Preschool Practice Research Articles

„Að geta átt góð samskipti við aðra – ég held að það sé mikilvægast“ Gildamenntun í leikskóla

Rannsóknin byggir á gögnum úr starfendarannsókn sem unnin var í samstarfi við sjö leikskólakennara á höfuðborgarsvæðinu og stóð yfir í 24 mánuði. Markmiðið var að kanna viðhorf leikskólakennaranna til gilda og gildamenntunar (e. values education) og skoða hvernig þeir miðla gildum til leikskólabarna. Hér verður leitast við að svara eftirfarandi rannsóknarspurningum: 1) Hvaða gildi telja leikskólakennarar mikilvægast að miðla til leikskólabarna og hvers vegna? 2) Hvernig líta leikskólakennarar á eigið hlutverk í gildamenntun? 3) Hvernig miðla leikskólakennarar gildum til barna?Í rannsókninni er stuðst við skilgreiningu Halstead og Taylor (2000) um að gildi séu eins konar reglur og grundvallarsannfæring sem leiðbeina fólki varðandi hegðun. Litið er svo á að gildi fólks birtist bæði í huga þess og athöfnum (Hitlin og Piliavin, 2004; Tappan, 2006).Stuðst er við félagsmenningarlegt viðhorf til náms (e. sociocultural perspective) þar sem litið er á að nám sé óaðskiljanlegt frá því félagslega samhengi sem það fer fram í (Säljö, 2005; Vygotsky, 1978). Kenning Habermas um samskipti (e. theory of communicative action) var nýtt til þess að greina hvernig kennarar miðla gildum. Habermas taldi að nám færi að mestu fram í gegnum samskipti og lagði áherslu á að þess vegna ætti að leggja meiri áherslu á samskipti í menntun barna, þar sem börnin væru virkir þátttakendur (Edgar, 2006; Habermas, 1995).Niðurstöðurnar sýna að leikskólakennararnir sem tóku þátt í rannsókninni völdu að leggja áherslu á umhyggju, virðingu og aga. Þessi þrjú gildi voru valin vegna þess að þau voru talin styðja við félagsfærni barnanna. Leikskólakennararnir töldu sitt hlutverk í gildamenntun einkum felast í að vera góðar fyrirmyndir en einnig kom fram að mikilvægt væri að nota orð og hugtök sem börnin skildu yfir þau gildi sem ætti að leggja áherslu á. Gildamenntun var frekar dulin í starfinu í upphafi, en varð skýrari þegar leið á starfendarannsóknina.

Supporting language development in Lebanese preschools: SLT and pre-KT practice and perception of roles.

