The concept of "learning disposition" provides a useful way of examining longer-term outcomes of quality early childhood programs and outlines characteristics of a learning orientation or disposition in early childhood. The learning disposition involves the tendency to want to do something, sensitivity to being alert to the appropriate occasion, and the actual ability. The social discourses witnessed by children provide them with the setting to develop theories about themselves as learners with particular learning dispositions. Dispositions are linked to children trying out various "possible selves" which are linked to social discourse and add a longer time frame. Five discourses parallel the curriculum aims for early childhood in New Zealand: well-being, belonging, contribution, communication, and exploration. The first discourse entails having an informed and thoughtful sense of what it is to be a 4-year-old; to be sometimes a grown-up and sometimes to reveal one's childishness. The second involves belonging and taking a responsible view of rules and routines. The third discourse involves sometimes being a friend and sometimes not, to question the constraints of friendship and gender, to question stereotypes about gender, ethnicity, and disability. The fourth discourse is to combine being heard with listening or watching. The fifth discourse is to explore and experiment on the understanding that sometimes one will get it wrong. (Includes the experiences of two children to illustrate the dispositions in action in an early childhood program. Contains approximately 60 references.) (KDFB)