Showing papers in "International Journal of Research in 2001"
TL;DR: Early childhood practitioners frequently use words like "passionate" to describe themselves and their attitudes to working and playing with young children as mentioned in this paper. But how is this emotive and emotional word to be interpreted by others? Given any evidence of real political influence or strength, this mainly female workforce cannot perhaps be said to be sufficiently passionate or forceful in justifying and promoting their beliefs and ideologies.
Abstract: Early Years practitioners frequently use words like 'passionate' to describe themselves and their attitudes to working and playing with young children. But how is this emotive and emotional word to be interpreted by others? Given any evidence of real political influence or strength, this mainly female workforce cannot perhaps be said to be sufficiently passionate or forceful in justifying and promoting their beliefs and ideologies. Herein lies one of many paradoxes in early childhood: it seems impossible to work effectively with very young children without the deep and sound commitment signified by the use of words like 'passionate'. Yet this very symbolisation gives a particular emotional slant to the work of early childhood practitioners which can work for or against them in their everyday roles and practices, bringing into question what constitutes professionalism and what being a 'teacher' means in such diversified contexts. This paper will show that working in partnership with researchers, different ...
137 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors focus on the cultural aspect of play and investigate how small children create meaning in their play in dialogue with adults, and find that the cultural context has a positive influence on children's quest for meaningful action.
Abstract: A description of the way in which children's play develops is often based on children's physical environment. Another standard assumption is that small children progress from playing with objects to taking part in role-play. This study focuses on the cultural aspect of play and its aim is to investigate how small children create meaning in their play in dialogue with adults. The study is an educational experiment in which the pedagogic process is staged, followed and analysed. The theme 'Deep in the Nooks and Crannies' was tested in two classes for toddlers at a preschool in Karlstad. The inspiration came from several well-known Swedish children's books. The result shows that the cultural context has a positive influence on children's quest for meaningful action. A child's imagination is not captured by an object itself, but by the story which gives the object and the actions their meaning. When adults play roles and dramatise a chain of events, they open a door to a play world which the children can enter.
81 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a video-recording of a young child's (3.3 years) dialogue with his teacher about experiments with elementary physics concepts forms a base for a discussion of early science education in preschool.
Abstract: In this article, a video-recording of a young child's (3.3 years) dialogue with his teacher about experiments with elementary physics concepts forms a base for a discussion of early science education in preschool. Although, according to Piaget's theory, the child appears to be at the pre-operational stage, we argue for a pedagogical approach which focuses his awareness on the most basic aspect of science, i.e. that phenomena can be explained (this foundational principle must be understood before specific scientific explanations can be understood). The focus for the analysis is on the verbal interaction between the child and the teacher within the social practice of the preschool and on how this interaction enables the child to test and prove a hypothesis formulated by himself. The interaction in the case study will be used here as an illustration and a discussion of an approach to education in preschool.
35 citations
TL;DR: The authors examine the topic of the language development of three young bilingual children at both home and school, taking into account their parents' language background and experience of school systems, language practices and policy in the home, and the children's experience of a year of nursery school as reported by their teachers.
Abstract: In this paper we examine the topic of the language development of three young bilingual children at both home and school. Our aim is to consider the language issues that arise in such children, taking into account their parents' language background and experience of school systems, language practices and 'policy' in the home, and the children's experience of a year of nursery school as reported by their teachers. We try to show how different strands of the children's experience fit together; their 'mother tongue', their mothers' aspirations for them, their teachers' view of their progression, and their competence in English, all considered against the background of current curriculum guidance. We conclude with an examination of the gains and losses these children have made in the school system so far, and with an analysis of what the roles of 'mother tongue' might be for children in these and similar circumstances.
20 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors highlight the impact of contextual factors (the structure and realism of toys and the play situation) on the development of symbolic play and suggest that preschool teachers should consider both aspects when planning, organizing and supervising the play of children in preschool settings.
Abstract: This contribution highlights the impact of contextual factors (the structure and realism of toys and the play situation) on the development of symbolic play. The studies compared three age groups of children in preschool settings. In the first study we varied the degree of structure in the toys. The level of the play was evaluated by a five-level scale of development in the use of toys and objects. In the second study we varied the theme of the play and analysed the complexity of the play by using Smilansky's Scale for the Evaluation of Dramatic and Socio-dramatic Play. The results of both studies confirm that the level and complexity of children's symbolic play depend on both play materials and the play context. Therefore, preschool teachers should consider both aspects when planning, organising and supervising the play of children in preschool settings.