Speech and language therapists (SLTs) are increasingly engaging in school-based interventions targeting children with language difficulties. Collaborative work between teachers and SLTs has shown to be beneficial in fostering language development in all children. Both groups of professionals have different but complementary roles in offering language support, according to children's needs. Effective collaboration between SLTs and teachers requires both parties to understand their roles and practices in schools. However, little is known about language support practices in Lebanese preschools and the roles of SLTs in these contexts. (1) To explore the perceptions and reported practices among preschool teachers (pre-KTs) to support language development; (2) to investigate the current practices of SLTs in preschools; and (3) to understand pre-KTs' and SLTs' perceptions of the SLTs' role in Lebanese preschools. Using a quantitative method, the study reports the results of two questionnaires (one for pre-KTs and one for SLTs) that were developed based on a review of the academic literature and adapted to the contextual realities. Questionnaires were completed in hard or soft copy by pre-KTs and through an online survey by SLTs. The questionnaires were completed by 1259 out of 1442 pre-KTs from 175 Lebanese preschools, and by 200 out of 391 SLTs from across Lebanon. First, the findings show that both professional groups recognize they have a role in supporting language development. Second, differences in reported practices were identified regarding language strategies for children with communication needs. In particular, pre-KTs reported less use of specific language strategies targeting children with language difficulties, while SLTs reported that their practices in schools remain primarily focused on children with communication needs. Finally, the analysis of perceptions showed a lack of acknowledgement of the SLTs' role in the prevention of communication and language disorders among all children. This study provides an overview of the perceptions and reported practices of language development support in Lebanese preschools. The majority of SLTs and pre-KTs acknowledge their role in supporting language development. However, the slight differences in perceptions of SLT roles in prevention interventions highlight the necessity for SLTs to promote their active involvement in services targeting all children. Future research will investigate how SLTs are beginning to reconceptualize their role in intervention for preschool children. This will help to better define SLTs' roles and responsibilities in educational settings and foster effective professional collaboration. What this paper adds What is already known on the subject Collaboration between teachers and SLTs has been shown to be beneficial in supporting language among all children. The way SLTs and pre-KTs view each other's roles could result in more effective professional collaboration. The SLT profession in Lebanon emerged about 20 years ago, yet SLTs are still struggling to define a framework for the scope of their practice in Lebanese preschools and to increase awareness of the relevance of their intervention in language. What this paper adds to existing knowledge The results revealed that there are major agreements between pre-KTs and SLTs concerning the support of language development in preschools. However, the findings highlight slight differences in the perception of the SLTs' role in the prevention of communication, language and literacy disorders in educational settings. It seems that their role is more commonly acknowledged for children with identified language and communication needs. Moreover, despite the strong agreement between both professionals on the role of the SLT to target all children, SLTs' practices in preschools are still mostly limited to meeting only referred and diagnosed needs in children. What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work? This study's findings contribute to a better understanding of the perceptions regarding the roles and practices of both groups of professionals in language development. The differences in how the SLTs' roles are perceived could lead to a more difficult implementation of collaborative language practices in preschools. It is therefore necessary to ensure a better understanding of the roles played by professionals, who could receive the relevant training in undergraduate education programmes. There is also a pressing need to provide a clearer definition of SLTs' roles in educational settings by reconceptualizing them into a preventive approach in collaboration with teachers.

Student teachers’ professional development: early practice and horizontal networks as ways to bridge the theory-practice gap

ABSTRACT This article focuses on student teachers’ professional development and explores how the students connect theory and practice in these processes. Data consist of 17 talks during weekly seminars with 15 preschool student teachers and a group of researchers both at campus and at the practicum placements during their first term. Initially, the researchers introduced discussions with an aim to challenge the students' views on general societal issues as well as specific issues related to the preschool practice. Eventually, the seminars changed toward student and researchers being more equal interlocutors. Experiences were discussed and relations between theory and practice were elaborated. Analyses from an ecological perspective of teacher agency show that the student teachers’ agency develops from a naïve to a proactive understanding of the profession. The early practicum period in combination with regular seminars was important for the student teachers’ developing profession. The practicum period provides practical challenges, and the seminar discussions with researchers provides theoretical challenges. Implications for teacher education are discussed, such as offering horizontal teacher networks where students get support to be able to develop their professional agency.

PRACTICES AND CHALLENGES OF PUBLIC AND PRIVATE PRESCHOOLS OF JIGJIGA CITY ADMINISTRATION

The main purpose of this study was to assess practices and challenges of preschool education in Jijiga City administration. Mixed design was employed (both quantitative and qualitative) for this study. 19 preschool centres (6 public and 13 private preschools) were randomly selected for the study. 51 preschool teachers (12 teachers from public and 39 teachers from private teacher) were selected. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect quantitative data in which 57 items were filled by preschool teachers which are dealing with Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) practices. Interview, FGD, observation and document analysis were used to triangulate the data collected using questionnaire. Percentage and thematic analysis were used to analyze the quantitative and qualitative data respectively. The main findings revealed that preschool practices in all sampled preschools were found to be below standard, unable to use local stories since teachers were not from the community and knowledge of parents, teachers and principals towards contribution of the preschool was found to be limited. It was found that 82.4% of the preschool had no early childhood care and education qualification, and 70.6% of the preschool teachers did not agreed that all sampled preschools had inadequate classroom space, 64.7% of the preschool centres did not have age appropriate chairs. Similarly, 76.5 % of the preschool had no any out-door playing material and 100 % of all preschool did not used approved curriculum and lack of appropriate teaching used in most of the preschool were some of the main finding. The Ethiopia Somali Regional Education Bureau is recommended to address shortage of trained ECCE teachers, develop standardized ECCE curriculum, applying developmentally appropriate content, materials, and teaching methods, use locally and culturally appropriate materials and assign teachers who can speak the local language of the community.

