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Learning Stories
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Learning Stories
Constructing Learner Identities in Early Education

  • Margaret Carr - Waikato University, New Zealand
  • Wendy Lee - Director of the Educational Leadership Project, New Zealand


March 2012 | 168 pages | SAGE Publications Ltd
Margaret Carr's seminal work on Learning Stories was first published by SAGE in 2001, and this widely acclaimed approach to assessment has since gained a huge international following. In this new full-colour book, the authors outline the philosophy behind Learning Stories and refer to the latest findings from the research projects they have led with teachers on learning dispositions and learning power, to argue that Learning Stories can construct learner identities in early childhood settings and schools. By making the connection between sociocultural approaches to pedagogy and assessment, and narrative inquiry, this book contextualizes Learning Stories as a philosophical approach to education, learning and pedagogy.

Chapters explore how Learning Stories:

- help make connections with families

- support the inclusion of children and family voices

- tell us stories about babies

- allow children to dictate their own stories

- can be used to revisit children's learning journeys

- can contribute to teaching and learning wisdom

This ground-breaking book expands on the concept of Learning Stories and includes examples from practice in both New Zealand and the UK. It outlines the philosophy behind this pedagogical tool for documenting how learning identities are constructed and shows, through research evidence, why the early years is such a critical time in the formation of learning dispositions.

Margaret Carr is a Professor of Education at the University of Waikato, New Zealand.

Wendy Lee is Director of the Educational Leadership Project, New Zealand.

 
Learner Identities in the Early Years: An Introduction to Four Themes
 
Why Story?
 
Co-Authoring and Dialogue
 
Making Connections Across Boundaries Between Places
 
Recognising and Re-Cognising Learning Continuities
 
Appropriating Knowledges and Learning Dispositions in a Range of Increasingly Complex Ways
 
Reconceptualising Assessment
 
Constructing and Sustaining a Passion for Learning

This book is ESSENTIAL reading for all early years practitioners who are looking to engage in meaningful assessments of the children in their care. The book expands on the concept of learning stories and demonstrates how the process of collecting and telling the stories of children's remarkable experiences enables us to influence how others view children. When practitioners turn their observations into oral, written, and visual stories, children sense that their pursuits are worthy of being documented, described, and remembered, and their families are rewarded with the details of what the children have been doing, thinking, and learning. This book will make our assessing and documenting children's development better, easier, and more fun.

Mrs Anna Colgan
Higher Education, Banbury and Bicester College
July 28, 2014

Love the whole concept of learning stories. So many lovely examples and gorgeous photos to add even more interest to what is already a riveting topic

Mrs Tanya Richardson
School of Education, Northampton University
May 27, 2014

The many practical examples and accessible writing style result in a text which documents this approach to assessment in the early years in an interesting and thought provoking read.

Mrs Jean Bourne
Community Studies, Herefordshire College of Technology
May 1, 2014

This book provides a detailed overview of the theory behind Learning Stories and how this connects to practice. I particularly enjoy the fact that there is a good range of examples which provides the reader with an extensive Learning Stories toolkit.

Mrs Marie Dey
School of Education, Social Work & Community Education, Dundee University
October 1, 2013

A brilliant piece of writing and an inspiring read. This books offers everything students need to know about Margaret Carr's Learning Stories. The case illustrations are extremely helpful and link academic thinking and practice with ease. This is particularly useful for students who do not have the practice background.

Ms Helga Stittrich-Lyons
School of Education & Continuing Stud, Portsmouth University
March 26, 2013

Core reading for the subject matter, well written with plenty of case studies

Ms Yasmin Stefanov-King
Scarborough School of Education, Hull University
March 12, 2013

Nice to find a text that covers this area - and this book does so well extending to Te Whariki areas that are often hard to find.

Mrs Kathryn Peckham
Childhood Studies : Early Years, Chichester University
November 12, 2012

Worthy text which builds on the text of previous work.

Mrs Michelle Rogers
Centre for Early Childhood, University of Worcester
November 7, 2012

This edition is very different from the first so I would recommend that students (in particular) read the first. The concept of learning stories should be conisdered in settings in the UK.

Miss Alyson Lewis
Newport School of Education, University of Wales, Newport
November 6, 2012

The students on the foundation degree in early years programme have engaged with this book. They have enjoyed both text and photographs and have taken ideas from it to develop in their own practice.

Mrs Jackie Braithwaite
East Cheshire Business School, Macclesfield College
October 3, 2012

Sample Materials & Chapters

Chapter 1


For instructors

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