42 research outputs found

    A visual narrative inquiry into children’s sense of agency in preschool and first grade

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    This socioculturally framed case study focuses on children’s sense of agency in educational settings. The study has two objectives: (a) to portray the modalities of children’s sense of agency in preschool and first grade settings, and (b) to identify the sociocultural resources that mediate children’s sense of agency in these two activity contexts. We seek to achieve these objectives through a visual narrative inquiry that entails the children’s (N:5) photo-narration of their sense of agency in preschool and primary school settings. In addition, the children were observed during their photo-documentation, and they were later interviewed about their photos. The results indicate the sociocultural embeddedness of the children’s sense of agency. They also show continuities and discontinuities in the children’s sense of agency across the preschool and first grade settings. The children’s sense of agency was mediated by people and material artefacts, as well as by the rules, objectives, time-structures, and social interactions of the activity contexts. These findings are pivotal in understanding how to support the educational engagement of children and their positive transition to school. The study also shows how visual narrative inquiry offers a potential methodology for listening to children, especially in terms of their sense of agency

    Kohti jaettua toimijuutta pienten lasten pedagogiikassa : tutkimuksia suomalaisista kasvatus- ja koulutuskäytännöistä

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    This socioculturally-framed doctoral dissertation focuses on understanding and researching agency in early years pedagogy from the perspective of both children and teachers in Finnish early childhood education (ECE), pre-primary education and early primary education. In the study, agency is understood as a relational activity and underscores the interactional nature of agency that is constructed into being between people, environment and cultural resources in context. This understanding of agency has been applied in three independent studies that uncover the relational nature of agency (respectively) in children transitioning from pre-primary education to primary education (Study 1); in teachers’ work whilst creating the early years pedagogy according to the new Finnish national core curriculum recommendations on the enhancement of children’s multiliteracies (Study 2); and finally, in the interactions between children and teachers in everyday ECE practices (Study 3). This doctoral dissertation consists of three sub-studies published as articles and a summary. Study 1 is an investigation of children’s (aged 5–7 years) sense of agency across time and space through a framework of modalities of agency. The methodological approach applied in the study drew on visual ethnography that afforded the children with multimodal tools to express and make meaning of their agency in the context of their educational transition. The study makes visible the sociocultural resources that mediated the children’s sense of agency in transition from pre-primary education to primary education. Study 2 is an investigation of agency between two ECE teachers and two pre-primary teachers when they designed and conducted multiliteracy pedagogy in accordance with new curriculum requirements. The analysis of the teachers’ interviews (video and audio data) makes it evident how the open curriculum, along with the teachers’ professional skills and enthusiasm for pedagogical design, were associated with their agency. Study 3 had as its focus an investigation of children’s initiatives and ECE teachers’ responses in the everyday life of the ECE classroom as a means to understand how children’s agency is relationally facilitated or hindered. A detailed interaction analysis of the video data of children’s (n=8) and teachers’ (n=2) interaction revealed several modes through which the children communicated their initiatives and how teachers responded to these initiatives, thereby resulting in the creation of an analytical typology of agency. The results revealed adult-child relationships that give rise to a range of opportunities for children’s agency from the relational perspective. Overall, the results in this doctoral dissertation contribute to early years pedagogy in Finnish education by revealing how agency is relationally constructed in sociocultural contexts across children, teachers, and the socio-material and cultural environment. This study introduces potential visual and participatory methods to investigate agency in the everyday lives of young children and their teachers in contextually and culturally sensitive ways. These methods also have the potential to guide teachers’ pedagogical work in the early years. In addition, the results show the importance of examining the power relations and roles between children and teachers in early years pedagogy and how they should be reflected upon and revised if necessary. Examining and (re)building early years pedagogy with children and teachers creates opportunities for relational agency in which both children and teachers can be empowered. The results bring new knowledge for pedagogical efforts, the aim of which is to recognise and enhance children’s agency in early years education. When developing pedagogy, the aim of which is to support agency, it is important to concentrate on listening to both children and teachers, and acknowledging children’s initiatives. ________________________________________ Keywords: Relational agency, early childhood education, pre-primary and primary education, early years pedagogy, sociocultural theory, visual and participatory researchSuomalainen varhaiskasvatus sekä esiopetus perustuu lapsilähtöiseen pedagogiikkaan, jossa lasten aloitteet, toiveet ja ideat ovat pedagogiikan lähtökohta. Tämä näkyy vahvasti vallalla olevissa varhaiskasvatuksen ja esiopetuksen opetussuunnitelmissa. Myös perusopetuksen ensimmäisillä luokilla lapsia tulee kannustaa tuomaan esille kiinnostusten kohteitaan. Omien ajatusten ja toiveiden esiintuominen liittyy vahvasti toimijuuteen sekä mahdollisuuteen vaikuttaa omaan elämäänsä. Toimijuuden avulla lapset rakentavat identiteettiään, kun he tuovat ajatuksiaan esiin, ja niistä neuvotellaan, heidän aloitteitaan huomioidaan ja ne ohjaavat tilanteita, ja näin yhdessä muiden kanssa lapset vaikuttavat heidän ympärillä olevaan maailmaan. Lapsilähtöisen pedagogiikan, jossa huomioidaan lasten toimijuus, on huomattu olevan haastavaa toteuttaa. Sosiokulttuuriseen teoriaan pohjautuva väitöskirjani tarkastelee ja tutkii toimijuutta pienten lasten pedagogiikan viitekehyksessä suomalaisen varhaiskasvatuksen sekä esi- ja alkuopetuksen kontekstissa lasten ja opettajien näkökulmasta. Tutkimus ymmärtää toimijuuden relationaalisesti ja sosiokulttuurisesti rakentuvana toimintana, joka ilmenee ihmisten välisessä vuorovaikutuksessa, sekä ympäristön ja kulttuuristen resurssien välillä. Tutkimuksessa toimijuuden ajatellaan olevan yhteisesti rakennettua toimintaa, joka tukee jokaisen mahdollisuutta vaikuttaa ympäristöön ja ympärillä tapahtuvaan toimintaan. Väitöskirjani kolmea artikkelia yhdistää sosiokulttuurinen näkemys toimijuudesta. Ne avaavat relationaalista toimijuutta kolmessa eri kontekstissa: lasten siirtyessä esiopetuksesta perusopetukseen, opettajien pedagogisessa työssä uuden opetussuunnitelman ja siinä olevan monilukutaidon pedagogiikan suunnittelussa ja toteutuksessa ja lasten ja opettajien vuorovaikutuksessa varhaiskasvatuksen arjessa. Tutkimuksissa on tutkittu toimijuutta lasten ja opettajien näkökulmista sekä heidän yhdessä koetun arjen yhteydessä osallistavien tutkimusmenetelmien avulla. Tutkimusmenetelminä tutkimuksissa on hyödynnetty visuaalista etnografiaa, haastatteluja, videointia ja havainnointia. Tutkimustulokset osoittavat kuinka toimijuus rakentuu yhteisen toiminnan kautta varhaiskasvatuksen sekä esi- ja alkuopetuksen pedagogiikassa materiaalisten ja kulttuuristen resurssien välillä. Tutkimus esittelee visuaalisia ja osallistavia menetelmiä, joita voi konteksti- ja kulttuurikohtaisesti hyödyntää tutkittaessa lasten ja opettajien arkea varhaiskasvatuksessa. Menetelmät auttavat myös opettajia heidän pedagogisessa työssä. Tutkimustulokset tuottavat tärkeää tietoa lasten ja aikuisten valtasuhteista ja rooleista, ja siitä kuinka näitä tulisi tarvittaessa pohtia ja muokata yhdessä. Toimijuus toteutuu, kun lapset ja opettajat muokkaavat oppimisympäristöjä sekä pedagogiikkaa yhdessä. Tutkimuksen perusteella lasta kuunteleva pedagogiikka edistää lasten toimijuutta. Avainsanat: Relationaalinen toimijuus, varhaiskasvatus, esi- ja alkuopetus, pienten lasten pedagogiikka, sosiokulttuurinen teoria, visuaalinen ja osallistava tutkimu

