This article examines how we as researchers in a constantly changing world can challenge ourselves by 'unlearning' what we know, and perhaps take for granted, about children. What happens, for example, to the notion of the child in a world of transformation? To address these questions, I argue that we need to explore the act of unlearning both…

The purpose of this study is to explore a theoretical idea in relation to a body of empirical material from a reading activity involving a picturebook on shadow. The theoretical idea, sprung from variation theory, entails children's discernment through synchronic simultaneity as a key to their ability to imagine. To explore this idea, an analysis…

Infants enculturate to their soundscape over the first year of life, yet theories of how they do so rarely make contact with details about the sounds available in everyday life. Here, we report on properties of a ubiquitous early ecology in which foundational skills get built: music. We captured daylong recordings from 35 infants ages 6-12 months…

Story-time serves as an interactive linguistic tool through which parents encourage their children to share narratives. Grounded in sociocultural and narrative theories, this study employed a visual ethnographic approach to explore how parents perceive and engage in story-time interactions within 33 Chinese families. Data were collected through…

Children learn words in a social environment, facilitated in part by social cues from caregivers, such as eye-gaze and gesture. A common assumption is that social cues convey either perceptual or social information, depending on the age of the child. In this review of research on word learning and social cues during early childhood, we propose…

Learning progressions have become increasingly prevalent in mathematics education as they offer a fine-grain map of possible learning pathways a child may take within a particular domain. However, there is an opportunity to build upon this research in ways that consider learning from multiple perspectives. Many current forms of learning…

In this study, we analyse a 9-year-old child's argumentative participation in a group discussion, from a microgenetic development angle. Specifically, we follow one child through the discussion and analyse the development process, defined as changed participation and as interactionally contingent upon the other participants and the teacher. The…

This study aims to critique the concept of active learning in childhood education based on Hegelian Bildung. We have defined childhood education from the perspective of Hegel's Bildung in The Phenomenology of Spirit. We describe childhood education as a 'primary Bildung' having the aim of 'entering into the conceptual world'. This aim indicates…

Anglophone societies in which the sovereign individual is primary vis and vis social relations, and policy focuses on economic competition and consumption in education, find it hard to grasp non-pecuniary outcomes in higher education. These include the self-formation of students as persons and collective goods like knowledge, technological…

This book chapter highlights Howard Gardner's contributions to the areas of education and creativity. It includes an introductory section on his background and accomplishments. The chapter focuses on his theory of multiple intelligences, Gardner's best-known theory, and provides details on how he got the idea for this theory. It offers an…

As the most influential figure in the field of learning science, Piaget's research on children's concepts and consciousness, his concept of 'Piagetian education', his contribution to constructivism have been greatly adopted in education. However, the weaknesses of his work have been criticised by many scholars. This paper illustrates how Piaget's…

In "Learning Without Lessons," David F. Lancy fills a rather large gap in the field of child development and education. Drawing on focused, empirical studies in cultural psychology, ethnographic accounts of childhood, and insights from archaeological studies, Lancy offers the first attempt to review the principles and practices for…

This study examined the effect of Vygotskian-based professional development on the CLASS Instructional Support Teacher Self-Assessment scores of preschool teachers in a rural setting. Specifically, it examined the efficacy of preschool teachers in their ability to provide instructional support to their students prior to participating in…

The present study sought to determine how and where pedagogical decisions are made, as well as how such pedagogical decisions construct pedagogy, in the early childhood education context. The data was collected through interviews conducted with 46 early childhood education professionals, both teachers and practical nurses. The questions focused on…

In the educational experience of Reggio Emilia, art education is held to be a central element in children's knowledge building processes and the aesthetic experience is considered an activator of learning process. In the Reggio educational philosophy, the space dedicated to aesthetic education and the exploration of artistic languages and…