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13489 results in Education, history, theory

Page 242 of 675

  • five - Sorting and (much) more: prior ability, school effects and the impact of ability tracking on educational inequalities in achievement

  • Edited by Andreas Hadjar, Université du Luxembourg, Christiane Gross, Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg
  • Book:
    Education Systems and Inequalities
    Published by:
    Bristol University Press
    Published online:
    05 April 2022
    Print publication:
    08 June 2016, pp 95-114

  • Summary

    The problem

    There is hardly a country without educational inequalities based on social origin. The results of sociological research on inequality in general, international comparative studies, and some systematic comparisons between national studies, however, reveal clear differences (see inter alia, Kao and Thompson, 2003; Müller and Kogan, 2010: 252ff.; Hanushek and Wößmann, 2011). From the very beginning, the various hypotheses of the causes for cross-country differences have suggested the vital importance of educational systems, which differ considerably in terms of their institutional design both internationally and regionally. The core of the discussions on educational systems consists of a question concerning the specific effects of differentiation according to achievement (‘ability tracking’) as compared to integration with a largely common learning, possibly even up to the end of compulsory education.

    Ability tracking is justified by the presumption that a homogenisation of learning environments in terms of performance and/or dispositions is advantageous – including for academically weaker pupils. The argument in opposition to such sorting is that less talented pupils could no longer benefit from the more favourable learning environment of an integrated school and would possibly perform worse due to an assignment to lower valued types of schools, entailing stigmatisation and negative self-perception. This will particularly apply if the differentiation is empirically also a matter of stratification: a vertical sorting, for example, into more academic general education in contrast to non-academic, specific or vocational education, varying in terms of the curricula's demands and the qualifications and certificates, which are connected with different levels of prestige and career opportunities (see Allmendinger, 1989: 239ff.; Meier and Schutz, 2007: 5ff.; van de Werfhorst and Mijs, 2010: 409ff.; Betts, 2011: 343ff.). The empirical evidence seems to be clear: pupils apparently display no higher achievement in cases of differentiation, but the effect of social origin, and thus educational inequality, is reinforced when compared to integration without institutional sorting. It is therefore not appropriate to refer to a trade-off between social permeability and the level of achievement in cases of a differentiated educational system. All (recent) reviews of the state of research agree on this: ‘it can be widely taken for granted that early tracking is furthermore associated with the generation of more educational inequality with particular disadvantage for lower class and migrant families’ (Müller and Kogan, 2010: 227, emphasis added).

  • thirteen - Education systems and migrant-specific labour market returns

  • Edited by Andreas Hadjar, Université du Luxembourg, Christiane Gross, Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg
  • Book:
    Education Systems and Inequalities
    Published by:
    Bristol University Press
    Published online:
    05 April 2022
    Print publication:
    08 June 2016, pp 279-300

  • Summary

    Introduction

    Industrialised countries have increasingly competed for the best and the brightest immigrants in recent decades (Iredale, 1999; Mahroum, 2001; Quaked, 2002; Hugo 2005; Asis and Piper, 2008). By adjusting admission policies in order to attract highly skilled immigrants, immigrant-receiving countries try to balance their country's economic needs and humanitarian obligations; they also go to considerable efforts to ensure that newcomers assimilate smoothly into the labour market. Despite these efforts, concerns are often heard about the waste of newcomer potential in reference to their failure to adequately integrate into host-country labour markets. Across many European Union (EU) countries, there is a glaring gap in employment rates between third-country nationals and EU nationals or native-born populations (van Tubergen et al, 2004; Kogan, 2006, 2007; Fleischmann and Dronkers, 2010). When employed, immigrants – especially those originating from outside the EU – are more likely to be overqualified and to occupy jobs at the lower end of the socioeconomic ladder. One of the obvious reasons for immigrant integration problems in general, and for the underutilisation of their skills in particular, is related to the difficulties in transferring immigrant human capital from their origin to destination countries.

    Migration scholars have long recognised this problem, relating immigrant (initial) difficulties to the loss of value associated with their foreign credentials or skill devaluation (Chiswick, 1978; Borjas, 1994; Friedberg, 2000). As credentials are normally used to screen candidates for job openings (Spence, 1973), individuals with foreign qualifications are likely to be disadvantaged during this process. Cain (1986) characterises the problem as ‘informational discrimination’, since immigrants are penalised for the uncertainty of employers about their educational credentials.

