Kia Tōtika te Haere: Exploring Unhurried Pedagogies Through Child Led Inquiry Learning With Infants and Toddlers
Date
Authors
Probine, Sarah
Heta-Lensen, Yo
Burke, Rachael
Perry, Jo
Alderson, Joanne
Supervisor
Item type
Journal Article
Degree name
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
The University of Auckland
Abstract
This paper explores how inquiry with infants and toddlers can be meaningfully enacted through slow, relational pedagogies that foreground deep listening, documentation, and sustained engagement with people, place, and materials. Drawing on narrative inquiry from two early childhood centres in Aotearoa New Zealand, we examine how kaiako create time and space for infants’ and toddlers’ working theories to unfold through embodied, sensory-rich experiences. We highlight three key strategies: relational practice, pedagogical documentation, and attuned listening, as foundational to inquiry with the very youngest learners. Framed through the concept of Āta (Pohatu, 2013), we consider how these strategies align with Māori values of respect, reflection, and reciprocity, offering a culturally grounded lens for unhurried pedagogy. We argue that in the current political climate, inquiry with infants and toddlers is both a pedagogical and political stance, affirming infants’ and toddlers’ rights to agency, participation, and meaningful learning from birth.Description
Keywords
1301 Education Systems, 1302 Curriculum and Pedagogy, 1607 Social Work, 3903 Education systems
Source
The First Years: Ngā Tau Tuatahi | New Zealand Journal of Infant and Toddler Education, ISSN: 1175-0529 (Print), 27(3), 14-20. University of Auckland.
DOI
Rights statement
The First Years Ngā Tau Tuatahi journal publication is subject to the copyright provisions of Creative Commons (Attribution-NonCommercial) License. For full details of this license, please see https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/