Search Results (12)

While there has been a recent focus on reforming kindergarten curricula to emphasize a play-based learning (PBL) approach, a lingering dichotomy remains between play-based learning and pedagogical instruction aimed at academic preparation. Early music education is a critical component of the current policy emphasis on arts education and PBL, yet there is scarce research on play-based pedagogy in music education, particularly regarding children’s engagement and the applied instructional models. This study investigates how instructional practices affect children’s behavioral and emotional engagement in musical play. Data were collected at two Hong Kong kindergartens (K1–K3) using classroom observations and the Engagement Check II (ECII) tool. Thematic content analysis revealed three instructional approaches: teacher-directed routines with minimal aspects of play, guided play within structured musical contexts, and open-ended, child-initiated musical play. Analysis of the ECII data revealed high levels of behavioral engagement, with guided-play contexts yielding higher levels of behavioral and emotional engagement compared to highly teacher-directed instructional approaches. Differences in engagement levels during musical play were revealed to be correlated with age. This study highlights the need for culturally responsive music teacher training, supportive school culture, and aligned curriculum and policy implementation. Full article

This paper presents Greenopoli, an innovative framework for sustainability and waste management education that has engaged over 600 schools and 90,000 students since 2014. Greenopoli is founded on the idea that children and youth can grasp environmental issues as well as adults and act as agents of change within their families and communities. The Greenopoli approach combines scientific accuracy with playful, creative pedagogy to simplify complex topics and stimulate peer-to-peer learning. It includes storytelling, games, field visits, and “green raps” (original environmental songs co-created with students). The framework is adaptive, with content and activities tailored to education stages from kindergarten through university. Educators adopt the role of moderators or facilitators, encouraging students to discuss and discover concepts collaboratively. Greenopoli’s participatory method has been implemented across all age groups, yielding enthusiastic engagement and tangible outcomes in waste sorting and recycling behaviors. The program’s reach has extended beyond schools through collaborations with national recycling consortia, NGOs, municipalities, and media (TV programs, social media, TEDx talks). Numerous awards and recognitions (2017–2025) have highlighted its impact. A comparative analysis shows that Greenopoli’s use of peer-led learning, gamification, and creative communication aligns with global best practices while offering a unique blend of tools. Greenopoli is a novel best-practice model in environmental education, bridging theory and practice and contributing to the goals of Education for Sustainable Development and a circular economy. It demonstrates the effectiveness of engaging youth as change-makers through interactive and creative learning, and it can inspire similar initiatives globally. Full article

Humanity is at a critical juncture in its response to environmental issues. Coastal land spaces are under threat from rising sea levels and storm surges accelerating erosion and degradation. Children have an important role in sustaining a viable environmental future. Education for sustainability in early childhood (EC) nature-based settings has the potential to disrupt the current crisis by deepening children’s understanding of the environment. Many educators who practice nature pedagogy in early childhood education (ECE) shy away from using technological tools despite our existence in a time of artificial intelligence and digitalisation, some of which is becoming evident in EC sustainability education. This paper will consider the use of blue spaces that incorporate the waters, sands, and coastal land adjacent to the water’s age for EC sustainability teaching and learning. It will focus on questioning the role of technologization, particularly technological tools, on the forms of sustainability education that preschool children experience while in nature-based settings. Interrogating recent research of nature-based kindergartens undertaken at Australian coastal contexts, and drawing on seminal international documentation, it will focus on the development of young children’s empathy and ‘ethos of care’ for living things, their considerations of local ecosystems, and their growing understandings of the interrelationships between elements of their environment. The paper will then consider how the application of technological tools intersects with sustainability education in the context of blue spaces. The research highlights the importance of the educator in the development of interactive, learner-centred opportunities that not only enable investigative, action-adapted learning but also fosters independent learners who are responsive to their natural environment. The implication of this research is that further considerations of technologization and children’s environmental agency through a play-based, emergent curriculum are necessary. Full article