    One way to overcome employer uncertainties is to increase the amount of information that can be relied on in recruitment decision making, for example by providing employers with credible ways to assess foreign diplomas. This procedure is appropriate because it provides immigrants with guidance about the value of their qualifications in the new setting, and matches their diplomas to the needs of the host country's economy. It also helps them decide whether additional training or retraining might be worthwhile.

    This process of assessment and recognition involves multiple actors, including educational authorities, professional bodies, specialised recognition bodies and employer associations (OECD, 2014).

  • four - Measuring educational institutional diversity: tracking, vocational orientation and standardisation

  • Edited by Andreas Hadjar, Université du Luxembourg, Christiane Gross, Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg
  • Book:
    Education Systems and Inequalities
    Published by:
    Bristol University Press
    Published online:
    05 April 2022
    Print publication:
    08 June 2016, pp 73-94

  • Summary

    Introduction

    Comparative research on education developed tremendously in the past decade. We have come to learn a great deal about cross-national differences in the effect of education on labour market outcomes (Shavit and Müller, 1998; Breen and Buchmann, 2002; Müller and Gangl, 2003; Bol and van de Werfhorst, 2013), in levels of student achievement (Hanushek and Woessmann, 2005; Jenkins et al, 2008) and in effects of social origin on educational achievement (Brunello and Checchi, 2007; van de Werfhorst and Mijs, 2010). In understanding this cross-national variation, researchers have proposed three different institutional characteristics that drive these outcomes: the placement of students in different educational tracks, the extent and the specificity of the vocational skills provided by a system, and the extent to which an educational system is standardised (Allmendinger, 1989; Shavit and Müller, 1998; Kerckhoff, 2006; Levels et al, 2014).

    This chapter studies associations between these three characteristics of educational systems and four central ‘functions’ of education. Functions, in this understanding, should be seen as the outcomes on the basis of which we can judge whether educational systems function well. Typically, comparative research has examined educational inequality, skill optimisation and allocation to the labour market as central functions of education. Given the aims of educational systems to improve equal opportunities, to optimise the attained skill level and to provide skills relevant for work, these are three important domains with impacts on institutions that should be identified. In addition to these three functions, which have been examined before, we study the impact of educational institutions on a fourth central function of education: to socialise youngsters into society at large, by creating active citizens who actively participate in society.

    Three institutional dimensions of educational systems

    Comparative stratification research has proposed three dimensions into which educational systems can be classified cross-nationally: the extent of tracking students with different levels of scholastic ability, the extent to which systems provide vocationally specific skills, and the level of nationwide standardisation of regulations, funding and examinations (Allmendinger, 1989; Kerckhoff, 1995; Shavit and Müller, 1998; Horn, 2009). We follow this literature and classify educational systems in these dimensions (albeit sometimes with two indicators for one dimension).

  • Conclusions and summary

  • Edited by Andreas Hadjar, Université du Luxembourg, Christiane Gross, Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg
  • Book:
    Education Systems and Inequalities
    Published by:
    Bristol University Press
    Published online:
    05 April 2022
    Print publication:
    08 June 2016, pp 335-342

  • Summary

    The most challenging work for editors is to summarise the main findings of the contributions. We start with the lessons learnt from each chapter in the main sections of the volume: theory and methods, education systems and educational inequalities, and education systems and inequalities in status attainment and life chances. From this we derive our main conclusion and end with an overview of what is needed for further comparative education research.

    Lessons learnt from each chapter

    Theory and methods

    The first chapter of the theory and methods section (chapters one to six), written by Christiane Gross, Heinz-Dieter Meyer and Andreas Hadjar, provides evidence for path dependencies regarding the development of education systems, exemplified by the education systems in the United States and Germany. They illustrate the strong link between the processes of nation-building and the development of education systems. In a second step, they present a macro-meso-micro-model developed following the concept of Coleman (1990). Within this model, previous research into the question of how education systems shape the production of educational inequalities at the micro-level is summed-up.

    Susan L. Robertson and Roger Dale dedicate their chapter to a critical review of comparative research, criticising the fact that comparative research often assumes, but never problematises and reflects on, the empirical comparability of different education systems, and that comparative studies – here the PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) studies function as an example – tend to evaluate education systems, but do not attempt to understand and explain their nature. This critical look back may widen the perspective on the subject and allow a broader view, not focusing on finding the right answers for our research questions, but on asking the right questions.

