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Contemporary Issues in |
ISSN 1463-9491 | ||
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Volume 5 Number 3 2004 | |||
Other issues available | Journal home page | Publisher home page | |||
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CONTENTS [click on author's name for abstract and full text] | |||
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| VIEW FULL TEXT | BACK TO CONTENTS LIST | This issue is the second of two that we have published this year with articles that pertain to the issues and challenges facing early childhood educators in the Asia-Pacific region. Those readers who have already viewed volume 5, number 2 will realize that education in the region is diverse and a variety of issues have come to the forefront in each country due to various political, social, economic, educational, and personal influences, and this indeed challenges the essence of what constitutes the Asia-Pacific region apart from geographic location. Certainly there are a myriad of cultures and identities within each of the countries in the region and an overview of the scope and range of ideas that have been written about is rich in details about specific practices and innovations that have arisen out of local community needs. In this issue we have articles from South Korea, New Zealand, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Vanuatu, India, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Pakistan, and China. In the first article entitled ‘Teachers’ Philosophical Orientation and Practices: a study of novice preschool teachers in South Korea’, Mina Kim explores the philosophical basis of novice preschool teachers in South Korea and how this pedagogical orientation is reflected in their classrooms. Through interviews and observations this research gives Korean preschool teachers the opportunity to voice their beliefs about child-centred pedagogy and illuminates how their beliefs are reflected in their teaching. Reform plans for South Korean kindergartens are advocated to improve the quality of early childhood education and provide more support for teachers. Next, Alexandra Gunn, Coralanne Child, Barbara Madden, Kerry Purdue, Nicola Surtees, Bronwyn Thurlow & Paula Todd present an article entitled ‘Building Inclusive Communities in Early Childhood Education: diverse perspectives from Aotearoa/New Zealand’. This article looks critically at the extent to which inclusive early childhood settings are ones in which diversity is valued and where everyone’s contribution is equitable. The article explores the impact of language and actions on diverse groups in early childhood education and discusses subtleties in experiences of ‘difference’. The discussion explores both exclusionary and inclusionary practices and seeks to provide some suggestions about how we might go about creating inclusive communities in early childhood education. The third article by Ming-Fang Hsieh, entitled ‘Teaching Practices in Taiwan’s Education for Young Children: complexity and ambiguity of developmentally appropriate practices and/or developmentally inappropriate practices’, examines the implementation and application of the revised guidelines for developmentally appropriate practice in the care and education of young children in Taiwan. Li Yuen Ling writes about ‘The Culture of Teaching in the Midst of Western Influence: the case of Hong Kong kindergartens’. This article reviews practices in current teacher education, the cultural context of education in the Hong Kong SAR, and the classroom strategies utilised by kindergarten teachers in nine case studies. The findings of the study reveal that the culture of teaching tends to reflect the coping strategies of the teachers to overcome a triangle of potentially conflicting expectations and orientations: the vision of early childhood education, the Chinese culture, and local constraints. In the article ‘Reflecting on Early Literacy Development in the Context of Vanuatu’, Desma Hughes explores the issue of literacy development in parts of the Pacific region. Vanuatu is used as an example of the experience of many Pacific Island countries. A comprehensive overview of the context of the family, preschool, school, and country, including the government services, is presented. Amita Gupta, in her article ‘Working with Large Class Size: dispositions of early childhood teachers in India’, examines, through the perceptions of teachers, school principals, and teacher educators, the relationship between the preparation and practice of early childhood teachers in private schools in New Delhi, India. It is found that early childhood teachers work in classes that average 43 children. The article concludes with an analysis that contextualises large class size in Indian schools, and a discussion on the relationship between small class size, Western developmental discourse, and issues of privilege and power. In ‘Teaching Islam: a look inside an Islamic preschool in Malaysia’, Lihanna Borhan seeks to raise our awareness of the schooling experience of children attending Islamic preschools in Malaysia. In the first colloquium Pamela Schulze provides an interesting discussion about research on Filipino mothers’ socialisation goals and beliefs about the role of other adults in disciplining their children. The results reveal that Filipinos have a collectivistic orientation, but that they nevertheless encourage independence in their children. Next, Sirene Lim explores the use of Deweyan principles to advocate for socially just curricula in Singaporean preschools that embrace play as a vehicle for children’s learning. Audrey Juma examines some of the issues and challenges inherent in improving practices in early childhood classrooms in Pakistan. The last colloquium by Hyewon Park Choi, Young Mee Won & Kwee-Ock Lee discusses the bilingual environment and bilingual development of Korean-Chinese children in Yanji, China. The study explores children’s access to media and the relationship between the use of media and language development. The study reveals that media and parents’ mediation play an important role in the development of bilingualism. Three book reviews complete this issue of the journal. Andrea Nolan provides a review of Key Times for Play: the first three years by Julie Manning-Morton & Maggie Thorp (2003). Ann Heirdsfield provides a review of Complementing the Computer Puzzle: a guide for early childhood educators by Suzanne Thouvelle & Cynthia J. Bewick (2003). Lastly, Suzy Edwards provides a review of Shaping Early Childhood: learners, curriculum and contexts by Glenda Macnaughton (2003). Nicola
J. Yelland & Yasmine Fauzee |
