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FOR YOUR EARS FROM THE EARLY YEARS Episode 36:Guest: Debi Keyte-Hartland
The Pedagogy of Listening: Art, Children, Materials, and the Power of Place
For my final episode of 2025, I speak with UK-based artist educator Debi Keyte-Hartland about art, pedagogy, materials, listening, and what happens when we stop separating the arts from all other learning.
Debi's pathway into early childhood education was unconventional. Trained as a textile artist, she worked across the lifespan—from babies to people at the end of life—before finding her place in the early years. Her perspective is shaped by these encounters, particularly her work with people living with dementia and her deep engagement with Reggio Emilia pedagogy.
What emerges in this conversation is a challenge to some fundamental assumptions in early childhood practice. Debi questions the hierarchy embedded within the 100 languages themselves. She makes a case for "graphicacy" over "mark-making" and explains why the distinction matters. She argues that materials aren't passive resources waiting for children—they have agency, intelligence, and their own grammars.
The conversation moves through participation rights, curriculum design as ecological rather than linear, the relationship between language and place, and why digital media is simply another language, not something separate from creativity. Throughout, Debi draws on thinkers like Carla Rinaldi, John Matthews, Robin Wall Kimmerer, and Aunty Elaine to build her argument.
This isn't a prescriptive how-to episode. It's an invitation to think differently about pedagogy, to notice what you might be overlooking, and to reconsider what you already know.
Relevant for: Early childhood educators, pedagogical leaders, curriculum designers, arts educators, and anyone interested in Reggio-inspired approaches.
#EarlyChildhoodEducation #ReggioEmilia #CurriculumDesign #PedagogicalLeadership #ECE
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For more information about Lili-Ann Kriegler, go to:
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I respect the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the land of the Kulin Nation groups, the Boonwurrung and Bunurong people, where I live, learn, and work.
Lili-Ann Kriegler (B. A Hons, H. Dip. Ed, M.Ed.) is an award-winning author and Melbourne-based education consultant. Her books are 'The Power of Play' for educators and 'Roots and Wings' for parents. Lili-Ann’ is a leader in early childhood education (birth to years), leadership and optimising human thinking and cognition. She runs her consultancy, Kriegler-Education. She is passionate about the early childhood sector and believes in the transformational power of education.
Find out more at https://www.kriegler-education.com.
