Rethinking the early childhood curriculum : learning and teaching as relational, contextual and co-constructed

Abstract

Recently, I had the privilege of visiting a municipal Lule Sámi kindergarten in Northern Norway, that was quietly radical; a powerful example of curriculum as a lived, culturally sustaining practice. From the moment I entered the setting, I was immediately immersed into the Sámi culture, language and symbolism. Children’s chalk drawings of the guovssahas, the Northern Lights, in greens and purples adorned one wall. On a nearby shelf lay real Sámi artefacts: reindeer antlers, hand-sewn nutukas, the traditional Sámi winter shoes, and guksi,the carved wooden cups, sat alongside Sámi dolls. These were not museum artefacts but living tools of storytelling used by educators to share Sámi oral histories and traditions. [excerpt]