Listening to the voices of young children on their adult professionals - a narrative approach Presenter Anette Boye Koch, ph.d. and docent in Early Childhood Pedagogy, Affiliation VIA University College, Faculty of Education and Social Studies, Denmark. Research issues The aim of the study was to explore child-adult relationships in a preschool setting from a child perspective. How do children talk and create meaning to their everyday interactions with adult professionals? And how could narrative analysis reveal an enhanced understanding of teacher-child relationships? Method The study was performed with base in phenomenology and by ethnographic methods using a photo-interview method described in more detail in Koch (2013). 11 young children five-to-six years of age were invited to visit their former preschool and photograph places in which they had been engaged in previous activity with preschool adults. Child interviews were subsequently carried out while showing the photos on a slideshow, encouraging the children to tell stories of preschool activities involving adults. Findings Children interviewed concerning their views and experiences with preschool teachers, point to two different categories of teachers: The nice and funny teachers towards whom they feel affection versus the angry and strict preschool teachers whom they would rather be without. Their stories, though, reveal more nuances in how the children interpret their interactions with different adult professionals. Four metaphors (the playmate, the supporter, the constructor and the director) were constructed as analytical categories in order to tell an expanded story of child-adult relations in a preschool setting with inspiration from Staunæs and Søndergaard (2006). Each teacher role was described with reference to quotes from the children’s stories as well as ethnographic field notes. The findings were theoretically qualified with reference to international studies of child perspectives on teacher roles (Furth 1980, Klein 1988, Kyrönlampi–Kylmänen og Määtta 2012, Diamond og Cooper 2000, deKruif et al. 2000). A model was suggested inspired by Klein (1998), who points to four categories of teachers described on the subject of their interaction-behavior towards children as either instructive, directive/constraining, nurturing or play-related - equivalent to that of the mentor, the controller, the nurturer and the playmate, respectively. Practical implications Educating young children is complex, and preschool professionals should choose the most appropriate role for each situation. Nevertheless, teachers tend to prefer one role over another, which affects children in various ways. A narrative approach is a way to illuminate how children establish meaning to their everyday encounters and unfold nuances on adult-child relationships. Bibliography Anette Boye Koch serves as docent and researcher in Early Childhood Pedagogy at VIA University College in Denmark, Faculty of Education and Social Studies. She holds a doctorate in childhood well-being from University of Southern Denmark and has a strong research interest in children’s own perspectives on their everyday life in ECEC institutions. Her work explores childhood well-being, peer culture and teacher roles. References Diamond, K. E., & Cooper, D. G. (2000). Children's perspectives on the roles of teachers and therapists in inclusive early childhood programs. Early Education and Development, 11(2), 203-216. Furth, H. G. (1980). The world of grown-ups: Children's conceptions of society. New York: Elsevier. Klein, E. L. (1988). How is a teacher different from a mother? Young children's perceptions of the social roles of significant adults. Theory into Practice, 27(1), 36. Koch, A. B. (2013). Børns perspektiver på trivsel. Aktivitet og underaktivitet i børnehaven. Nordic Early Childhood Education Research, 6(12), 1-12. https://journals.hioa.no/index.php/nbf/article/view/397/580 de Kruif, R. E. L., McWilliam, R. A., Ridley, S. M., & Wakely, M. B. (2000). Classification of teachers’ interaction behaviors in early childhood classrooms. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 15(2), 247-268. Kyrönlampi-Kylmänen, T., & Määttä, K. (2012). What do the children really think about a day-care centre –The 5–7-year-old Finnish children speak out. Early Child Development and Care, 182(5), 505-520. Staunæs, D., & Søndergaard, D. M. (2006). Corporate fiction. Tidsskrift for Kjønnsforskning, (3), 18 sider.
| Periode | okt. 2015 |
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| Begivenhedstype | Konference |
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| Placering | Bergen, DanmarkVis på kort |
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