Following a report from the United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child Monitoring Group in 2017 noting that in Aotearoa New Zealand children's views were not being sought in matters regarding their school, play and feelings of safety, the Children's Commissioner conducted research with school-aged children seeking their related…

Using the concept of a trajectory, we trace one child's negotiation of his sense of belonging within his early childhood centre through analysing his participation in conflict and conflict-like interactions. Video data were gathered 2 days a week over a 6-month period from the start of his attendance at the centre. Sociolinguistic interactional…

This response to the question about what we are angry about and what we dream of for young children reflects our work of over 30 years in Australasia. For Kylie in Australia and for Sonja in Aotearoa New Zealand and now also Australia. We direct the RECE common call, for an elevation of children's rights, to a voice, to a 'good' education, and to…

As the COVID-19 virus has spread worldwide, much attention has been paid to its impact on the health and wellbeing of adults, with less attention to how the virus has impacted on young children. This article draws on documentation and video data from a kindergarten in Aotearoa New Zealand. It discusses the working theories of 4 year-old children…

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…

Towards the end of the first COVID-19 lockdown in early 2020, in Aotearoa New Zealand, the authors conducted a small-scale study to gain insight into children's responses to the pandemic restrictions. As it was not possible to interview children ourselves, we recruited parents to read a set of digital stories about a toy bear in lockdown to their…

"Wellbeing" and "belonging" are explored in this article through sociolinguistic interactional analysis of naturally arising conflict situations, captured ethnographically on video, and through analysis of teachers' discussions during focus groups. Post-conflict analysis of child-led actions revealed children used numerous…

Children's interests are an important basis for creating an early childhood curriculum. However, opportunities to build a curriculum responsive to children's interests may often be missed if busy teachers simply add new resources to activities. This article draws on the notion of "real questions" as a way to interpret children's…

This case study explores child, parent, teacher, and school-leader perspectives of a play-based learning (Pb-L) approach in one new-entrant classroom. Data were gathered through focus groups, interviews and an online survey. Findings indicate that children valued the opportunity for self-initiated, handson, interest-based exploration and social…

This 2-year collaborative research project focused on young children's working theories about identity, language, and culture, how early childhood teachers can nurture and encourage this learning, and how this in turn impacts on children's participation in early childhood education (ECE) communities. The project builds on a previous Teaching and…

Learning as part of a group on the mat is a common experience in children's early education and socialisation. Indeed, many classrooms would have a mat, to which the children are called in addition to chairs and tables (Poveda, 2001). Nonetheless, very little research exists about activity using the mat in junior classrooms either locally or…