Inquiry-based project learning as an approach to foster wellbeing, sustained focus, and bi-cultural practice in early childhood education

Rapid technology advancements and global responses to sustainability have had a transformational impact on education in the 21st century. As early childhood teachers in Aotearoa/New Zealand respond these challenges, many have recognised the potential inquiry-based project learning (IBPL) has to transform learning for children through empowering them to discover answers through collaboration, representation, reflection and dialogue. This paper explores a current research project in Aotearoa/New Zealand examining how early childhood teachers have interpreted global and local discourses on IBPL and how this impacts children’s learning. The research utilised narrative inquiry to examine the experiences of six early childhood communities using this approach. The study found that IBPL contributes to environments of wellbeing and sustained focus for both children and teachers when relationships and time are prioritised and inquiries are focused on place, and that this approach can create pathways for early childhood teachers to enact rich bi-cultural practice.