Journal of Early Childhood Research

Rhythm has been found to enhance not only biological functioning (e.g. balance, timing and coordination), but also to facilitate learning across sociocultural contexts. That is, rhythm may be a method of supporting child development and well-being. Hence, to the extent that children are not exposed to or engaged with rhythm, their development or the realization of their full potential may be limited. However, little research has explored the use of rhythm in early childhood education—a major context (in terms of time and importance) of children’s lives—or teachers’ experiences with rhythm in their pedagogy. Therefore, we conducted a qualitative study to investigate elementary teachers’ experiences of rhythm in their classroom teaching specifically, and in the teaching–learning process generally. A phenomenological approach that assumes that peoples’ perceptions present us with evidence of the world not as the world is thought to be but as it is lived was employed. Our goal was to understand the everyday pedagogy of a group of elementary school teachers, specifically, to understand how they experienced and constructed the role of rhythm in elementary education. Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with study participants to probe and generate a rich description of the phenomenon of rhythm in the teaching–learning process. Results consisted of nine themes that convey (1) what rhythm meant to the teachers, (2) what they saw as the importance of rhythm in their teaching, and (3) the challenges they faced in incorporating rhythm in their teaching. Findings suggest that a broader and more inclusive range of activities (i.e. because rhythmic activities such as music, dance, oral rhymes, and other bodily movement) in the academic curriculum is important as such activities have the potential to improve the learning, development, and well-being of elementary school-age children and enhance the lived experiences of schooling for both educators and their students. However, a number of challenges also confront elementary educators who seek to incorporate rhythm into their pedagogy.

This paper presents a methodological study with children where two different interview methods were utilized: the walk-around (a form of mobile interview) and the shoulder-to-shoulder. The paper reviews the methodological aspects of the study then provides a brief review of the history of methods employed in research with children. Finally the paper considers issues around conducting research with children in the areas of data generation, interview environment, power, and participant engagement. Throughout the article, narrative interludes, and the author’s personal reflections as parents and researchers are provided space for thought and narrative glimpses into the research experience.

In all, 26 Turkish early childhood educators were asked to describe a moral dilemma they faced in their classroom, the circumstances that made the situation a dilemma, and why it was a moral dilemma. The dilemmas described arose from conflicts between teachers and children, teachers and parents, and teachers and administrators. Dilemmas described by experienced teachers did not differ from those of described by inexperienced teachers. Dilemmas between teachers and students reflected teachers’ caring for students, while dilemmas between teachers and parents, and teachers and administrators reflected power struggles. When asked why the dilemmas were moral in nature, the teachers’ responses were categorized into five areas of concern. These are a concern for children’s development, children’s needs, children’s feelings, fairness, and honesty. Results are compared with studies conducted in the West. Implications for future research are presented.

The purpose of this study was to survey parental media attitudes and perceptions of their children’s knowledge and engagement with various media technologies, as well as to explore the children’s actual knowledge and experience with these tools. A total of 101 US parents of young children (ages 2–7 years) and 39 children (ages 3–6 years) participated. Results revealed heavy media consumption both among parents and children, and a large number of children, including the youngest, had private access. Less than half of the parents could accurately identify their children’s technological proficiency, and despite heavy usage, many children misidentified various media tools. Overall, parents showed positive attitudes toward media, to the extent that they believed media exposure to be vital to children’s development, and many disagreed with recommendations from expert sources regarding age-appropriate screen time. Implications of these findings are discussed.

Verbal interaction with others has been identified as an important forum for children’s developing understanding of the thoughts and feelings of others – their theory of mind. However, conversational interactions in settings and relationships important to young children beyond the home and family have received little attention in research literature. This qualitative study analyses conversation between preschool children and early childhood teachers as they engage in group-shared storybook reading. Findings show shared storybook reading in the preschool setting to be a rich source of conversation involving reference to mental states, in particular, affect, desire and cognitive states. In addition, teachers’ use of causal questioning may provide a salient forum for children to exercise and enhance their theory of mind abilities.

Childminders in England have historically been seen as marginal providers of childcare, fulfilling Bruner’s description of the service as an ‘accordion pleat’ in provision. This article outlines the history and current position of childminders in English early childhood policy, and then reports on the views on this role of childminders who participated in focus groups to discuss the statutory requirements for their role. The participants describe their feelings about their role, revealing tensions between the maternal and professional aspects of their practice, the ‘expert’ and ‘common-sense’ contributions they make, and the ways in which they perceive adherence to regulatory frameworks as undermining the relationships with parents, which form a core theme in their self-perception.

Childcare regulations ensure children’s rights to Early Childhood Care and Education settings that protect them from harm and promote their healthy development. To ensure that settings comply, power is vested with regulatory bodies that are tasked with enforcing regulations. Using a qualitative methodology, 43 interviews were undertaken with Early Childhood Care and Education managers, early childhood educators, support agencies and members of the pre-school inspectorate to explore their perspectives of the regulatory environment in Ireland. In a context where reform of the pre-school inspectorate is currently underway, this article provides insight into how Early Childhood Care and Education managers and educators experience the current inspection system. Findings suggest that managers and educators experience a sense of frustration and helplessness in terms of regulatory enforcement. There is evidence of inconsistency across inspections that may be linked to inadequate inspectorate qualifications. In common with other researchers, that is, Early Childhood Ireland, Start Strong and Moloney participants in this study call for an expansion of the inspectorate to include somebody with early childhood education specifically.

Working methodologically and theoretically with the hydro-logics of bodies of water, this article addresses the limitations of humanistic perspectives on water play in early childhood classrooms, and proposes pedagogies of watery relations. The article traces the fluid, murky, surging, creative, unpredictable specificities of bodies of water that enter an early childhood classroom during a collaborative ethnographic project with young children and early childhood educators.