Multi Perspectives on Play Based Curriculum Quality Standards in the Center Learning Model

Multi Perspectives on Play Based Curriculum Quality Standards in the Center Learning Model

Mat á námi og vellíðan barna: Lærdómur af samstarfsrannsókn í fimm leikskólum

Grein þessi fjallar um samstarfsrannsókn (e. collaborative action research) sem unnin var í samstarfi RannUng (Rannsóknarstofu í menntunarfræði ungra barna) og fimm leikskóla í sveitarfélögum á höfuðborgarsvæðinu. Markmið þessarar samstarfsrannsóknar var að þróa leiðir til að meta nám og vellíðan barna í þátttökuleikskólunum, í samræmi við áherslur í Aðalnámskrá leikskóla 2011. Tilgangurinn var að leikskólakennarar og leiðbeinendur í leikskólunum þróuðu matsaðferðir sem jafnframt endurspegluðu þau viðhorf til náms sem byggt er á í leikskólastarfinu. Rannsóknin var skipulögð með samstarfsrannsóknarsniði, þar sem þátttakendur í hverjum leikskóla völdu og mótuðu matsaðferðir út frá meginmarkmiðum leikskólastarfsins í samstarfi við háskólakennara og meistaranema frá Menntavísindasviði Háskóla Íslands sem studdu við ferlið og héldu utan um rannsóknir og kynningu á verkefninu. Niðurstöður leiddu í ljós að misræmi var á viðhorfum þátttakenda til náms og þeirra matsaðferða sem stuðst var við í leikskólunum. Megináhersla í leikskólastarfinu var á félagsfærni, vellíðan og sköpun barna en við mat á námi hafði verið lögð áhersla á að meta þroskaþætti svo sem varðandi málþroska og hljóðkerfisvitund. Í ljósi þess að aðstæður í leikskólunum voru misjafnar og þær leiðir sem þátttakendur völdu til að ná markmiðum í hverjum leikskóla voru ólíkar má segja að lærdómur í hverjum leikskóla beri þess merki. Í öllum leikskólunum mátti greina viðhorfsbreytingu hjá leikskólakennurum en sérstaklega hjá leiðbeinendum. Breytingin birtist í að með því að skrá það sem fram fór beindu leikskólakennarar og leiðbeinendur athygli sinni meira að áhuga barnanna og sjónarmið þeirra urðu sýnilegri í leikskólastarfinu. Þróun skráninga sem nýta mátti í mati á námi og vellíðan barna komst vel á veg í nokkrum leikskólanna. Mikilvægur þáttur námssöguskráninga felst í ígrundun, en þann þátt hefðu flestir þátttakendur í þessari rannsókn mátt þróa betur. Tveir leikskólanna nýttu stafræna tækni meira en aðrir og þátttakendur í þeim leikskólum létu vel af því. Ekki virtist þó sem tæknin veitti meira svigrúm til ígrundunar. Skráningarnar voru gjarnan, en þó mismikið, nýttar til breytinga með það að markmiði að styðja betur við áhuga, nám og styrkleika barna, en þær reyndust sjaldan nýttar til ígrundunar með börnunum.

