Collaborative relationships in practice: Possibilities and challenges

The following three papers examine what collaboration is happening in New Zealand’s early childhood education services currently, and provide exemplars of collaboration in three key areas: with parents and whänau; with Mäori, iwi and marae; and with local Pacific and other ethnic communities. We emphasise some differences in needs and priorities for different service types, and challenges for each. Finally, we discuss the extent to which government and umbrella group systems and policies support early childhood education services to create collaborative relationships. These papers draw from the findings of four recent research projects: An Evaluation of the Initial Uses and Impact of Equity Funding; Quality in Parent/Whänau-led Services; phase 1 of a Locality-based Evaluation of Pathways to the Future – Ngä Huarahi Arataki; and NZCER’s national survey of early childhood education services carried out in late 2003 and early 2004

Introduction

This special issue of the Waikato Journal of Education offers three thought provoking examinations of recent research relevant to early childhood education (ECE) policy. These range from a big picture view of the changing nature of New Zealand’s kindergarten provision to a close up of one kindergarten that has collaborated with other agencies to combine parent education and support and early childhood education. Complementing the two New Zealand articles, a third from an Australian research study explores the multiple challenges in working in an integrated way across professional boundaries. These are articles for teachers, managers, and policy analysts who are interested in leading developments for offering a holistic early years curriculum

Early Childhood Education as Sites for Children’s Citizenship: Tensions, challenges and possibilities in New Zealand’s policy framing

This paper draws on recent research to examine the tensions and challenges inherent in the current market approach to provision of Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) services in Aotearoa New Zealand. We use selected United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCROC) articles to evaluate what the market approach means and explore the implications for children and families. We argue that the market approach has led to duplications and gaps in service provision, and that it has produced inequities in access particularly for low income, ethnically diverse and rural families. We also argue that the market approach has not been able to realise the full potentials for what ECCE provision might look like as services that can offer the best possible support for children's learning and wellbeing, as well as family participation and support, social networks and community cohesion. We argue that we need to establish citizenry rights as a goal for policy development, especially policy about the nature and roles of ECCE provision. Our paper proposes how we might move to a new policy approac

Hero stories: A coping strategy for a child who has autism

This paper explores Hero Stories, a different narrative approach developed to support a child with autism to gain self-control and allow him to navigate his world as a competent and capable learner. It examines the development and use of 'Hero Stories books' as a strategy for assisting a child with autism to cope with stressful situations within the home and school, and explores how these stories can contribute to enhancing a child's sense of themselves as thinkers and powerful learners, in charge of their lives

Turning The Tide on Private Profit-Focused Provision In Early Childhood Education

The article analyses a market-based approach to early childhood education (ECE) provision and the growth of for-profit ECE provision, evidence about ‘quality’ and accessibility, and problems occurring when a need for private profit conflicts with the best interests of families and children. The issue of for-profit provision is set within the context of international developments and solutions in Europe, UK, US and Canada. Immediate steps that might be taken for a democratic system of community-based and public early childhood education in Aotearoa New Zealand are pinpointed. Overall, the article offers possibilities for asserting democratic values as a way towards alternatives in Aotearoa New Zealand’s early childhood education provision

Early childhood education in Aotearoa in a post-Covid world

This article draws on recent research on the impact of Covid-19 on the early childhood education (ECE) sector in Aotearoa. It discusses the innovative ways that ECE services found to communicate with families and children and maintain an education programme during lockdowns, the essential role they played in childcare for children of essential workers, and the approaches some took to “working in solidarity” with children, families, and community. The article discusses crucial issues that need attention at policy and organisational levels. These include new issues that arose during lockdowns, and enduring issues that have intensified. The consequences of three decades of neoliberalism, privatisation and marketisation are briefly discussed and a reimagined vision is put forward

Veterans Upward Bound: A Federally Funded TRIO Program, Preparing Veterans for College at UMass, Boston since 1973

The Veterans Upward Bound Program at the University of Massachusetts Boston provides a unique opportunity for men and women veterans of all ages to acquire the academic skills required for entry into higher education and/or to acquire the equivalent of a high school diploma. This is federally funded TRIO program

Transformative shifts in early childhood education systems after four decades of neoliberalism

Aotearoa New Zealand’s policy shifts to an integrated system of early childhood education (ECE), its development of a bicultural curriculum for all children from birth to five years, and its progress towards a fully qualified, equitably paid, ECE teaching workforce, have partially transformed the ECE system. But there is still much to do. Four decades of neoliberalism have led to the rise of financialised corporate ECE, and weakened the sustainability of community and public provision. This paper analyses the people, politics and processes that facilitated and hindered reform, and proposes policy measures needed to make substantive transformations to a high quality, public and democratic ECE system