Outdoor provision for babies and toddlers: Exploring the practice/policy/research nexus in English ECEC settings

A wealth of research evidences the positive impact of the outdoors for young children. Yet there is little relating to the experiences of babies and toddlers who attend daycare settings. This paper offers new knowledge about outdoor provision for under twos in the English context where there is a lack of explicit policy support for outdoor practice. Findings, captured through an online survey from Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) settings in one geographically diverse county, reveal a generally positive picture. This suggests that practice is ahead of research. However, the survey also highlights significant variability in outdoor provision. We suggest that, in the absence of a strong policy driver ECEC settings may be inadvertently laying the foundations for inequality of access to the outdoors. Furthermore, a lack of research evidence to inform practice may be contributing to an underdevelopment of the pedagogic value of outdoor environments

Where are the babies? Engaging the under twos with the outdoors

There is a general concern that children are not spending enough time outdoors. The growing number of very young children in the UK and beyond who now spend time in formal day care suggest that it is important to know more about outdoor provision for under twos. This report is based on the first stage of a research project funded by the Froebel Trust which involved reviewing the international research literature on this topic

Perceptions of ECEC (Early Childhood Education and Care) practitioners on how their gender influences their approaches to play

Quality Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) has the potential to impact greatly on outcomes for young children and improve their life chances. Children (0–5 years) in England benefit from a play-based curriculum although there is little uniformity in the ECEC settings they attend. One consistent element is that the adults who engage with them in these settings are predominately female. Some suggest this situation is detrimental to children’s learning and development, particularly in the case of boys or for children where no male father figure is present in their home life. This thesis makes an original contribution by considering the perceived gendered roles that ECEC practitioners adopt when working within a play-based curriculum. It examines whether practitioners believe that their gender influences how they engage with children in play. Through qualitative surveys and open-ended interviews, practitioners shared their own definitions of play and approaches to play. Connell’s framework of masculinities and Synodi’s play labels were used as a lens for analysis. Findings reveal that practitioners use contradictory gender-blind and gender-binary scripts. They articulate both a perception that men can bring a ‘missing pedagogy’ and, also, an underlying tension between the child-centred curriculum and the practitioners’ sense of agency. This thesis argues that gender sensitivity training is vital for both ECEC students and practitioners to ensure that a high-quality workforce is developed that can be gender flexible in its practices and pedagogy

Our Charitable Children - Engaging Children in Charities and Charitable Giving

Why charitable donors give has been a topic of much debate among practitioners, policy makers and academics alike. Recent efforts to grow and strengthen the culture of charitable giving in the UK have focused on increasing people’s propensity to give and the total amounts they are likely to give. However little attention has been paid to how people learn to give at a younger age. Given early education is fundamental in securing individuals long-term social and political orientations, this is a critical oversight. The absence of much commentary on, or significant research into, how individuals are socialised into giving, specifically younger children, means we have little knowledge about how people come to be the donors we pay so much attention to later in life. In this report we situate charitable giving as part of much larger debate on children’s active engagement within civil society and their role as competent and active social actors. This research report engages the voices of over 150 young children aged 4-8 years old. Through participative action research methods, we explore their perceptions and preferences of charity and charitable giving. We explore the trends across the age group and discuss how children may develop philanthropic behaviours. We start our findings celebrating children’s knowledge and involvement in charities. We found they have a wide and varied range of opportunities to engage in fundraising and charitable giving through schools, communities and the family. However, we also suggest that children have relatively limited spaces to meaningfully engage in these charitable behaviours, often associating giving as a transactional process without critically engaging with the cause. Nonetheless, when given opportunity to meaningfully engage in giving decisions children demonstrated a heightened critical consciousness and desire for increased social justice in their giving decisions. Importantly we argue that conscious, active and participative engagement in giving decisions helps children develop a critical consciousness about the world around them and increases social orientated behaviours. We promote the idea that children, as present citizens (as opposed to viewed as future citizens only), are capable and competent of selecting and assessing the charities they wish to support, and in turn this helps them develop a greater understanding of the world around them

Making connections with their world: outdoor provision for under-twos in early childhood settings in Kent

