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Abstract
Children’s interests are frequently cited as a source of early‐years curricula. Yet, research has rarely considered the nature of these interests beyond the play‐based environment of early‐childhood education. This paper reports findings from a qualitative, interpretivist study in two early childhood settings in Aotearoa/New Zealand. Using participant observation, interviews, and documentation, the study examined children’s interests and teachers’ engagement with these in curriculum interactions. Evidence suggested children’s interests were stimulated by their ‘intent participation’ in family and community experiences and encapsulated in the notion of ‘funds of knowledge’. The concept of funds of knowledge provides a coherent analytic framework for teachers to recognize children’s interests and extend teachers’ curriculum planning focus beyond that of a child‐centred play‐based learning environment.
Acknowledgements
Warm thanks to the teachers, children, and families of Takapuna Kindergarten and The No 1 Kindy, who generously shared their lives with me in 2005. This project was reviewed and approved by the Massey University Human Ethics Committee: reference 04/64. The principle of credit rather than anonymity was approved to acknowledge the participants’ real names in their contributions to the study.
Notes
1. See Hedges (Citation2007); the second and third authors were the supervisors of Hedges’ dissertation.
2. Many of the teachers, but not all, were previously known to me through my university role. I adopted the role of a critical friend (Costa and Kallick Citation1993) with research and theoretical knowledge (Goodfellow and Hedges Citation2007).
3. These children were New Zealanders principally of European descent and most were from two‐parent households.
4. Graue and Walsh’s (Citation1998) emphasis on the researcher as the primary data‐generation agent was highlighted.
5. This study modified an approach used by Cremin and Slatter (Citation2004) and developed a matrix for the children who had been interviewed to analyse their individual interests. This clearly illuminated the nature of children’s interests in the home and centre settings.
6. Mobilo is a building and construction toy for children 3–8‐years‐old.