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Despite increasing understanding of the importance of including children and families from diverse backgrounds and family structures within early childhood education (ECE) programmes, little attention has been paid to how children and parents from Rainbow Families are included. This article draws on findings from two studies in Aotearoa New Zealand: the first was a national mixed-methods study focused on ECE teachers' perceptions and practices regarding work with children and families from diverse backgrounds, including those from Rainbow Families. The second study was a small qualitative research project that investigated four lesbian ECE teachers' experiences, and active disruption of heteronormative dominance within their ECE settings. Data from across the two projects reveal that there are risks for both parents from Rainbow Families and lesbian and gay teachers in being open about their family structures or sexual orientation and that there is silence, and thus a resulting invisibility, about Rainbow Families within ECE programmes. These findings have implications for ECE teachers' practice, particularly as teachers and teacher educators in many locations work to address issues of exclusion and bias and to create environments where children and their parents are welcomed and have a sense of belonging and inclusion.

Learning as part of a group on the mat is a common experience in children's early education and socialisation. Indeed, many classrooms would have a mat, to which the children are called in addition to chairs and tables (Poveda, 2001). Nonetheless, very little research exists about activity using the mat in junior classrooms either locally or internationally, particularly in relation to children's perspectives. This paper reports recent findings from a doctoral study that investigated children's experiences of working together on the mat in three year-two classrooms. Data were gathered through video-observations of teacher-facilitated activity on the mat and semi-structured interviews with children and teachers. The findings suggested that participation on the mat was affected by children's relationships with each other. Specifically, social dynamics within the children's peer group appeared to enable or block active participation for particular individuals. Teachers utilised inclusive strategies to ameliorate the affect of the peer group and to enhance participation for children who struggled to secure an active role.

The early childhood education (ECE) sector in New Zealand has long been recognised for the diversity of service types and range of organisations involved in delivering ECE. However, less attention has been paid to diversity within individual ECE services. This article draws on a national survey carried out as part of a larger project, "The Diversity of Diversity in Early Childhood Education," focusing on teachers' perceptions of challenges and successes encountered when working with children from diverse family backgrounds. Educators' attitudes towards diversity clearly influence whether they perceive working with diverse children and families positively or as a challenge. We argue that possessing positive dispositions and attitudes that enable educators to truly welcome, acknowledge and embrace diversity, together with access to professional knowledge and support services, are critical. The implications of this for policy and practice are then considered.

In response to the claim that students who have received an undergraduate degree in education lack adequate preparation for postgraduate study, the designers of a masters course in research methods set an assignment at the first meeting which asked practising teachers to match Goffman's dramaturgical concepts to observation of behaviour in public. Results based on assignments from five classes were analysed from the perspective of theoretical understanding and what the collected assignments revealed about the students' perception of the ethics of naturalistic observation. It was found that theoretical understanding was achieved and that the discussions of ethics produced findings that illustrated Goffman's distinction between ethics and etiquette. (Contains 1 table and 2 notes.)

Despite its ubiquity in junior classrooms, the use of the mat as a pedagogical strategy is surprisingly under-researched. Little is known about when and how it is used, its purpose, and perceived learning outcomes. The current study included 296 anonymous responses from Year 2 teachers in New Zealand primary schools. Results showed that children spent between one and two hours on the mat each day, in blocks of 10-20 minutes. Perceived learning outcomes included social understanding and a sense of group cohesion. However, the types of activities that would promote this type of outcome were not frequently used, which suggests that there may be a disconnect between perceived learning outcomes and dedicated activities. Teachers must carefully examine typical mat time activities in order to evaluate whether or not they achieve what they set out to accomplish. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Learning as part of a group on the mat is a common experience in children's early education and socialisation. Indeed, many classrooms would have a mat, to which the children are called in addition to chairs and tables (Poveda, 2001). Nonetheless, very little research exists about activity using the mat in junior classrooms either locally or internationally, particularly in relation to children's perspectives. This paper reports recent findings from a doctoral study that investigated children's experiences of working together on the mat in three year-two classrooms. Data were gathered through video-observations of teacher-facilitated activity on the mat and semi-structured interviews with children and teachers. The findings suggested that participation on the mat was affected by children's relationships with each other. Specifically, social dynamics within the children's peer group appeared to enable or block active participation for particular individuals. Teachers utilised inclusive strategies to ameliorate the affect of the peer group and to enhance participation for children who struggled to secure an active role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]