    An investigation into children's agency : children's initiatives and practitioners' responses in Finnish early childhood education

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    This paper investigates adult–child interaction in the early years of education. The intention is to understand how children's initiatives and practitioners’ responses support and/or hinder children's agency. Our ethnographic data include 150 h of video data supplemented by observational field notes from a Finnish Early Childhood Education (ECE) centre with eight five-year-old children and two ECE practitioners. The video data were analysed abductively by using an Interaction Analysis method. The children's initiatives were found to manifest in several modes, namely asking a question, suggesting, challenging, refusing and ideating. The responses to these initiatives by the ECE practitioners included accepting, accepting after a rejection, adapting, rejecting or ignoring. The analysis points to ways in which adult–child relationships are negotiated in everyday activities, showing the relational nature of agency and suggesting that the ways in which adult engages in the child's initiations are an intricate part of children's agency.Peer reviewe

    Young Children’s Digital Literacy Practices in the Sociocultural Contexts of their Homes

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    This socioculturally framed case study investigates the digital literacy practices of two young children in their homes in Finland. The aim is to generate new knowledge about children's digital literacy practices embedded in their family lives and to consider how these practices relate to their emergent literacy learning opportunities. The study asks two questions, 'How do digital technologies and media inform the daily lives of children in their homes? Moreover, how do the sociocultural contexts of homes mediate children's digital literacy practices across operational, cultural, critical and creative dimensions of literacy?' The empirical data collection drew on the 'day-in-the-life' methodology, using a combination of video recordings, photographs, observational field notes and parent interviews. The data were subjected to thematic analysis following an ethnographic logic of enquiry. The findings make visible how children's digital literacy practices are intertwined in families' everyday activities, guided by parental rules and values. The study demonstrates children's operational, cultural and creative digital literacy practices. The study also points out the need for more attention to children's critical engagement in their digital literacy practices.Peer reviewe

