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Bert van Oers

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I am an emeritus professor in Cultural-Historical Theory of Education. I published several articles and books in different languages (see www.bertvanoers.nl ). I am involved in the development, implementation and evaluation of DEVELOPMENTAL EDUCATION, in the Netherlands.

less

Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design

Nicolas Coltice

École Normale Supérieure

Kansas State University

Theresa Winchester-Seeto

Macquarie University

École Normale Supérieure de Lyon

Jerome I Rotgans

ErasmusMC Rotterdam

Erasmus University Rotterdam

Moira McLoughlin

University of Salford

Costas Constantinou

University of Cyprus

Donna M Goldstein

University of Colorado, Boulder

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Papers by Bert van Oers

Ruimte voor polyfonie

Journal of social intervention: Theory and Practice, Dec 19, 2023

Van de boekenredactie

Journal of social intervention: Theory and Practice, Dec 19, 2023

Schematising activities as a means for encouraging young children to think abstractly

Mathematics Education Research Journal, 2007

One of the missions of education is to prepare children for complex tasks that occur in their cul... more One of the missions of education is to prepare children for complex tasks that occur in their cultural environment. By means of abstracting, the effects of this complexity can be reduced. Recent research and theoretical development show us that young children already seem to be able to think abstractly. The acknowledgement of this potential in young children may provide a vehicle for the promotion of more mathematical thinking. In this article, we describe an approach to abstraction that focuses on schematising activities. On the basis of our research, we conclude that young children are able to improve the quality of their abstract mathematical thinking by these means.

De Academische Basisschool in wording: Schoolontwikkeling door onderzoek

deogoopleidingsschool.nl

... 2 De Academische Basisschool in wording: Schoolontwikkeling door onderzoek Doelstellingen ...... more

You never walk alone. De visie van Jacques Carpay op de taak van de Onderwijspedagogiek

Zone, 2010

Collegiale herinnering aan Prof . Jacques Carpay.

Pretend play and the cultural foundations of mathematics

European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 2016

The aim of this study is to uncover the emergence of cultural mathematical understandings and com... more The aim of this study is to uncover the emergence of cultural mathematical understandings and communications in young children's spontaneous pretend play. It is based on Vygotskian cultural-historical perspectives and socialsemiotic theory, informed by research into 'funds of knowledge' and considers how children's informal knowledge of family practices enriches their play and cultural mathematical understandings. Longitudinal, ethnographic data were gathered in an inner-city mainstream nursery in the southwest of England. Data include written observation and graphics of seven children aged three to four years of age engaged in social pretend play. The findings reveal that many play episodes included aspects of mathematics and that these increased through the year: they show how the children's home cultural knowledge underpinned their pretend play and informed their mathematics. The children's graphicacy to communicate mathematics within their pretend play was also evident. The findings show also that where children are immersed in mathematical-and graphical-rich environments, bridging home and early childhood cultures becomes a natural feature of their pretend play. They will add to our understanding of cultural mathematical knowledge in young children.

On the Narrative Nature of Young Children's Iconic Representations: Some evidence and implications

International Journal of Early Years Education, Oct 1, 1997

and-conditions-of-access.pdf This article may be used for research, teaching and private study pu... more and-conditions-of-access.pdf This article may be used for research, teaching and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution , reselling , loan or sub-licensing, systematic supply or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. The publisher does not give any warranty express or implied or make any representation that the contents will be complete or accurate or up to date. The accuracy of any instructions, formulae and drug doses should be independently verified with primary sources. The publisher shall not be liable for any loss, actions, claims, proceedings, demand or costs or damages whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with or arising out of the use of this material.

Helping young children to become literate: the relevance of narrative competence for developmental education

European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, Sep 1, 2007

To cite this Article van Oers, Bert(2007) 'Helping young children to become literate: the relevan... more

Why Do Children Become Rejected by Their Peers? A Review of Studies into the Relationship Between Oral Communicative Competence and Sociometric Status in Childhood

