Papers by Gudrun Alda Hardardottir
Barnstýrðir matmálstímar: „...nú má maður setjast bara einhvers staðar.“, 2023
Empowering children through mealtimes: Framing conditions and habitus
Mealtimes in most Icelandic... more Empowering children through mealtimes: Framing conditions and habitus
Mealtimes in most Icelandic preschools have remained primarily unchanged for several decades; the children sit with the teachers to partake in family-style mealtimes. In the autumn of 2012, preschool Aðalþing decided to develop an innovative approach to empower and make mealtime pleasurable for children. The preschool Aðalþing opened in 2009, and from the beginning, all food was prepared from scratch and with high-quality ingredients. The innovative approach consisted of children taking their meals in a specially designed dining hall, with attention to the aesthetics, and children’s opportunities to help themselves, for example, choosing a table and the peers with whom they want to sit. All food is served on a buffet at children’s height, where main and side dishes, such as seeds and vegetables, are available. A few teachers are in the room with the children, but they do not sit at the tables or control the conversations or what children choose to eat.
The article discusses two approaches to mealtimes: the traditional form called teacher- led mealtimes, where teachers sit and have a meal with children family style and the new form of child-led mealtimes. One of the authors led the project implementation in Aðalþing and documented it regularly for eight years through video recordings— the data from which forms the basis of this article.
The article examines the conditions needed for the dining hall to work as developed in Aðalþing. We used Sigurðardóttir’s ideas about the framework of conditions needed in all preschools to organize the physical and educational environment and theories about habitus and empowerment as background research.
Sigurðardóttir’s framework consists of two conditions: an external condition that the teacher must consider from a pedagogical perspective and internal conditions based on the preschool’s ideology and knowledge of good practices. The idea of the framework conditions proved helpful the development of mealtimes. They made visible what was in the teachers’ power to change regarding the physical and pedagogical environment, what the children had control over, and what was part of their empowerment.
The findings indicate that the child-led mealtime supported:
Friendship, learning, and children’s joy. The children had time and privacy to talk to each other. No subject was forbidden.
A platform for free dialogue among children. The children used the opportunity to play with the language. It was common among the children to discuss the food together while they ate. Making jokes about the food or deciding it was something else (eating fish while pretending it was pizza, for example).
The children’s helpfulness and consideration. They poured each other’s glasses, buttered bread, and picked food from the buffet for each other, to name a few tasks. There were few conflicts among the children. When conflict arose, the children usually showed how solution-oriented they were by resolving the conflicts themselves.
The children’s empowerment and independence; they entered the dining hall independently, chose their food and where to sit, ate by themselves, spread the bread, cut the food, and talked about whatever topic was on their minds.
The children’s awareness of the food; they discussed a lot about their food, its quality, and how it tasted. Those discussions were more likely to take place when they liked the food. The findings show that children developed their habitus, which, among other things, was expressed and manifested in the taste of food, the humour, and the discussions between them.
This research could be used to discuss children’s mealtimes and empowerment. The research supports preschools in examining how mealtimes are conducted.
Keywords: Preschools, slow pedagogy, mealtimes, habitus, empowerment, framing
BARN - Forskning om barn og barndom i Norden, 2021
Tidsskrift for Nordisk Barnehageforskning, 2014
The aim of this article is to shed light on gendering in preschool. It analyzes the opinions and ... more The aim of this article is to shed light on gendering in preschool. It analyzes the opinions and beliefs of preschool teachers with regard to boys and girls in one Icelandic preschool, and how gender performative acts are manifested in the preschool’s children. The preschool, which was observed for one school year, comprised 60 children, aged 18 months to five years, and 20 employees, of which eight were qualified teachers. The research material is analyzed in terms of Judith Butler’s gender constructivism. Butler contends that gender is constituted by, and is a product of, society, and that the individual’s empowerment is therefore limited in relation to society, with individuals typically seeking to identify themselves with the dominant norms concerning gender. The main conclusions suggest that “gendering” is prominent within the preschool. There is a strong tendency among the preschool teachers to classify the children into categories of boys/masculine and girls/feminine, and spe...