This report is the second stage of a research project, A life ‘in and with nature?’ An exploration of outdoor provision in baby rooms, made possible by funding from the Froebel Trust. The outdoors is central to Froebelian philosophy and practice and, for Froebel, experiences in the earliest period of childhood were particularly significant since the ‘whole being is here only an appropriating eye…’ This research is inspired by his understanding that, ‘Life in and with nature, and with the clear, still objects of nature must be fostered at this time by the parents and members of the family as the chief point of reference of the whole child-life’1 and seeks to explore its significance in contemporary practice. The growing number of very young children in the UK and beyond who now spend time in formal day care suggest that it is important to know more about outdoor provision for under twos

Our Charitable Children: Engaging Children in Charities and Charitable Giving

Why charitable donors give has been a topic of much debate amongst practitioners, policy makers and academics alike. Recent efforts to grow and strengthen the culture of charitable giving in the UK have focused on increasing people's propensity to give and the total amounts they are likely to give. However little attention has been paid to how people learn to give at a younger age. Given early education is fundamental in securing individuals long-term social and political orientations, this is a critical oversight. The absence of much commentary on, or significant research into, how individuals are socialised into giving, specifically younger children, means we have little knowledge about how people come to be the donors we pay so much attention to later in life.In this report we situate charitable giving as part of much larger debate on children's active engagement within civil society and their role as competent and active social actors.This research report engages the voices of over 150 young children aged 4-8 years old. Through participative action research methods, we explore their perceptions and preferences of charity and charitable giving. We explore the trends across the age group and discuss how children may develop philanthropic behaviours.We start our findings celebrating children's knowledge and involvement in charities. We found they have a wide and varied range of opportunities to engage in fundraising and charitable giving through schools, communities and the family. However, we also suggest that children have relatively limited spaces to meaningfully engage in these charitable behaviours, often associating giving as a transactional process without critically engaging with the cause. Nonetheless, when given opportunity to meaningfully engage in giving decisions children demonstrated a heightened critical consciousness and desire for increased social justice in their giving decisions.Importantly we argue that conscious, active and participative engagement in giving decisions helps children develop a critical consciousness about the world around them and increases social orientated behaviours. We promote the idea that children, as present citizens (as opposed to viewed as future citizens only), are capable and competent of selecting and assessing the charities they wish to support, and in turn this helps them develop a greater understanding of the world around them

Introducing research in early childhood

What does the term ‘research’ in early childhood actually mean? What does research involve, and how do you go about doing it? This book explains exactly what ‘research’ is; it explores key ideas, themes and terminology to provide you with a clear understanding of its importance to your early years or early childhood studies degree. It will help you: · Understand what it means to think critically, and unpick childhood research · Learn how to analyse, examine and understand the importance of others’ research · Get to know how research is designed and carried out · Appreciate the importance of ethics · Get to grips with translating research into real life in an early childhood setting. Laying the foundations to develop your confidence in talking about research and making links between theory and practice, this book will support you as you begin your research journey into the world of early years.</p

The role of the teacher and other adults

By the end of this chapter, you should be able to: discuss the many roles of the teacher in the education and care of children; examine how teachers work with other adults within and beyond the classroom to develop effective practice that will impact on children's achievement; consider how positive relationships between adults and children can impact on their learning; reflect critically on the values and philosophies you hold regarding the education of children

Classroom organisation and the learning environment

By the end of this chapter, you should be able to: discuss the key factors to consider when providing for an appropriate learning environment; consider how theory and research impact on how the learning environment is designed; reflect critically on learning environments you have observed on placement and question assumed practice; examine how your own values and attitudes as a teacher can impact on the learning environment and the children's learning

Understanding gender and early childhood: an introduction to the key debates

Understanding Gender and Early Childhood is a comprehensive and accessible introduction into the main issues around gender and what these mean for our youngest children. Drawing on key theories and research, and illustrating each topic with case studies, reflective questions and a summary of key points, students are encouraged to question why it is more relevant than ever to consider gender issues and to reflect critically on their own practice and on the practice of others. The three parts examine gender in relation to the children, the workforce and wider society, concluding with inclusive suggestions for the future of the early years classroom. Topics covered include: • how gender impacts on children’s play, learning and achievement, • the gender imbalance in the early years workforce and the impact of this on children, • the gendered ways in which people engage with children, • gender issues in children’s health. This book is an essential read for those studying on Early Years and Early Childhood courses, along with practitioners and anyone else who wants to develop their understanding of the most pressing issues relating to gender and early childhood practice.</p