Child's understanding and intentions are not always easy to read in drawings. This is particularly evident in the type of drawings we refer to as 'analytical drawings'. In order to understand analytical drawings made by preschool children, it is important to have a dialogue with the young authors. In our study, we examined the ability of students…

Preschoolers have different experiences in different environments. These experiences can stimulate children's imaginations. This longitudinal study examines the impact of preschool children's three-year experiences in early childhood institutions, which are their primary educational environments. The question 'Do preschoolers imagine different…

This qualitative study contributes theorised and empirically enriched insights from local practices into children's agency. The authors trace a converging interest in multimodal literacies, postcolonial philosophies and early childhood pedagogy to document and critically engage with children's agency in stories experienced by Malawian children in…

Courses in teacher training programmes, especially science method courses, play a major role in the development of beliefs. Because children's science learning starts in preschool years, it is critical to investigate early childhood teachers' beliefs about scientists and science teaching. The purpose of this study was to describe, document, and…

We report on our analysis of talk during an assessment task where we asked children living in northern Canadian communities to draw and write about activities they share with family and friends in their daily lives. We introduce a language as context approach to assessing young children's (ages 4-6 years) literacy and sociocultural knowledge,…

In enacting a quasi-ecological approach to observing young children at both home and school, this study explored young participants' drawing transactions in and out of school in diverse communities around the globe. We applied a qualitative, visual, 'Day in the Life' methodology that films one full "Day in their Lives." Using examples of…

There is increasing evidence of the fusion of Western and Eastern early childhood philosophies and programmes within China. Although research has paid attention to this change, less attention has been directed to how culturally different beliefs and practices are experienced by children and teachers. This paper reports on a study of play-based…

In this paper, we describe patterns in and associations between the ways in which young (ages 3-7) children living in northern rural and Indigenous communities in two Canadian provinces communicated ideas as they drew, talked, and wrote in response to researcher prompts. Prompting the children to draw and talk about a personal experience afforded…

Research results have shown that what a child draws is influenced by many factors, including the child's culture and environment. The aim of this study was to analyse the drawings of five-year-old Jordanian children to determine the extent to which culture informs the content of their drawings. A total of 736 children took part in this research…

This paper examines the schematic underpinnings in the drawings of a four-year-old girl, Thea. The paper reviews literature on graphic representations, signs and meaning-making before discussing schematic "form" in children's drawings, the theoretical background for the study. The paper discusses ethical issues and methodological…

There is a 'green gap' between environmental education policy and practice in China due to the lack of localised environmental programmes and the dominance of a lecture-based approach. In order to close this green gap, this study attempted to help elementary school children develop action competence (AC) by involving them in a water conservation…

The overarching interest of this study concerns how to outline learning opportunities and support in early childhood education (ECE) without losing its play-based character. More specifically, the study reports an empirical investigation into the evolving activity of a 6.5-year-old child and an adult conversing about the child's drawing of…

This socioculturally informed study investigated children's sense of agency in relation to their everyday life in preschool. The empirical data comprised focus groups reflection situations wherein Finnish preschool children (n. 19, aged 6-7) reflected on their everyday life with the help of photographs and drawings they made. Building on a…

This study investigates children's multimodal perspectives on their school experiences in two diverse, international contexts. The research shares data from 45 Canadian and Tanzanian children, and focused on the children's use of multimodal methods to share what mattered to them at school. The children's significant interest in their outdoor…

This paper investigates the role of child experts (siblings and buddies) in young children's transition to school. Drawing on two recent studies, that sought the perspectives of children, educators and family members about effective supports at this time, we explore the roles of other children in the processes and practices of transition.…