19 citations
TL;DR: The authors argue for the importance of pretence play in the development of discourse skills and present data gathered from spontaneous toy telephone talk in a themed pre-play setting, which supports Vygotsky's suggestion that pretence plays is an important arena for learning within aspirational role realizations.
Abstract: Children's knowledge of telephone discourse has been little researched, despite the inherent challenge of this mode of communication. Previous research has studied children's performance in artificial environments with children talking to adults, and has focussed upon children's deficiencies in telephone dialogues. In this paper we argue for the importance of pretence play in the development of discourse skills and present data gathered from spontaneous toy telephone talk in a themed pretence play setting. Evidence demonstrates sociolinguistic competencies displayed appropriately and supports Vygotsky's suggestion that pretence play is an important arena for learning within aspirational role realizations.
15 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigated the role of adult-child interaction in the communication development of children under two and investigated the situation of a family with twins, where it may be more difficult to undertake sustained, supportive interactions with two children at the same time.
Abstract: This article considers the role of adult-child interaction in the communication development of children under two. It specifically investigates the situation of a family with twins, where it may be more difficult to undertake sustained, supportive interactions with two children at the same time. The study identifies strategies used by the family to support the children's language development and suggests that these could be used in care settings where early years practitioners may be working with under twos in small group contexts.
12 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors consider what it is that early years professionals need to know about language development, and argue that an understanding of typical development is necessary, but not sufficient, and that understanding of individual variation is vital.
Abstract: In the light of increased provision for young children in a range of settings, this article considers what it is that early years professionals need to know about language development. It argues that an understanding of typical development is necessary, but not sufficient, and that an understanding of individual variation is vital. Most importantly, however, it is an appreciation of how language is acquired that is needed, in order that appropriate contexts may be provided for young children and their progress understood and fostered.
11 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a nursery teacher who finds herself confounded by an aspect of boys' play, particularly their attraction to "gun play", is able to recognise how her inability to deal satisfactorily with the boys and their play can be attributed to her own immersion in two discourses: child centred pedagogy and feminism.
Abstract: This paper centres on a nursery teacher who finds herself confounded by an aspect of boys' play, particularly their attraction to 'gun play'. However, by engaging with poststructuralist theories the teacher is able to recognise how her inability to deal satisfactorily with the boys and their play can be attributed to her own immersion in two discourses: child centred pedagogy and feminism. The paper charts her efforts at shifting certain mechanistic practices. In this cleared space, she is then able to offer the boys ways of extending their play.
9 citations
TL;DR: The authors examined how policy developments in the last decade in England have impacted on and'shaped' the curriculum for literacy in early childhood and views about how young children learn about literacy, arguing that these views are contradicted by well-established research in the field of emergent literacy, which reveals young children as active and competent learners.
Abstract: This paper considers how policy developments in the last decade in England have impacted on and 'shaped' the curriculum for literacy in early childhood and views about how young children learn about literacy. It argues that these views are contradicted by well-established research in the field of emergent literacy, which reveals young children as active and competent literacy learners. The possibility of 'reconstructing' existing practice is examined through contrasting curricula approaches, which offer different understandings about children and the early childhood curriculum.
7 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a longitudinal study of one child's interactive story readings from birth to 5-years-of-age was conducted, and the authors explored the following: the child's use of key story phrases, the visual memory of words and the development of phonic knowledge.
Abstract: This paper presents some findings from a longitudinal study of one child's interactive story readings from birth to 5-years-of-age. The young child in the case study responds strongly to the meaning of the stories she shares with significant adults. She shows considerable empathy with the characters in the stories and makes links between events in the stories and those in her own life. Other kinds of learning to do with becoming literate are also evident and the article explores the following: the child's use of key story phrases, the visual memory of words and the development of phonic knowledge. The interactive story readings, and re-readings, enabled Alice to learn about reading and to learn to read. The continuation and development of story readings in the early years classroom is suggested to provide an enjoyment of good literature and literacy learning.