Relational pedagogies

HomeEarly childhood education resourcesRelational pedagogies
type here...
Early childhood
Thought leadership
School

Relational pedagogies

HomeEarly childhood education resourcesRelational pedagogies

Topic summary

Strong, positive relationships are considered the foundation of effective learning in the early years.

Relational pedagogies draw on the relationships, interactions, communication and interconnection of people, places and things in children’s sociocultural contexts to enhance and extend children’s learning and development.

Children’s learning and development is supported through close, caring and consistent relationships that promote trust and security. Relationships are the cornerstone of effective early childhood curriculum and pedagogy.

There is a wealth of evidence confirming the importance of strong, secure relationships as a basis for children’s effective learning and development, extending Bowlby’s development of attachment theory and linking strong attachment relationships to a range of long term positive outcomes for children. Recent neuroscience research demonstrates the impact of nurturing and responsive relationships on infants’ brain development.

  • Aim to ensure ongoing, stable and attentive relationships and attachments between teachers and children, taking care to support children’s connections to particular teachers.
  • With infants and toddlers, develop more attuned interactions through individualised, sensitive and timely responses to their verbal and non-verbal cues.
  • Focus on providing a physical and emotional presence for children and orienting yourself to children’s experiences to develop more attuned interactions. 
  • Focus on improving daily interactions and connections with children as a way to strengthen relationships.
  • Deepen relationships through experiences of joint attention or joint involvement, shared meaning-making or (with infants and toddlers) reciprocal imitation.

  • How do you ensure each child develops a strong and trusting attachment to at least one teacher in the setting?
  • What strategies can you use to get to know each individual child well?
  • How do you ensure that interactions between teachers and children strengthen relationships?
  • How do the environment and routines enable teachers to engage in attentive interactions with children?
  • What possibilities are there for activities in which teachers and children can experience joint involvement and shared attention?

Research reviews

Putting relationships centre-stage: Strategies for developing positive relationships with children

The importance of relationships to children’s wellbeing, learning and development, and some strategies for building strong, reciprocal relationships with children in early childhood settings.

An introduction to serve and return in early childhood education

An introduction to the concept of ‘serve and return’, the challenges it brings, and the many benefits for infants and toddlers.

Webinars

What is specialist about infant and toddler practice?

Professor Carmen Dalli and Dr Karyn Aspden explore the key messages about the specialist nature of high quality infant and toddler practice.

