I looked at the European Early Childhood Education Research Association (EECERA) website (EECERJ, n.d.). Some current international research topics are professionalism, barriers and support to learning from children’s perspectives and the frequency of which science concepts are taught to kindergarteners (EECERJ, n.d.).
This website had several interesting articles. One of them addressed the cultural compatibility theory (Jahng, 2012). It stated that even if a teacher shares the same cultural background as the children she teaches this does not automatically means she will have a better understanding of them and be able to bond with them better than another teacher of a different culture. Another article was looking at the benefits of outdoor play and that outdoor play may serve different purposes depending on the context and area in which this play occurs (Waller, Sandseter, Wyver, Ärlemalm‐Hagsér & Maynard, 2010) .
Something noteworthy that I found was that though children may want to engage in more challenging, risky play they are often unable to do so because of all the rules surrounding playground equipment (Little, Wyver & Gibson, 2011).
References:
European Early Childhood Education Research Journal (EECERJ). (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.eecera.org/organisation/
Jahng, K.E. (2012). A self-critical journey to working for immigrant children: an autoethnography. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal. DOI:
10.1080/1350293X.2012.738867
Little, H., Wyver, S. & Gibson, F. (2011). The influence of play context and adult attitudes on young children's physical risk‐taking during outdoor play. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 19(1), 113-131. DOI:
10.1080/1350293X.2011.548959
Waller, T., Sandseter, E.B.H., Wyver, S., Ärlemalm‐Hagsér, E. & Maynard, T. (2010). The dynamics of early childhood spaces: opportunities for outdoor play?. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 18(4), 437-443. DOI:
10.1080/1350293X.2010.525917
Hi Karina, Your comment about children engaging in risky play interests me. First, I would be interested in how the article you referenced defines risky play. Next, I would like to see if there is information on how these same children play at home. It has been my experience that children will take risks, for example jumping out of swings, whether an adult is present or not, or whether they have been warned against it. Every year at school we have at least one broken arm from jumping from swings even though that behavior is against the rules. How do you feel about this topic? Michelle
ReplyDeleteI was interested in the same topic as Michelle noted, Karina. Children definitely like to push the limits on the playground equipment at my school. I understand both sides of the argument. It is important for young children to take risks. They should be given opportunities to try things that are challenging and it should be okay if they fail. This is definitely a learning opportunity. On the other hand, as educators we need to ensure the safety of the children in our care. Rules are put in place to avoid injuries. Interesting to think about!
ReplyDeleteThank you for your summary of this website, it was very clear and helpful. The article on outside play is very interesting to me. I truly believe that children do not have enough opportunities to have unstructured and unsupervised play outside. They are losing vital life skills by not having this time. Some of these skills include learning how to negotiate, cooperate, organize games, create rules, enforce rules, etc. My 3 year old and two other 3 year olds that I babysit love to play in the wooded area behind my house. It is quite dense, but not deep and has a fence along the back. They love to explore back there without out me. You can observe the increase of confidence that they are building just by finding different ways in and out.
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