Sustainable design in kindergarten sector through ‘Exploration and Pedagogical Innovation Laboratory’ [EX-PED-LAB]

EX-PED-LAB demonstrates how workshop methods can foster innovation through small and significant changes in pedagogical practices within kindergartens, early childhood teacher education, and other societal arenas. In our workshops, we bring together teachers, leaders, researchers, as well as other societal actors such as organizations, local communities, artists, designers, students, children, and families for collective exploration. Some workshops adopt an academic approach with analysis and feedback on participants' prepared works, including participatory observation, drawings, stories, photos, and films. Others adopt a practical approach, using elements of play and imagination to co-create and trying out ideas and solutions. A central focus in the project's initial phase was to test and study workshops as a working method in light of new, shared leadership roles in the sector and, more generally, how workshop methods can strengthen values like collaboration for a sustainable future. Later, the project expanded its exploration to include students and teachers in early childhood teacher education and developed workshops for intergenerational meetings. EX-PED-LAB is a laboratory where kindergarten teachers, leaders, students, children, and other actors within and beyond the kindergarten sector share experiences and knowledge from their work or engage in play and exploration to enhance practice, develop, and innovate various forms of practice. Future workshops have proven practical ways to lead towards more sustainable societies. The development of workshop methodology aims to meet the need for knowledge on how different actors in the kindergarten sector can collaborate with others, thereby enhancing the quality of kindergartens. The project generates theory and develops new workshops tailored for the kindergarten sector and early childhood teacher education.

The proposed EX-PED-LAB project responds to the call for scholarly knowledge to inform the design and delivery of collaborative and responsive pedagogical programmes that support innovation in kindergartens, in kindergarten teacher education and in practice-oriented research in Norway. The EX-PED-LAB combines these into interdisciplinary research to facilitate new thinking and new knowledge that support a future-oriented kindergarten education system. The EX-PED-LAB is a research hub within which interdisciplinary teams across the sectors of early childhood education, research, practice, administration, teacher education and design can imagine, debate, research, innovate and generate new knowledge for the development of new practices for immediate transformation of the kindergarten sector. The project addresses the UN’s SDG 4 on quality education and 17 on inclusive partnerships and pursues a two-fold goal: creation of scholarly knowledge and development of transformative evidence- and arts-based knowledge. This includes kindergarten governance, kindergarten teacher education and capacity building of the current and next generation of kindergarten-oriented researchers, realised by supporting and improving kindergartens’ work on quality improvement and developing new knowledge for and with the Early Childhood Education and Care sector. This is relevant for promoting knowledge-based practice, a central objective in the Research Council Norway’s ‘Education and Competence Portfolio Plan’ collaborative and knowledge building project. We anticipate that the EX-PED-LAB methodology will position actors in the ECEC sector to implement knowledge-based methodologies that strengthen practices, competences and capabilities through collaborative knowledge creation. The knowledge will be novel as it will not only build upon but also extend beyond action research, understood as a problem-solving methodology responding to practical problems identified solely by ECEC practitioners.