“Today at Playcentre, we ….”: What values underpin narrative assessment in Playcentre?
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.26686/nzaroe.v24i0.6332Keywords:
Early childhood education – New Zealand, Playcentre, Professionalisation of early childhood education, Learning stories, Parent education, Parent-led early childhood educationAbstract
Narrative assessments are widely used in Aotearoa New Zealand’s early childhood services, especially in the form of ‘Learning Stories’. This sociocultural approach to assessment foregrounds the importance of identifying what is valued learning within a particular context. What does this look like within the context of the parent co-operative Playcentre? A small-scale qualitative study brought together focus groups of Playcentre parents to share what Learning Stories are being written, to explore their experiences in writing and using Learning Stories, and to consider what underlying values shape narrative assessment in Playcentres. A major finding is that adult learning and relationship building are key aspects of Learning Stories in Playcentres. The authors argue that because of the positioning of parents as both learners and Kaiako in Playcentre, assessment in Playcentre is fundamentally different to that in teacher-led services.
Downloads
References
Bailey, S., & Tamati-Aubrey, A. (2018). Messages to the Minister: "Please update funding models". Early Education, 62, 25.
Cameron, M., McLachlan, C., & Rawlins, P. (2016). "Assessment in ECE is overwhelming at times": Uncovering the challenges of assessing four year old children's learning. Early Education, 60, 12-16.
Cameron, M., McLachlan, C., Rawlins, P., & McLaughlin, T. (2018). Assessment of, as and for learning. Early Education, 64, 18-23.
Canterbury Playcentre Association. (2010). Playcentre pakiwaitara: Weaving our stories, learning together. Christchurch, New Zealand: Canterbury Playcentre Association. Retrieved from https://www.slideshare.net/DaleneMactier/assessment-planning-and-evaluation-in-playcentre
Carr, M. (1998). Assessing children's learning in early childhood settings: A professional development programme for discussion and reflection. Wellington, New Zealand: New Zealand Council for Educational Research.
Cubey, P. (2007). Schemas and learning stories: The two are compatible and complementary. Playcentre Journal, 128, 20-22.
Davis, K., & Peters, M. (2010). From fact to fiction, from animal expert to story teller. Playcentre Journal, 138, 20-23.
Davis, K., Peters, S., & Duff, A. (2010). Working theories in action. Playcentre Journal, 139, 20-23.
de Vocht-van Alphen, L. (2006). Pig-hunting boots: Exploring sociocultural thinking in a Playcentre context. Playcentre Journal, 125, 29-31.
de Vocht, L., & Stover, S. (2019). Assessment: When parents are learners, too: Part II. Playcentre Journal, 160, 28-31.
Early Childhood Education Taskforce. (2011). Agenda for amazing children. Wellington New Zealand: Ministry of Education. Education Counts. (2019). Overview of licensed ECE services in 2018. Wellington, New Zealand: Ministry of Education. Retrieved from: https://www.educationcounts.govt.nz/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/192943/ECE-Summary-page-2Services-in-2018.pdf
Education Review Office. (2007). The quality of assessment in early childhood education. Wellington, New Zealand: Author.
Education Review Office. (2015). Continuity of learning: Transitions from early childhood services to school. Wellington, New Zealand: Author.
Education Review Office. (2019). Indicators of quality for early childhood education: What matters most. Wellington: Author. Retrieved from https://www.ero.govt.nz/how-ero-reviews/ero-reviews-of-early-childhood-services-and-kohanga-reo/what-matters-most-in-high-quality-early-childhood-education-draft-evaluation-indicators/#outcome-indicators
Farr, J. (2012). Playcentre parents 'noticing, recognising and responding' to their children's interests: How Playcentre parents have managed to change to sociocultural assessment and curriculum processes. Playcentre Journal, 145, 30-33.
Gonzalez, N., Moll, L. C., & Amanti, C. (2005). Funds of knowledge: Theorizing practices in households, communities, and classrooms. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Grey, A. (1974). Learning through play. Auckland, New Zealand: New Zealand Playcentre Federation.
Hunt, L. (2016). Learning snapshots: Enriching assessment by investigating child and family perspectives about learning. Early Education, 60, 17-21.
Kitchen, S. (2001). Learning stories: A useful tool for Playcentres. Playcentre Journal 110: 24-25.
Manning, S. (2018). Struggling to maintain diversity: The marginalisation of Playcentre in government early childhood education and care policy. New Zealand Annual Review of Education, 23, 96-110. https://doi.org/doi:10.26686/nzaroe.v23i0.5286
Manning, S. (2019). Beyond the teacher/parent separation: Questioning the 100% qualified teacher policy. Early Childhood Folio, 23(1), 28-32. https://doi.org/10.18296/ecf.0059
May, H. (2009). Politics in the playground: The world of early childhood in postwar New Zealand (2nd ed.). Dunedin, New Zealand: Otago University Press.