www.laupur.is, 2020
"Virus has become a natural part of children's play in my preschool," Guðrún Alda wrote to Kristí... more "Virus has become a natural part of children's play in my preschool," Guðrún Alda wrote to Kristín last February 5. At that time, there was daily news of the coronavirus disaster in China. We, as a nation, did not expect the coronavirus to spread to Iceland so quickly and become such a big part of daily lives and threats to both children and our selves. The global population is facing its biggest catastrophe, probably since the Second World War, a disaster that scholars have named as a mass-trauma. Every day, news of illness and casualties are received throughout the media. On March 13, the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson appeared in the press saying that we are all collectively facing the loss of someone imminent because of the virus and the disease COVID-19. Over the past two weeks, representatives from the Department of Civil Protection and Emergency Management have daily press conferences which are broadcasted into every single home and workplace. Broadcasts where they review the current situation, present tests and results. They have been severe and sombre and painted picture that we the adults have been overpowered and troubled by. Children play what they are dealing with in their lives, both at home and in preschools and the science says it is vital for them to have the opportunity to do so. The children need to find a safe place to play and deal with the fear and threats they face. This is because the play is the child's tool for understanding and processing information about herself and her environment, to process information from the mass trauma such as the world is facing now. Impact of trauma on children As stated at the outset, children are closely monitoring their environment and actively perceive what matters to adults. It is even so when adults consider they are hiding their feelings and information from them. The children do not always discuss their experiences, but it often appears in their play and behaviour. Those who listen, see that they are pondering ideas, worrying and wondering. Some of the children are filled with anxiety and even fear. Dyregrov and colleagues (2015) have pointed out that it is far too familiar that things that are on the horizon in the societies at any given time are not discussed with children. It is as adults believe that children do not hear or think about what is happening around them. However, if nobody talks to children about what is happening it make it more difficult for them to process everything they experience. Dyregrov and colleagues also point out that adults must take the time to listen to concerns of children who may appear in different ways and with different voices. And they need to realize it's unique how each child experiences shock and worry, and that can be a challenge for the adults. Losing close relatives, as many may face due to the virus, is believed to have a psychobiological impact on children. This can appear, ranging from behavioural problems, anxiety and depression to traumatic stress disorder in children. These are all factors that call for a variety of approaches and methods to help children get across and work out. There the preschool has an important role. At times when communities are facing mass trauma, it is essential to keep calm and be sure that children experience the least disruption in their daily lives. At such time it is vital to continue routines. That preschool schedules are similar to what the children know already. Scholars have also stressed the importance of not allowing adults to become too alarmed because of the complexity of the trauma children are living through, but rather to organize their own thinking and actions (Perry and colleagues, 1995). In the era of COVID-19, preschool teacher need to stand together and pay attention to the mental health and well-being of children like never before. Here we present possible ways and reflections on preschool work in these unprecedented times. We do so in the light of the scholars discussed here. We think this can be a topic of discussion that must take place in the Icelandic preschools, today and in the coming weeks. It is to say IF the preschools are to be open to all children, not just the children of people working at the front line of society in a time of disaster.