    Making the Moomins : A Finnish/English Adventure

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    This chapter outlines a cross-cultural project in which children in a primary school in England exchanged information and shared their maker work with children in an Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) center in Helsinki. The work was focused on the Moomins, characters in a set of books written by the Swedish-speaking Finnish writer Tove Jansson. The English children participated in a range of maker activities in which they used a range of both non-digital and digital resources and tools to engage with the Moomin stories. The chapter outlines the skills and knowledge developed in these activities, mapped to the three-dimensional (3-D) model of literacy developed by Green (1988) and informed by Colvert's (2015) work on mixed-reality design. These maker literacies, it is argued, should be valued alongside the traditional literacy practices in which the children also engaged. The chapter outlines the value of makerspaces for schools, and also emphasizes the value of international projects that provide opportunities for cross-cultural exchange.Peer reviewe

    RĂĄdarens viskning

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    Finnish: Haltijankuiskaus (http://hdl.handle.net/10138/206657) Swedish: Rådarens viskning (http://hdl.handle.net/10138/222482)Myths and multiliteracy Myths are shared stories and beliefs about things that no one has really seen or experienced but that are still believed to be true. In the past, a long time ago, Finnish myths often had their origins in observations about nature. The natural world inspired people and they wanted to interact with it. People in the ancient times had a completely different relationship to nature from us. Nature has always been especially important to people living in Finland as the four seasons make the environment very rich and varied here. It is not surprising that it has kindled people’s imagination and been the source of many beliefs. For example, shooting stars were believed to be cracks in the sky through which gods could take a peek at the Earth. Forests and their spirits were also an essential part of the northern culture of Finland and way of life as they were an important source of food. The Whisper of the spirit activity cards are our contribution to the celebrations marking Finland’s 100 years of independence. The package can be used and distributed for non-commercial purposes in printed or in digital formats. The educational aim of the activity cards is for children to take an interest in Finnish stories, nature and ancient beliefs from a variety of perspectives. The tasks encourage children to imagine, observe, collaborate, reflect, innovate and experiment in multimodal ways. We also hope the stories and activities will support children’s interests and competencies in multiliteracies. The production of the Whisper of the spirit activity cards was supported by the Joy of Learning Multiliteracies (MOI) project, which is funded by the Ministry of Education and Culture and implemented by the University of Helsinki. The material can be downloaded from the MOI project website: www.monilukutaito.com/en

    Whisper of the Spirit

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    Finnish: Haltijankuiskaus (http://hdl.handle.net/10138/206657) Swedish: Rådarens viskning (http://hdl.handle.net/10138/222482)Myths and multiliteracy Myths are shared stories and beliefs about things that no one has really seen or experienced but that are still believed to be true. In the past, a long time ago, Finnish myths often had their origins in observations about nature. The natural world inspired people and they wanted to interact with it. People in the ancient times had a completely different relationship to nature from us. Nature has always been especially important to people living in Finland as the four seasons make the environment very rich and varied here. It is not surprising that it has kindled people’s imagination and been the source of many beliefs. For example, shooting stars were believed to be cracks in the sky through which gods could take a peek at the Earth. Forests and their spirits were also an essential part of the northern culture of Finland and way of life as they were an important source of food. The Whisper of the spirit activity cards are our contribution to the celebrations marking Finland’s 100 years of independence. The package can be used and distributed for non-commercial purposes in printed or in digital formats. The educational aim of the activity cards is for children to take an interest in Finnish stories, nature and ancient beliefs from a variety of perspectives. The tasks encourage children to imagine, observe, collaborate, reflect, innovate and experiment in multimodal ways. We also hope the stories and activities will support children’s interests and competencies in multiliteracies. The production of the Whisper of the spirit activity cards was supported by the Joy of Learning Multiliteracies (MOI) project, which is funded by the Ministry of Education and Culture and implemented by the University of Helsinki. The material can be downloaded from the MOI project website: www.monilukutaito.com/en

    Pedagogisen Haltijan kuiskaus -materiaalin soveltaminen varhaiskasvatuksessa J. A. Hollon kasvatusajattelun luentana

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    Artikkeli liittyy kulttuurikasvatuksen toteuttamiseen varhaiskasvatuksessa. Tarkastelemme, kuinka sivistyskasvatus heijastuu varhaiskasvatuksen opettajien erilaisissa tavoissa soveltaa erästä suomalaisiin luontouskomuksiin ja myytteihin liittyvää pedagogista materiaalia. Sivistyskasvatuksella viittaamme J. A. Hollon (1895–1967) ajatuksiin kasvatuksesta. Hollon sivistyskasvatusajattelun ytimessä ovat muun muassa luovuus, mielikuvittelu ja ilo, jotka kiteytyvät älyllisen, eettisen, esteettisen ja toiminnallisen kasvatuksen toteuttamisessa. Kulttuuri, sivistys ja taiteet olivat Hollolle tärkeitä kasvatusta ohjaavia seikkoja; myös tarinoiden merkitys ja voima korostuvat Hollon ajattelussa. Nämä näyttäytyvät tutkimuksessamme tärkeinä varhaiskasvatukseen liittyvän kulttuurikasvatuksen ja pedagogisen kehittämisen taustoittajina.Peer reviewe
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