An exploratory study of early childhood educators' views on culture and play

Abstract

This study explored early childhood teachers’ views relating to culture and play by collecting information from them on cultural differences and parental perceptions of play, culturally appropriate play (CAP) practices and barriers in its implementation. The participants of the study were 14 early childhood educators working in long day care (LDC) or out, of, school, hours care (OOSH) settings located in Sydney, Australia. Children in the selected centers represented various cultural and linguistic backgrounds.

Teachers in the present study reported noticeable differences in the play of children of diverse cultural backgrounds. However, they believed that the differences in children's play were attributable to the children's proficiency in English language and gender rather than to their culture. The teachers reported they had limited or no information on the children's cultural patterns of play at home. The lack of information on cultural patterns of play, perhaps, has led to difficulties in understanding the cultural origins of play or in accommodating cultural differences into programming. The results highlight the need for educators to have greater knowledge of the cultural bases of play to enable them to provide, in partnership with parents, culturally appropriate play experiences for children.     

Experiences and Support Needs of Mothers of Children with Food Allergy During the Transition to School

Despite the increasing attendance of children with food allergy in schools in Australia and globally, little is known about how affected families manage their children’s transition to school. This paper discusses the experiences and support needs of ten mothers during their child’s transition to school in Sydney, Australia, drawn from the thematic analysis of Photo Elicitation Interviews in homes. One of the significant findings of this study was that most mothers found their child’s transition to school both emotionally and practically challenging, even though their children previously attended a long day care or preschool setting. While the school’s pro-active transitional planning, procedures of food allergy management and psychological support provided to families facilitated a smooth start to school, a lack of these, together with poor or no communication and non-involvement of families in the management of children’s food allergy hindered it. Correspondingly, mothers highlighted the need for schools to keep children’s food allergy at the forefront of their transitional planning and support them holistically by pro-actively communicating, collaborating and involving families in the discussions about food allergy, empowering them with information on the school’s policies and procedures, and acknowledging their concerns of safety. Mothers considered these things to be essential. Additionally, mothers provided advice to other parents on how to achieve a positive start to school. The implications of this study’s findings for schools and families are discussed. Considering the small sample size and generalisability of the findings to other contexts and countries, further research is recommended both nationally and internationally.