Research area 1: Framing early childhood education – ‘Bildung’ – cultural historical and future scenario practices

In doing so, it will build on previous work about the dialectic between the biological and cultural human being and the material and ideological world of education and familiy. The research milieu has a solid track record on empirical and conceptual work with Bildung (e.g. Cultural formation, Danning, Becoming).

We argue that Bildung and its ongoing conceptualisation has much to offer further knowledge for early childhood and high-quality educational practices. New knowledge must go beyond the dichotomy of child-centered versus teacher-centered pedagogies and consider pedagogical practices as co-constructed. With a special attention to diversity and sustainable futures, we offer knowledge of relevance for high quality early childhood education and care (ECEC). High-quality ECEC is an essential foundation for all children’s personal development, crucial for societies at large and in a long-term ecological perspective, for planet earth.

We anticipate that these objectives will be achieved through:

1. generating new theoretical knowledge - particularly for considering how kindergartens face challenges in new times, with significant changes in societies
2. developing new participatory methodologies, which provides enriched understandings about Indigenous dimensions, child development, play and learning in everyday life as well as leadership and systemic knowledge for diversity and sustainability
3. theorising historical understandings of the Norwegian kindergarten in new and old international relations
4. researching how content education can be incorporated respectfully into children’s play and explorations.

This research area will undertake the following sets of tasks:

• Establish activities such as participatory workshops, future scenario, think tank, seminars and conferences
• Bring together the researchers in the centre and guests to develop interdisciplinary understandings through horizontal and vertical workshops.
• Establish KINDknow-noteseries and multi-media presentations which will be made available on the centre’s website
• Implement and share expertise, capacity building, and exchange of research both intra- and internationally, including receiving feedback from advisory boards
• Collect data, share findings; prepare themed issues of journals, develop relevant book series and symposia
• Multi-media resources will be produced, particularly for supporting KTE programmes and to develop visual and narrative pedagogy
• Develop close connections with PhD programmes with a ECEC profile. We will collaborate with called FILIORUM research center at UiS on several areas.

This research area will undertake the following sets of tasks:

• Establish activities such as participatory workshops, future scenario, think tank, seminars and conferences
• Bring together the researchers in the centre and guests to develop interdisciplinary understandings through horizontal and vertical workshops.
• Establish KINDknow-noteseries and multi-media presentations which will be made available on the centre’s website
• Implement and share expertise, capacity building, and exchange of research both intra- and internationally, including receiving feedback from advisory boards
• Collect data, share findings; prepare themed issues of journals, develop relevant book series and symposia
• Multi-media resources will be produced, particularly for supporting KTE programmes and to develop visual and narrative pedagogy
• Develop close connections with PhD programmes with a ECEC profile. We will collaborate with called FILIORUM research center at UiS on several areas.