    The chapter by Christiane Gross, Anja Gottburgsen and Ann Phoenix shows how the intersectionality paradigm could be applied to the analysis of education systems and inequalities. They argue that within qualitative research, there are several opportunities to bring in an intersectional perspective, by: (a) including intersections in the research question, (b) examining emergent intersectional complexities, or (c) examining intersections ‘as a by-product of secondary analysis’. The authors show how the paradigm's main assumptions can be implemented in the quantitative framework: multidimensionality by including multivariate analyses, contextuality by performing multi-level analyses with a focus on covariates on higher level and cross-level effects, and intersectionality by including interaction terms.

  • seven - Education systems and inequality based on social origins: the impact of school expansion and design

  • Edited by Andreas Hadjar, Université du Luxembourg, Christiane Gross, Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg
  • Book:
    Education Systems and Inequalities
    Published by:
    Bristol University Press
    Published online:
    05 April 2022
    Print publication:
    08 June 2016, pp 135-158

  • Summary

    Introduction

    The last generation of research on social stratification has given great importance to international comparison, studying how different contexts are related to the stratification of individual outcomes (Treiman and Ganzeboom, 2000). This chapter focuses on educational achievement, and in particular on differentials in achievement based on family background, often defined as the inequality of educational opportunities (hereafter, IEO). The aim is to discuss how family-based IEO relates to the institutional context where the process of schooling takes place. While the context might include both the features of the school system and those of the wider society of which it is a part, the chapter is limited to the former, due to lack of space. This chapter contributes to the literature by focusing on two institutional features of the educational system: its expansion, that is the extent to which individuals participate in it, and its design, that is the way the process of schooling is organised. Following a ‘choice-within-constraints’ perspective (Ingram and Clay, 2000), which defines institutions as the rules that constrain the choices of actors, the chapter looks at how individual choices concerning schooling are shaped by the context in which they take place.

    The chapter includes six sections. The second section presents the theoretical model of ‘choice-within-constraints’ used by most researchers to explain IEO based on family background. The third section describes the main features of school design, and the fourth presents data, variables and methods. The fifth section exposes the main results and the sixth concludes the chapter.

    Educational choice and its constraints

    Many theoretical models have been proposed in order to explain the aggregate patterns of IEO by family background. This chapter concentrates on micro-level theoretical models that explain the macro-patterns as the aggregate outcome of a number of individual decisions, following the perspective on the micro-macro-transition proposed by Coleman (1990), as well as the ‘choice-within-constraints’ paradigm (Ingram and Clay, 2000). While a number of empirical papers have developed such a perspective with regard to educational choices (for example, Erikson and Jonsson, 1996; Breen and Goldthorpe, 1997; Becker, 2003; Breen and Yaish, 2006; Ballarino et al, 2009), little theoretical work has been done on the matter.

  • Introduction: education systems and inequalities

  • Edited by Andreas Hadjar, Université du Luxembourg, Christiane Gross, Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg
  • Book:
    Education Systems and Inequalities
    Published by:
    Bristol University Press
    Published online:
    05 April 2022
    Print publication:
    08 June 2016, pp 1-10

  • Summary

    Background

    Education systems have become one of the most debated subjects of political intervention. At the end of the 19th century, national or federal education systems were institutionalised, and in the 20th century they received even more attention. Sharp increases in awareness followed by political debates, and finally more or less efficient political reforms often occurred in the aftermath of perceived ‘educational catastrophes’. Politicians and scientists mainly confess to the failure of education systems when fears involving the economic potential of society increase. There are two famous examples that have indirectly (the first) and directly (the second) affected educational policies: the ‘Sputnik shock’, after the Soviet Union launched the first successful satellite in 1957, with the Western industrialised countries’ fear of being outperformed by the Eastern bloc, and the ‘PISA shock’, after the first testing series in the framework of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) PISA programme (Programme for International Student Assessment) and the discovery that even many highly industrialised countries have strong deficits with regard to the cognitive potential of 15-year-old students who were performing below average in a global comparison of competencies. Both situations were accompanied by increased (economic) fear that the education systems of the countries were not able to provide the cognitive potential or human capital needed to maintain or increase economic prosperity (see Hadjar and Becker, 2009 with regard to the educational expansion). A minor – but from our sociological perspective even more important – argument that is also voiced with regard to perceived education deficits is that ‘more education’ would also help to abolish educational inequalities, or systematic variations in elements of educational attainment structured by ascriptive factors such as class, gender or ethnicity, and increase the potential of citizens to actively participate in democratic society. Dahrendorf (1965) sees education as a civil right and speaks of it as a ‘step into a modern world of enlightened rationality’ (Dahrendorf, 1968: 24). What followed was a tremendous increase in the public awareness of education systems, leading to manifold political attempts to improve the institutional settings of education systems and curricula to produce skills resources.

