Prevailing heteronormative discourses in early childhood education in Aotearoa New Zealand present difficulties for upholding the right of gender diverse tamariki ("children") and lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, intersex and queer-parented families to experience belonging in equitable, inclusive early childhood settings. The purposeful…

In this empirical study we analyse how children (aged four- to six-years-old) through communicative engagement with their teachers around their own drawings are supported in developing representational insight, that is, going from indicative sign-making to symbolic understanding. Theoretically, the analysis is informed by a sociocultural…

Profiling human beings occurs daily throughout our society, typically grounded in inaccuracies, misperceptions, and biases related to race, faith, sexual orientation, language, family structure, and other factors. This article appropriates discriminatory profiling in conjunction with conceptualization of diversity as a verb to vividly convey the…

This paper examines early childhood education (ECE) by applying and developing relational-spatial perspectives on everyday life in educational institutions for young children. The aim is to investigate the dynamic process of construction of space and to illustrate with selected empirical episodes how this process occurs in ECE. Drawing on authors…

The study focuses on how young children are socialised in early childhood education practice in activities with and around toys. A premise of this study is the theoretical notion of sociocultural theory that people do things with artefacts and other cultural tools, and tools do things with people. This is captured in the unit of analysis,…

Young children are keenly motivated to inquire into and make meaning about their worlds. This article discusses "working theories", one of two indicative learning outcomes of the New Zealand early childhood curriculum, "Te Whariki". Working theories occur as children attempt to find connections between their experiences and…

Due to globalisation and rapid technological change, today's educators need to help students develop multi-literacy competencies to enable them to function successfully in our culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) and increasingly connected global and digital society. A qualitative, longitudinal case study attempted to uncover the…

In this article, I explore emotions in relation to social justice dialogue and share vignettes to illustrate how emotions are embodied, situated and fissured, drawing upon narrative, critical sociocultural and rhizomatic theories. Data comes from a practitioner inquiry while teaching 5- and 6-year-olds in a summer enrichment program in a…

Contemporary social theory and the United Nations (1989) "Convention on the Rights of the Child" have forged current interest in the concept of children's citizenship. However, what citizenship is and can be for young children is surrounded by much debate and ambiguity. This article discusses explorations of possibilities of children's…

There is a disparity of mathematics achievement between native English speakers and English language learners (ELL). This study sought to understand the barriers ELL kindergarten students faced in being successful in mathematics. The purpose of this qualitative, instrumental case study was to explore kindergarten teachers' perceptions…

This paper explores whether teachers' habits and assumptions about their practice can be enhanced by continued professional development through nurturing self-awareness of lived experiences. Within the paper a practical understanding of critical reflection as a process is explored and particular attention is given to Moon's assertion that one…

This article is about spiritual development for early childhood Jewish education. Findings from a research study defines the spiritual development of young children as an integration of deep connections, basic dispositions (strengthened from experiences of wonderment, awe, joy, inner peace), and complex dispositions (displayed through acts of…

This paper draws on research exploring young children's playful and humorous communication. It explores how playful activity mediates and connects children in complex activity systems where imagination, cognition, and consciousness become distributed across individuals. Children's playfulness is mediated and distributed via artefacts (tools, signs…

Queer theory is a new theory about gender. It is relevant to early childhood educators who wish to find new ways of understanding and challenging persistent gender stereotypes. The theory links gender stereotypes to the norms of heterosexuality. It is definitely "not" a theory about gay and lesbian identity. Queer theory is "queer" because it…

Thayer-Bacon uses this opportunity to further explore Ranciere's ideas concerning equality as described in "The Ignorant Schoolmaster" and their connection to democracy, as he explains in "Hatred of Democracy". For Ranciere, intelligence and equality are synonymous terms, just as reason and will are synonymous terms. Ranciere recommends the only…