Listening to young children outdoors with pedagogical documentation

If children are to be heard in research and pedagogy, we need to find ways to listen to them. But how do we listen to young children when words are not their primary means of communication? Drawing on research investigating children’s perspectives of outdoor spaces in pedagogical settings, this article discusses the use of pedagogical documentation as a way of listening to young children. This listening involves children and adults working together in a relationship of co-experimentation which requires suspension of judgment, openness and preparedness to be affected by the ‘other’ [Davies, Bronwyn. (2014). Listening to Children: Being and Becoming. London: Routledge; Rinaldi, Carla. (2006). In Dialogue with Reggio Emilia: Listening, Researching and Learning. London: Routledge]. The article explores ways in which pedagogical documentation can not only lead to insights into children’s thinking, but also to questioning of taken-for-granted assumptions about children, learning and the wider world. Furthermore, the article highlights the way in which the materiality of pedagogical documentation strategies also actively contributes to the research. The study’s findings suggest that in thinking with pedagogical documentation, children, adults and nonhuman elements all work together in an interconnected and ever-changing assemblage which does not result in definitive conclusions but instead leads to more questions.     

Ethical issues in listening to young children in visual participatory research

ABSTRACT

Ethical issues involving young children in research are complex and individual to each child, requiring the researcher to be reflexive and aware of the nature of the child’s participation. This paper draws on the experiences of 16 5- to 7-year-old children, transitioning from kindergarten to first grade in Chile as reported by them through visual participatory research. Integral to the ethical principles were the use of a visual participatory design, a listening framework and the child’s rights perspective. In order to be faithful to the research design proposed, different ethical guidelines were revised and followed to ensure protection, anonymity, the right to withdraw and privacy to the children deciding to get involved in the research process. Essential to this work was recognising the child as the most knowledgeable agent in her/his own experiences in order to minimise issues of power and increase children’s awareness during the data collection process. Findings from the study demonstrate different situations in which the researcher’s self-reflexivity can enhance positive outcomes related to ethical issues and young children’s ability to understand the research process, communicate meanings and jointly create new meanings through the tools provided and activities proposed. Ethical challenges and implications for future research with children are discussed.     

“儿童的视角”研究的价值取向、方法原则与伦理思考

"儿童的视角"研究不同于关于儿童的研究,它探索的是儿童作为主体对世界的感知和体验。目前"儿童的视角"研究主要在欧美国家展开,我国这方面的研究处于起步阶段,所以非常有必要进一步澄清和明确其价值取向与方法原则。开展"儿童的视角"研究,需要承认童年自有其意义,儿童有能力展现其视角,同时儿童的视角也应该受到关注和尊重。为此,研究者应实现从"带有儿童视角"到"探索儿童的视角"、从"以儿童为对象开展研究"到"以儿童为合作伙伴开展研究"的转变。在选择具体的研究方法时,研究者应坚持参与性与发展适宜性、操作性与趣味性原则,让儿童能够且乐于参与研究。"儿童的视角"研究应确保儿童对研究的知情与同意,应确认儿童是否认同研究所得数据与结论,并对研究过程中成人与儿童的权力不对等保持敏感。     

Writing and writers: the perceptions of young children and their parents

Over the past three decades early writing research has focused on the processes involved as children learn to write. There is now a powerful evidence base to show that children’s earliest discoveries about written language are learned through active engagement with their social and cultural worlds. In addition, the idea of writing development as an emergent process is well established. The study reported in this paper adopted case study methodology combined with an age-appropriate data collection technique in order to explore children’s perceptions of themselves as writers. A focused task using a hand puppet called Baby Bear was used to elicit children’s perceptions. The children’s parents were interviewed to elicit their perceptions of their children as writers. This small-scale exploratory study found that the children had clear perceptions about themselves as writers. There were important links between parents’ perceptions of their children as writers and the ethos for writing they created in the home. It was found that, overall, more positive parental perceptions were linked with more attention to the meaning of children’s writing. It is concluded that early years settings could usefully identify and compare children’s and parents’ perceptions of writing in order to enhance children’s writing development.     

Play-based interview methods for exploring young children’s perspectives on inclusion

Inclusive education provides learning opportunities for children with disabilities in regular settings with other children. Despite the prevalence of inclusive education, few qualitative studies have adequately explored young children’s perspectives on inclusion. This paper reviews the findings of a preliminary qualitative study where play-based interviews were conducted with 12 typically developing children enrolled in one of two childcare lab schools. Study methods provided an opportunity to assess play-based interview techniques where young children were asked to describe their views on inclusive education. The findings demonstrate that play-based methods allow young children of various ages to identify complex issues related to inclusion. The authors call for additional research that examines research methods in early childhood settings on multi-faceted issues regarding educational policies and practices as a way to attenuate young children’s lack of participation in curriculum development.     