Educational Psychology Review, Mar 19, 2019

Being rejected by peers has devastating consequences for a child's future social-cognitive develo... more Being rejected by peers has devastating consequences for a child's future social-cognitive development. It is therefore important to investigate factors that contribute to childhood peer rejection. In doing so, the present review specifically focused on sociometric status, a concept that refers to a child's position within the peer group (e.g., liked or disliked). Although previous studies indicated that children's ability to communicate effectively might partly determine their sociometric status, much was still unclear about this relation. Therefore, in the present review, a total of 25 studies into the relation between children's (aged 1 to 12 years) level of oral communicative competence and their sociometric status was systematically reviewed. Results generally pointed to a significant relation between the two variables. Specifically, rejected children communicate less responsive compared with popular children. However, several gaps in previous research were identified, resulting in five recommendations for future studies. First, the complexity of the construct of oral communicative competence asks for an approach in which multiple methods are combined (i.e., mixed methods). Second, future studies should be conducted in non-western countries as well to study possible cross-cultural differences. Third, as the majority of researches were small-scale exploratory studies, future research should include larger samples in order to generalize the findings outside the sample. Fourth, future studies should adopt longitudinal and experimental designs to investigate the direction of the relation of interest. And finally, as previous research showed that the interactional context, gender, and age might influence the relation between oral communicative competence and sociometric status, future studies could take these factors into account.

Sociometrische status in de kleuterklas: De rol van communicatieve taalvaardigheid

Inscripting Predicates: Dealing with Meanings in Play

Young children's expressions about schools

The polyphony of voices in cultural-historical approaches to play: special issue in honour of Elena Kravtsova and Elena Smirnova

International Journal of Early Years Education, Jul 3, 2022

Jean Valsiner & René van der Veer, The social mind. Construction of the idea

Pedagogiek, Aug 30, 2002

Visies op onderwijs aan jonge kinderen

Assen : Van Gorcum eBooks, 1995

Promoting Abstract Thinking in Young Children’s Play

International perspectives on early childhood education and development, 2012

Abstract thinking is generally seen as an ability that is not accessible for young children. In D... more Abstract thinking is generally seen as an ability that is not accessible for young children. In Developmental Education, however, teachers introduce young children to activities that call for abstract processes that make sense to them. When we conceive of abstraction as an act of representing reality from a specific point of view, it turns out that young children are able to focus consistently on one point (neglecting others), and hence to abstract. This chapter describes examples of how children can act abstractly in the context of their play and can represent their abstract point of view schematically. By so doing young children can even appropriate the ability to abstract up to a level that helps them when mastering elementary mathematical operations. The chapter shows practical ways of abstracting and schematising with young children, and argues for the meaningful inclusion of schematising activities in young children’s play.

Developmental Education in Dutch primary schools: Review of research outcomes from a CHAT-based teaching approach

Learning, Culture and Social Interaction, Feb 1, 2022

De concept-context benadering in het primair onderwijs

Dit inhoudelijke, conceptuele kader is een eerste stap om voor het primair onderwijs de concept-c... more Dit inhoudelijke, conceptuele kader is een eerste stap om voor het primair onderwijs de concept-contextbenadering te vertalen naar onderwijs. De focus van dit document ligt dan ook bij de beschrijving van contexten in concrete aangrijpingspunten (organismen, objecten en verschijnselen) en activiteiten, die gekoppeld kunnen worden aan kernconcepten op het gebied van natuur en techniek. Dit conceptuele kader kan vertaald worden

The Double Move in Meaningful Teaching Revisited

Springer eBooks, 2019

and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requi... more and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. • Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the public portal for the purpose of private study or research. • You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain • You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the public portal ? Take down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim.

La pédagogie de jeu aux Pays-Bas: une approche vygotskienne: une approche vygotskienne

Revue française de pédagogie, 1999

L'amelioration de la prime education (dans le pre-scolaire et dans les premiers degres de l&#... more L'amelioration de la prime education (dans le pre-scolaire et dans les premiers degres de l'ecole elementaire) est consideree comme un important levier dans la lutte contre l'echec scolaire aux Pays- Bas. Differentes approches theoriques pour l'etude et l'innovation dans ce champ coexistent. Toutefois, l'accord est assez general pour penser que les interactions directes en situation avec les jeunes enfants sont tres importantes pour conduire ceux-ci a une meilleure participation aux activites scolaires. Ces interactions directes sont dites « conditions proximales » du developpement. Dans l'approche vygotskienne de ces conditions proximales, dans la prime education, le jeu est considere comme une activite importante car il renforce le developpement d'une communaute de jeunes apprenants, il est relie de facon optimale aux interets dominants des enfants, et il peut leur fournir les outils appropries pour agir et penser. A partir de cette perspective, des recommandations pratiques plus detaillees peuvent etre elaborees qui peuvent aider les enseignants desireux de faire de l'ecole un lieu de vie et d'apprentissages reussis pour tous les eleves