| Teachers’ Philosophical Orientation and Practices: a study of novice preschool teachers in South Korea |
| MINA KIM Indiana University, Bloomington, USA |
| VIEW FULL TEXT | BACK TO CONTENTS LIST |
| The purpose of this study was to explore the philosophical basis of novice preschool teachers in South Korea and how this pedagogical orientation was reflected in their classrooms. Through interviews and observations, this research gave Korean preschool teachers the opportunity to voice their beliefs about child-centered pedagogy, and illuminated how their beliefs were reflected in their teaching. Interestingly, Korean preschool teachers strongly believed in the importance of child-centered learning, no matter what type of institution they had graduated from. However, their teaching styles were significantly different. Several external factors restricted the teachers and prevented them from implementing their own beliefs in practice. These factors included whether the teachers were in public or private settings, whether they had graduated from two-year or four-year teacher education programs, and the presence of the Korean culture. In conclusion, reform plans for South Korean kindergartens are suggested in order to improve the quality of early childhood education, as well as to provide more support for teachers. |
| Building Inclusive Communities in Early Childhood Education: diverse perspectives from Aotearoa/New Zealand |
| VIEW FULL TEXT | BACK TO CONTENTS LIST |
| Inclusive education is premised upon notions of fairness, rights, and social justice – arguably central aspirations of early childhood education in Aotearoa/New Zealand. Inclusive early childhood settings are ones in which diversity is valued and where everyone’s contribution is equitable. However, there remain questions about the extent to which this vision is being realised. This article looks critically at the impact of language and actions on diverse groups in early childhood education and discusses subtleties in experiences of ‘difference’. The authors interrogate diversity and consider inclusion from their research and personal perspectives of sexualities, disability, gender, biculturalism, multi-ethnic diversity, and class. As advocates for inclusive policy and pedagogy, the authors draw on their own and others’ research and experience to explore diverse perspectives of inclusion. In so doing, the authors are able to examine exclusionary and inclusionary practices, and consider the impact that their language and actions can have on individuals and groups with whom they work. Consequently, the authors are able to give some suggestions about how inclusive communities in early childhood education might be created. |
| Teaching Practices in Taiwan’s Education for Young Children: complexity and ambiguity of developmentally appropriate practices and/or developmentally inappropriate practices |
| VIEW FULL TEXT | BACK TO CONTENTS LIST |
| This study aims to examine the implementation and application of the revised guidelines for developmentally appropriate practice in the care and education of young children in Taiwan. Child-centered philosophy was introduced to Taiwan 30 years ago, but numerous research studies report that Taiwanese early childhood teachers often encounter tensions between unstructured teaching styles and traditional culture values, such as the hierarchical social structure and emphasis on academic achievement. In order to examine the complexity of teaching practices, four Taiwanese early childhood education teachers from different backgrounds were interviewed, and their teaching practices were systematically described and sorted according to the guidelines for developmentally appropriate and inappropriate practices. The results showed that teaching practices were more of a continuous than a dichotomous process. Some of the classroom practices of Taiwanese early childhood education teachers contained both developmentally appropriate and inappropriate practices, whereas other teachers’ performances, which are not described in the developmentally appropriate practice guidelines but can be commonly seen in Taiwanese classrooms, were not easy to identify as either developmentally appropriate or inappropriate. The author proposes a need to explore the essences of culturally appropriate practices for Taiwanese children. |
| The Culture of Teaching in the Midst of Western Influence: the case of Hong Kong kindergartens |
| VIEW FULL TEXT | BACK TO CONTENTS LIST |
| Kindergarten teachers in Hong Kong are often criticised for not putting early childhood education theory into practice after their in-service training. It appears that they may be too concerned about academic work and discipline in the classroom and neglect to create a coherent vision of early childhood education. It might be suggested that kindergarten teachers have difficulties in coping with reform that advocates child-centred teaching approaches and active learning as the idealised vision of early childhood education when they have to cope with the Chinese cultural influence and parental demands for an early academic start. This article reviews the current teacher education provision and the cultural context of education in Hong Kong, and tracks the classroom strategies of kindergarten teachers in nine case studies. The findings of the study suggest that there is a general pattern for teaching in kindergartens. The culture of teaching tends to reflect the coping strategies of the teachers to overcome a triangle of potentially conflicting expectations and orientations: the vision of early childhood education, the Chinese culture, and local constraints. Moreover, simply training teachers would not ultimately change their practice unless the environment in which teachers work facilitated this. In view of this, teacher development and change are most possible if there is a change in views and attitudes towards teaching. |
| Reflecting on Early Literacy Development in the Context of Vanuatu |
| VIEW FULL TEXT | BACK TO CONTENTS LIST |
| A low level of literacy development plagues many parts of the Pacific region despite the fact that parents are very keen for their children to become literate in order to embrace the modern world. Issues concerning early education and the attainment of literacy are still a challenge in the Pacific. In order to understand the reasons for the low rates of literacy, a comprehensive overview of the context of the family, preschool, school, and country, including the government services, is given in this article. Vanuatu is used as an example of the experience of many Pacific Island countries. |
| Working with Large Class Size: dispositions of early childhood teachers in India |