Children’s views and preferences regarding their outdoor environment

This study aims to enhance awareness of what young children want to do outside and their preferences regarding their outdoor environment. Views of children as active participants, the affordance of the environment and the importance of place for children’s learning constitute the theoretical background of the study. The study was part of a research and development project on education for sustainable development in which preschool children and compulsory school children participated in decision-making about how their common school ground should be constructed. Data were gathered through observations and interviews with children and teachers. The findings show that the children wanted to challenge themselves as well as to be secure, explore things, be in contact with others, find or create nests and enjoy beautiful things outdoors. The children highly valued the natural environment and liked diversity in playground equipment.     

The importance of familiarisation when doing research with young children

Becoming familiar with ‘the field’ location and its inhabitants is a natural and important part of ethnographic research. However, little has been written about how operationalising a ‘familiarisation period’ within an ethnography can form the foundation on which fieldwork can be built. By reflecting on the experience of employing a familiarisation period within an ethnography with young children, this paper explores how key principles may be used to enhance research practice. The paper argues that the outlined principles of familiarisation are an important aspect of ethnography which need to be engaged with at the start of a study and also form a part of the reflexive process of ‘being in the field’. It is also argues that the familiarisation can be an important tool in effectively accessing children's ‘voice’ and working with so-called ‘hard to reach’ groups.     

Using drawing in research with children: lessons from practice

Emerging from projects that have involved working with primary school children in school-related research, this article offers suggestions of how drawing as a principal means of data gathering can be either constructive or of little value. The qualitative research projects discussed include investigations of school improvement and consideration of school design, in which freehand drawing was used in different contexts with young people. In many cases, the value of the visual data was high, contributing strongly to the research aims. In some, however, the work contributed little meaningful data to address the research questions. The usefulness of data derived from drawings to the research was assessed by observing factors such as the materials and time available as well as teacher and peer influence. This article discusses those variables and proposes recommendations to improve the likelihood of obtaining quality visual data when working with children.     

Friendships for wellbeing?: parents’ and practitioners’ positioning of young children’s friendships in the evaluation of wellbeing factors

ABSTRACT

Friendship matters for young children’s development, learning and experience of wellbeing. This paper emphasises the significance of young children’s friendships for their wellbeing, especially in the context of early years settings. Findings are presented from two online questionnaires developed for the project, in which 155 parents/carers and 285 practitioners in England expressed their perceptions of what matters for young children’s wellbeing. Data shows some ambivalence in the views of both parents/carers and practitioners about the importance of friendship in this context. Both groups gave low prioritisation to ‘the company of friends’ for children’s wellbeing. As friendships are of central importance to young children themselves, this could suggests that adults and children may have different priorities, which raises questions about the extent to which young children’s friendships are seen as important by adults. The paper concludes by proposing the need for practitioners in particular, but also parents, to consider their roles and priorities for children’s lives within schools and nurseries, including how they might sensitively support and facilitate children’s friendships in play, activities, transition and everyday life.     

Adaptations for young children with visual impairments in regular settings

Adaptations must be made in order to maximize the learning potential of children with visual impairments to compensate for learning which occurs through visual observation. As the impetus for integration in national and state legislation accelerates, more young children with visual impairments are being educated in community settings with nondisabled peers. The purpose of this article is to provide the child-care and preschool teacher with information that may facilitate the development of children with visual impairments with integrated or inclusive settings.     

Traversing the Challenges of Conducting Research with Young, Immigrant Children: The Case of Korean Children

Based on a qualitative study on young Korean immigrant children’s interpretation of American popular culture, this paper reflects on the researchers’ role by examining the research challenges faced. Prior to discussing the research obstacles in conducting the study, we begin with briefly describing its methodology and design. Next, we discuss the various obstacles we encountered when conducting our study and howwe attempted to overcome these dilemmas by discussing two major struggles during the research process: a) the relationships between the researchers and our young participants, and b) the cultural sensitivity that was needed in initially gaining permission from and working with the parents of our informants. It then illuminates how the researchers attempted to cope with such difficulties by rethinking a researchers’s role emphasizing the importance of cultural context in research. Finally, the paper provides some discussions and implications based on our research experiences.     

Exploring inclusive practices in primary schools: focusing on children’s voices

This paper reports a small-scale research project which took place in one primary school in the north-east of England. The study aimed to listen to children’s views about how the practices of teachers helped and/or hindered their sense of inclusion in classrooms. Inclusion was understood here in a broad sense rather than specifically relating to children with special educational needs. Participatory research tools were used as part of group interviews with children from three different year groups. Even though the children were mostly happy with their school experience, it was noticeable that there were some areas for concern for some children that related to four interconnecting themes: unfairness, shouting, loneliness and seating plans. All of these themes seemed to be connected with children’s interpersonal relationships – with teachers and with each other – and can be seen as crucial in terms of understanding inclusion in schools and further developing existing practices.     

