The Early Childhood Seminar Series was founded by Dr Marek Tesar and Dr Maria Cooper in 2013, as an opportunity for researchers, academics, teachers and the wider community to engage with top New Zealand and international academics. The Seminar Series is now proudly supported by the wider ECE team at the University of Auckland.

This Seminar Series is aimed at all who are interested in early childhood education, the early years and in childhood studies. It has created a dynamic space for networking and ongoing discussions across disciplines and institutions. As a research project, the Early Childhood Seminar Series connects researchers and academics in early childhood and childhood studies, to collaborate on diverse projects and publications, and to connect with the wider EC Education and Care sector.

Time: 4.30-5.30pm

Date: Monday 27 September 2021

Where: Online via Zoom

In this presentation, we explore the nature of stories and literacy experienced by young children in early childhood education settings. We will share key findings from two doctoral studies that have focused on how story enrichment was grounded in social relationships across different ages and contexts.

Firstly, we provide an overview of what we mean by ‘stories’ and ‘literacy’ within a sociocultural framework of learning.

Secondly, we explain how each study focused on particular aspects of storying in early childhood settings, with one study centred on the story interactions of 1-year-old children across home and ECE centre in a culturally and linguistically diverse community, while the other study explored the teacher-child storybook-reading interactions of 3–4-year-old children across two early childhood centres.

In presenting examples from both studies, we highlight key common themes around:

• perspectives of kaiako around what they prioritise in story and storybook interactions

• insights into the relational aspects of connection to enrich communication about stories

• implications for kaiako/teachers around supporting and extending children’s competencies about stories and communicating their ideas.

Presenters:

Joanna Williamson

Joanna is a doctoral student in the Faculty of Education and Social Work at the University of Auckland, New Zealand. Her research interests focus on early language and literacy and the interplay between language and children’s developing conceptual understandings. Joanna has lectured on Early Childhood Education B.Ed and Grad Dip programmes in the areas of curriculum and pedagogy. Prior to that Joanna lectured in ESOL in tertiary and corrections settings, and taught English in secondary schools in New Zealand and Papua New Guinea.

Amanda White

Amanda is a doctoral student in the Faculty of Education and Social Work at the University of Auckland, New Zealand. Her research interests focus on multimodal communication, language and literacy development in infants and toddlers as well as the role of sociocultural factors in shaping adult-child interactions. Prior to starting her PhD, Amanda worked as a speech-language therapist with children, families, whānau and teachers in New Zealand and the United Kingdom.