Abstract
Transitions, as with any other pedagogical practice, are not only informed by the policies and the ideologies that underpin them. They are also oriented by the theories that give them life and legitimacy in local and national educational contexts. In the context of early childhood education and care (ECEC), however, pedagogies concerning infant transitions are difficult to access through these routes. In this chapter, we follow the “trails of breadcrumbs” originating out of existing rhetoric in espoused national curriculum documents, theories, and policies for each country participating in our International Study of Social Emotional Early Transitions (ISSEET). We also consider these trails against articulated practices across the six countries. A summary of what pedagogies for infant transitions “look like,” their theoretical influences, and their state of play across local, national, and international ECEC contexts paves the way for speculation about what is absent as well as present in these transitional spaces, and why. Importantly, the chapter invites deeper speculation concerning the so-called “best interests” of the infant as a learner and calls for more intentional pedagogies concerning transition.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
Trail of breadcrumbs appears in the Brothers Grimm well-known fairy tale Hänsel und Gretel (Hansel and Gretel). Hansel and Gretel leave a trail of breadcrumbs in the forest to mark their way back home, but unfortunately birds eat the crumbs (Zipes, 2014).
References
Ainsworth, M. (1989). Attachment beyond infancy. American Psychologist, 44(4), 709–716. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.44.4.709
Australian Government Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations [DEEWR]. (2009). Belonging, being and becoming: The early years learning framework for Australia. https://www.acecqa.gov.au/sites/default/files/2018-02/belonging_being_and_becoming_the_early_years_learning_framework_for_australia.pdf
Australian Productivity Commission. (2014). Childcare and early childhood learning. https://www.pc.gov.au/inquiries/completed/childcare/report/childcare-overview.pdf
Ballam, N., Perry, B., & Garpelin, A. (2017). International perspectives on the pedagogies of educational transitions. In N. Ballam, B. Perry, & A. Garpelin (Eds.), Pedagogies of educational transitions: European and Antipodean research (pp. 1–14). Springer.
Barros, S., Cadima, J., Bryant, D. M., Coelho, V., Pinto, A., Nóbrega, M., & Peixoto, C. (2016). Infant child care quality in Portugal: Associations with structural characteristics. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 37, 118–130. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2016.05.003
Bowlby, J. (1979). The making and breaking of affectional bonds. In J. Bowlby (Ed.), Making and breaking of affectional bonds (pp. 126–1160). Tavistock Publications.
Brazil. (2009). Diretrizes curriculares nacionais para a educação infantil [National curriculum guidelines for early childhood education]. Resolution CNE/CEB n°05/09.
Cortazar, A., & Herreros, F. (2010). Early attachment relationships and the early childhood curriculum. Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood, 11(2), 128–129. https://doi.org/10.2304/ciec.2010.11.2.192
Dalli, C., & White, E. J. (2017). Policy and pedagogy for birth-to-three year olds. In E. J. White & C. Dalli (Eds.), Under-three year olds in policy and practice (pp. 1–14). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-2275-3_1
de Campos Tebet, G. G., Lopes dos Santos, N., Costa, J., Santos, B. L., Buzo Pontes, L. C., de Oliveira, S., & D’Andrea, M. Â. (2020). Babies’ transition between family and early childhood education and care: A mosaic of discourses about quality of services. Early Years, 40(4/5), 429–448. https://doi.org/10.1080/09575146.2020.1825341
Degotardi, S., Page, J., & White, E. J. (2017). (Re)-conceptualising relationships in infant/toddler pedagogy. Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood, 18(4), 355–361. https://doi.org/10.1177/1463949117742760
Dubinsky, J. M. (2010). Neuroscience education for prekindergarten–12 teachers. Journal of Neuroscience, 30(24), 8057–8060. https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2322-10.2010
Education Scotland. (2020, August 27). Realising the ambition. https://education.gov.scot/improvement/learning-resources/realising-the-ambition/
Edwards, S. (2021). Process quality, curriculum and pedagogy in early childhood education and care (OECD education working papers, No. 247). OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/eba0711e-en
Finnish National Agency for Education. Varhaiskasvatussuunnitelman perusteet 2018 [The National core curriculum for early childhood education and care 2018]. Finnish National Agency for Education. https://www.oph.fi/sites/default/files/documents/varhaiskasvatussuunnitelman_perusteet.pdf [English language version: National core curriculum for early childhood education and care in Finland (2016). Regulations and guidelines 2017:10.]
Gradovski, M., Ødegaard, E. E., Rutanen, N., Sumsion, J., Mika, C., & White, E. J. (2019). The first 1000 days of early childhood: Becoming. Springer.