Amid a policy mandate to foster national identity in Hong Kong’s early childhood education sector, this study explores the complex intersection of pedagogy, home–school collaboration, and technology integration. Navigating this value-laden topic depends fundamentally on a strong partnership between parents and educators, yet the rapid push for artificial intelligence (AI) creates additional pressures. This qualitative study investigates the shared and conflicting perspectives of these key stakeholders. Eight focus groups were conducted with 21 parents and 26 educators from four diverse Hong Kong kindergartens. Data were analyzed using a novel human–AI collaborative thematic analysis to ensure analytical depth and reliability. The findings reveal a paradoxical consensus: while parents and educators agree on an experiential, play-based pedagogy, they hold divergent views on the division of responsibility. A further misalignment exists in communication ideals, with parents prioritizing efficiency and educators prioritizing relational nuance. Critically, a technology paradox emerges, pitting parents’ aspirational hopes for AI against educators’ pragmatic concerns over inadequate resources, training, and pedagogical suitability. The study concludes that a significant perception gap strains the home–school partnership. Simply introducing technology without first addressing these foundational human and resource-based misalignments risks widening, rather than bridging, the divide, offering important lessons for education systems globally. Full article

This study explores the potential of craft-based activities in the context of special education, focusing on a papier mâché sculpting workshop implemented at the Special Kindergarten of Komotini, Greece, as part of the Horizon Europe Craeft project. The initiative aimed to assess how such creative activities could enhance the learning experience of children with intellectual and motor impairments, foster socialization, and develop fine motor skills. With reference to literature in art therapy, craft education, and inclusive pedagogy, the study applied a mixed-methods approach combining observation, visual analysis, and a survey. The findings indicate that, despite varied levels of participation based on individual needs, all students engaged meaningfully with the materials and activities. School professionals observed increased student engagement, emotional comfort, and communication, while also identifying the activity as well adapted and replicable in similar contexts. The results highlight the value of crafts in special education, not only as a sensory and cognitive stimulus but also as a means of fostering inclusion and self-expression. The study concludes with a call for further research into the role of tactile materials and hand gestures in relation to specific impairments. Full article

The framework plan for kindergartens in Norway emphasizes knowledge of Indigenous Sámi culture among the core values of pedagogical practice. Preservice students in early childhood teacher education (ECTE) are thus obliged to learn about Sámi culture. We explored and developed collaborative teaching interventions for Sámi topics. We aimed to “braid” Sámi diversity into our teaching and make the lessons explorative, practical, and student-active, in line with the basics of Sámi pedagogy. The teaching emphasized how Sámi people were historically connected to the land through sustainable livelihoods and respect for natural resources. We developed the teaching interventions through action-based research in three cycles (2022–2024). Our primary material consisted of students’ responses to online surveys and group interviews. The findings show that students gained a broader understanding of diversity within Sámi culture after the interventions. They reported greater interest and better learning outcomes, especially from the active and practical lessons. The Sámi teaching content, structure, and methods explored in this study may be relevant to other ECTE or other teacher education programs, especially those related to teaching Indigenous topics to majority populations. Full article

The article approaches ‘landscape architecture’, insisting on the term ‘architecture’ as describing landscape formations accepted as structured systems of composed, perceptual elements presenting organizational and aesthetic value. The central idea of this proposal refers to the key concept that design systems do not copy reality in its full complicated substance; they simply cannot manage to represent and work with the complex totality of the real surrounding world. They rather design abstract formational elements that ‘schematize’ reality and create composing syntactic systems, composing ‘languages’. It was in this context that modern 20th-century garden designers insisted on the comparison of landscape design approaches with architectural abstract building plans or abstract early 20th century-paintings. However, analogous correlations may also be regarded in the opposite orientation. Thus, contemporary architectural projects are often described as ‘landscape formations’ in a period of environmental sensitivity combined with enlarged topological awareness; the latter presents earth bas-relief as a convincing metaphor of topological mathematical transformations in general, associated with computational ‘animate’ design. Nevertheless, the principal aim of the article is firstly to insist on the interchangeable approaches of hard-scape architectural design and green-scape design in terms of analogous abstract and schematized formations. Moreover, the present article intends to propose a possible didactic strategy of landscape design for architects or students in schools of architecture and for attendees already accustomed to building or hard-scape urban design. This design didactic strategy is principally founded on the concept that common abstract ‘schematized’ formations underlie all those practices: landscape design as well as building and urban design. Full article

