Page 68 - Čotar Konrad Sonja, Borota Bogdana, Rutar Sonja, Drljić Karmen, Jelovčan Giuliana. Ur. 2022. Vzgoja in izobraževanje predšolskih otrok prvega starostnega obdobja. Koper: Založba Univerze na Primorskem
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likki Ukkonen-Mikkola and Juliene Madureira Ferreira
tional curricula, resulting in an important information gap for this particular
age group.
There are several reasons for the scarcity of research on children under
three years of age, methodology being one of them. Qualitative educational
research has historically used observations, interviews, field diaries, and doc-
ument analysis to investigate different aspects of children’s interaction, learn-
ing, and development, but when the child has not yet developed verbal com-
munication, such methods of data collection become very limited. In this pa-
per, we are particularly interested in discussing the challenges of participa-
tory research with this age group and looking at how we can explore the use
of video recording as the main method to investigate toddlers’ interactions,
learning, and development in ECEC contexts. We start by describing the char-
acteristics of the data that can be gathered with video, then we present two
different techniques that can be applied to video recording, and in sequence
we discuss the analysis using a qualitative theoretical framework. To con-
clude, we discuss how the research in ECEC, particularly concerning toddlers,
can be investigated through video analysis and point out the advantages and
limitations of this method.
Toddlers as Informants and Earlier Studies
In this section, we describe some earlier studies concerning toddlers and the
role of the ECEC teacher in toddler groups. In addition, we characterise tod-
dlers as informants. The sensitivity and observation skills of educators are
important in pedagogy and interaction with toddlers. Children’s commu-
nication can be observed through verbal dialogues and/or non-verbal be-
haviours and activities (Bae 2009). Salomon, Sumsion, and Harrison (2017)
have described the capacity of infants and toddlers to communicate using
different kinds of facial expressions (e. g. smiles and crying) and other sophis-
ticated emotional strategies as ‘emotional capital.’ Likewise, Clark (2005) em-
phasises the sensitivity of educators. He proposes that toddlers’ non-verbal
communication should be linked to everyday decision-making and peda-
gogy. In this way, children learn to understand and trust that these messages
are taken into account in their daily activities. In addition, the observation
skills of educators are important in pedagogy and interaction with toddlers.
Concerning the learning environments, younger children are often consid-
ered less capable of participation compared to their older peers (Smith 2002).
The learning environment plays a significant role in pedagogy for toddlers,
and Rutanen (2012) has emphasised the meaning of space and place in ped-
agogy and the learning environment. Rutanen (2014) has also implemented
68
tional curricula, resulting in an important information gap for this particular
age group.
There are several reasons for the scarcity of research on children under
three years of age, methodology being one of them. Qualitative educational
research has historically used observations, interviews, field diaries, and doc-
ument analysis to investigate different aspects of children’s interaction, learn-
ing, and development, but when the child has not yet developed verbal com-
munication, such methods of data collection become very limited. In this pa-
per, we are particularly interested in discussing the challenges of participa-
tory research with this age group and looking at how we can explore the use
of video recording as the main method to investigate toddlers’ interactions,
learning, and development in ECEC contexts. We start by describing the char-
acteristics of the data that can be gathered with video, then we present two
different techniques that can be applied to video recording, and in sequence
we discuss the analysis using a qualitative theoretical framework. To con-
clude, we discuss how the research in ECEC, particularly concerning toddlers,
can be investigated through video analysis and point out the advantages and
limitations of this method.
Toddlers as Informants and Earlier Studies
In this section, we describe some earlier studies concerning toddlers and the
role of the ECEC teacher in toddler groups. In addition, we characterise tod-
dlers as informants. The sensitivity and observation skills of educators are
important in pedagogy and interaction with toddlers. Children’s commu-
nication can be observed through verbal dialogues and/or non-verbal be-
haviours and activities (Bae 2009). Salomon, Sumsion, and Harrison (2017)
have described the capacity of infants and toddlers to communicate using
different kinds of facial expressions (e. g. smiles and crying) and other sophis-
ticated emotional strategies as ‘emotional capital.’ Likewise, Clark (2005) em-
phasises the sensitivity of educators. He proposes that toddlers’ non-verbal
communication should be linked to everyday decision-making and peda-
gogy. In this way, children learn to understand and trust that these messages
are taken into account in their daily activities. In addition, the observation
skills of educators are important in pedagogy and interaction with toddlers.
Concerning the learning environments, younger children are often consid-
ered less capable of participation compared to their older peers (Smith 2002).
The learning environment plays a significant role in pedagogy for toddlers,
and Rutanen (2012) has emphasised the meaning of space and place in ped-
agogy and the learning environment. Rutanen (2014) has also implemented
68
