Keeping TRACK(s) of inclusive interactions in ECEC services: the affordances of video-analysis for professional development

Abstract

Recent research shows the growing need of using video-analysis in qualitative educational research. Video-analysis offers possibilities for representing Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) professionals’ practices, and for becoming a mediational and epistemological tool of their on-going knowledge construction about inclusion and equity. This paper presents initial findings from a case study conducted in Bologna, Italy, using video-analysis as a tool for ECEC practitioners’ active learning and professional development. Results from the study show how video (recording and analysis) help practitioners (re)thinking their interactions with children and stimulate reflections on their conceptualization of inclusive practices. Drawing on a European trans-national project funded by the Erasmus Plus Program, this paper argues the relevance of video-elicited discussions and focus groups to help providing significant feedback to educators, as well as creating a digital repository of inclusive practices