This paper describes a set of educational initiatives in Religious Education (RE). The paper addresses RE as an academic learning area and reserved for Kindergarten to Year 10 classrooms in Catholic schools. The initiatives described in the paper are evidence-based; they are guided by research and student achievement data addressing contemporary assessment reforms within the Australian educational context and considering the implications that the reforms have on the quality of student learning in RE. The reforms include quality assurance measures such as large-scale, standardised assessments (LSAs) and social moderation tools. The purpose of the measures is to establish standards that support the alignment of teaching and assessment practices. Such an alignment in the RE learning area has the potential to strengthen and improve student, as well as teacher, knowledge and understanding of the Catholic Faith Tradition. The paper draws from the Catholic RE school curriculum in Western Australia (WA), assessment principles outlined for schools in WA, an Australian Research Council Linkage project and local research about teacher perceptions of an LSA in RE. The paper supports local and national policy expectations recommending a review of the quality of RE as a learning area. Furthermore, given the prominence of the Catholic Church’s mission of evangelisation and the nature and role of RE in Catholic schools as part of that mission, the paper endorses the Church’s current stance on thoughtful dialogue and renewed efforts to bring a better understanding about Catholic culture and education to the world. Full article

STEM education has been promoted in schools worldwide to cultivate students’ 21st-century skills. Mathematical modelling is a valuable method for developing STEM education. However, in this respect, more attention is given to secondary level or above compared with kindergarten or primary level. Teaching mathematics at the primary level is closely related to authentic problems, which is a crucial characteristic of mathematical modelling activities. After screening 239 publications from various databases, we reviewed 10 empirical studies on mathematical modelling at the primary level. In this systematic review, we analysed the following three aspects: (1) the use of professional development intervention methods/strategies to enhance the intervention effects and the competencies of primary teachers to utilize mathematical modelling; (2) the effects of mathematical modelling on primary students and methods of improving their mathematical modelling skills; and (3) methods used to assess the modelling skills of primary school teachers and students. The results indicate that professional development interventions can enhance the teaching quality of mathematical modelling. The components of the interventions should include an introduction to the pedagogy of mathematical modelling, clarifying the role of the teacher and the student in mathematical modelling activities. Through mathematical modelling, students can generate mathematical ideas, explore mathematical theorems independently, develop critical thinking, and improve their metacognitive and communicative skills. The competency of mathematical modelling is often determined using formative assessments of teachers and students. Because limitations still exist in conducting primary-level modelling activities, schools should utilise more standardised assessment methods, provide universal teacher training, and grant more opportunities for primary school students to participate in mathematical modelling activities. The lack of research on cross-cultural contexts should draw the attention of future research. Full article

It has been shown that combining data from multiple sources, such as observations, self-reports, and performance with physiological markers offers better insights into cognitive-affective states during the learning process. Through a study with 12 kindergarteners, we explore the role of utilizing insights from multiple data sources, as a potential arsenal to supplement and complement existing assessments methods in understanding cognitive-affective states across two main pedagogical approaches—constructionist and instructionist—as children explored learning a chosen Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) concept. We present the trends that emerged across pedagogies from different data sources and illustrate the potential value of additional data channels through case illustrations. We also offer several recommendations for such studies, particularly when collecting physiological data, and summarize key challenges that provide potential avenues for future work. Full article

There is growing awareness of the benefits of curriculum-based social and emotional learning (SEL) programs in Early Childhood Education and Care settings for children’s social, emotional, and cognitive development. While many SEL programs aim to strengthen teachers’ capacity and capability to foster children’s social and emotional skills, research effort has focused on understanding the impact on child outcomes, with less emphasis on improvement in teaching quality. This systematic literature review examined the effectiveness of universal curriculum-based SEL programs on teacher outcomes. Fifteen studies met inclusion criteria, capturing ten distinct SEL interventions. The findings suggest SEL programs may strengthen teaching quality, particularly the provision of responsive and nurturing teacher-child interactions and effective classroom management. Data were insufficient to ascertain whether participation improved teachers’ knowledge, self-efficacy, or social-emotional wellbeing. The potential pathways between SEL intervention, teaching quality and children’s developmental outcomes are discussed. Full article

Myths about early education abound. Many beliefs people hold about early math have a grain of truth in them, but as a whole are not true—they are largely myths. But the myths persist, and many harm children. In this article, we address ubiquitous math myths that may be negatively affecting many young students. We conclude that avoiding the myths and listening to the findings of research and the wisdom of expert practice will serve both teachers and children well. Full article