儿童不安全依恋研究综述

不安全依恋的形成给儿童的健康发展及成人后形成良好的社会关系等各方面带来了许多不利的影响,并且因和各种心理疾病的形成有重要关联日益受到心理学界的关注。该研究从不安全依恋的定义、类型及测量方法、影响因素及对应的解决策略等方面对其进行了详细的论述。     

Listening to young people with autism: learning from researcher experiences

This study explores the opportunities and dilemmas that have been encountered by researchers seeking the views of young people with autism. Twelve researchers were interviewed about their experiences in this field. Through exploration of the complex methodological and ethical issues that they encountered, this study aims to better understand how researchers can improve the way they listen to, and engage with, the views of children and young people with autism. This article discusses four themes that emerged from the interviews: power dynamics; building rapport; communication; and meaningful processes and outputs.     

关于幼儿教师、家长之幼儿心理健康观的访谈研究

对幼儿教师、家长各60名进行半结构式深度访谈的结果显示。幼儿心理健康特征主要体现在性格、个人行为及能力、人际交往与社会适应、情绪、道德品质五个方面,其心理健康观具有模糊性、经验性、主观性等特点,并不同程度表现出重外轻内、重适应轻发展的倾向。幼儿教师的判断相对准确、理性。家长更实用与功利。传统文化与价值观,彼此角色地位、自身经历及认知水平影响他们心理健康观的构建。     

The role of sweeteners in the diet of young children

The health and nutrition implications of high sugar intake for young children are discussed. Infants and young children prefer foods that taste sweet. Sugar substitutes used in moderation can provide a compromise for child care providers who want to offer nutritious food which young children will eat. This study examined sweetener preferences of young children, including a new sweetener (Sweet One^®). Participants (3–8 years of age) sampled a beverage and plain cottage cheese sweetened with either sugar or Sweet One^® as part of a sensory difference test. They also ranked four vanilla puddings sweetened with sugar and three FDA approved sweeteners. In the difference test, the subjects were able to tell the difference between sugar and Sweet One^® in the beverage, but not in the cottage cheese. There was no consensus among the panelists for a sweetener preference in the rank-order test.     

“In Kindy You Don’t Get Taught”: Continuity and Change as Children Start School

Over the last decade, there has been increasing awareness of the importance of engaging young children in research about their experiences and considering ways in which children’s experiences, expectations and perceptions influence both their interactions and those of others. This has resulted from recognition of young children as active citizens, with rights to be consulted about matters that affect them and from the principles underpinning the sociology of childhood, which emphasizes children’s capabilities and agency. This paper explores young Australian children’s perceptions of school and learning, as expressed through drawings and conversations about school. Data from children in preschools and the early years of school highlight children’s expectations and experiences of school, including the importance of play, friendships, children’s dispositions, and academic expectations of school and teachers. Drawing on previous research that notes the long term importance of children’s attitudes and approaches, as well as their sense of belonging and identity, at the start of school, this paper has implications for adults engaging with children as they make the transition to school.     

从狄更斯笔下的儿童形象看其人道主义思想

儿童是狄更斯许多小说中着力刻画的一类人物形象,是十九世纪英国社会底层小人物和弱势群体的代表.本文简要介绍了狄更斯的人生经历对塑造儿童形象及对其人道主义思想形成、发展的影响.在此基础上,侧重分析其笔下的儿童形象体现出的人道主义思想的重要内涵,从而让人们对狄更斯的精神世界有更深入的理解.     

Talking relationships,babies and bodies with young children: the experiences of parents in England

Parents often find themselves ill-prepared for the moment at which questions of a sexual nature arise, or when children display signs of playful behaviour that can be interpreted as sexual. How these behaviours and questions are dealt with establishes the foundations on which children begin to interpret relationships, their bodies, those of others and the sexual world in which they live. In this study, the views and experiences of dealing with early childhood sexuality education, along with the ways in which communication had occurred, were collected from 110 parents in London and southern England during focus group discussions and analysed using thematic analysis. Parents who had chosen to communicate with their children reported a range of justifications as to why childhood sexuality communication was considered necessary and had, indeed, occurred. Six key themes were identified: communication prompts, the need for truth, the threat of ignorance, exposure, healthy and positive relationships and openness. Findings reveal that many parents are making strategic decisions about how to discuss relationships and sexuality with their young children. By highlighting the central trigger points for early parent-child sexuality communication, findings can be used to aid the development of relevant practice responses to support less confident parents to communicate effectively.     

Gathering the views of children and young people to inform practice in a psychological service

This paper describes the process employed by a psychological service to gather the views of children and young people using guided discussion groups and questionnaires. Pupils in the guided discussion groups were asked to identify issues that affect them and how adults could help. This information was analysed using thematic analysis. Seven themes were identified as issues: managing feelings; friendships; behaviour; specific difficulties that can affect learning; not being accepted; bullying; and ‘other important issues’, including bereavement and family difficulties. In relation to each of these themed issues, several sub‐themes regarding how adults could help were collated. Questionnaire data was analysed using inferential statistics. The questionnaire rated the importance of help from adults in the areas of learning, friendships and feelings. Results suggested that these were equally important to primary‐aged pupils. Findings were used to contribute to the development plan and shape future practice.