The COVID-19 pandemic poses multiple challenges for young children in the modern world. Listening to, and capturing, the experiences and perspectives of young children on the pandemic are congruent with our sense of an inclusive, democratic society which values solidarity and the right to be heard, yet too often the voices of young children are…

Way to Play is an approach that supports adults to promote the engagement of young children with autism spectrum disorder through play. The Ministry of Education in New Zealand has collaborated with Autism New Zealand to ensure the sustainable delivery of Way to Play within Auckland's early learning services by training early intervention staff to…

Here the authors explore everyday teaching strategies that work to implement early childhood curriculum frameworks, using published transcripts of video-recorded data of real-life teacher-child interactions in early childhood centres in Australia and New Zealand. The analysis uses a conversation analysis approach to reveal the sequences of action…

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…

A gender-diverse workforce is becoming the global goal for high-quality early childhood programming. Having a balance of female and male early care and education (ECE) professionals supports greater flexibility in the gender role expectations of young children and helps girls and boys avoid stereotypic assumptions about gender. This article lists…

Early childhood education Centres of Innovation (COI) were established in 2002 as part of the 10-year plan for early childhood education, "Pathways to the Future/Nga Huarahi Arataki." In COI projects, innovative early childhood teaching teams reflect on and investigate their practices through action research, and share their findings…

This qualitative study investigated the experiences of two pairs of boys (one pair typically developing, one pair with Down Syndrome) during their transitions to school. The boys were observed using continuous narrative recordings, during all aspects of the curriculum. Their teachers, parents and peers were also interviewed. Results indicated that…

Attention to spirituality is proposed to be a means of restoring and supporting well-being in early childhood educational contexts. In Aotearoa, New Zealand, the spiritual dimension is included in the early childhood curriculum "Te Whariki". This holistic approach to education supported research in three different early childhood…

Early childhood institutions underwent a dramatic transformation in the twentieth century, with the perceptions of children not attending preschool reflecting shifts in political, educational, and social opinions regarding the best place for the rearing and education of young children. This lecture presents some historical "maps" of…

Studied rates of family breakdown in families of New Zealand children (N=1,002) from birth to five years. By five years nearly one child in eight had experienced a family breakdown. Rates were related to family formation and social factors. Risk factors were modeled using the proportional hazards model. (JAC)

There has been concern in New Zealand about whether the level and pace of licensing and chartering Pacific Islands early childhood centers (PIECCs) are sufficient to meet current needs. This study identified obstacles to the attainment of licensed and chartered status as assessed by key informants from agencies working with Pacific Islands…

Two experiments examined the effects of drawing on young children's memory of an event one day and one month later, respectively. Children who were asked to draw what happened were as accurate and reported more information than children who were asked to tell what happened, although only the verbal reports of both groups were scored. (MDM)

This collection of conference papers from New Zealand's Early Childhood Development Unit's November 1992 Parent Support Conference and the Parenting Promotion Launch presents a wide range of views on parenting and shows the support available for parents from numerous organizations. The conference began 2 weeks of activities throughout New Zealand…

The Kohanga Reo, or "language nest" centers, provide places where Maori children can learn their native language. In its partnership with Te Kohanga Reo, the New Zealand Early Intervention Service has: (1) sent representatives to Maori tribal committee meetings; (2) ensured Kohanga Reo representation on early intervention management…

The early education policy of the National Party government in New Zealand is based on the Parents As First Teachers (PAFT) approach and the New Parents as Teachers project, which originated in the United States in Missouri. It is difficult to assess this project, which is not well-documented. The PAFT policy that parents should be home with…