    In reforming their education systems, different countries and even sub-regions followed very different paths.

  • twelve - Education systems and gender inequalities in educational returns

  • Edited by Andreas Hadjar, Université du Luxembourg, Christiane Gross, Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg
  • Book:
    Education Systems and Inequalities
    Published by:
    Bristol University Press
    Published online:
    05 April 2022
    Print publication:
    08 June 2016, pp 259-278

  • Summary

    Introduction

    Although investment in human capital cannot be reduced only to investment in education, formal education does play a central role, and it is particularly interesting due to the crucial role of public intervention, which includes, among other things, the choice of the education system implemented in the country. The level of education has been identified as one of the most important engines of economic growth and has been seen as an important factor affecting many dimensions of social life, including the structure and dynamics of the family, and fertility patterns. Changes in the skill premium also affect income distribution and inequality in a country. From the viewpoint of policy, it is worth remembering the role attributed by the 2000 meeting of the European Council in Lisbon of the contribution of education and training towards the stated goal of making ‘Europe the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world, capable of sustainable economic growth with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion’ (European Commission, 2001: 3). The subsequent Report of the Education Council to the European Council, The Concrete Future Objective of Education and Training Systems (2001), states three main objectives: increasing the quality and effectiveness of education and training systems in the European Union (EU); facilitating the access of all to the education and training systems; and opening up education and training systems to the wider world. These are only some of the issues behind the active discussion of the levels and dynamics of investments in education, and their returns. The obvious motivation for the interest in a disaggregate analysis by gender is related to the disparities in earning profiles for men and women, confirmed in most of the countries. The wage profiles differ for many reasons. For instance, education attainments, length of active life, unemployment rates and unemployment benefits vary by gender. Public policies can affect differently the incentives to invest in education and to participation in the labour market of men and women. All these policies, in particular the initiatives promoting the reconciliation of working and family life, differ greatly across countries, even within the EU, and emerge as a core concern of governments.

    While theoretical analysis has been progressing, together with an increasing amount of empirical research, there are still many open questions. How does gender affect returns on education?

  • fourteen - Health returns on education and educational systems

  • Edited by Andreas Hadjar, Université du Luxembourg, Christiane Gross, Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg
  • Book:
    Education Systems and Inequalities
    Published by:
    Bristol University Press
    Published online:
    05 April 2022
    Print publication:
    08 June 2016, pp 301-320

  • Summary

    Introduction

    During the last decade intensive discussion about the inequality of health chances has taken place in the sociology of health. Broad empirical evidence about the correlation between several dimensions of social inequality and health exists, as we will show below. Among these dimensions, education is of substantial interest in itself, but also for its relevance to occupational positions and income. We will thus discuss theories that explain which social mechanisms may be responsible for the health-determining effects of education. As research in the sociology of health has so far ignored the macro-context of educational systems, we will expand the discussion by applying these approaches. We will refer to existing branches of research that have not yet been connected. The research about educational systems analyses the way that educational systems reproduce inequalities of education. What does this mean for the social inequality of health? We examine, which mechanisms might be responsible for the correlation of education and health or well-being. An important group of social mechanisms are competencies, abilities and cognitions, or the ‘health literacy’. Does health literacy help people to determine the appropriate health-related behaviour and lifestyle? Are personality traits related to education and health? Numerous studies provide evidence that education is the most important prerequisite for successful labour market integration in modern societies. Exclusion from the labour market, precarious employment or low pay may result in harmful living conditions or mental stress that may be the cause of poor health. The resources that are provided by work and employment are thus another mechanism that is relevant to health. This chapter summarises the research about the correlation between education and health and the mechanisms that might explain this correlation. The concluding section includes thoughts about how educational achievements and conditions in the educational system may influence the educational inequality of health. The chapter will finish by identifying open research questions and providing a basis for future comparative research on this topic.

