Participation in communities in ECEC expressed in child–educator interactions

ABSTRACT

The aim of this study is to contribute to knowledge about children’s opportunities to participate in early childhood education and care (ECEC) communities. The study focuses on the communication between educators and children in ECEC settings and how the communication forms condition children’s opportunities to participate in the community. The research questions are: What kind of communication patterns occur in educator and child interactions and how do these influence children’s opportunities to participate in the ECEC community? How can the communication patterns and the opportunities for participation in a community be understood from a lifeworld and a system perspective? Theoretically, the study is based on Habermas’s (1995) social philosophical perspective and the way he views the world from both a lifeworld and a system perspective. His concepts of communicative and strategic action guide the study in the purpose to identify and interpret communication patterns. The data consist of video observations of educators and children in everyday interactions in three Norwegian ECEC institutions. The analysis generated three main categories representing different communication patterns and participation opportunities in the community: (a) controlling communication – limited participation, (b) supportive communication – passive participation, and (c) co-operative communication – mutual participation. The findings show a priority in early childhood education on the individual child and a goal-oriented practice where the educator controls the communication and, by that, the children’s lifeworlds.

KEYWORDS:

• Participation
• community
• communication
• child–educator interaction
• democracy
• ECEC

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Marianne Ree is a PhD-student at the University of Stavanger. She is educated pre-school-teacher and holds a master's degree in early childhood education. Her primary research interest is related to conditions for children's active participation in the daily activities in the kindergarten.

Anette Emilson has a PhD. in pedagogy and works as an associate professor at the Linnaeus University. Her research interest and publication profile is directed towards values education in early childhood education. Issues in focus are democracy, discipline and the communication between educators and children.

Notes

1 Free play in ECEC cannot really be regarded as free in the true sense, as it will always be part of the normative framework that exists in the single child’s ECEC context. For example: in this study, where and with what children can play in the observed situations is often organized by the educators.