Pedagogical documentation and systematic quality work in early childhood: Comparing practices in Western Australia and Sweden

Pedagogical documentation has been understood as an important way for early childhood educators to provide high-quality learning environments for children. The authors explore the contested nature of quality and its interpretation in two cultural contexts: in Western Australia, where pedagogical documentation is a relatively uncommon practice, and in Sweden, where pedagogical documentation is a relatively common practice. These locations were selected to provide a comparison between educators from these two different cultural and policy contexts. The main purpose of pedagogical documentation within the Swedish preschool system is to gain knowledge of how to systematically improve the quality of the preschool. This contrasts with the demands on Australian early childhood educators to ensure children meet achievement standards in the Foundation Year. Six preschool educators in each country responded to interview questions regarding what enables or hinders their systematic quality work. The participants in both countries were using some form of pedagogical documentation in their professional practice. This article draws on interview data and elaborates on the ways these educators understood the role of pedagogical documentation in what they regarded as systematic quality work. The findings provide insight into the impact of both policy and cultural contexts on individual educators' practices when using pedagogical documentation as a means to promote quality. The results indicate that differences in early childhood education policies between countries may lead to important differences in how pedagogical documentation is used by educators in their practice

The development of children's epistemic beliefs across the early years of elementary school

Background: A growing body of research shows that the beliefs we hold about the nature of knowing and knowledge (epistemic beliefs) may mediate moral reasoning. However, a limitation of much of the research in the area of epistemic beliefs is the lack of a longitudinal approach. Aims: The study investigated longitudinal changes in Australian elementary school children's beliefs about knowing and knowledge (epistemic beliefs) across three judgement domains (personal taste, ambiguous facts, and moral values). Sample: The participants in this longitudinal study were tracked from Year 1 through to Year 3 of primary school. In Year 1, there were 169 participants (83 boys, 86 girls) aged 6–7 years (M = 6.7, SD = 0.32). In Year 2, there were 156 participants (79 boys, 77 girls), and in Year 3, there were 129 participants (65 boys, 64 girls). Methods: Using vignettes that reflected each of the three judgement domains, children were interviewed about the beliefs held by two puppet characters. The interviews took place each year across the early years of elementary education in Year 1, Year 2, and Year 3. Results: Findings revealed that children's epistemic beliefs in each of the judgement domains became more subjectivist over time but that the age at which this occurred differed according to the judgement domain in question. Conclusions: We argue that it is important for teachers to pay attention to children's beliefs about the nature of knowledge and knowing in the process of scaffolding their reasoning about moral values for active citizenship.</p