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On 17 March 2020, Postdigital Science and Education launched a call for testimonies about teaching and learning during very frst Covid-19 lockdowns. The resulting article, ‘Teaching in the Age of Covid-19’ (attached), presents 81 written testimonies and 80 workspace photographs submitted by 84 authors from 19 countries. On 17 March 2021, Postdigital Science and Education launched a call for a sequel article of testimonies about teaching and learning during very first Covid-19 lockdowns. The resulting article, ‘Teaching in the Age of Covid-19—1 Year Later’(attached), consists of 74 textual testimonies and 76 workspace photographs submitted by 77 authors from 20 countries.These two articles have been downloaded almost 100,000 times and have been cited more than 100 times. This shows their value as historical documents. Recent analyses, such as ‘Teaching in the Age of Covid-19—A Longitudinal Study ’(attached), also indicate their strong potential for educational research. As the Covid-19 pandemic seems to wind down, pandemic experiences have entered the mainstream. They shape all educational research of today and arguably do not require special treatment. Yet, our unique series of pandemic testimonies provides a unique opportunity to longitudinally trace what happens to the same people over the years—and this opportunity should not be missed. Today, we launch a call for fnal sequel: Teaching in the Age of Covid-19—The New Normal. In this sequel, we would like to hear about ways in which you—contributors to the previous articles—have established your own new normal. We hope that this will be the last iteration in this series of testimony articles. Unless the world faces another strong pandemic outburst, we would like to end the series with this last article.

\"The first book in the series Policy and Pedagogy with Under-three year olds: Cross Disciplinary insights and innovations establishes a path for the much-needed examination of the experiences of infants and toddlers in contemporary educational settings across the globe. Bringing together internationally renowned scholars in the field, it starts a series of discussions about the positioning of under three year-olds in contemporary practice and policy contexts. It takes an in-depth look at what this means for our understanding of under-three year olds and those who share their worlds. Featuring some of the most important contemporary topics in this pedagogical domain, such as care, well-being, belonging, professionalism and status, the contributors offer a kaleidoscope of perspectives for contemplating the new normality of very young children living their lives in group-based early childhood settings, and what gives rise to their current realities. It also explores some important policy directions and trends.\"--Publisher's website.

At the risk of speaking on his behalf I could almost swear I heard Bakhtin laughing gleefully over my shoulder as I read this fascinating dialogue between Eugene and Kiyo.  His reason for this might be partly inspired by the glaring misunderstandings both men reveal through their associated interplay with key pedagogical concepts. While polemic in nature, it occurs to me, somewhat ironically, that each man makes the same careful, empirically located, argument from different cultural and philosophical standpoints. At the centre of their debate is the concept of pedagogy and its capacity to promote ‘authentic’ learning. Despite this shared agenda their interpretations of key terms are often at variance and, as a result, they passionately bang their heads against each other in vehement misunderstanding that makes for what Bakhtin (2004) would describe as “lively and expressive” debate (p. 24) on this topic.

Book review for Dialogic Pedagogy Journal: Wegerif, R. (2013). Dialogic: Education for the Internet age, London Routledge

Issue Title: Special Issue: Bringing Dialogism to Bear in the Early Years

If the eye is a window to the soul, an important question to ask in the early years is “What do children see?” in their encounters with the world. Gaining a better understanding of children’s interpretations is central to the pedagogical task of early childhood teachers, yet children are seldom asked to provide their points of view outside of adult frameworks for learning. A photograph can be assumed to contain shared and consistent meaning. However, using a Bakhtinian theoretical perspective and the notion of visual surplus that ‘seeing’ is much more than merely a visual process of looking, the research investigates the question, “What do children ‘see’ in nature based education beyond the home-based gate?” The analyses consider the joint meaning-making processes between children and adults when children are invited to share their perspectives on experiences and in which photography is used as an intersubjective medium. Armed with digital cameras during outings into local landscapes, a group of four children attending home-based education was invited to capture sights of significance to them and their families. The perspectives of these children, based on what they saw during nature-based learning experiences, were captured through stimulated recall interviews with their Educator. Children’s insights are described in their own words, using photographs as a source of provocation. The findings highlight the symbolic, metaphoric, spiritual and relational nature of children’s interpretations when provoked by encounters with nature. These interpretations can present adults with significant challenge in their assumptions about children’s capacity to theorise about complex concepts and that adults share the same visual lens as children. Résumé Si l’œil est une fenêtre sur l’âme, «que voient les enfants dans leurs rencontres avec le monde?» est une question importante à se poser en jeune enfance. Il est primordial pour le travail pédagogique des enseignants préscolaires d’avoir une meilleure compréhension des interprétations des enfants; on demande pourtant rarement aux enfants de donner leurs points de vue hors des cadres d’apprentissage adultes. On peut supposer qu’une photographie a un sens partagé et cohérent. Cependant, utilisant une perspective théorique bakhtinienne ainsi que la notion de surplus visuel selon laquelle “voir” est beaucoup plus que le simple processus visuel de regarder, cette recherche examine la question suivante, «Qu’est-ce que les enfants voient dans une éducation basée sur la nature au-delà de la barrière familiale?» Les analyses examinent le processus conjoint de construction de sens des enfants et des adultes quand les enfants sont invités à partager leurs perspectives sur des expériences et dans lesquelles la photographie est utilisée comme medium intersubjectif. Armés de caméras numériques pendant des sorties dans la nature environnante, un groupe de quatre enfants fréquentant un service d’éducation familiale ont été invités à capturer des vues significatives pour eux et leurs familles. Les perspectives de ces enfants, sur la base de ce qu’ils ont vu pendant les expériences d’apprentissage basées sur la nature, ont été cueillies par des entrevues de rappel stimulé avec leur éducatrice. Les visions des enfants sont décrites dans leurs propres mots, à l’aide de photographies comme source de provocation. Les résultats font ressortir la nature symbolique, métaphorique, spirituelle et relationnelle des interprétations des enfants lorsque provoquées par des rencontres avec la nature. Ces interprétations peuvent soulever chez les adultes d’importantes questions sur leurs postulats sur la capacité des enfants à élaborer des théories de concepts complexes et que les adultes partagent la même vision que les enfants. Resumen Si los ojos son una ventana al alma, es importante preguntarse, “Qué ven los niños” en sus primeros años de vida durante sus encuentros con el mundo. Mejorar el entendimiento de las interpretaciones de los niños es central para la tarea pedagógica de los profesores y profesoras de infancia temprana, sin embargo, en raras ocasiones se les pide a los niños y niñas sus puntos de vista fuera de los marcos de los adultos para el aprendizaje. Una fotografía puede asumirse como un element que contiene significado consistente y compartido. Sin embargo, utilizando una perspectiva teórica Bakhtiniana y la noción de excedente visual de que ‘ver’ es mucho más que el propio proceso visual de ver, la investigación intenta responder la pregunta, “Qué ven los niños en la educación basada en la naturaleza, más allá de lo que hay en sus hogares?” El análisis considera los procesos conjuntos significativos entre niños/as y adultos cuando los menores son invitados a compartir sus perspectivas sobre experiencias, mientras se utiliza una fotografía como un medio intersubjetivo. Un grupo de 4 niños/as, equipados con cámaras digitales durante salidas a paisajes cercanos, que participan de una educación basada en el hogar, fue invitado a capturar imágenes de significado especial para ellos y sus familias. Las perspectivas de estos niños, basadas en lo que vieron durante sus experiencias educativas basadas en la naturaleza, fueron capturadas mediante entrevistas de recuerdo estimulado a sus educadores. Las perspectivas de los niños fueron descritas en sus propias palabras, utilizando fotografías como el recurso de provocación. Los resultados destacan la naturaleza simbólica, metafórica, espiritual y relacional de las interpretaciones de los niños al ser provocadas por encuentros con la naturaleza. Las interpretaciones pueden presentar a adultos con desafíos significativos en sus formas de asumir las capacidades de los niños de teorizar sobre conceptos complejos; y que los adultos comparten los mismos lentes de visión que los niños.