„Það var eitthvað meira þarna“: Mat á námi með áherslu á vellíðan barna

Mat á námi og vellíðan barna er hluti af starfi leikskóla samkvæmt Aðalnámskrá leikskóla 2011. Hér verður greint frá rannsókn sem gerð var með sex starfsmönnum eins leikskóla á Íslandi og er hluti af samstarfsrannsókn (e. collaborative action research) sem unnin var í samstarfi RannUng (Rannsóknarstofu í menntunarfræði ungra barna) og fimm leikskóla á Stór-Reykjavíkursvæðinu. Í upphafi auglýsti RannUng eftir þátttakendum sem hefðu hug á að vinna að þróun mats í leikskólum. Í þeim leikskóla sem hér er fjallað um voru þátttakendur aðstoðarleikskólastjóri ásamt tveimur leikskólakennurum og þremur leiðbeinendum á einni leikskóladeild með 24 börnum sem flest voru þriggja ára í upphafi vetrar. Rannsóknin stóð yfir frá september 2016 til maí 2017. Markmið rannsóknarinnar var að starfsfólk ígrundaði eigin starfshætti og þróaði aðferðir við mat á námi og vellíðan barna. Rannsóknargögn byggja á viðtölum og athugunum sem greind voru í þeim tilgangi að sýna ferli framkvæmdarinnar og stöðu þess mats sem fram fór á deildinni. Niðurstöður benda til þess að mat á námi og vellíðan barnanna hafi í upphafi vetrar fyrst og fremst farið fram í samræðum starfsfólks, sem taldi að skráning væri ekki næg í leikskólastarfinu. Það sem metið var í upphafi vetrar tengdist hljóðvitund, málþroska, félagshæfni, hegðun og almennum þroska. Mat þetta fór fram fyrir foreldraviðtöl og í sérstökum tilvikum. Hugmyndir starfsfólks um mat á námi og líðan breyttust yfir veturinn. Starfsfólk fór að fylgjast betur með líðan barna í stað hegðunar þeirra. Þróaðar voru námssögur og var staða barnanna og geta greind og ígrunduð út frá námssögunum. Skráning námssagna reyndist falla vel að því mati sem þegar var framkvæmt á deildinni. Fagvitund leikskólakennaranna skerptist í ferlinu og þeim fannst þeir geta virkjað það sem þeir höfðu áður lært og reynt um börn, áhuga þeirra og líðan. Leiðbeinendurnir töldu sig hafa lært mikið af þátttöku í rannsókninni og þróað faglegri starfshætti, ásamt því að ígrundun um börnin og athafnir þeirra varð þeim tamari. Þátttakendur juku vitund sína um líðan barna og stöðu þeirra innan barnahópsins. Þeir tóku betur eftir börnum sem voru utanveltu í barnahópnum. Samstarfsrannsóknin jók fagvitund jafnt leikskólakennara sem leiðbeinenda, þó kom fram í viðtölum að lærdómur þeirra síðarnefndu virtist enn meiri. Þátttakan í rannsókninni dró athygli þeirra að börnunum, námi þeirra og líðan og gerði þeim kleift að mæta börnunum með því að lesa í tjáningu þeirra. Með þessu móti veittu námssöguskráningarnar þeim nýja innsýn í heim barnanna.

Þróun námssöguskráninga – þátttaka foreldra og barna

Mat á námi barna, sem á sér stað í leik þeirra og athöfnum, er mikilvægt fyrir leikskólakennara, annað starfsfólk, foreldra og börnin sjálf til að auka þekkingu og skilning á þroska þeirra, námi þeirra og líðan. Í Aðalnámskrá leikskóla frá 2011 er lögð áhersla á að námsmat eigi að vera reglubundinn þáttur í skólastarfi og er leikskólum ætlað að þróa fjölbreyttar aðferðir við að meta nám og vellíðan barna. Rannsóknin, sem hér er fjallað um, var samstarfsrannsókn (e. collaborative action research) og fór fram í einum leikskóla á höfuðborgarsvæðinu. Hún var hluti af samstarfsverkefni RannUng og fimm leikskóla víðs vegar um höfuðborgarsvæðið. Rannsóknin bar vinnuheitið Mat á námi og vellíðan barna. Markmið verkefnisins var að styðja þátttakendur í að þróa aðferðir til að meta nám og vellíðan barna í leikskóla. Í leikskólanum sem þessi rannsókn sneri að var valið að þróa og bæta vinnu með námssögur sem matsaðferð. Þátttakendur voru starfsmenn einnar deildar í þriggja deilda leikskóla á höfuðborgarsvæðinu ásamt leikskólastjóranum. Börnin á deildinni voru nítján á aldrinum 2ja-3ja ára. Á deildinni störfuðu tveir leikskólakennarar og tveir leiðbeinendur en auk þeirra tóku þátt í rannsókninni sérfræðingur frá Menntavísindasviði Háskóla Íslands ásamt meistaranema, sem var tengiliður hópsins og sá um að safna, skrá og halda utan um gögnin sem aflað var. Gögnum var safnað með viðtölum við þátttakendur í leikskólanum við upphaf og lok verkefnisins, með skráningu á fundum, dagbókaskrifum, vettvangsathugunum, ljósmyndum og skráðum heimildum eins og skólanámskrá og ferilmöppum. Niðurstöður sýna að þátttakendur hafi þróað og eflt færni sína í skráningu námssagna. Með námssögunum tókst þeim að vekja áhuga foreldra á því sem börnin fengust við í leikskólanum og fengu jafnframt upplýsingar um reynslu barnanna utan leikskólans þar sem foreldrar tóku einnig þátt í skráningum. Börnin fengu tækifæri í leikskólanum til að skoða og tjá sig um námssögur sem starfsmenn og foreldrar höfðu skráð. Þrátt fyrir að þátttakendur hafi talið námssögur góðar til að draga fram styrkleika barnanna þá töldu þeir þurfa annars konar skráningar til að ná utan um og fylgjast með þroskaþáttum barna.

