We build on mathematicians' descriptions of their work and conceptualize mathematics as an aesthetic endeavor. Invoking the anthropological meaning of practice, we claim that mathematical aesthetic practices shape meanings of and appreciation (or distaste) for particular manifestations of mathematics. To see learners' spontaneous mathematical…

Background: We explore how school-based mathematical experiences shape out-of-school mathematical experiences, developing the idea that learners hybridize norms and practices around authority and evaluation across these two contexts. To situate our study, we build on constructs of participatory identity and framing. Methods: Drawing from a large…

This case study using ethnographic methods addresses how teachers shape cultural processes related to girlhoods, and the roles of children's play in this dynamic. Poststructuralist theory of the carnival was used to analyze gendered, classed power dynamics within two rural Appalachian preschool classrooms influenced by a popular local festival.…

This article examines the socio-cultural significance of birthday cakes with the purpose of reflecting upon birthday cake practices enacted in four early childhood settings in England. I argue that birthday cakes occupy an ambiguous place in early childhood practice: seen to be both "risky"--a term I problematise--"and"…

Describes social behaviors of preschool children in relation to second-language development observed in a multicultural preschool program. The discussion includes examples of behaviors observed early in the year and of early stages of cooperative and sociodramatic play, and observations on the children's cultural adjustments and individual…