Research

Telling stories of learning and beyond: using the learning story approach to help kindergarten teachers to conceptualise play-based teaching and learning in China

Hongwei Di
Play-based teaching and learning approaches are recognised as enabling teachers to interact with children and support learning in a relaxed environment to promote children’s holistic development. Recent studies increasingly emphasise that teachers’ engagement can promote children’s opportunities to learn through play. This article presents results from a qualitative case study undertaken in a kindergarten in China, with three Chinese kindergarten teachers exploring play-based teaching and learning in their classrooms. Learning story, a narrative assessment approach, was introduced to the Chinese kindergarten teachers prior to the research as a tool for them to record and reflect on their play-based learning practices. Nine learning stories were collected and nine follow-up semi-structured interviews were conducted to explore three research questions: 1). what was the teacher’s role in playful activities? 2). what learning was identified? 3). how were play and learning linked and sustained over time? Findings indicate that the three Chinese teachers demonstrated a continuum of guidance for their interaction with children in play and that cultural factors played a role in teachers’ conceptualisation and implementation of play-based learning. These findings contribute to understanding of play-based pedagogy in a particular cultural context.

Considerations of quality: examining theoretical perspectives informing infant and toddler pedagogy in Aotearoa/New Zealand

Rachel Winslow, Elysia Green & Raewyn Penman
With the growing participation of infants and toddlers in group care settings ongoing examination and research into what constitutes quality education and care for this age group is paramount. Theories and approaches espoused in Aotearoa/New Zealand’s mandated early childhood curriculum Te Whāriki: He whāriki mātauranga mo ngā mokopuna o Aotearoa. Early childhood curriculum (Ministry of Education, 2017) were examined to ascertain how they could inform quality pedagogy and practice with infants and toddlers. The research used an integrative literature review methodology to investigate the theoretical underpinnings of this curriculum and how these aligned to quality pedagogy for infants and toddlers. Evidence emerging from the research found many similarities between the pedagogical practices related to each theory and alignment with quality experiences for infants and toddlers. Moving forward it is suggested that an increased depth of knowledge of theories and their relationship to pedagogy for infants and toddlers would enhance teaching practice. The review also recommends that further research should be undertaken into how kaiako conceptualise and enact educational theory in infant and toddler ECEC settings.

Playing to our strength: An Appreciative Inquiry approach to appraisal

Debbie Ryder, Teresa Huggins & Shelley Sugrue
Appraisal processes are a requirement for professionals working in the education sector. Often appraisal processes do not focus on strengths, rather, it becomes a process of meeting pre-determined requirements. This article takes a strength-based approach to appraisal and discusses a study which pilots the use of an Appreciative Growth Cycle process. The study focused on the growth of future professional practice within an organisational team. An Appreciative Inquiry methodology (Cooperrider & Srivastva, 1987) guided the study. The purpose of the study was to trial the feasibility and application of the Appreciative Growth Cycle process for its possible use across a wider organisational context. The research question therefore that drove the study was: In what ways might the use of an Appreciative Growth Cycle process be applied within a wider organisational context?