Session Information
25 SES 04, Researching Children’s Everyday Lives and Views
Parallel Paper Session
Contribution
In the Scandinavian countries it has become common to make children’s perspectives on their own lives in family and child care part of research in these areas. This raises the question of what methods to use when researching children. Obtaining the perspectives of small children require specific knowledge and reflections from the researcher on the development of children in order to collect and interpret the data in accordance with the understanding and intent of the child. This points to the inclusion of qualitative methods as part of the research.
In this session the presenters will discuss drawing as a method for studying small children. Drawing is a way for children to express their feelings and opinions about their lives nonverbally, thus giving the children a possibility to use a different way than words to express themselves. We will discuss how to use this method for different age groups and how to interpret the results. Likewise interviews as a method for obtaining children’s perspectives will be discussed. What do you need to consider using this method, e.g. for different age groups.
Theoretical concepts of semiotic practices and conventions for visual sign-use and meaning-making related to diverse symbolic realms are used to analyse the transformation of lived experience into construction of meaning in drawings.
In the first part the presentation focus on discussing drawings and interviews as methods used in two projects – one study of quality in child care in the United States and Denmark, and one study of best practices in primary schools in Denmark.
The second part of the presentation focus on the knowledge about children’s experiences and perspectives children’s drawings and their drawing activities can provide. The presentation includes examples from a qualitative research project that studied learning and communication in preschool and aimed to include the children’s perspectives on their everyday lives.
Method
Expected Outcomes
References
Braswell, G.S., Rosengren, K.S. & Pierroutsakos, S.L. (2007). Task Constraints on Preschool Childrens’ Grip Configurations during Drawing. In: Developmental Psychobiology, DOI 10.1002/dev, Wiley InterScience: www.interscience.com. Braswell, G.S. (2006). Socio-cultural Contexts for the Early Development of Semiotic Production. Psychological Bulletin, American Psychological Association 132 (6): 877–894. Einarsdottir, J. (2005): We Can Decide What to play! Children’s Perceptions of Quality in an Icelandic Playschool. Early Education and Development, 16 (4), 469-488. Kousholdt, D. (2006): Familieliv fra et boerneperspektiv (Family Life From the Perspectives of the Children). Thesis, Roskilde University Center. Kragh-Müller, G. (2000): Børn siger så meget, forstår de voksne? (Children communicates, but does the adult understand?). I: Schultz Jørgensen, P. & Kampmann, J.: Børn som informanter (Children as Informants in Research). Boerneraadet. Kragh-Müller, G. (2010): Kvalitet I daginstitutioner (Qality in Child Care): Danmarks paedagogiske universitetskole, Aarhus Universitet. (Danish University School of Education, Aarhus University). Kragh-Müller, G. & Isbell, R. (2011). Children’s Perspectives on their Everyday Lives in Child Care in Two Cultures: Denmark and United States. In: Early Childhood Education Journal. Vol. 39, nr. 1, 2011. New York: Springer. Nielsen, A.M. (1993). ‘Børn, billeder og personlighedsddannelse’. In: Psyke & Logos nr. 2 / 1993. København: Dansk Psykologisk Forlag. Nielsen, A.M. (1994). Køn og symbollag i børns billeder. Ph.D.-dissertation. København: Danmarks Lærerhøjskole. (Gender and Symbol-realms in Children’s Pictures). Nielsen, A.M. (1998) Empirical Research in Children’s Pictorial Activity, s.104-111 in Lindström (ed): Nor¬dic Visual Arts Research - a Theoretical and Methodoligical Review. Stockholm Library of Cur-riculum Studies 2. Stockholm Institute of Education Press. Stetsenko, A. & Arievitch, I. (2004). The Self in Cultural-Historical Activity Theory. In: Theory & Psychology. Vol. 14(4): 475–503. Sage Publications, DOI: 10.1177/0959354304044921, www.sagepublications.com. Vygotsky, L.S. / ed.: Cole et al.1978. Mind in Society. Cambridge/London: Harvard University Press.
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