- St. Catharines ON
Debra Harwood
Brock University, Faculty of Education, Faculty Member
- Bachelor of Education - Foundations of Educations, Early Childhood Education, Early Chilhood Education, Professional Development of Early Childhood Educators, Early Chilhdood Education, Literacy, and 6 moreIpad in the classroom, iPads in education, Literacy Teaching In Early Childhood, Teacher Education, Education, and Educational Technologyedit
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Curiosity and creativity are crucial for children's learning and engagement within their worlds. However, research on creative teaching that also addresses children's curiosity is quite limited. In this case study, we adopted... more
Curiosity and creativity are crucial for children's learning and engagement within their worlds. However, research on creative teaching that also addresses children's curiosity is quite limited. In this case study, we adopted visual methods in combination with video-stimulated recall dialogue (VSRD) to explore children’s experiences in a Forest School (FS) program in Southern Ontario. As researchers, we were particularly interested in the nexus of children’s curiosity and creativity in the process of learning. Participating children, aged 6-12 years, wore GoPro cameras to document their lived experiences in the FS. Informed by constructivism, we examined data vignettes, querying the role of curiosity and creativity within children’s entanglements in the natural environment. The results indicate that open-ended materials within nature invited and sustained curiosity and creativity. Children tended to gravitate to the complexity and ambiguity offered within the natural environ...
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Grown-ups never understand anything for themselves, and it is tiresome for children to be always and forever explaining things to them. -de Saint-Exupéry, A. (2000) CHILDREN HAVE A LONG HISTORY of being the object of study across several... more
Grown-ups never understand anything for themselves, and it is tiresome for children to be always and forever explaining things to them. -de Saint-Exupéry, A. (2000) CHILDREN HAVE A LONG HISTORY of being the object of study across several research disciplines (psychology, education, sociology). Typically, studies on children have tended to assess concepts, experimental approaches, theories or interventions with little consideration given to children's voices within that research (Hill, Laybourn, & Borland, 1996; Scott, 2008). Increasingly, within the various research communities, there has been a shift toward conducting research with children rather than on children to gain insight into what is meaningful and significant to children themselves (Clark, 2005; Clark 2007). As such, several scholars acknowledge four perspectives in conducting research on children: child as object, child as subject, child as social actor, and child as participant or co-participant (Alderson, 2008; Chr...
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
iPads are increasingly being put in the hands of children in schools and educational contexts, yet there continues to be larger questions about how they fit into the fabric of daily classroom life and what new stories will emerge (de... more
iPads are increasingly being put in the hands of children in schools and educational contexts, yet there continues to be larger questions about how they fit into the fabric of daily classroom life and what new stories will emerge (de Certeau, 1984, 1984/2000). In this article, we feature vignettes of data from a 2-year government-funded research project on how children make meaning with iPads across 5 early years' classrooms. Understanding the complexities of literacy learning requires an ‘in situ’ examination. Through our ethnographic approach, we have been able to get closer to an ‘insider account’ of the sociocultural knowledge of early learners and their teachers, as well as a holistic description and interpretation of the phenomenon of being and becoming literate (Le Compte & Preissle, 1993).