Hu, J., Degotardi, S., Torr, J., & Han, F. (2019). Reasoning as a pedagogical strategy in infant-addressed talk in early childhood centres: Relationships with educators’ qualifications and communicative function. Early Education and Development, 30(7). https://doi.org.ezproxy.canterbury.ac.nz/10.1080/10409289.2019.1607449
Kamerman, S. B., & Gatenio-Gabel, S. (2007). Early childhood education and care in the United States: An overview of the current policy picture. International Journal of Child Care and Education Policy, 1, 23–34. https://doi.org/10.1007/2288-6729-1-1-23
Karila, K., Johansson, E., Puroila, A.-M., Hännikäinen, M., & Lipponen, L. (2017). Pedagogy in ECEC: Nordic challenges and solutions. Seminar report 22 September 2016. Nordic Council of Ministers. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/316883875_Pedagogy_in_ECEC_Nordic_Challenges_and_Solutions
Kuhlmann Jr., M. (1998). Infância e educação infantil: Uma abordagem histórica [Childhood and early childhood education: A historical approach]. Ed. Mediação.
Learning and Teaching Scotland. (2010). Pre-birth to three: Positive outcomes for Scotland’s children and families. https://stramash.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/elc2_prebirthtothreebooklet.pdf
Lewis, M., & Takahashi, K. (2005). Beyond the dyad: Conceptualization of social networks. Human Development, 48(1/2), 5–7. https://doi.org/10.1159/000085230
Li, M., Nyland, B., Margetts, K., & Guan, Y. (2017). Early childhood educators’ perspectives on how infants and toddlers learn: Australia and China. International Journal of Child Care and Education Policy, 11(1), 11. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40723-017-0035-9
MacNaughton, G. (2004). The politics of logic in early childhood research: A case of the brain, hard facts, trees and rhizomes. The Australian Educational Researcher, 31(3), 87–104. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03249530
Manning, M., Wong, G., Fleming, C., & Gervis, S. (2019). Is teacher qualification associated with the quality of early childhood education and care environment? A meta-analytic review. Review of Educational Research, 89(3), 370–415. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654319837540
McCain, M. N., & Mustard, J. F. (2007). Early years study 2: Putting science into action. Council for Early Childhood Development.
Mika, C., & White, E. J. (2019). Ngā mokopuna kei te hāereere: Becoming in Aotearoa curriculum—The first 1000 days. In M. Gradovski, E. Eriksen Ødegaard, N. Rutanen, J. Sumsion, C. Mika, & E. J. White (Eds.), The first 1000 days of early childhood: Becoming (pp. 55–72). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-32-9656-5_4
Ministério da Educação. (2018). Base Nacional Comum Curricular: Educar é a base [National Common Curriculum Base: The basis of education]. http://basenacionalcomum.mec.gov.br/abase/
Morelli, G. A., Chaudhary, N., Gottlieb, A., Keller, H., Murray, M., Quinn, N., Rosabal-Coto, M., Scheidecker, G., Takada, A., & Vicedo, M. (2017). Taking culture seriously: A pluralistic approach to attachment. In H. Keller & K. A. Bard (Eds.), The cultural nature of attachment: Contextualizing relationships and development (pp. 139–168). MIT Press.
New Zealand Ministry of Education. (2008). Licensing criteria for early childhood education and care centres and early childhood education curriculum framework. New Zealand Government.
New Zealand Ministry of Education. (2017). Te Whāriki: He whāriki mātauranga mō ngā mokopuna o Aotearoa early childhood curriculum. Learning Media. https://education.govt.nz/early-childhood/teaching-and-learning/te-whariki
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). (2021). Starting strong VI: Supporting meaningful interactions in early childhood education and care. OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/f47a06ae-en
Rossetti-Ferreira, M. C., Oliveira, Z. M. R., Campos-De-Carvalho, M. I., & Amorim, K. S. (2011). Peer relations in Brazilian daycare centres: A new focus for early childhood education. In M. Kernan & E. Singer (Eds.), Peer relationships in early childhood education and care (pp. 74–87). Routledge Taylor & Francis Group.
Rutanen, N. (2011). Space for toddlers in the guidelines and curricula for early childhood education and care in Finland. Childhood, 18(4), 523–536. https://doi.org/10.1177/0907568211399366
Rutanen, N., & Hännikäinen, M. (2019). Finland: Becoming and the youngest children at home and in ECEC. In M. Gradovski, E. Eriksen Ødegaard, N. Rutanen, J. Sumsion, C. Mika, & E. J. White (Eds.), The first 1000 days of early childhood: Becoming (pp. 93–108). Springer.
