The Rhythm of the City, the Shadow of the Ivy: Reconsidering Identity of Place in the Early Childhood Classroom

• In Event: 72.049 - Roundtable Session 34
  In Roundtable Session: 72.049-15 - Young Children's Agency, Identity, Self-Regulation, and Executive Function

Abstract

Through the method of narrative pedagogy two teacher/researchers consider how the identity of place shapes the everyday lives of the children and teachers in two early childhood classrooms. The research specifically explores the environment, documentation, and child-meaning maker as related to the identity of place. By “identity of place” the authors refer to the powerful identities embedded in the locations in which schools are situated and the influence of these identities on all aspects of the early childhood classroom. This paper is a first step in investigating the ways in which identity of place actively steps into lives of children, and shapes learning experiences. Findings are organized into three lenses: School and Place, Children and Place, Teachers and Place.

Authors

• Heather J. Pinedo-Burns, Teachers College, Columbia University

• Dana Frantz Bentley, Buckingham, Browne, and Nichols School