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
An abandoned blue car from 1958 is a central figure of the qualitative exploration of sustainability pedagogies within a Canadian nature school. The mystery of the car and its entanglement within a densely-forested area where the... more
An abandoned blue car from 1958 is a central figure of the qualitative exploration of sustainability pedagogies within a Canadian nature school. The mystery of the car and its entanglement within a densely-forested area where the preschool children play and learn is provocative. As part of a larger ethnographic case study of the nature school, eight young children (3-5-year-olds) and their two nature teachers’ critical engagement with the car is examined over the course of a year. The research approach for the data collection and analysis included photos, videos, participant-observations, educator journals, and children’s oral and written expressions of their ideas related to the project and sustainability. This small scale study offers a glimpse into the possibilities that emerge when we include children’s thinking, decisions, and actions within the more-than-human world to foster sustainability.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Across Canada, early learning nature-based programs are gaining popularity with many new programs being implemented each year. Currently, little is known about the number, type, pedagogies, and curricula content of Canadian outdoor and... more
Across Canada, early learning nature-based programs are gaining popularity with many new programs being implemented each year. Currently, little is known about the number, type, pedagogies, and curricula content of Canadian outdoor and nature-based early learning programs. Thus, this mixed methods study was conducted to explore this growing movement. In total, two hundred educators, representing 165 various programs across Canada completed an online survey. Fifty-one percent of the participants reported having a diploma in Early Childhood Education or similar qualification. In addition, it was estimated that between 40 000 to 60 000 Canadian children, mostly aged between 3 to 9 years, had taken part in these programs during 2018-2019. Moreover, findings suggested that weather conditions can impact the time spent outdoors and that emergent, child-centered curricula rooted in play were guiding the pedagogy of a large percentage of the represented programs. Outdoor nature-based early learning programs in Canada 2 Background
<jats:p>Situated in the context of the role digital technology plays in the lives of young children in today's society, this chapter is comprised of four sections examining children's thinking involving digital spaces.... more
<jats:p>Situated in the context of the role digital technology plays in the lives of young children in today's society, this chapter is comprised of four sections examining children's thinking involving digital spaces. First, a succinct overview of current research will be presented, focusing on emergent themes regarding young children navigating digital spaces and their im/material thinking. Following this is an examination of the issues raised from this research. This section highlights disparate access to technology and children's construction of identity in digital spaces. The next section presents the gaps in current research and the final section of this chapter focuses on implications for literacy practice, policy, and research. </jats:p>
Play is essential for young children’s healthy development. The availability and accessibility of a variety of com-munity play spaces can facilitate increased play and physical activity. Based on more than 10,000 observa-tions in 287... more
Play is essential for young children’s healthy development. The availability and accessibility of a variety of com-munity play spaces can facilitate increased play and physical activity. Based on more than 10,000 observa-tions in 287 community play spaces in six municipalities on southern Vancouver Island to determine the location and content of the spaces, how they were used and by whom, eight key issues were identified: (a) children’s right to play, (b) the value of play, (c) children’s health and phys-ical fitness, (d) availability, accessi-bility, and variety of play spaces, (e) varied materials, equipment, and amenities, (f) current threats to play and play spaces, (g) play value in play spaces, and (h) fun. Specific areas and strategies for advocating for more and higher quality community play spaces are discussed.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Teasing is often regarded as a normal and common activity of childhood, a rite of passage. Yet, teasing is a complex relational issue involving many elements such as intent, verbal utterances, nonverbal behaviour, meaning, interpretation,... more
Teasing is often regarded as a normal and common activity of childhood, a rite of passage. Yet, teasing is a complex relational issue involving many elements such as intent, verbal utterances, nonverbal behaviour, meaning, interpretation, and emotional affect. And despite the prevalence of this common childhood experience, research addressing children?s teasing is lacking. Studies of how young children experience, resist, and internalize childhood teasing in various contexts are noticeably absent from the research literature. The young sibling bond provides a unique window of opportunity to explore the teasing phenomenon, as this intense, complex, and emotional relationship is an early practice ground for children to learn to interact, imitate, play, converse, and negotiate conflict. This book discusses a study that explored, through naturalistic observations and interviews, the teasing experiences of three dyads of preschool age siblings.
Research Interests:
Children with selective mutism (SM) present unique challenges for teachers. Typically, children with SM have such an immense anxiety associated with being seen or heard speaking they fail to speak inside the classroom and particularly... more
Children with selective mutism (SM) present unique challenges for teachers. Typically, children with SM have such an immense anxiety associated with being seen or heard speaking they fail to speak inside the classroom and particularly with teachers. This article reports on the effectiveness of a small-scale exploratory study involving 22 participants in a targeted professional development (PD) workshop on SM. Using a pre-post questionnaire design, the researchers explored the potential of PD to contribute to increased knowledge and awareness of SM as well as conceptual changes in the strategies used to support children with SM within inclusive classrooms. The PD workshop contributed to enhanced levels of knowledge and educators’ confidence in addressing children’s needs and may be a first step in addressing the dearth of literature on the teaching of children with SM as well as inform future professional development needs of teachers.
