Effective practices with infants and toddlers
Nau te rourou, naku te rourou ka ora te iwi
With your basket of knowledge and my basket of knowledge, we will succeed
What image do you hold of the infant in your setting? When does the infant become the toddler?
How we see the child, the image we hold, impacts on:
- how the child experiences their day,
- their context for growing, developing and learning,
- their understanding of relationships and roles, and
- their own emerging identity.
What we do makes a real difference to each and every child and to their family and wider whānau. While we hear, and use, the words ‘responsive’, ‘respectful’, ‘reciprocal’ in our early childhood education settings, what do these actually look like when embedded in our pedagogy for infants and toddlers?
This section introduces reflections on what we do, why we do it, and what it means for children and families and whānau experiencing transitions. Each piece asks you to think carefully about everyday pedagogy with children, and their families and whānau.
In this section we draw on the evaluation framework developed by Podmore et al. (2001) to position the pieces of writing and to engage the reader in thinking carefully about everyday pedagogy in relation to infants and toddlers in early childhood settings. The child’s questions sit within the frame of Te Whāriki and lead the reader to reflect on Te Whāriki in action within their own setting. You are invited to explore your practices from the child’s perspective as you read the materials that arouse your curiosities.
(Adapted from Podmore, V., May, H., & Carr, M. (2001). The "child’s questions". Programme evaluation with Te Whāriki using "Teaching Stories". Early Childhood Folio, 5, 6-9.)
This paper was prepared by Judith Duncan, University of Canterbury, 2009.
In this section