Rutanen, N., & Laaksonen, K. (2020). Äitien luottamuksen rakentuminen kasvattajiin varhaiskasvatuksen aloituksessa [Building maternal trust in educators at the beginning of early childhood education]. Journal of Early Childhood Education Research, 9(2), 349–372. https://jecer.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Rutanen-Laaksonen-Issue9-2.pdf
Rutanen, N., Amorim, K. S., Colus, K. M., & Piattoeva, N. (2014). What is best for the child? Early childhood education and care for children under 3 years of age in Brazil and in Finland. International Journal of Early Childhood, 46, 123–141. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13158-013-0095-0
Rutanen, N., Raittila, R., & Vuorisalo, M. (2019). Clothes and clothing practices in Finnish early childhood education and care. In P. Rautio & E. Stenvall (Eds.), Social, material and political constructs of Arctic childhoods: An everyday life perspective. Springer.
Scheidecker, G. (2019). Attachment. In J. Slaby & C. von Scheve (Eds.), Affective societies: Key concepts (Vol. 3, pp. 73–84). Routledge.
Scottish Government. (2008). A curriculum for excellence: Building the curriculum 3. A framework for teaching and learning. Edinburgh. https://education.gov.scot/Documents/btc3.pdf
Scottish Transitions as a Tool for Change Project Group. (2019). Scottish early childhood, children and families transitions position statement. University of Strathclyde.
Sumsion, J. (2019). The Australian early years learning framework: Becoming and children in their first 1000 days. In M. Gradovski, E. Eriksen Ødegaard, N. Rutanen, J. Sumsion, C. Mika, & E. J. White (Eds.), The first 1000 days of early childhood: Becoming (pp. 73–88). Springer.
Tardos, A., & Appel, G. (2004). A baby’s attention at play. Pikler Institute.
Thoman, E. B. (1979). Changing views on the being and becoming of infants. In E. B. Thoman (Ed.), Origins of the infant’s social responsiveness (pp. 445–459). Wiley.
United Nations. (1959). Declaration of the rights of the child (1959). https://archive.crin.org/en/library/legal-database/un-declaration-rights-child-1959.html
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (n.d.-a). Head start early learning outcomes framework: Ages birth to five. https://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/school-readiness/article/head-start-early-learning-outcomes-framework
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (n.d.-b). Head start and early head start. https://www.childcare.gov/consumer-education/head-start-and-early-head-start
Urban, M. (2022). Scholarship in times of crisis: Towards a trans-discipline of early childhood. Comparative Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/03050068.2022.2046376
Vandenbroeck, M. (2017). Introduction: Constructions of truth in early childhood education. A history of the present abuse of the neurosciences. In M. Vandenbroeck, J. de Vos, W. Fias, L. M. Olsson, H. Penn, D. Wastell, & S. White (Eds.), Constructions of neuroscience in early childhood education (pp. 1–19). Taylor and Francis.
Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind and society: The development of higher mental processes. Harvard University Press.
White, E. J. (2020). The paradox of age for the infants and toddlers of Te Whāriki. In A. G. Gunn & J. Nuttall (Eds.), Weaving Te Whāriki: Aotearoa New Zealand’s early childhood curriculum framework in theory and practice (3rd ed., pp. 105–114). NZCER Press.
White, E. J., & Mika, C. (2013). Coming of age? Infants and toddlers in ECE. In A. G. Gunn & J. G. Nuttall (Eds.), Weaving Te Whāriki: Aotearoa New Zealand’s early childhood curriculum framework in theory and practice (pp. 93–105). NZCER Press.
White, E. J., Peter, M., & Redder, B. (2015). Infant and teacher dialogue in education and care: A pedagogical imperative. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 30(Part A), 160–173. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2014.10.008
White, E. J., Rutanen, N., Marwick, H., Amorim, K. S., Karagiannidou, E., & Herold, L. K. M. (2020). Expectations and emotions concerning infant transitions to ECEC: International dialogues with parents and teachers. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 28(3), 363–374. https://doi.org/10.1080/1350293X.2020.1755495
Zipes, J. (2014). Hansel and Gretel (Hänsel und Gretel). The original folk and fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm: The complete first edition. Princeton University Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
White, E.J. et al. (2022). Pedagogies of Infant Transition: A Trail of Breadcrumbs. In: White, E.J., Marwick, H., Rutanen, N., Souza Amorim, K., Herold, L.K.M. (eds) First Transitions to Early Childhood Education and Care. Policy and Pedagogy with Under-three Year Olds: Cross-disciplinary Insights and Innovations, vol 5. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-08851-3_4
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-08851-3_4
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-031-08850-6
Online ISBN: 978-3-031-08851-3
eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)