Category Archives: Literate Identities

Should I draw for my child? – Kolbe

Posted on April 12, 2013 by backyardbooks

This can quickly become a point of dissent in early childhood education from what I’ve seen, but I like the approach Ursula Kolbe takes…. She writes: “While I love drawing – and many children know that I do – I … Continue reading →

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learning to behave in character

Posted on January 16, 2013 by backyardbooks

“By becoming aware of the way in which others view us we build up a composite picture of ourselves. We also learn to behave in character; we get a picture of how other people regard us and then adapt our … Continue reading →

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self-esteem in young children

Posted on January 16, 2013 by backyardbooks

“When a child establishes her identity she is simply becoming aware of how others see her. Once we talk about self-esteem we start to place a value on that identity.” (p.4) Ref: Marion Dowling (2005) Young Children’s Personal, Social and … Continue reading →

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Women and Enlightenment Science

Posted on September 27, 2012 by backyardbooks

I really enjoy the BBC (and Melvyn Bragg)’s In Our time podcasts… this is another (from BBC4, Thursday 4th November 2010, 21:30): “Women and Enlightenment Science Listen now Duration: 45 minutes Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the role played by … Continue reading →

Posted in Literate Identities, Metaphors and Narratives around children and learners, Science education, social and political contexts | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Key Competencies: a holistic model of competence

Posted on September 5, 2012 by backyardbooks

I stumbled across a rather good little book called Key Competencies the other day… It’s an edited book of essays, so… Chapter 2: A holistic model of competence, by Dominique Simone Rychen and Laura Hersh Salganik In this chapter, Rychen … Continue reading →

Posted in Images of Parent Child and Expert, Literate Identities, Metaphors and Narratives around children and learners, social and political contexts, Standardised Testing, Understanding Education | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

“Kosher Kiwis”

Posted on March 11, 2012 by backyardbooks

In an edited extract from Jewish Lives in New Zealand (Ed Len Bell and Diana Morrow), published in the Culture section of the Sunday Star Times, Feb 26, a brief overview of Jewishness in NZ is offered. They write: “Jews … Continue reading →

Posted in Literate Identities, Mono- Bi- and Multi-culturalism, Pakeha learners and education | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Learning science and intuition

Posted on March 8, 2012 by backyardbooks

“Intuition … can readily be honed by including it explicitly within the learning context. Recent research on the learning of science shows that children develop a much richer understanding of how to do science, a much firmer, more flexible grasp … Continue reading →

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Story and identity

Posted on January 1, 2012 by backyardbooks

“It is not until age five or six that a human being has a relatively clear sense of what a story is.  It is not until late adolescence or young adulthood that a human being typically begins to think of … Continue reading →

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interconnections between bilingualism, identity and literacy

Posted on October 29, 2011 by backyardbooks

Jones-Diaz (2002) “argue that critical frameworks for understanding the interconnections between bilingualism, identity and literacy are necessary to investigate children’s experiences of languages and literacies in everyday social practices.” (Jones-Diaz (2002), p175) “In contrast to psycholinguistic theories, sociolinguistic theories focus … Continue reading →

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Established theories of early childhood bilingualism are limited

Posted on October 26, 2011 by backyardbooks

“Established theories of early childhood bilingualism are limited in articulating the intersections between language retention, bilingual identity and biliteracy, particularly in early childhood, where young children’s identity formation is continuously changing and renegotiated.” (Jones-Diaz (2002), p179) “Martin-Jones and Bhatt… argue … Continue reading →

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