Changing Organizational Conditions: Experiences of Introducing and Putting Function-Shared Leadership (FSL) into Practice in Schools and Pre-Schools

ABSTRACT This paper deals with organizational change and contributes knowledge about the experiences of a local educational organizer when introducing and putting managerial shared leadership into practice in some schools and pre-schools. The organizer’s aim with the change was to achieve better results by means of improved pedagogical leadership, better health and use of resources. The study builds on recorded meetings and interviews with the organizer’s top management group in a Swedish municipality that introduced managerial shared leadership in the specific form of function-shared leadership. Valuable knowledge is now available for future organizers’ quest for knowledge when introducing managerial shared leadership.

Children's collective embodiment—Mobility practices and materialities in mobile preschools

AbstractThis article looks at young children's mobility practices in public spaces within the context of a mobile preschool practice (i.e., a preschool in a bus), with a specific focus on how materialities matter in children's mobilities. Using ethnographic data from a mobile preschool, we argue that the mobile preschool group's mobility should be understood in terms of collective embodiment and the mobile preschool should be viewed as a movingcollective bodyin public space through which children can negotiate their own mobility practices and exercise agency. We show how this collective body is constituted through an assemblage and collaboration of children's and teachers' bodies and material objects. Collective embodiment not only enables and supports children's mobilities in public space but also helps young children to appropriate and claim their democratic right to public space through the visible copresence of bodies and things.

Rozwijanie dziecięcej kreatywności w procesie uczenia się rozwiązywania problemów

<p>W artykule przedstawiono możliwości zastosowania metodyki TASC w praktyce przedszkolnej i szkolnej, która związana jest m.in. z uczeniem się kreatywności w trakcie rozwiązywania różnych problemów. Dokładnie omówiono każdy z ośmiu etapów pracy z dziećmi wraz ze sposobami wspierania ich wysiłku myślowego przez nauczyciela oraz przykładowymi pytaniami, poleceniami i sugestiami. Opracowanie kończą egzemplifikacje zadań do realizacji w warunkach przedszkolnych lub szkolnych.</p>

Preschool Teachers’ Role in Establishing Joint Action During Children’s Free Inquiry in STEM

With science and digitalization emphasized further in the new Swedish preschool curriculum, there is a need to clarify teachers’ role in educating children in and about these areas. In the present study, the Joint Action Theory of Didactics has been used to analyze the didactic game taking place between teachers and children in two preschools during inquiry-based STEM activities, with and without the use of robots during programming. The results highlight different coaching strategies used by the teachers and how these strategies promote the joint actions during children’s STEM inquiry integrating programming and science. Interestingly, the joint action-strategies used by the teachers are similar and independent of whether the programming involves digital tools or not. Such strategies involve establishing a common ground of knowledge in the group and hands-on teaching. Both teachers start with teacher-scaffolded activities that develop into free inquiry and exploration through the children’s own ideas, coached by the teachers on both individual and collaborative levels. The findings add to the discussion about how teachers can coach preschool children’s learning and inquiry of programming and STEM – implications for preschool practice are discussed.