Infographics

Snapshots

Specialised practices for infants and toddlers

Key insights from the webinar with Professor Carmen Dalli and Dr Karyn Aspden.
“Thanks for the opportunity. This was without doubt amongst the best professional development I have done in many years.”
Course participant
Assessment & Intentional Teaching
“I've just started and it's incredible! Best professional learning course I have participated in in a long time. I've just completed Part 2 – so inspiring!”
Course participant
Visual Arts in ECE
"I loved how the course was laid out. It was easy to leave and pick up where I had left off. The site was easy to navigate and I liked the videos that backed up the reading."
Course participant
Assessment & Intentional Teaching
“Continue with your excellent work. I get feedback that student teachers love it too.”
Educator
Martinborough
“I have found all your webinars to be of incredible value to myself and my team. Thank you.”
Centre Leader
Auckland
“You guys are doing a FABULOUS job - keep up the great work. And thank-you for offering free webinars; readings etc - in this current climate it is so hard to find money for extra things and PD is usually the first thing that gets a budget cut. Having access to your webinars means that there is no excuse for my teachers not keep professionally ahead of the game. My team and I certainly appreciate it.”
Early childhood teacher
Wellington
“I LOVE your work. It is super useful as an AST in a large COL, The Education Hub is a springboard for my own self-driven PD and a good resource for the spectrum of needs in our Kahui Ako. Thank you for the epic work you do!”
Advanced Skills Teacher
New Zealand
“Appreciate the diverse range of resources on offer!”
Intermediate school teacher
New Zealand
“The Education Hub is a gem and I recommend it to all schools I work with.”
Education consultant
New Zealand
“The resources and support provided by The Education Hub are greatly appreciated. As an HOD in a small school, in a small department usually made up of beginning teachers, it often falls on my shoulders alone to try and be up to date with ensuring our programmes are founded on sound pedagogical practices in terms of teaching in general and our particular curriculum area ... so I'm like a sponge when it comes to what you provide.”
Head of Department
“The Hub articles have been really useful and provided conversations for staff meetings and provocations for teachers. Thank you - great work and food for thought.”
School leader
Dunedin
“Articles are always well considered and written. I enjoy the content; it’s a superb resources for teachers”
Teacher (primary)
Tauranga
"I love this site!! I love everything you do for us educators, professional leaders and whanau. I loved this site during my studies last year when I upgraded to a Degree. Love it – thank you!"
New entrant teacher
Wellington
“I really value the Education Hub as a non-partisan (and non-reactionary) force for building consensus around what works and what matters in (New Zealand) education. There's nothing like it, and without it we'd be at the mercy of the more vociferous at both ends of the spectrum (progressive vs conservative).”
Deputy Principal
Christchurch
“Keep up the great mahi, I would struggle to have conversations with teachers about current pedagogy without you!”
Professional development provider
Auckland
“Having discovered The Education Hub this year, it has been timely as I navigate the teaching of structured literacy. The content has been so relevant and reliable, I come away wanting more.”
Primary teacher
Nelson
“The information I have gained from the webinars I have watched this year has been so enlightening and it has fueled my desire to further my own knowledge. We are lucky to have such a great resource.”
Preschool teacher
Palmerston North
“Thank you for providing high quality professional learning that is easily accessible.”
High school teacher
Napier
“I really appreciate the quality and range of the webinars you provide. I love that I can access them later if I don't get to watch them at the time.”
Teacher
Bay of Plenty
"Thank you! This course has renewed my passion for writing meaningful learning stories that are backed up with intentional teaching and show progression of learning and development."
Course participant
Assessment & Intentional Teaching
“Thank you to those of you who are working hard to keep this resource relevant and accessible for all of us in the education sector. More specifically, I appreciate the balanced approach taken by your team to specific topic”
School leader
Manukau
"I liked the mix of different aspects that kept things interesting, I enjoyed sharing my new learning with my colleagues and I loved learning new practical aspects of story writing."
Course participant
Assessment & Intentional Teaching
“Thank you so much for the valuable service you provide. We are so lucky to have access to this quality of resources.”
Graduate teacher
Blenheim
"I loved how the course was laid out. It was easy to leave and pick up where I had left off. The site was easy to navigate and I liked the videos that backed up the reading."
Course participant
Assessment & Intentional Teaching

Get unlimited access to all our webinars

Buy a webinar subscription for your school or centre and enjoy savings of up to 25%

The Education Hub has changed the way it provides webinar content, to enable us to continue creating our high-quality content for teachers.
An annual subscription of just NZ$60 per person gives you access to all our live webinars for a whole year, plus the ability to watch any of the recordings in our archive. Alternatively, you can buy access to individual webinars for just $9.95 each.
We welcome group enrolments, and offer discounts of up to 25%. Simply follow the instructions to indicate the size of your group, and we'll calculate the price for you. 
Find out more

UNLIMITED ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION

NZ$ 60 per person +GST
Access to all our online sessions with leading experts:
  • All live webinars for 12 months
  • Access to our archive of over 80 webinars
  • Personalised certificates
  • Group savings of up to 25%
Buy now

About The Education Hub

The Education Hub’s mission is to bridge the gap between research and practice in education. We want to empower educators to find, use and share research to improve their teaching practice, and then share their innovations. We are building the online and offline infrastructure to support this to improve opportunities and outcomes for students.

New Zealand registered charity number: CC54471

Find out more

We’ll keep you updated

Follow us on social media

Like what we do? Please support us

Donate now to show your appreciation

© The Education Hub 2024 All rights reserved | Site design: KOPARA

Close popup
Message from Nina Hood Founder of The Education Hub

Thanks for visiting our site.
To show your support for the provision of high-quality research-informed resources for school teachers and early childhood educators, please take a moment to register.

Thanks,
Nina

Close
Register an Account
Already a member?
*
*
*
*
*
*