Research Interests:
Qualitative and quantitative measures of 3- and 4-year-old children’s play and physical activities in a forest program in Ontario, Canada were conducted over a school year. Theoretically, Gibson’s (1979) concept of affordances and... more
Qualitative and quantitative measures of 3- and 4-year-old children’s play and physical activities in a forest program in Ontario, Canada were conducted over a school year. Theoretically, Gibson’s (1979) concept of affordances and Nicholson’s (1971) concept of loose parts were utilized to explore the role of the forest (natural) environment as a catalyst for physically active play. The study demonstrated that levels of physically active play in the forest were twice that of a ‘typical’ day in a childcare center and specific characteristics of the forest play area did afford unique opportunities for more vigorous types of play. Implications for promoting physical activity among young children within childcare programs are discussed.
Research Interests:
Self-constructed perceptions of early childhood educator professionalism were explored in a small-scale mixed-method survey using convenience sampling. Fifty-four educators in Ontario, Canada participated in the study and shared their... more
Self-constructed perceptions of early childhood educator professionalism were explored in a small-scale mixed-method survey using convenience sampling. Fifty-four educators in Ontario, Canada participated in the study and shared their views related to professionalism. A mixed-methodology was employed using an electronic questionnaire composed of closed- and open-ended questions on ideas related to professionalism. The results of the study demonstrated that all the educators held a strong self-perception of professionalism regardless of their level of education, reporting high levels of job satisfaction, competence, recognition as a professional from others, and self-recognition as a professional. Participants’ notions of professionalism focused on the qualities of an individual considered a professional (e.g., good listener, patient, and understanding) whereas discussions of criticality, authority, or the historical, gendered, cultural, racial, and social practices of early childhoo...
Research Interests:
The paper analyzed children’s perceptions of teasing within their real world peer relationships through participants’ drawings and accompanying narratives. The case study research was approached from an ethic of listening to children to... more
The paper analyzed children’s perceptions of teasing within their real world peer relationships through participants’ drawings and accompanying narratives. The case study research was approached from an ethic of listening to children to discover and uncover children’s perceptions and experiences with the phenomenon of peer teasing. Fifteen children from kindergarten to grade 2 participated in drawing and narrating their complex understandings of the multi-faceted aspects of peer teasing. The participants attended two 30-40 minute sessions of conversational interviews with the first session also involving drawing and narrating personal stories of teasing. The results of the study indicate the significance of teasing within the young peer relationship as well as several distinct perceptions and insights. Ultimately, these insights may help teachers to broaden curricular approaches within the school culture and enhance current theoretical conceptualizations of peer teasing.
Research Interests:
Is play at risk in the 21st century? Much has been written on the potential for children's play to be usurped by more rigorous academics in early childhood curricula, the growing trend of commercialization of childcare and education... more
Is play at risk in the 21st century? Much has been written on the potential for children's play to be usurped by more rigorous academics in early childhood curricula, the growing trend of commercialization of childcare and education (Gillian-Mauffette, 2009; Hill, 2011; Nicolopoulou, 2010; Trawick-Smith, 2012), and schoolification initiatives that focus on readiness (Alock & Haggerty, 2013). This discourse prioritizes play as a means to an end (instrumentalization), suggesting that play-based early childhood education programs lead to better learning and developmental outcomes (Bouchard, et al., 2014). Theoretical research posits that play is a valuable medium that fosters cognitive (Piaget, 1929) and developmental growth (Erikson, 1955; Montessori, 1897; Vygotsky, 1938). Much of the literature also conflates play with early learning (Bodrova & Leong, 2003; Dewey, 1938; Elkind, 2001). This instrumentalization of children's play has been criticized for contributing to a dicho...
