When conducting research with children it is essential to consider not only the data, which have been produced as a result of the research, but also the research process itself. This article represents an attempt to contribute the accumulation of knowledge regarding methodological and ethical issues concerning research with children. The data in…

This comparative study examines the way in which preschool teachers support children's science learning in a Chinese and a Norwegian kindergarten. The study takes an ethnographic approach. Preschool teachers from one kindergarten in Shanghai and one in Bergen were asked to videotape educational activities that focused on science in their…

The Project Approach has been promoted in Hong Kong kindergartens since the 1990s. However, the dynamic processes and underlying mechanisms involved in the teachers' implementation of this pedagogical method there have not yet been fully investigated. This case study of one typical kindergarten in Hong Kong documented how and why eight teachers…

For systematic implementation of value education in educational institutions, the national programme "Values Development in Estonian Society 2009-2013" (Ministry of Education and Research 2009) was prepared in Estonia. However, it was launched only in 2010, and the authors intended to ascertain the values of the heads of preschool child…

This article reports on a study in which activity theory was used to design, implement, and analyze a 10-week curriculum unit about how honeybees collect nectar with a particular focus on complex systems concepts. Students (n = 42) in a multi-year kindergarten and 1st-grade classroom participated in this study as part of their 10 regular classroom…

This study investigated the relationships between the beliefs and practices of K-12 native Chinese teachers on Chinese language and literacy instruction. Using a descriptive-exploratory design, this study employed a mixed-methods approach consisting of three steps: (1) a teacher beliefs questionnaire, (2) classroom observations and videotaping,…

This study examines the practical and conceptual dimensions of children's play in German and Hong Kong Chinese kindergartens. German ("n"?=?24) and Chinese ("n"?=?24) children (3-6 years) were randomly selected and videotaped during their free play for 5?min continuously on five consecutive days. Play behavior was analyzed by…

The purpose of the study was to examine whether teacher beliefs would play a role in their actual practices while teaching target language in early phases of primary education, principally, in kindergarten and first grades in a state school. As it is a very broad research area, the researchers exclusively analyzed teaching practices and teaching…