The article reports and reflects on a study of kindergarten staff member's gendered attitudes. The empirical part consists of answers to a questionnaire from some 700 staff members of all 80 kindergartens in two Danish municipalities. The theoretical approach is informed by the framework of Pierre Bourdieu and the Mary Douglas' Grid Group Cultural…

The aim of this study was to explore Norwegian early childhood education and care (ECEC) practitioners' perceptions and practices regarding children's indoor and outdoor rough-and-tumble play (R&T) from a gender perspective. A questionnaire and semi-structured interviews were used together in a mixed method design to provide quantitative data…

Based on many years' work designing introductory, immersive, aesthetic experiences that lead to problem-based learning (PBL) tasks for student teachers (called "INTRO"), we problematize the concept of creativity and playfulness in Early Childhood Teacher Education (ECTE). The article reports on our analysis of students' experiences of…

The main purpose of this article is to study the influence of social support on mentoring provided and the moderating influence of having a higher education. This cross-sectional survey was based on a questionnaire that was sent to 435 employees from 29 preschools in Norway. A total of 284 responses were returned, a response rate of 65.3%. Three…

This paper explores teacher-reported prevalence of rough-and-tumble play (R&T) in preschool and investigates how their restriction to such play varies in different play environments (indoor and outdoor). An electronic questionnaire exploring preschool teachers' beliefs and practices regarding children's dramatic play themes was conducted by…

This article compares the division of labour between kindergarten teachers and assistants in Norwegian kindergartens and discusses the two groups' perceptions of what kind of knowledge is important in order to carry out their tasks. This study is based on a survey representing kindergartens from all over Norway, and is part of a national research…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to study the influence of problem-solving tasks on mentoring received, peer mentoring and mentoring provided. Design/methodology/approach: This cross-sectional survey was based on a questionnaire that was sent to a total of 435 employees from 29 pre-schools in Norway. A total of 284 responses were returned, a…

While there is a growing interest in children's risk-taking behaviours and their safety when at play, there is also a focus on the need to balance the hazards of risks with the benefits of risk. This is also a growing concern among researchers of early childhood education and care (ECEC). The research conducted thus far on ECEC practitioners'…

This study examined play and learning in the natural environment and on the playgrounds of Slovene preschools. It included 140 preschool teachers and 264 parents of children who attended preschools in 21 Slovene towns. Data were collected through questionnaires with questions referring to time spent outdoors, children's outdoor activities,…

It can be difficult for students to relate theoretical knowledge and practical skills when making the transition from the classroom to professional practice. The concept of coherence has been suggested as an appropriate way to address how the relationships involved (i.e. between theoretical knowledge and practical skills and between classroom…

Narratives require the integration of many different linguistic skills and can be used as an ecologically valid measure of child language development. This study investigated the narrative skills of 18 six- to seven-year-old prelingually deaf children who received simultaneous bilateral cochlear implants (CI) between 5 and 18 months of age. No…