Research Interests:
In 2015, Canada adopted the UN 2030 agenda for sustainable development and committed to its 17 sustainable development goals aiming to address issues of social, economic and environmental nature (United Nations, n.d.). Although Canada... more
In 2015, Canada adopted the UN 2030 agenda for sustainable development and committed to its 17 sustainable development goals aiming to address issues of social, economic and environmental nature (United Nations, n.d.). Although Canada proposed an Indicator Framework with measurable targets to track progress on certain goals, these are still in the initial stage of development and discussion (Government of Canada, 2019). With increased demand for nature-based and outdoor educational programs in North America, exploring how the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) may or may not align with current educational practices seems prudent. Specifically, we ask: Are the social, economic and environmental issues of concern integrated within outdoor nature-based programming? Could immersive outdoor programs be a viable avenue for helping Canada reach some of the global sustainable development goals? Finally, adopting a critical lens on the SDGs more broadly, are there additional ways in which teaching and learning for sustainability 1 can be implemented within Canadian nature-based programming? In order to examine these questions, we start by briefly exploring the SDGs and the Canadian proposed targets. Utilizing some of the results of a Pan-Canadian large-scale survey study, we delved into survey questions that examined the diversity of the attendees, perceived benefits of programs, and the ways in which sustainability for education are incorporated within programs (e.g., climate change and environmental issues, conservation and stewardship, and Indigenous rights). Findings from the latter study suggest that outdoor nature-based programs can help address several SDGs and promote the development of children's key competencies that could enable them to engage with issues of sustainability. Yet, we contend that further studies are needed to examine how and to what extent outdoor nature-based programs can help equip future generations with a sustainable ethos.
Research Interests:
Imagine being 4 and not being able to ask for a toy or snack when you attend your early years program. Selective mutism (SM) is the persistent failure to speak in specific social situations where speaking is expected. It results from... more
Imagine being 4 and not being able to ask for a toy or snack when you attend your early years program. Selective mutism (SM) is the persistent failure to speak in specific social situations where speaking is expected. It results from intense anxiety and occurs in spite of a child’s ability to speak in other situations, like the home environment. Children with SM can have lifelong issues with being able to engage with others, speak publicly, and succeed academically. In this article, the authors propose that play is a valuable and necessary medium to meet the needs of the child with SM, foster resiliency, and promote well-being. Additionally, play provides a much-needed context to lessen the anxieties associated with being seen or heard speaking. The educator’s role is specifically assessed as an asset to meet the needs of children with SM in the early years classroom.
Research Interests:
This article examines how the inclusion of outdoor learning can provide early childhood education and care (ECEC) a way forward during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. The pandemic has significantly impacted ECEC programs and, although... more
This article examines how the inclusion of outdoor learning can provide early childhood education and care (ECEC) a way forward during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. The pandemic has significantly impacted ECEC programs and, although it is not a new concept, outdoor learning provides opportunities to mitigate negative impacts of pandemic-related restrictions for children and educators. Practice-based examples from an early learning setting are provided to highlight some of these opportunities. Some of the challenges and limitations of outdoor learning and experiences are also discussed, and a resource list to support programs to begin embracing outdoor learning is provided.
Research Interests:
Children's intra-actions with the natural world offer an important lens to revisit notions of literacies. They allow for a decentring of humans – here children – as actors. Also, forest schools and nature-based learning programmes are... more
Children's intra-actions with the natural world offer an important lens to revisit notions of literacies. They allow for a decentring of humans – here children – as actors. Also, forest schools and nature-based learning programmes are increasingly erupting across North America, although more commonplace in Europe for a longer period. In this presentation of our research, we feature a storying/(re)storying of data from a yearlong research study of children's entanglements with the forest as a more-than-human world. We ask what we might learn if educators, children and researchers think with sticks, not separate from, but in relation to sticks? Eight preschool children, two educators and two researchers ventured into the forest twice a week over the course of a year, documenting their interactions with a mosaic of data generation tools, such as notebooks, iPads, Go-Pro cameras. The forest offered diverse materials that provoked “thing-matter-energy- child-assemblages” that wer...