    Education and the health of individuals

    There is a well-established correlation between educational achievements and health outcomes (such as various measures of morbidity and mortality); however, it is still unclear which social mechanisms are behind this relationship. The following section provides an overview of different theoretical approaches to explain those findings.

  • Chapter 11 - Digital literacies in the lives of young children

  • Robyn Ewing, University of Sydney, Jon Callow, University of Sydney, Kathleen Rushton, University of Sydney
  • Book:
    Language and Literacy Development in Early Childhood
    Published online:
    17 August 2019
    Print publication:
    02 June 2016, pp 169-184

  • Summary

    This chapter looks more closely at the types of digital resources that are integral to children's lives and their literacy landscape. Rather than seeing digital texts as additional to traditional literacy resources, they are in fact core texts, along with books and other media. Digital texts and experiences are intertwined with young children's lives, from popular culture to multimedia production.

    Anticipated outcomes for the chapter

    After working through this chapter, you should be able to:

  • • appreciate the role of digital texts in children's literacy lives

  • • understand key principles for integrating digital resources into literacy learning

  • • explore practical activities for teaching with digital resources.

    • SCENARIO: INTERACTIVE APP

    Gathered around the iPad, a group of five-year-old children are exploring the interactive app The Fantastic Flying Books of Morris Lessmore, a story about the power of reading where Morris takes up residence in a library of living books. While a finger swipe across the screen will turn the screen pages of this book, it does not take long for the children to work out that exploring the content by touching, tapping and swiping the screen with their fingers yields other surprises. Wind storms are summoned, skies turn blue, music starts playing and books talk as the story unfolds. On some screens more traditional print literacy is explored – a bowl of milk allows letter-shaped cereal pieces to be dragged out to spell a word.

    ‘I'm doing the alphabet,’ explains Shafeef, while placing each letter in order.

    ‘I'm going to write my name,’ says May, while dragging out the letters, and Shafeef helpfully reminds her about which letters she needs. Some pages engage the children more closely than others, but the pull of the story is strong: ‘Let's keep reading’. The story concludes with a very old Morris leaving his beloved books.

    ‘Do books ever die?’ asks Shafeef.

    ‘They're not alive, silly!’ Adina asserts. The conversation continues as to how stories might live in you until you are very old. Shafeef explains how you can even get lost in the book ‘because you can't stop reading as it's so good’.

  • Chapter 5 - Difference and diversity in language and literacy development

  • Robyn Ewing, University of Sydney, Jon Callow, University of Sydney, Kathleen Rushton, University of Sydney
  • Book:
    Language and Literacy Development in Early Childhood
    Published online:
    17 August 2019
    Print publication:
    02 June 2016, pp 60-75

  • Summary

    In this chapter we will explore the diversity in language and literacy development that reflects the multicultural and multilingual society comprising contemporary Australia. We will look at the relationship between language, culture and identity, and how language helps to shape identity. We will then explore some of the unique aspects of language learning for bilingual children. We will also look at the need for these young learners to learn English, learn through English and learn about English (Halliday, 2004; ACTA, 2015).

    Anticipated outcomes for the chapter

    After working through this chapter you should be able to:

  • • empathise with a child who is learning English as an additional language, learning through English and learning about English and support them to engage in learning using all their language resources

  • • draw on your understandings about language development to support bilingual learners

  • • explore strategies for communicating with the families and communities of bilingual learners.

    • SCENARIO: A FAMILIAR DAILY ROUTINE

    Michel's mother, Catherine, is standing at the front door of the family home with Michel, her young preschool-aged son while they watch his father back the car out of the driveway and then head off to work for the day. She looks down at her little son and says: ‘Michel, wave goodbye to Baba’. Her son waves to his father until the car disappears from view. He then looks up at his mother and says, ‘Baba wented’.

    This family speaks English at home but Michel's grandparents also speak to him in Arabic, Welsh and a dialect of Italian. Michel Idris has been named after his two grandfathers, one an Arabic speaker born in Lebanon whose second language is French and third language English, and the other who is a bilingual Welsh speaker from Wales in the UK. When Michel's father Jacob speaks with his parents and extended family he speaks Arabic and French as well as English. Michel's mother, Catherine, has mixed ancestry as her mother is Italian and the only language that her parents share is English. Catherine therefore speaks English with both her parents but also knows some Welsh and some Italian. Far from being confused by his multicultural, multilingual family, Michel Idris interacts happily with the speakers of all these languages, calling his father ‘Baba’ and his grandparents ‘Daid’, ‘Nonna’, ‘Jiddo’ and ‘Tayta’.