| VIEW FULL TEXT | BACK TO CONTENTS LIST |
| Using sociocultural-historical constructivism, and post-colonial theory, the author conducted a study to examine, through the perceptions of teachers, school principals, and teacher educators, the relationship between the preparation and practice of early childhood teachers in private schools in New Delhi, India. The research questions collectively focused upon the aims of education that were prioritized by the educators, the philosophical and theoretical sources these educational aims drew upon, and the teachers’ perceptions of their classroom practice, of the effectiveness of teacher education programs, and of the strongest influences on their teaching practice. One emergent finding of the study illustrated how early childhood teachers worked in classes that averaged 43 children. This article describes the aims of education that were prioritized by the early childhood teachers, and how they implemented these aims in their large classes. The author provides examples of teaching strategies and teacher dispositions through her own observations and through the teachers’ articulation of their practice. The author also presents the teachers’ perceptions of successful teaching and how they evaluated themselves as being successful, or not, at the end of a school year. The article concludes with an analysis that contextualizes large class size in Indian schools and a discussion on the relationship between small class size, Western developmental discourse, and issues of privilege and power. |
| Teaching Islam: a look inside an Islamic preschool in Malaysia |
| VIEW FULL TEXT | BACK TO CONTENTS LIST |
| Although required to use the National Preschool Curriculum for the five- to six-year-old age group, preschools in Malaysia can add to this curriculum to suit their individual purposes. Thus, preschools with religious emphasis are common in Malaysia. Parents send their children to the religiously affiliated preschools in the hope of inculcating particular religious values in their young children. However, parents, and outsiders, may not actually be privy to what and exactly how the children are learning with regard to the religious curriculum. By providing thick descriptions of the activities in an Islamic preschool, this article is largely aimed at those who would like to understand the schooling experience of children going to such schools. |
| Filipino Mothers’ Beliefs about Parenting: a question of independence |
| VIEW FULL TEXT | BACK TO CONTENTS LIST |
| The author discusses research on Filipino mothers’ socialization goals and beliefs about the role of other adults in disciplining their children. The results reveal that Filipinos have a collectivistic orientation, but that they nevertheless encourage independence in their children. The implications of these results are discussed in light of the current debate about the usefulness of individualism and collectivism as a heuristic for interpreting cultural differences. |
| Looking at Education through a Deweyan Lens: how play could take shape in Singapore’s preschools |
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| This article outlines key characteristics of Singapore’s national values and the preschool education context, and provides a discussion of what the spirit of play could be like in Singaporean preschools. The article uses Deweyan principles to advocate for socially just curricula in Singaporean preschools that embrace ‘play’ as a vehicle for children’s learning. |
| Improving Practices in Early Childhood Classrooms in Pakistan: issues and challenges from the field |
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| This article focuses on an early childhood programme that has been initiated by the Institute for Educational Development at the Aga Khan University in Karachi, Pakistan. The programme is a Certificate in Education and involves training teachers so as to enable them to understand early childhood education and development, and to become effective practitioners in their classrooms. The early childhood education and development programme is a field-based programme of six months’ duration, where the emphasis is on supporting and mentoring course participants as they implement the High/Scope approach in their classrooms and engage children in active learning. The article outlines the structure and content of the programme and also highlights the processes engaged in when improving practices in the classroom with regard to setting up the classroom environment, establishing routines, and integrating the curriculum. In the course of working with teachers as they made a shift from formal classroom settings with an emphasis on teacher-directed teaching to settings that were more child-oriented with an active encouragement of learning, various issues and challenges emerged. These issues and challenges are discussed in this article. Subsequently, some recommendations are made for improving the status of early childhood education and development in Pakistan. |
| Bilingual Environment and Bilingual Development of Korean-Chinese Children in Yanji, China |
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| The purpose of this study was to explore the extent of children’s access to media and the relation between the use of media and language development, including its determinants, among Korean-Chinese bilingual children in Yanji, China. Questionnaires were answered by 258 grade four students and their parents. The results indicated that these children had access to a variety of media (television, video cassette recorders, stereos, cassette recorders, computers, telephones, and mobile telephones). Specifically, the levels of home computer and Internet access were considerably high, with access rates of 49.4% and 24.5% respectively. The language used by the children (Korean or Chinese) while engaged with the media differed according to the type of media. They had more access to Korean newspapers, magazines, books, and radio. Our study indicated, however, that the children often used Chinese when using the computer. Television was the only form of media that was comparatively well-balanced, with children gaining access to programmes in both Korean and Chinese. Stepwise regression analyses revealed that the children’s access to Chinese in media, the proficiency of the parents in Chinese, and parental affection as measured by the self-report were related to the children’s level of proficiency in the Chinese language. Our study revealed that media may play an important role in the development of bilingualism and the mediation of parents plays a significant role as well. |
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