Research Interests:
Across Canada, early learning nature-based programs are gaining popularity with many new programs being implemented each year. Currently, little is known about the number, type, pedagogies, and curricula content of Canadian outdoor and... more
Across Canada, early learning nature-based programs are gaining popularity with many new programs being implemented each year. Currently, little is known about the number, type, pedagogies, and curricula content of Canadian outdoor and nature-based early learning programs. Thus, this mixed methods study was conducted to explore this growing movement. In total, two hundred educators, representing 165 various programs across Canada completed an online survey. Fifty-one percent of the participants reported having a diploma in Early Childhood Education or similar qualification. In addition, it was estimated that between 40 000 to 60 000 Canadian children, mostly aged between 3 to 9 years, had taken part in these programs during 2018-2019. Moreover, findings suggested that weather conditions can impact the time spent outdoors and that emergent, child-centered curricula rooted in play were guiding the pedagogy of a large percentage of the represented programs. Outdoor nature-based early learning programs in Canada 2 Background
Research Interests:
Children’s intra-actions with the natural world offer an important lens to revisit notions of literacies. They allow for a decentring of humans – here children – as actors. Also, forest schools and nature-based learning programmes are... more
Children’s intra-actions with the natural world offer an important lens to revisit notions of literacies. They allow for a decentring of humans – here children – as actors. Also, forest schools and nature-based learning programmes are increasingly erupting across North America, although more commonplace in Europe for a longer period. In this presentation of our research, we feature a storying/(re)storying of data from a yearlong research study of children’s entanglements with the forest as a more-than-human world. We ask what we might learn if educators, children and researchers think with sticks, not separate from, but in relation to sticks? Eight preschool children, two educators and two researchers ventured into the forest twice a week over the course of a year, documenting their interactions with a mosaic of data generation tools, such as note- books, iPads, Go-Pro cameras. The forest offered diverse materials that provoked ‘‘thing-matter-energy- child-assemblages’’ that were significant for the children’s play and literacy framing. Through post-humanist theorizing, we have paid particular atten- tion to the stick within the children’s forest play and illustrate the ways in which the stick was entangled with children’s bodies, relations, identities and discourses. The stick was a catalyst, a friend, a momentary and changing text, an agentic force acting relationally with children’s play and stories. The post humanism storying/ (re)storying of the children’s encounters in the forest with sticks invites infinite possi- bilities for literacy teaching and learning. How might educators foster such relations, enquiring with and alongside children with an openness toward what the sticks (forests) might teach us?
Research Interests:
Qualitative and quantitative measures of 3- and 4-year-old children’s play and physical activities in a forest program in Ontario, Canada were conducted over a school year. Theoretically, Gibson’s (1979) concept of affordances and... more
Qualitative and quantitative measures of 3- and 4-year-old children’s play and physical activities in a forest program in Ontario, Canada were conducted over a school year. Theoretically, Gibson’s (1979) concept of affordances and Nicholson’s (1971) concept of loose parts were utilized to explore the role of the forest (natural) environment as a catalyst for physically active play. The study demonstrated that levels of physically active play in the forest were twice that of a ‘typical’ day in a childcare center and specific characteristics of the forest play area did afford unique opportunities for more vigorous types of play. Implications for promoting physical activity among young children within childcare programs are discussed.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
A yearlong ethnographic study was conducted within five early childhood education classrooms within the province of Ontario, Canada. The study aimed to explore young children’s literacy meaning making experiences both before and after... more
A yearlong ethnographic study was conducted within five early childhood education classrooms within the province of Ontario, Canada. The study aimed to explore young children’s literacy
meaning making experiences both before and after iPads were introduced into five diverse contexts. Nine researchers collected data that included over 120 hours of classroom observations, 2000 photographs, 200 video recordings, and 500 sample artefacts from the children. Seven teachers/ early childhood educators, 71 children, and 24 parents participated in the study. The article reports on some of the findings related to the child-focused data. Specific variables such as children’s iPad knowledge and contexts, haptic touch, time, access, engagement and competence appeared to contribute to the literacy learning process. The research found that both traditional and play-based literacy practices were a consistent and important means for learning in each of the early childhood contexts. However, the iPads afforded the children a new and different lens and medium for a rich meaning making process to unfold and opportunities to create sophisticated multimodal literacy texts. The study offers evidence of the need to consider the role of both traditional and 21st Century literacies in young children’s literacy learning journey.