Ruimte voor polyfonie

Journal of social intervention: Theory and Practice, Dec 19, 2023

Van de boekenredactie

Journal of social intervention: Theory and Practice, Dec 19, 2023

Schematising activities as a means for encouraging young children to think abstractly

Mathematics Education Research Journal, 2007

One of the missions of education is to prepare children for complex tasks that occur in their cul... more One of the missions of education is to prepare children for complex tasks that occur in their cultural environment. By means of abstracting, the effects of this complexity can be reduced. Recent research and theoretical development show us that young children already seem to be able to think abstractly. The acknowledgement of this potential in young children may provide a vehicle for the promotion of more mathematical thinking. In this article, we describe an approach to abstraction that focuses on schematising activities. On the basis of our research, we conclude that young children are able to improve the quality of their abstract mathematical thinking by these means.

De Academische Basisschool in wording: Schoolontwikkeling door onderzoek

deogoopleidingsschool.nl

... 2 De Academische Basisschool in wording: Schoolontwikkeling door onderzoek Doelstellingen ...... more

You never walk alone. De visie van Jacques Carpay op de taak van de Onderwijspedagogiek

Zone, 2010

Collegiale herinnering aan Prof . Jacques Carpay.

Pretend play and the cultural foundations of mathematics

European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 2016

The aim of this study is to uncover the emergence of cultural mathematical understandings and com... more The aim of this study is to uncover the emergence of cultural mathematical understandings and communications in young children's spontaneous pretend play. It is based on Vygotskian cultural-historical perspectives and socialsemiotic theory, informed by research into 'funds of knowledge' and considers how children's informal knowledge of family practices enriches their play and cultural mathematical understandings. Longitudinal, ethnographic data were gathered in an inner-city mainstream nursery in the southwest of England. Data include written observation and graphics of seven children aged three to four years of age engaged in social pretend play. The findings reveal that many play episodes included aspects of mathematics and that these increased through the year: they show how the children's home cultural knowledge underpinned their pretend play and informed their mathematics. The children's graphicacy to communicate mathematics within their pretend play was also evident. The findings show also that where children are immersed in mathematical-and graphical-rich environments, bridging home and early childhood cultures becomes a natural feature of their pretend play. They will add to our understanding of cultural mathematical knowledge in young children.

On the Narrative Nature of Young Children's Iconic Representations: Some evidence and implications

International Journal of Early Years Education, Oct 1, 1997

and-conditions-of-access.pdf This article may be used for research, teaching and private study pu... more and-conditions-of-access.pdf This article may be used for research, teaching and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution , reselling , loan or sub-licensing, systematic supply or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. The publisher does not give any warranty express or implied or make any representation that the contents will be complete or accurate or up to date. The accuracy of any instructions, formulae and drug doses should be independently verified with primary sources. The publisher shall not be liable for any loss, actions, claims, proceedings, demand or costs or damages whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with or arising out of the use of this material.

Helping young children to become literate: the relevance of narrative competence for developmental education

European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, Sep 1, 2007

To cite this Article van Oers, Bert(2007) 'Helping young children to become literate: the relevan... more

Why Do Children Become Rejected by Their Peers? A Review of Studies into the Relationship Between Oral Communicative Competence and Sociometric Status in Childhood

