Weaving RIE with Te Whāriki : re-thinking family involvement in assessment of learning dispositions.

Families play important roles in children's learning. Yet, teachers' values and beliefs may sway how families may participate in assessment of their child's learning within early childhood education. This paper reports on a qualitative case study in a New Zealand early childhood setting that explored teachers' views about involving families in assessment of infants’ and toddlers’ dispositional learning. Methods comprised interviews with five teachers, researcher field notes and documentation about children's learning. Findings suggested that teachers’ views about learning dispositions, teaching and assessment positioned families as consumers of, rather than participants in, assessment. Theoretical tensions arose between Gerber's Resources for Infant Educarers (RIE) approach that guided teachers' philosophy and practice andTe Whāriki, the mandated early childhood curriculum of New Zealand. The paper argues that weaving RIE with a national curriculum framework requires teacher engagement in critical thinking and discussion regarding actively involving families in assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]