Building Shared Understanding in Early Childhood Across Cultures

In this episode, Bradford Wiles—Associate Professor and Extension Specialist at Kansas State University—joins us live from Bergen, Norway, where he’s been a guest researcher at HVL. With a background spanning Silicon Valley, academia, and community-based public health, Bradford’s work bridges early childhood development, outdoor play, and systems that support vulnerable families.

Bradford offers a vivid comparison between the Norwegian and U.S. early childhood landscapes—from Norway’s accessible, play-rich, and child-rights-centered approach to the U.S.’s high costs, scarcity, and structural barriers. His lens as an extension specialist adds a unique dimension: translating research into practical solutions for communities, and bringing community challenges back to inform research.

For Bradford, pedagogical innovation is rooted in “finding novel ways to help people make sense of things… and building shared understanding in ways that are high risk, high reward.” Drawing on Vygotsky, he frames innovation as a blend of theory and content into action—pathways that empower children, embrace risk-taking, and adapt to multiple ways of knowing.

He highlights Norway’s outdoor pedagogy, where rain-soaked exploration and self-navigation are integral to learning, and reflects on the values, leadership, and intentionality that make such innovations thrive. From the critical role of organizational support to mind-mindedness—seeing children as developing minds with agency—Bradford unpacks the enablers and barriers to meaningful change. He also shares candid observations on cultural inclusivity, readiness for change, and why Norwegians should never take their country’s collective approach to care and education for granted.

A conversation rich in perspective, Bradford’s reflections remind us that innovation flourishes where research, community, and trust in children meet.