Mind Mapping can be used in any discipline as a tool for learning and organizing information. Mind Maps can be created as a group as a means of supporting brainstorming or individually to generate ideas. The aim of the present study was to explore preschool children's and teacher trainees' conceptions of school, friendship, and play through Mind…

Preschools and kindergartens will become the happiest environment for children when they adopt innovative thinking about the value of active playful learning, have only developmentally appropriate expectations, manage behavior solely with kindness, and, in general, foster healthy social-emotional development and create a joyful, positive…

There is a tendency in European education policy to emphasise more and better deliberate learning outcomes. The tendency is criticised for taking an instrumental view of education [Biesta, G. (2010). Good education in an age of measurement: "Ethics, politics, democracy." Routledge,; van Manen, M. (2008). Pedagogical sensitivity and…

Adults' behaviour in interactions with children is assumed to influence children's playfulness. However, little is known about how the quality of teacher-child interaction in early childhood education and care affects the development of children's playfulness, although the interaction quality has been identified as a strong predictor of children's…

This case study intended to investigate how early childhood preservice teachers' interaction skills were improved throughout teaching practice within the framework of learning-oriented assessment. The data of the study were collected from 17 preservice teachers in early childhood education. Observation notes and reflective journals were used as…

A growing number of toddlers are attending childcare institutions as part of China's establishment of its infant-toddler childcare service system. However, there is limited empirical evidence available regarding the quality of these childcare services. The purpose of this study is to investigate the quality of teacher - child interactions in…

Interactions between preschool teachers and children, taking place in early childhood education and care (ECEC) institutions, have an enormous impact on child development. The quality and quantity of these interactions are crucial. This study aims at observing the actual behaviour of preschool teachers during their interactions with children in…

In this article, the authors argue for a rethinking of kindergarten education from a critical feminist perspective. They illustrate how the devaluation and denigration of femininity and care - otherwise known as femmephobia - that permeates patriarchal societies is present in the seemingly innocent spaces of play in kindergarten. Tracing…

Drawing upon Judith Butler's conceptualisation of performativity and subjectification, this article explores the effects of different kinds of counter political action to disrupt exclusionary school practices that further marginalise children who are, often already, on the edges of school life. Firstly, tracing the impossibilities sometimes…

This paper presents data from a multi-year ethnography of a rural preschool in the United States in which children engaged in substantial free and structured imaginative play. An unexpected parent death during the course of the data collection period was followed by a spate of death-related play and storytelling by the children, with varied adult…

Bullying-related phenomena are reported as growing problems in early childhood education and care (ECEC), which calls for structures for teachers' handling of these problems. Using an approach that emphasises bullying as a social, socially situated and contextual phenomenon, we investigate how such an approach can facilitate a positive change in…

The purpose of this essay is to propose a manifesto of young children's rights in the early childhood classroom based on Vivian Paley's many formal classroom investigations into children's thinking, learning, and social emotional development. Analysis establishes, first, Paley's license to speak for young children by positioning her in the only…

This report offers insight into a reflective and critical practitioner's role in carefully planning an environment that reflects young children's need for independence. Education as an agent of liberation is the key to the child obtaining that freedom and achieving independence. It is argued that liberation can only be achieved when an effective…

Children are constantly working to make sense of themselves, their experiences, and their worlds. One way that children tend to do this is through creating artifacts. By engaging in discussions around, and interacting with these artifacts, teachers and educators are able to gain further insight into the experiences of children. Through observing…

Emotions can either help or hinder students' learning. This is especially true in early childhood education. This article analyzes data on how two early childhood teachers account for students' emotions in their teaching, a process we call "emotional scaffolding." These teachers use emotional scaffolding for three main instructional…