Research with Children: Context, Power, and Representation

In this article, we examine methodological issues qualitative researchers encounter when they engage in research with children. Within this view, qualitative research is employed with children but not on children and focus is placed upon children’s voices, agency, and the ways they participate with researchers in the research process (Einarsdóttir, 2007). Our discussion draws upon a study we conducted with four- and five-year-old children on the preschool playground. We reflect upon methodological issues pertaining to researching with children; issues of context, power, and representation

Early Childhood Teacher Education: Historical Themes and Contemporary Issues

Over the past decade, many states have increased their investment in prekindergarten (pre-K) school programs that serve 3- and 4-year-old children. This increase has raised questions about what constitutes a well-qualified early childhood teacher. Similar questions were raised in the late part of the nineteenth century when states began investing in kindergarten, then a new and unique idea on the educational landscape. This article situates contemporary issues in early childhood teacher education within the historical context of the kindergarten movement in the U.S. Focus is given to the following themes: (a) the relationship between legitimization via degree program and maintaining a unique early childhood identity, and (b) the relationship between evolving “best practices” discourses and the nature of early childhood teaching. The ways in which heightened awareness of historical themes in early childhood teacher education can inform contemporary early childhood teacher education are explored

Situated in School Scripts: Contextual Early Childhood Teaching

This article presents findings from a qualitative case study of a public Montessori magnet school in the United States. It focuses on two teachers\u27 experiences, identifying how their teaching is situated in school scripts, that is; ways of speaking about teaching and learning within particular school micro-cultures. The focal teachers utilized contradicting school scripts for a variety of purposes and to incorporate diverse practices. This article describes the teachers\u27 experiences of and responses to contradicting scripts. Findings suggest that teaching is contextualized in particular school micro-cultures and that school scripts present contradictions that have the potential to be both indoctrinating and transformative forces for teacher preparation and professional growth

Fostering Language and Literacy Learning: Strategies to Support the Many Ways Children Communicate

Early literacy instruction is receiving increasing emphasis. Many teachers of young children recognize that skills such as identifying and forming letters and practicing oral language skills are important (Helm & Katz, 2010). At the same time, teachers also report feeling pressure to focus on intensive drill and practice of isolated skills such as letter recognition (Jeynes, 2006). Framing early literacy learning as direct instruction of isolated skills typically results in a very narrow approach to learning to read and communicate clearly. In contrast to a narrow approach, National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) recommends a broad range of language and literacy experiences be provided for young children in early childhood programs. This article identifies ways teachers of young children can provide a range of language and literacy experiences and creates a meaningful context for explicit language and literacy instruction. It begins with a discussion of the relationship between culture and development that has informed recent understandings of early literacy. Four intentional teaching strategies--share personal stories, foster peer cross talk, vary group structures, and engage children in recording and representing their ideas--are described here. (Contains 1 table and 3 figures.

Artistic Activity and Child Well-Being in Early Schooling: Revisiting the Narratives

The relationship between children’s artistic activities and their well-being is framed within larger constructs of child health and safety, educational achievement and cognitive growth, and social and emotional development. Given that increasing numbers of young children around the world spend time in early care or school contexts outside of the home, this chapter focuses on the relationship between children’s artistic activities and their well-being through the lens of artistic activity as it is contextualized in early school contexts. Underlying assumptions about early schooling as a social and cultural enterprise, images of children as artists, and arts as pedagogy are examined in order to situate a reconsideration of the relationship between artistic activities and child well-being. Ultimately, this chapter raises questions about images of the child as artist that underestimate the young child’s emotional and intellectual capacities and explores an alternative emerging image that situates artistic activity as a kind of meaning-making that creates possibilities for more authentic spaces for child voices

Reflective Practices in Arts Education: A Review Essay

Reflective Practices in Arts Education brings together a multi-disciplinary group of authors who explore meanings of reflection and its applications to a range of arts education contexts. The major theme of the volume is that reflection is central to arts engagement, and is particularly important for those concerned with facilitating learners\u27 engagement with the arts. The volume aims to spark conversation about reflection in an extended community that includes practitioners who work in schools, artists-in-residence, teacher educators, and researchers in arts education