The concept of language in the Swedish preschool curriculum: A theoretical and empirical examination of its productions

Children’s language development is a core task in Swedish preschool and central to how educators organize teaching and everyday activities. The curriculum’s definition of language is described as extended, with language as both a prerequisite for learning and a learning effect, i.e. both internal processes and communication. This means that working methods and didactic strategies rely on many different epistemologies and thus different theoretical perspectives. Nevertheless, the research literature, as well as assessments of Swedish preschool services, show that educators’ interpretation of the curriculum is primarily socioculturally oriented. This does not entirely converge with how language is conceptualized in the Swedish preschool curriculum. Against this background, the aim of this paper is to perform a theoretical and empirical investigation of the extended language concept in the curriculum with the intention to understand what the consequences of this extended meaning of language produce in terms of teaching and learning practices. I have traced various epistemologies in language didactic preschool research and related this tracing analysis to empirical examples from preschool practices. The results of my analysis show that the practices are predominantly interpersonally framed, which corresponds to the emphasis in research. In a further analysis, where empirical examples are read from other possible epistemologies, the practices can be perceived as being multi-epistemological in a fashion which corresponds to the curriculum's conceptualization of language. This is discussed as an opportunity for a didactic strengthening of presently neglected perspectives.

Early learning opportunities for children at risk of social exclusion. Opening the black box of preschool practice

ABSTRACTInfluenced by a growing number of longitudinal studies showing positive effects of preschool attendance, Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) is framed as a potential equaliser of opportunities, benefitting children at risk of social exclusion and children from families with a migration background. However, as research into daily interactions in contexts of diversity and multilingualism remains scarce, the qualitative processes by which preschool may reduce or rather reproduce inequalities, remain under-theorised. In the present study, eight children were closely followed during their first year in pre-primary education in the Flemish Community of Belgium through video observations of daily interactions. The results suggest that both the quantity and quality of individual verbal interactions were low, with few opportunities for language production. The majority of utterances by teachers were disciplining in nature. The few occasions where a home language was used in individual interactions were intended to better direct the behaviour of the child. By closely observing these interactions, unintended mechanisms that hinder an equal distribution of learning opportunities were found in each of the classes.

Comparing Predictors of Teachers’ Education for Sustainable Development Practices among Eco and Non-Eco Preschools

Theory and practice of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in early childhood education (ECE) is still an emerging issue in all over the world. ESD practices should be integrated into existing ECE programs considering the role of eco-school program and preschool teachers at all levels of education both in nationwide and worldwide. Eco-schools program is one of the best practices representing ESD in formal education system. In addition, early childhood teachers either working at eco-preschools or not, is the main vehicle in inclusion of ESD teaching practices into existing curriculum. In the current study, early childhood educators’ knowledge about Sustainable Development (SD), attitudes towards SD, childhood location and household type, Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) membership, and previous experiences on implementing ESD related activities were investigated as the possible predictors of ESD teaching practices in eco and non-eco preschools. The results of the Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM) analyses revealed that NGO membership of preschool teachers along with their attitudes are the predictors of ESD teaching practices in eco preschools. On the other hand, previous experiences on implementing ESD related activities and attitudes towards SD are associated with teachers’ ESD practices in non-eco preschools. In conclusion, the current study captures the existing situation of ESD integration into ECE curriculum on the behalf of preschool teachers. It may be reminded that teachers are the most important human resource for promoting ESD.

Approaches and educational assessments of children’s speech, language and communication development in Swedish preschools

ABSTRACT This study aimed to investigate how 33 preschool teachers’ and 30 special educational needs teachers in Swedish preschools documented and described children’s speech, language and communication development. The views on concepts as ‘scientific basis’, ‘proven experience’ and ways to follow language development for children in need of extra-support were examined. A questionnaire, including open and closed questions on teachers’ work in the preschool practice, provided quantitative and qualitative data. Thus, a mixed method of triangulation was applied with concurrent data collection and analysis. The following themes emerged through the analysis: ‘Reflected’, ‘Unreflected’, ‘Trust/rely on employer’, ‘Uncertain’ and ‘Conviction’. There were various systematic ways to follow the language development of children in need of extra-support. This indicates challenges for preschool professions, as the understanding of the meaning of important concepts varied which entails difficulties trying to work in the preschool practice based on these concepts.

