This paper is a response to multiculturalism’s reductionist and othering constructions of Black presence in Canadian early childhood research and practice. We engage in possibilities for creating movement away from multiculturalism as the primary way of responding to anti-Blackness in Canadian early childhood education. We put forward orientations that emerge when we imagine the abolition of Canadian early childhood education pedagogies and curriculum that are shaped by neoliberal multiculturalism. We organize our abolitionist praxis in relation to what kinds of stories and modes of storytelling of Black life might be needed in early childhood education in Canada. We focus our attention on three interconnected pedagogical orientations: storying abolition geographies, storying Black ecologies, and storying Black aliveness.
Decolonizing Place in Early Childhood Education encourages readers to consider how the entanglements of settler colonialism, anti-Blackness, and anthropogenic climate change shape pedagogical encou...
Abstract Despite large‐scale studies demonstrating the benefits of teacher interaction to support young children's learning, intentional teaching (IT) in early childhood education (ECE) remains a contested concept. Given the different perspectives associated with IT, the purpose of this study was to undertake a scoping review of the literature focused on IT in ECE. A systematic approach was adopted to map the evidence to identify key concepts, theories, sources and knowledge gaps. Such a review has the potential to assist researchers, practitioners and policy makers to make informed decisions about the different approaches to IT. The 101 items reviewed were selected according to the following criteria: investigated IT in some way; focused on learners aged birth to 8 years; made a conceptual contribution to understanding IT in ECE; full text availability, and published in English between 2010 and 2019, inclusive. The search incorporated a range of items including peer‐reviewed journal articles, research reports, professional journals, an unpublished thesis and books. Results foregrounded the difficulties involved in reconciling IT and child‐led learning through play, and that these difficulties were most fiercely experienced in the 3–5 age group. An overarching conclusion was that theoretical differences influenced how learning was understood, and determined which learning outcomes were articulated and measured. This review suggests that decisions about IT in ECE are dependent on how the purposes of ECE are defined in and through policy. Context and implication Rationale for this study: There appear to have been no systematic reviews of the concept of intentional teaching (IT) in early childhood education (ECE). This scoping literature review sought clarity about the nature and role of intentional teaching. It investigated issues about what, how and when IT is applicable for young children’s learning. Why the new findings matter: Intentional teaching in ECE is a contested concept despite large‐scale studies demonstrating the need for a balance between child‐led and teacher directed learning. This scoping review maps the evidence to identify key concepts, theories, sources and knowledge gaps. Implications for educational researchers and policy makers: This scoping review assists researchers, practitioners and policy makers to make informed decisions about the various approaches to IT. Decisions about IT were related to the purposes of ECE that were identified in policy, making policy influential. Theoretical perspectives framed how learning is understood and the role of educators in that learning. The disjuncture between IT and child‐led learning prevailed especially for children aged 3–5 years.
Susan Grieshaber, Susan Krieg, Felicity McArdle et al.
The idea of professional development in early childhood education is about teachers learning and growing throughout their entire career. Continuous Professional Development is the process of childhood educators learning new things getting more training and thinking about what they do. The main goals of professional development in early childhood education are to make teaching better help teachers know more about how to teach and make sure the children learn as much as they can when they are n young. Continuous professional development, in childhood education is very important because these are the years when children start to learn and develop the most. The basis for lifetime learning, behaviour, and health is laid during the first few years of life, which is why continuous professional development is acknowledged as a key component of high-quality ECE systems worldwide.
Considering the low level of public knowledge about the importance of Early Childhood Education and the low quality of management and the lack of infrastructure (in the form of APE) as well as the many assumptions from the public that Early Childhood Education can only be reached by economically capable people causing lack of motivation to involving their children in the Early Childhood Education program, it is deemed necessary to carry out a study on the optimization of the management of non-formal Early Childhood Education programs held in the community, such as the SPS Early Childhood Education Cempaka which operates in RW 09 Ciwaruga Village, Bandung Regency West. Through the application of qualitative methods with a case study approach, the results of this study reveal that the management process still does not meet the standards required by the government as the organizing program for the Similar Early Childhood Education Unit (SPS) program. Therefore, the manager must be able to define and find ways to achieve all the objectives set through the effective implementation of management functions of Early Childhood Education management.
The purpose of this paper is to offer a theoretical discussion on teacher leadership in early childhood education (ECE) in Chinese contexts. Since 2010, the Chinese government has initiated a comprehensive education reform in ECE, with strategies for developing teacher leadership and promoting education quality. However, at the school level there is a lack of leadership preparation and development, along with a gap between policy initiative and its implementation. How to narrow this gap between policy and practice in teacher leadership has become a critical issue for ECE in China. This paper suggests that ‘formal role or informal role’ and ‘role or practice’ are important dimensions of teacher leadership in a Chinese, policy-driven context. In this regard, it is worth exploring how teacher leadership is conceptualized and enacted in the process of quality improvement and related contextual factors. In doing so, an agenda could be identified for future research, contributing to theories on the development of teacher leadership in the global discourse.
This article explores the teaching methods proposed by Dewey in the context of early childhood education (ECE), focusing on their impact on teacher assessment and evaluation.The study also examines challenges such as balancing structured evaluations with the dynamic and flexible nature of Dewey's pedagogy, and suggests strategies to support teachers in implementing and reflecting on this approach effectively.
This article analyses the status of early childhood education in Pakistan. The education systems in place in Pakistan are mainly framed within a didactic approach to teaching and learning, which addresses certain areas of education but does not teach the child as a whole. Domains of children’s holistic development such as social, ethical, cultural, intellectual, emotional and physical well-being, and some other key academic skills, are not fully covered. In this kind of education, students are taught to follow rules without question and do as instructed, which corresponds to an autocratic view of learning. In the context of early childhood education in Pakistan, teachers occupy dominant roles, which positions them as the imparters and sources of knowledge and children as dependent and the receivers of knowledge, rather than considering them as potential, curious and powerful learners with unlimited capabilities. The literature indicates that this approach to teaching and learning does not privilege the holistic development and well-being of children. In contrast, many developed countries use research-based contemporary approaches to children’s education and development, giving children a more central role in their learning to ensure that every child has the opportunity to develop to their full potential. This kind of approach reminds teachers to view all children not as needy or deficient individuals.
Digital literacy is a person's interests, attitudes, abilities, and skills in using digital technology-based devices. These skills are used to access, manage, integrate, analyze and evaluate the information needed and obtained, build new knowledge and create relationships or communication with others to participate effectively in society. This study aims to explore and explain the application of digital literacy in Early Childhood Education (ECE) institutions. The research method is descriptive quantitative with a survey technique. The instrument used is a questionnaire in the form of a Google-Form (G-Form) which is distributed online via Instagram, WhatsApp, and email. The population is ECE teachers, and a sample of 318 ECE teachers from various provinces was collected randomly. The data collected were analyzed descriptively with simple quantification. The results of the study indicate that the application of digital literacy in ECE can be implemented in a limited way and the implementation process must involve teachers and parents/guardians. The recommendation conveyed was the need for strict supervision for the implementation of digital literacy in early childhood.
