ERIC Number: EJ1278090
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2020
Pages: 9
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0112-0530
EISSN: N/A
Space Speaks: A Portrait of an Early Childhood Centre and the Affordances Provided by the Learning Environment
McChesney, Katrina; Clarkin-Phillips, Jeanette
Early Childhood Folio, v24 n2 p26-34 2020
The quality of early childhood education and care fundamentally depends on teachers' wise practice. However, the environments in which that education and care occur can influence, inform, and shape teachers' practice, and children's and families' experiences. This article draws on a written "portrait" of the learning environment created at one New Zealand early childhood education (ECE) centre, capturing both physical and non-physical aspects of the environment and highlighting the affordances the environment offered to children and families/whanau. A Reggio Emilia lens is used to inform analysis of the learning environment and the associated affordances. The portrait (McChesney, 2020) and this article may support practitioners by providing a vision of what "can be" in terms of early childhood learning environments, and by providing a possible framework for self-review and inquiry.
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Early Childhood Education, Child Care Centers, Educational Environment, Affordances, Educational Quality
New Zealand Council for Educational Research. Level 10, 178 Willis Street, Wellington, New Zealand 6011. Tel: +64 4 802 1445; e-mail: subscriptions@nzcer.org.nz; Web site: https://www.nzcer.org.nz/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Early Childhood Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: New Zealand
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A