Educational Psychology Review, Mar 19, 2019

Being rejected by peers has devastating consequences for a child's future social-cognitive develo... more Being rejected by peers has devastating consequences for a child's future social-cognitive development. It is therefore important to investigate factors that contribute to childhood peer rejection. In doing so, the present review specifically focused on sociometric status, a concept that refers to a child's position within the peer group (e.g., liked or disliked). Although previous studies indicated that children's ability to communicate effectively might partly determine their sociometric status, much was still unclear about this relation. Therefore, in the present review, a total of 25 studies into the relation between children's (aged 1 to 12 years) level of oral communicative competence and their sociometric status was systematically reviewed. Results generally pointed to a significant relation between the two variables. Specifically, rejected children communicate less responsive compared with popular children. However, several gaps in previous research were identified, resulting in five recommendations for future studies. First, the complexity of the construct of oral communicative competence asks for an approach in which multiple methods are combined (i.e., mixed methods). Second, future studies should be conducted in non-western countries as well to study possible cross-cultural differences. Third, as the majority of researches were small-scale exploratory studies, future research should include larger samples in order to generalize the findings outside the sample. Fourth, future studies should adopt longitudinal and experimental designs to investigate the direction of the relation of interest. And finally, as previous research showed that the interactional context, gender, and age might influence the relation between oral communicative competence and sociometric status, future studies could take these factors into account.

Sociometrische status in de kleuterklas: De rol van communicatieve taalvaardigheid

Inscripting Predicates: Dealing with Meanings in Play

Young children's expressions about schools

The polyphony of voices in cultural-historical approaches to play: special issue in honour of Elena Kravtsova and Elena Smirnova

International Journal of Early Years Education, Jul 3, 2022

Jean Valsiner & René van der Veer, The social mind. Construction of the idea

Pedagogiek, Aug 30, 2002

Visies op onderwijs aan jonge kinderen

Assen : Van Gorcum eBooks, 1995

Promoting Abstract Thinking in Young Children’s Play

International perspectives on early childhood education and development, 2012

Abstract thinking is generally seen as an ability that is not accessible for young children. In D... more Abstract thinking is generally seen as an ability that is not accessible for young children. In Developmental Education, however, teachers introduce young children to activities that call for abstract processes that make sense to them. When we conceive of abstraction as an act of representing reality from a specific point of view, it turns out that young children are able to focus consistently on one point (neglecting others), and hence to abstract. This chapter describes examples of how children can act abstractly in the context of their play and can represent their abstract point of view schematically. By so doing young children can even appropriate the ability to abstract up to a level that helps them when mastering elementary mathematical operations. The chapter shows practical ways of abstracting and schematising with young children, and argues for the meaningful inclusion of schematising activities in young children’s play.

Developmental Education in Dutch primary schools: Review of research outcomes from a CHAT-based teaching approach

Learning, Culture and Social Interaction, Feb 1, 2022

De concept-context benadering in het primair onderwijs

Dit inhoudelijke, conceptuele kader is een eerste stap om voor het primair onderwijs de concept-c... more Dit inhoudelijke, conceptuele kader is een eerste stap om voor het primair onderwijs de concept-contextbenadering te vertalen naar onderwijs. De focus van dit document ligt dan ook bij de beschrijving van contexten in concrete aangrijpingspunten (organismen, objecten en verschijnselen) en activiteiten, die gekoppeld kunnen worden aan kernconcepten op het gebied van natuur en techniek. Dit conceptuele kader kan vertaald worden

The Double Move in Meaningful Teaching Revisited

Springer eBooks, 2019

and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requi... more and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. • Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the public portal for the purpose of private study or research. • You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain • You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the public portal ? Take down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim.

La pédagogie de jeu aux Pays-Bas: une approche vygotskienne: une approche vygotskienne

Revue française de pédagogie, 1999

L'amelioration de la prime education (dans le pre-scolaire et dans les premiers degres de l&#... more L'amelioration de la prime education (dans le pre-scolaire et dans les premiers degres de l'ecole elementaire) est consideree comme un important levier dans la lutte contre l'echec scolaire aux Pays- Bas. Differentes approches theoriques pour l'etude et l'innovation dans ce champ coexistent. Toutefois, l'accord est assez general pour penser que les interactions directes en situation avec les jeunes enfants sont tres importantes pour conduire ceux-ci a une meilleure participation aux activites scolaires. Ces interactions directes sont dites « conditions proximales » du developpement. Dans l'approche vygotskienne de ces conditions proximales, dans la prime education, le jeu est considere comme une activite importante car il renforce le developpement d'une communaute de jeunes apprenants, il est relie de facon optimale aux interets dominants des enfants, et il peut leur fournir les outils appropries pour agir et penser. A partir de cette perspective, des recommandations pratiques plus detaillees peuvent etre elaborees qui peuvent aider les enseignants desireux de faire de l'ecole un lieu de vie et d'apprentissages reussis pour tous les eleves