Ministry of Education. (1996). Te Whāriki: He Whāriki matauranga o ngā mokopuna o Aotearoa: Early childhood curriculum. Wellington, New Zealand: Learning Media.
Ministry of Education. (1998). Quality in action: Te mahi whai hua: Implementing the revised statement of desirable objectives and practices in New Zealand early childhood services. Wellington, New Zealand: Learning Media.
Ministry of Education. (2002). Pathways to the future: Nga huarahi arataki: A ten year strategic plan for early childhood education. Wellington, New Zealand: Learning Media.
Ministry of Education. (2004/2007/2009). Kei tua o te pae. Wellington, New Zealand: Author.
Ministry of Education. (2017a). He taonga te tamaiti/Every child a taonga: Strategic plan for early learning 2019-29. Wellington, New Zealand: Author. Retrieved from https://conversation.education.govt.nz/assets/ELSP/Early-Learning-Strategic-10-Year-Plan.pdf
Ministry of Education. (2017b). Te Whāriki: He Whāriki matauranga o ngā mokopuna o Aotearoa: Early Childhood Curriculum (2nd ed.). Wellington, New Zealand: Author.
Ministry of Education. (2019). He taonga te tamaiti / Every child a taonga: Early learning action plan 2019-2029. Wellington, New Zealand: Author. Retrieved from https://conversation-space.s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/SES_0342_ELS_10YP_Final+Report_Web.pdf
Mitchell, L. (2017). Discourses of economic investment and child vulnerability in early childhood education. Waikato Journal of Education, 22(1), 25-35. https://doi.org/10.15663/wje.v22i1.552
Naus, C. (2002). Documenting children's learning: The Renwick experience. Playcentre Journal, 113, 22.
New Zealand Playcentre Federation. (2019). Press release: Playcentre Aotearoa is now a single charitable trust. Wellington, New Zealand: Author.
Penrose, P. (1998). Take another look /Tirohia anō: A guide to observing children. Auckland, New Zealand: Playcentre Publications.
Playcentre Aotearoa. (2018). Education Information. Retrieved from https://www.playcentre.org.nz/current-members/education-information/
Playcentre Aotearoa. (2019). What is Playcentre? Retrieved from https://www.playcentre.org.nz/future-members/what-is-playcentre/
Reid, R. (2002). Learning stories: Narrative observations and learning dispositions. Playcentre Journal, 113, 20-21.
Smith, A. B. (2013). Understanding children and childhood: A New Zealand perspective. Wellington, New Zealand: Bridget Williams Books. https://doi.org/10.7810/9781927131763
Stover, S. (2001). Planning for playcentres: A hands-on resource. Auckland, New Zealand: Ministry of Education & New Zealand Playcentre Federation.
Stover, S. (2011). Play's progress? Locating play in the educationalisation of early childhood in Aotearoa New Zealand. Auckland, New Zealand: Auckland University of Technology. Retrieved from http://aut.researchgateway.ac.nz/handle/10292/2864
Stover, S. (2016). The educationalising of early childhood in Aotearoa New Zealand: Tracking "free play" 1940s-2010. Paedagogica Historica, 52(5), 525-541. https://doi.org/10.1080/00309230.2016.1170709
Stover, S., & de Vocht, L. (2017). Assessment in Playcentres: Where has it come from? What happens now? Playcentre Journal, 156, 20-23.
Stover, S., & de Vocht, L. (2018). Assessment: When parents are learners, too. Playcentre Journal, 159, 25-28.
Stuart, M. (2018). 'Social investment' as political economy of education: Recent changes in early childhood education in New Zealand. Global Studies of Childhood, 8(1), 75-90. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1177/2043610618763177
Teaching Council of New Zealand & Matatū Aotearoa. (2019). Our code, our standard. Retrieved from https://www.teachingcouncil.nz/content/our-code-our-standards
Urban, M. (2008). Dealing with uncertainty: Challenges and possibilities for the early childhood profession. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 16(2), 135-152. https://doi.org/10.1080/13502930802141584
Wells, C. (2016). In whose interests? Looking back - thinking forward. Early Education, 60, 31-34.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
The Author(s) retain ownership of the copyright in the Article but hereby grant the Publisher an exclusive license to publish the article.
NZAROE gives authors full permission to deposit their articles in publicly accessible institutional repositories, providing that:
- Articles are placed in repositories after publication.
- Metadata about articles include the DOI and journal issue information.