  • Chapter 6 - Aboriginal perspectives in the early childhood literacy classroom

  • Robyn Ewing, University of Sydney, Jon Callow, University of Sydney, Kathleen Rushton, University of Sydney
  • Book:
    Language and Literacy Development in Early Childhood
    Published online:
    17 August 2019
    Print publication:
    02 June 2016, pp 76-94

  • Summary

    In this chapter we will consider the need for all early childhood educators to develop a rich understanding of and respect for Aboriginal* cultures and languages and how this respect can be shared with young children. We will also explore the importance for Aboriginal children of reflecting on Aboriginal culture and language in early childhood settings. This is challenging for many non-Aboriginal educators and we will look at the many respectful ways that both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people can bring these understandings into educational settings. The best ways are listening to authentic Aboriginal voices and using quality children's literature that genuinely reflects contemporary Aboriginal culture and language, thereby allowing Aboriginal authors to speak about their culture through their work.

    Anticipated outcomes for the chapter

    After working through this chapter, you should be able to:

  • • recognise that many Aboriginal languages and dialects are spoken and taught across the nation

  • • identify the languages or dialects spoken in your community using some of the resources supplied

  • • understand that many contemporary Aboriginal children may speak Aboriginal English, a dialect of English, and be aware of some strategies to support them

  • • evaluate the authenticity of contemporary texts to share with young children and identify stories with Aboriginal perspectives or written by Aboriginal authors

  • • share contemporary and Dreamtime stories by providing children with knowledge about the people who tell them, the languages in which they are told and the country to which the stories belong.

    • SCENARIO: KAY

    Kay is reading to her young son, who is in the early years of primary school. She is reading a story written by an Aboriginal author and in the story the child lists the activities that he does with his mother and the illustrations show that the characters are Aboriginal. When Kay looks at her son, she notices from his expression how connected he is to the story because it reflects his life. They then read another story by an Aboriginal author about an emu egg in which the character makes a cake with her mother's help. This cake is special because it has been made with an emu egg. When she presents the cake to her family her Uncle says ‘flamin’ big cake, girl’. At this point in reading the story Kay's son says, ‘Mum, read that again, read that again’.

  • Chapter 12 - Language and literacy assessment in early childhood contexts and classrooms

  • Robyn Ewing, University of Sydney, Jon Callow, University of Sydney, Kathleen Rushton, University of Sydney
  • Book:
    Language and Literacy Development in Early Childhood
    Published online:
    17 August 2019
    Print publication:
    02 June 2016, pp 185-204

  • Summary

    Assessment strategies need to be authentic (Newmann & Archbald, 1992) or educative (Groundwater-Smith, Ewing & Le Cornu, 2014). In a context where the concept of literacy is being narrowed and where achievement is increasingly measured by testing, this chapter focuses on the central role that formative assessment should play in early childhood contexts and classrooms. It draws on the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF, 2009) to show how observing what a child already knows and understands will help plan for future learning in early childhood contexts and classrooms.

    Anticipated outcomes for the chapter

    After working through this chapter, you should be able to:

  • • define what is meant by authentic and educative literacy assessment, assessing for learning and assessment of learning in early childhood settings

  • • reflect on what it means to use inclusive and educative literacy assessment strategies and principles in your early childhood context/classroom

  • • acknowledge that no judgement that we make can be value-free or ‘objective’

  • • understand how the Early Years Learning Framework outcomes can help us focus on appropriate assessment strategies for early childhood contexts

  • • Develop a portfolio which authentically records a child's literacy progress.

    • SCENARIO: ‘READING TOGETHER IS JUST AN ORDEAL FOR BOTH OF US’

    I don't know what to do. I have a great relationship with my five year old EXCEPT when I ask him to read to me. We used to have so much fun together sharing books but since he's been at school, it's all changed. When I remind him about his reading homework we can get quite heated with each other. He's supposed to read for 15 minutes every night but he finds all kinds of excuses to procrastinate. I'm worried because reading is just so important and I don't want him to fall behind his classmates. He's not at the same level as his best friend. And he refuses to spend time with me at home learning his sight words. I just don't understand why he is behaving like this.