meaning making experiences both before and after iPads were introduced into five diverse contexts. Nine researchers collected data that included over 120 hours of classroom observations, 2000 photographs, 200 video recordings, and 500 sample artefacts from the children. Seven teachers/ early childhood educators, 71 children, and 24 parents participated in the study. The article reports on some of the findings related to the child-focused data. Specific variables such as children’s iPad knowledge and contexts, haptic touch, time, access, engagement and competence appeared to contribute to the literacy learning process. The research found that both traditional and play-based literacy practices were a consistent and important means for learning in each of the early childhood contexts. However, the iPads afforded the children a new and different lens and medium for a rich meaning making process to unfold and opportunities to create sophisticated multimodal literacy texts. The study offers evidence of the need to consider the role of both traditional and 21st Century literacies in young children’s literacy learning journey.
Research Interests:
iPads are increasingly being put in the hands of children in schools and educational contexts, yet there continues to be larger questions about how they fit into the fabric of daily classroom life and what new stories will emerge (de... more
iPads are increasingly being put in the hands of children in schools and educational contexts, yet there continues to be larger questions about how they fit into the fabric of daily classroom life and what new stories will emerge (de Certeau, 1984, 1984/2000). In this article, we feature vignettes of data from a 2-year government-funded research project on how children make meaning with iPads across 5 early years' classrooms. Understanding the complexities of literacy learning requires an ‘in situ’ examination. Through our ethnographic approach, we have been able to get closer to an ‘insider account’ of the sociocultural knowledge of early learners and their teachers, as well as a holistic description and interpretation of the phenomenon of being and becoming literate (Le Compte & Preissle, 1993).
Research Interests:
The 21st Century has been described as the digital age. The digital age is marked by a variety of media choices and technological devices that can be connected, devices that ‘talk to one another’. Today’s technology can do so much more... more
The 21st Century has been described as the digital age. The digital age is marked by a variety of media choices and technological devices that can be connected, devices that ‘talk to one another’. Today’s technology can do so much more than the stationary lone desktop. For example, a child’s drawing can be animated when an embedded QR code (quick response code) is scanned. A tablet and an application (app) like colAR Mix can lift the child’s drawing off the page (Figure 1). These same drawings can be shared across platforms with opportunities for other children to add content. These additional modes invite new ways for children to explore ideas and express their knowledge. A mode can be simply thought of as an avenue or outlet for children to explore an idea or express what they know. In this sense, a crayon, lump of clay, pen, or a child’s own body can be thought of as modes. In the 21st Century, the digital world represents a new kind of mode, in that multiple avenues of expression and knowing are inherent within any one digital device that children interact with. Within children’s play and learning opportunities we can see an increasing reliance upon these multiple modes...
Research Interests:
Cary Bazalgette (ed.), Teaching Media in Primary Schools Debra Harwood
Journal of Early Childhood Literacy 2012 12: 103
DOI: 10.1177/1468798411425671
Journal of Early Childhood Literacy 2012 12: 103
DOI: 10.1177/1468798411425671
Research Interests:
A timely addition to the SAGE Swift Series, Crayons and iPads examines the use of digital technology in the early stages of child development and the way in which learning techniques have evolved in classrooms across the world. Taking... more
A timely addition to the SAGE Swift Series, Crayons and iPads examines the use of digital technology in the early stages of child development and the way in which learning techniques have evolved in classrooms across the world.
Taking the position that tablets provide an accessible learning and instructional tool, Debra Harwood explores how tablets can be used to provoke, ignite, and excite children’s interest in the world around them, arguing that it is through this engagement with technology that new discoveries are made and learning takes place.
Guiding readers through research-based insights into children’s thinking, interactions and being, Crayons and iPads offers an important starting point upon which to build play and inquiry-based learning opportunities within early learning programs.
Taking the position that tablets provide an accessible learning and instructional tool, Debra Harwood explores how tablets can be used to provoke, ignite, and excite children’s interest in the world around them, arguing that it is through this engagement with technology that new discoveries are made and learning takes place.
Guiding readers through research-based insights into children’s thinking, interactions and being, Crayons and iPads offers an important starting point upon which to build play and inquiry-based learning opportunities within early learning programs.