Teacher-researchers promoting cultural learning in an intercultural kindergarten inAotearoaNew Zealand

Abstract

This article discusses six teaching strategies identified by teacher-researchers as supporting their goal to improve learning and teaching for all children in the intercultural setting of a kindergarten in Aotearoa New Zealand. As a Centre of Innovation, the kindergarten received government funding for a 3-year action research project focused on the participation of Samoan children, who also attended a nearby Samoan language immersion early childhood setting. The programme was guided by two perspectives: the sociocultural philosophy that underpins the early childhood curriculum, and an additive approach to bilingual education that provides support for first-language maintenance as well as building English language competence. The six strategies are illustrated with data extracts focused on language and literacy learning and discussed with reference to the sociocultural concepts of co-construction and cultural tools. It is proposed that a core strategy ‘Teachers help children to revisit their learning experiences’ sustains children's engagement in learning, in conjunction with several mediators: interactions with peers and teachers, as well as cultural, community and centre resources. The findings suggest that children actively engage in knowledge creation through these mediators and that cultural learning outcomes occur for both children and adults.

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