    (Eleni, mother of Mohammed)

    Like many parents, Eleni is keen for her son to learn to read as quickly and effortlessly as possible. It is not unusual for parents like Eleni to conflate learning to read with doing well at school. Her own anxiety about Mohammed learning to read may be inadvertently contributing to her son's attitude to reading.

  • Chapter 3 - Playing with language: Imaginative play, language development and technology

  • Robyn Ewing, University of Sydney, Jon Callow, University of Sydney, Kathleen Rushton, University of Sydney
  • Book:
    Language and Literacy Development in Early Childhood
    Published online:
    17 August 2019
    Print publication:
    02 June 2016, pp 21-40

  • Summary

    This chapter has been co-authored with Lisa Kervin, University of Wollongong. It considers the importance of building on children's innate creativity and imagination. This aspect will be discussed alongside the role of imaginative play in language and literacy development. The relationship between traditional play and digital play as a new way of playing with language is also explored.

    Anticipated outcomes for the chapter

    After working through this chapter you should be able to:

  • • discuss the importance of creativity and imagination in the lives of all young children

  • • understand the critical role that imaginative play can and should play in language and literacy development

  • • consider the relationship between traditional forms of imaginative play and digital play

  • • begin to understand the role of digital play in fostering creativity and language development

  • • reflect on popular culture's effect on imaginative play and language learning.

    • SCENARIO: ALIENS

    Two eight-year-old boys with a collection of sticks are in the playground. They are on their hands and knees, sorting the sticks and arranging them on the concrete. On closer inspection, it is apparent that the sticks are being used to compose a message: ‘aliens are coming tomorrow’. After conversing with the children it is revealed that ‘aliens’ is a game the children have invented. It isn't a game that is played daily; the stick message on the playground serves as an advertisement to other children that the game will be played the following day. The children share that they don't really know what will happen in the game, it will depend on who comes to play, how much time they have and the part of the playground where they are able to play.

    This scenario reveals how complex creativity and collaborative young children's play can be. It also underlines that they should be given playful spaces and places to make their own decisions about imaginative play. It is important to be aware of children's rhythms of play and respect their control of this rhythm, and how the design of physical spaces and the manipulation of artefacts within this can affect the development of play.

  • Chapter 9 - Storying and the emergent storyteller and writer

  • Robyn Ewing, University of Sydney, Jon Callow, University of Sydney, Kathleen Rushton, University of Sydney
  • Book:
    Language and Literacy Development in Early Childhood
    Published online:
    17 August 2019
    Print publication:
    02 June 2016, pp 134-146

  • Summary

    It has been argued that many western cultures have almost lost the art of storytelling but we all live our lives by storying. This chapter, co-authored by Victoria Campbell, University of Sydney, looks at how oral storying is critical for developing a child's sense of self and identity, and how oral storying can facilitate the writing process.

    Anticipated outcomes for the chapter

    After working through this chapter, you should be able to:

  • • articulate why storying and storytelling are important in the lives of young children

  • • acknowledge the importance of being able to tell stories in your role as a teacher

  • • understand the relationship between telling stories, drawing and emerging as a writer.

    • If you don't know the trees

    you may get lost in the forest

    If you don't know the stories

    you may get lost in life. (Agard, 2014, p. 11)

    SCENARIO: JORDY

    In earlier chapters we have seen how from birth the young child is on a lifelong journey to make sense of who they are in the world. By around three years old, many children are becoming confident storytellers, especially when sharing stories with their loved ones. Consider two-and-a-half-year-old Jordy's story below:

    Once upon a time a shark with very large teeth comes out of the leaves and ROARED! The shark was SCARY and he scared Manon and he bit Manon. Poor Manon!! He climbed up a cliff to get away from the shark.

    ‘ROAR!’ Manon and his baby went to a different country and they were safe.

    Jordy had been watching a film for the first time, but he used his own understandings to make sense of some of the characters and the context as he retold it to his grandmother. Can you guess what story inspired Jordy's? What conventions has he incorporated in this story? After listening to his story, Jordy's grandmother responded by writing it down as Jordy retold it. She used capitals to represent the emotion that Jordy had used in the retelling. Because she had not seen the film that Jordy had been watching, she had no context and was a little unsure of how a shark could emerge from a clump of trees and roar; nor what kind of creature ‘Manon’ was. Nevertheless she was impressed that he was already demonstrating an understanding of narrative form.

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