The Role and Application of Picture Books in Pre-school Practice

Picture books occupy an important place in the life of a child both in family and in school. As a unique combination of illustration and text in a pedagogical mode, picture books teach, incite creative imagination and enrich the cognitive and socio-emotional world of a child. The goal of our research is increase understanding the place and the role of genre diverse picture books in Montenegrin pre-schools in the current context. Pre-school teachers noted key challenges in the use of picture books in pre-school practice in general and singled out proposals for more efficient application. In this paper, we deal with parents’ participation in mediating picture books` content and values to pre-schoolers. We took our research sample from the population of teachers in pre-schools of central, northern and southern region of Montenegro. Our research included 209 pre-school teachers from five kindergartens and 93 respondents from the three institutions, which we interviewed during the seminars. We combined elements of both quantitative and qualitative surveying and interviewing.
 Our research indicates a significant and continued use of genre-diverse picture books, but also an absence of new titles, technical support in the selection of high-quality books, domestic authors and vague criteria in the selection of books, as well as a lack of parental involvement in the selection of books.

READING AND WRITING IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION: CONTEXTS AND PRACTICES UNDER DEBATE

Abstract The article reports an analysis of interviews and observations carried out in 27 schools by the research team in charge of project “Boas práticas de leitura e escrita na educação infantil” [Good reading and writing practices in Early Childhood Education], which encompasses 7 counties in different Brazilian regions. Good practices are the ones in which childhood and experience, education and care are creation binomials based on the Diretrizes Curriculares Nacionais para a Educação Infantil [National Curriculum Guidelines for Early Childhood Education] (DCNEI - 2009). The article introduces the profile of the assessed schools and analyzes the observation records according to space and materials and interaction and interlocution categories. Based on the results, it is essential to seek an identity for early childhood education based on the dialogic way teachers listen and respond to children. Ludic-symbolic practices prevail in daycare centers, whereas these practices are added with more directive practices in pre-schools, which are substantiated by contents linked to literacy.

Collective Resources as a Precursor for Educating Children Toward a Sustainable Global World

Purpose: Preserving and caring for nature in a sustainable way has long been part of Swedish preschool practice. However, recently has it been explicitly referenced in the Swedish preschool curriculum with the goal of incorporating sustainability holistically and coherently in all areas of children’s daily preschool experiences through play, care, and education. Research has revealed a potential roadblock to achieving this goal; the difficulty connecting the three inextricably linked dimensions of sustainability: ecological, social–cultural, and economic. The purpose is to generate knowledge about preschool teachers’ professional understanding of education for sustainable development (ESD) in early childhood education (ECE) by implementing and enhancing the operationalization of such work in four Swedish preschools. Design/Approach/Methods: The design of the study rests on the involvement of teachers in work where they created sustainability activities supported by the Environmental Rating Scale for Sustainable Development in Early Childhood (ERS-SDEC). The data consist of teachers’ narratives and interviews, and a qualitative content analysis is used from which a number of themes emerged. Findings: The initial interviews foregrounded three themes: the value of collective resources, the wonders of nature, and a global world. At the end of the project, the teachers’ expressions of their practice revealed three qualitatively transformed themes: broadened awareness of sustainability, ecology embracing culture, and expanded perspectives, as factors of ESD. Originality/Value: Teachers did increase their awareness of working with children and expressed a strength in using each other as collective resources. By that, their professional understandings of ESD in preschool developed.

The Utrecht Virtual Learning Environment Project: Improving Educational Partnerships in Multicultural Preschools

The increasing cultural and linguistic diversity in European countries leads to new challenges for current education systems. One important challenge is establishing trustful educational partnerships with parents from diverse backgrounds. This holds especially true for Early Childhood Education and Care centres (ECEC), where parents are introduced to the education system for the first time. The Utrecht Virtual Learning Environment (U-VLO) project is a small-scale project that explores whether an educational digital tool can help to improve the educational partnerships between parents and a preschool in a multicultural environment in the Netherlands. The digital tool in the current study aims at (a) improving the engagement of parents by incorporating parents as important resources for (b) enriching the preschool practices with a cultural and multilingual focus. The current project follows the principles of Design-Based Research and describes the iterative process of designing and implementing the digital tool, together with the preschool (two preschool teachers working in four classrooms) and parents, to collaboratively create intercultural content via the digital tool. These bottom-up implementations, combined with the results of observations and evaluations amongst teachers and parents, show that it is possible to implement a digital tool in the specific local context. However, many factors and prerequisites, both social and technical, need to be taken into account before the tool can impact the existing partnerships. Clear implications for theory and practice focusing on improving educational partnerships in multicultural and multilingual settings for young children, and the use of innovative digital tools herein, are provided.