imagined experiences. Te Whāriki, the New Zealand early childhood curriculum, encourages teachers to design and implement learning experiences that involve children in learning about and through the arts. Teachers play a central role in facilitating children’s meaningful visual art learning experiences.

This presentation considers the opportunities and practical strategies teachers can undertake to support and extend children’s explorations and interests in this domain. Suggestions are given for encouraging reflections and discussions about children’s own artworks as well as the art of others.

More science—enabling ECE teachers through collaborative action research

Presenter: Dr Sola Freeman, Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington

Opportunities for scientific learning by young children in New Zealand early childhood education (ECE) services have been shown to be limited. My collaborative action research (CAR) found that by working alongside teachers as a critical friend, as they explored how they fostered scientific experiences within their centre’s context, was a key enabler of science within the six ECE centres.

This presentation will explore how the process of CAR and the role of a critical friend could be used to review or evaluate your centre’s pedagogical practices.

Experiencing belonging in a diverse setting

Presenters: Professor Carmen Dalli and Dr Anna Strycharz-Banaś, Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington

In this session, we will draw on data from our project on children’s conflict interactions in a multi-lingual multi-ethnic setting – War and Peace in the Nursery – to explore how conflict and peacemaking intersect with children’s experiences of belonging.

We will start by exploring “belonging” from a theoretical perspective, and then move to applying those theoretical lenses to peer interactions. We will use video data to look at belonging from the perspective of children in the EC centre.