This polyvocal article is an anecdotal narrative from the author researchers, supported by a photographic essay, presenting the methodological and contextual experience of image-making and contemplation undertaken in three early childhood education centres (ECEs) in Christchurch, Lyttleton and Timaru. The research was positioned through a key research question: How might we better understand engagement with local conditions for children’s access to water through the application of visual methods – in Aotearoa, New Zealand? The experience for the team was transformative, leading us to reflect upon our time in the centres, our collaborations and interactions with the children and teachers, and, primarily for the purpose of this article, how the act of image-making shaped our encounters while at the ECEs. A critical research method in the project involved photography of the lived experiences of the children in the centres, as lensed through representations of water by children in their daily lives. The shifting gaze of the photograph and the daily narrative afforded to the wai (water) transmitted is not simply about the physical properties of water but about the whakapapa (or origins) of wai as a life force that changes the flow of direction or activity. The researchers took a ‘walking with’ immersive approach to access the world of the children that simultaneously relied on the subjectivity of the photographers as an unfolding method in action. Central to the interests of this article is what we learned from the image-making experience. Lensing our research through visual methods transformed how we encountered our subjects. Invisible moments were rendered visible in the contemplative act of taking and then thinking about the photos. The photographic text, collected and reflected upon (by researchers spanning distinctly different practices), shaped a nascent transdisciplinary methodological approach to build into our future inquiries.

This polyvocal article is an anecdotal narrative from the author researchers, supported by a photographic essay, presenting the methodological and contextual experience of image-making and contemplation undertaken in three early childhood education centres (ECEs) in Christchurch, Lyttleton and Timaru. The research was positioned through a key research question: How might we better understand engagement with local conditions for children’s access to water through the application of visual methods – in Aotearoa, New Zealand? The experience for the team was transformative, leading us to reflect upon our time in the centres, our collaborations and interactions with the children and teachers, and, primarily for the purpose of this article, how the act of image-making shaped our encounters while at the ECEs. A critical research method in the project involved photography of the lived experiences of the children in the centres, as lensed through representations of water by children in their daily lives. The shifting gaze of the photograph and the daily narrative afforded to the wai (water) transmitted is not simply about the physical properties of water but about the whakapapa (or origins) of wai as a life force that changes the flow of direction or activity. The researchers took a ‘walking with’ immersive approach to access the world of the children that simultaneously relied on the subjectivity of the photographers as an unfolding method in action. Central to the interests of this article is what we learned from the image-making experience. Lensing our research through visual methods transformed how we encountered our subjects. Invisible moments were rendered visible in the contemplative act of taking and then thinking about the photos. The photographic text, collected and reflected upon (by researchers spanning distinctly different practices), shaped a nascent transdisciplinary methodological approach to build into our future inquiries.

Issue Title: Special Issue: Bringing Dialogism to Bear in the Early Years Mikhail Bakhtin (1895-1975), whose theory of dialogism frames this issue, led a long life during which he traversed signicant ideological movements in Russian history and overcame many personal and political challenges along the way. While Bakhtin remains a somewhat mysterious character who refuses to be fully known, there are some biographical details that provide important clues due to the painstaking work of the Bakhtin Centre and Bakhtin's own students who recognised the potential of his work. This information provides a rich tapestry about Bakhtin's scholarship that spans a lifetime of philosophical thought, and it offers considerable scope for contemporary theorisation.