Investigating children’s learning through dance and drawing-telling, Dance-Play and Drawing-Telling as Semiotic Tools for Young Children’s Learning provides a unique insight into how these activities can help children to critically reflect on their own learning. Promoting the concept of dance and drawing-telling as highly effective semiotic tools for meaning-making, the book enlivens thinking about the extraordinary capacities of young children, and argues for the incorporation of dance and drawing in mainstream early childhood curriculum. Throughout the book, numerous practice examples show how children use movement, sound, images, props and language to imaginatively re-conceptualize their everyday experiences into bodily-kinesthetic and spatial-temporal concepts. These examples illustrate children’s competence when given the opportunity to learn through dance and drawing-telling, as well as the important role that teachers play in scaffolding children’s learning. Based on award-winning research, this insightful and informative book makes a sought after contribution to the field of dance education and seeks to reaffirm dance as a powerful learning modality that supports young children’s expressive non-verbal communication. Encouraging the reader to consider the significance of multi-modal teaching and learning, it is essential reading for researchers in the dance, drawing and education spheres; postgraduate students taking courses in early childhood; play and dance therapists; and all early childhood teachers who have a specific interest in arts education.

Strong Foundations addresses policy requirements from the Early Years Learning Framework, the National Quality Standard and Quality Improvement Plans, highlighting links between research and practice, and making connections to the five EYLF Learning Outcomes. The book showcases evidence from Australian and international research.

Dancing Across Borders presents formal and non-formal settings of dance education where initiatives in different countries transcend borders: cultural and national borders, subject borders, professional borders and socio-economic borders. It includes chapters featuring different theoretical perspectives on dance and cultural diversity, alongside case narratives that show these perspectives in a specific cultural setting. In this way, each section charts the processes, change and transformation in the lives of young people through dance. Key themes include how student learning is enhanced by cultural diversity, experiential teaching and learning involving social, cross-cultural and personal dimensions. This conceptually aligns with the current UNESCO protocols that accent empathy, creativity, cooperation, collaboration alongside skills- and knowledge-based learning in an endeavour to create civic mindedness and a more harmonious world. This volume is an invaluable resource for teachers, policy makers, artists and scholars interested in pedagogy, choreography, community dance practice, social and cultural studies, aesthetics and interdisciplinary arts. By understanding the impact of these cross-border collaborative initiatives, readers can better understand, promote and create new ways of thinking and working in the field of dance education for the benefit of new generations.

This book offers an engaging exploration of artistic expression in early childhood education. Through a blend of theory, research, and practical insights, the authors demonstrate the positive impact of the arts on fostering inclusion in various settings. Delving into creative modes such as dance, drama, and music, the book emphasizes the broader significance of integrating creativity into inclusive practices. Rich with illustrative case studies, thought-provoking prompts, and effective strategies for encouraging artistic expression, it serves as a valuable resource for early childhood students seeking comprehensive support in their educational journey.

This book approaches STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics) in early childhood education from multiple angles. It focuses on the teaching and learning of children from two years of age to the early years of school. Proponents of STEAM describe how it can create opportunities for children to learn creatively, and various chapter authors make strong connections between discipline areas within the context of an informal curriculum. Others advocate for an integrated STEM, rather than STEAM, approach. With a light touch on theory and a focus on how to embed STE(A)M in an integrated early childhood curriculum, the editors and contributors examine the STEAM versus STEM question from multiple angles. The chapters provide helpful frameworks for parents, teachers and higher education institutions, and make practical suggestions of ways to support young children’s inquiry learning. Drawing on pedagogy and research from around the world, this book will be of interest to scholars of STEAM education, early childhood educators, students of early childhood education and parents of young children.

This book critically examines matters of age and aging in relation to dance. As a novel collection of diverse authors’ voices, this edited book traverses the human lifespan from early childhood to death as it negotiates a breadth of dance experiences and contexts. The conversations ignited within each chapter invite readers to interrogate current disciplinary attitudes and dominant assumptions and serve as catalysts for changing and evolving long entrenched views among dancers regarding matters of age and aging. The text is organized in three sections, each representing a specific context within which dance exists. Section titles include educational contexts, social and cultural contexts, and artistic contexts. Within these broad categories, each contributor’s milieu of lived experiences illuminate age-related factors and their many intersections. While several contributing authors address and problematize the phenomenon of aging in mid-life and beyond, other authors tackle important issues that impact young dancers and dance professionals.

This is the first volume devoted to the topic of dance and quality of life. Thirty-one chapters illuminate dance in relation to singular and overlapping themes of nature, philosophy, spirituality, religion, life span, learning, love, family, teaching, creativity, ability, socio-cultural identity, politics and change, sex and gender, wellbeing, and more. With contributions from a multi-generational group of artists, community workers, educators, philosophers, researchers, students and health professionals, this volume presents a thoughtful, expansive-yet-focused, and nuanced discussion of dance’s contribution to human life. The volume will interest dance specialists, quality of life researchers, and anyone interested in exploring dance’s contribution to quality of living and being.

This book explores the narratives of a group of four-year-old children in a composition project in an Australian early learning centre. The participants, centre staff and a composer, Stephen Leek, contributed a number of music sessions for the children, including five original songs. The book showcases young children’s communicative ability and sensitivity to wider issues. The staff in the centre have a strongly voiced philosophy that is enacted through arts-based pedagogy and incorporates significant themes including a respect for Aboriginal culture and custodial responsibility towards a sustainable future for the earth. Examples of adult and children’s ideas are illustrated through music making, singing, dancing, words, drawings and paintings, which provide insights into a world where children are viewed as active citizens and the arts have rights. The book describes the context of the centre, the history of projects and details one project as an example of “lifeworthy learning”.

Promoting Well-Being in the Pre-School Years provides evidence-based research and real-life strategies that support social and emotional development and well-being for children aged 3–5 years. It places emphasis on nurturing social emotional competence through purposeful scaffolding activities and how these can be used by children and families to create a harmonious platform for building resilience and positive relationships with family and the community. Drawing on principles from Positive Psychology and Positive Education, it is illustrated throughout with examples of sustainable practice in diverse, global settings. Key topics explored include: Contemporary well-being concepts, including ‘grit’, ‘growth mindset’ and ‘gratitude’, as well as ‘classic’ constructs such as coping and self-efficacy The attitudes and skills that need to be developed to ensure that young children flourish Cognitive and sociocultural perspectives complemented by neuroscience and epigenetics Social Emotional Learning (SEL) in the early years curriculum Using visual tools – the Early Years Coping Cards How we measure young children’s coping The relationship between coping, stress and mental health Recognition of the importance of parents’ own coping skills How partnerships with communities can improve children’s SEL. Promoting Well-Being in the Pre-School Years shows how we can support young children to develop an understanding of what it means to be happy and to flourish as a socially responsible member of the family and wider community. It is essential reading for teachers, parents and professionals who work with young children, as well as academics in child development.

This book focuses on the importance and role of adults in promoting music in the early years. Designed to promote the idea of the value of music in the early childhood years, the research discussed in this book explores the experiences of a number of adults working with children from birth to age 8. The initiatives discussed in this work all focus on adults who have encouraged the development of musical identities ranging from music in the home, to musical play in the preschool years, preparing a performance with children, and programs for disadvantaged groups that use music as a communicative tool. Each chapter will start with a description of the particular setting and the protagonists’ specific skills and interests and how they came to be working with young children. Themes for the chapters have emerged from the videos and interviews conducted and consist of both reflective and affective experience. The themes include musical background, the adults' own stories, theories of childhood, and pedagogy and philosophy.