Spontaneous singing is widely acknowledged as an important part of young children's everyday musical experience. However, its fleeting and often private nature makes it difficult to study. Research into young children's singing at home frequently relies on data gathered through parental reporting, and studies are often limited to small sample…

This article explores how drawing, facilitated by teacher prompts, provides opportunities for children to communicate their new connections in and sense of belonging with Aotearoa New Zealand, whilst sustaining connections with people and experiences from their home country. We use an ethnomethodological framework (Garfinkel, 1967) and a…

Teacher expectations influence how children fare in education. However, we know little about how 4- and 5-year-old children in Aotearoa New Zealand perceive their curriculum experiences. This qualitative study utilised interviews to explore the perceptions of 12 children (attending kindergarten and school) regarding their teachers' expectations of…

This article uses explores how young children use self-directed spontaneous singing at home as a tool of personal agency. Although researchers are increasingly interested in spontaneous singing that takes place outside formal education and care settings, there remains little research into young children's self-directed singing at home. With…

The Early Start Denver Model (ESDM) is a promising early intervention for promoting improved social, cognitive, and communication outcomes for young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, most studies evaluating group-based delivery of this program have used 15-25 h per week of intervention in specialized ESDM preschools with low…

This paper reports on findings from a study that explored the efficacy of a home-based literacy intervention in advancing preschool children's foundational literacy skills. A secondary line of enquiry in the study sought to determine the effects of the intervention on the family literacy practices, in particular, the way in which families engaged…

The collection of papers contained in this special issue was elicited by a worldwide call for papers to explore settings that provided nature experiences for young children, with attention given to the effects that these initiatives have on the holistic development and environmental awareness of the children, as well as impacts on the teachers and…

PIRLS (Progress in International Reading Literacy Study) was inaugurated in 2001 as a follow-up to International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement's 1991 Reading Literacy Study. Conducted every five years, PIRLS assesses the reading achievement of young students in their fourth year of schooling--an important transition…

Belonging has long been conceptualised as a fundamental human need, essential for the good health of individuals and communities. In relation to young children, belonging may be linked to their developing sense of identity, as well as the way they perceive and respond to others. Belonging is emerging as an important aspect of contemporary early…

Beginning teaching is challenging; this article examines the realities of practice for beginning early childhood teachers. Fourteen participants in their first year of teaching were interviewed; they worked in private and public early childhood education settings. Findings reveal that the reality of moving from the role of the student to teacher…

This study investigated the emergent literacy and language skills of four-year-old children in New Zealand during their kindergarten year prior to school-entry. A total of 92 four-year-old children from a range of socio-economic areas were seen individually at their local kindergarten and were assessed on code-related measures (letter name…

The purpose of this study was to apply and explore, in the context of an Icelandic preschool, the methods developed by the New Zealand "Te Whaariki" curriculum to assess children's well-being and learning dispositions. This article describes the process of piloting learning stories as a research method, where researchers and preschool…

Focuses on the early childhood care and education of Maori children in New Zealand preschool groups and the efforts made to help them cope successfully in both Maori and Western worlds. (CM)

This paper reports a series of studies of environmental cognition. Conducted among American preschoolers, Navajo and Puerto Rican school children, and American, Mexican and Maori adults, all of the studies employ techniques of environmental modelling that permit objects such as buildings, trees and vehicles. A pilot test of the environmental…

Child care in New Zealand and Australia has become a crucial part of the child-rearing system, and most preschool children spend a prolonged period in at least one away-from-home environment for a substantial part of the day. Because so many preschool children are exposed to a child care environment before entering school, the transition from…