Att skapa hopp utan att förringa smärtan Barn som har varit med om traumatiska händelser måste få... more Att skapa hopp utan att förringa smärtan Barn som har varit med om traumatiska händelser måste få tid att bearbeta sina upplevelser och känslor, menar den isländska forskaren Gudrun Alda Hardardóttir. För små barn kan leken ofta vara ett sätt att få sagt det som orden inte räcker till för. Hösten 1995 reste jag till Flateyri här på Island för att återuppbygga förskoleverksamheten två dagar efter att en snölavin raserat samhället och dödat tjugo människor. Denna erfarenhet har övertygat mig om hur viktigt det är för förskollärare att känna till hur barn reagerar på en traumatisk situation och att veta hur de kan hjälpa barnen. Under mina tjugo år som förskollärare har jag arbetat med många barn som har upplevt traumatiska händelser av olika slag. Vad är då ett trauma? Jag skulle vilja göra följande definition: ett trauma är en verklig yttre händelse som upplevs som en förlust eller ett hot om förlust av något som individen anser vara väsentligt. Traumat utlöser en " känsloöversvämning " som gör att individens erfarenhet och förmåga till problemlösning inte räcker till för att förstå och kontrollera situationen. Direkt hjälp efter en traumatisk händelse innebär ett kortvarigt och tidsbundet ingrepp för att så snabbt som möjligt förhindra posttraumatisk stress hos individen. Det betyder inte terapi i vanlig mening, utan stöd och vägledning i de känslor som individen upplever på grund av traumat. Hjälp efter traumatiska händelser innebär att vara till hands, lyssna, garantera säkerhet och systematisk känslobearbetning. Det innebär att arbeta medvetet och systematiskt för att ge individen möjlighet att uttrycka tankar, känslor och reaktioner. Förr ansågs det att traumatiska händelser bara hade en obetydlig inverkan på barn och fortfarande finns en bristande insikt hos många om vidden av denna påverkan. Det finns forskning som bland annat belyser detta när det gäller föräldrars insikt om sina barns upplevelser och behov efter översvämningskatastrofer (Earl m fl). Forskning om barn som blev separerade från överlevande familjemedlemmar i Kambodja visar samma sak (Kinzie). Denna bristande insikt stämmer också väl med mina egna erfarenheter på såväl det yrkesmässiga som personliga planet. Det handlar exempelvis om föräldrar som inte har upplyst mig om skilsmässa, dödsfall i familjen eller olyckor som har framkallat sorg hos barn. I min egen forskning om hjälp efter traumatiska händelser betonar förskollärare att det är ytterst viktigt att de får reda på om exempelvis föräldrar ligger i skilsmässa så att de kan hjälpa barnet (Hardardóttir). Jag har också min personliga erfarenhet. Min dotter var två år gammal när hennes far avled. Hon var med på begravningen och det var svårt beslut för mig att ta på den tiden. Men genom åren har det visat sig att det har betytt mycket för min dotter – som nu är över tjugo år gammal – att ha varit med på sin fars begravning. Trauman har kortsiktiga men också långsiktiga inverkningar på barn. Det visar till exempel intervjuer med barn från en kapad skolbuss. Alla barnen överlevde men fyra år efteråt visade det sig att de flesta fortfarande mådde dåligt på grund av det de upplevt (Terr 1983). Att traumatiska händelser har både kortsiktiga och långsiktiga effekter på barn stämmer också med mina egna erfarenheter. Det visar sig i min sons teckningar. Några dagar efter att hans far hade avlidit ritade han en teckning där han skriver " döden " , " sorgen " och sin fars namn och visar honom liggande. Fadern håller en bild som vår son rita och hade tagit med till sjukhuset. Tre år senare ritade han en bild av begravningen. Någonting framkallade minnen från begravningen som inspirerade teckningen.
Aðalþing, heitir leikskóli í Kópavogi, sem vakið hefur mikla athygli fyrir margháttað þróunarstar... more Aðalþing, heitir leikskóli í Kópavogi, sem vakið hefur mikla athygli fyrir margháttað þróunarstarf. Ritstjórn leitaði til dr. Guðrúnar Öldu Harðardóttur, sem er kennsluráðgjafi við skólann og falaðist eftir grein. Guðrún Alda notar gjarnan starfsheitið pedagogista, en Aðalþing starfar í anda Reggio Emila hugmyndafræðinnar, og þetta heiti er gjarnan notað um þá starfsmenn sem gegna leiðtogahlutverki. Guðrún tók okkur vel og ákvað að skrifa um hugmyndir sínar (kenningu sína) um þá þætti sem helst móta skólastarf. Í raun er hún í þessari grein að skrifa um grundvallarhugmyndir sínar, þ.e. um starfskenningu sína (e. professional theory). Kjörið er að lesa greinina og spyrja sig um leið um eigin afstöðu!
Trú leikskólabarna á eigin getu: Nokkur tilbrigði við aðferðafraeðileg stef úr kenningu Bandura R... more Trú leikskólabarna á eigin getu: Nokkur tilbrigði við aðferðafraeðileg stef úr kenningu Bandura Rannsóknarspurning greinarinnar er: Hvernig er unnt að framkvaema árangursríkar rann-sóknir á trú leikskólabarna á eigin getu í anda kenningar Bandura og hvaða aðferðafraeðilegar ályktanir má draga af því fyrir rannsóknir á trú á eigin getu almennt? Greinin skyggnir þessa spurningu út frá ýmsum sjónarhornum: leikskólamiðuðum, aðferðafraeðilegum og heimspeki-legum. Meginniðurstaðan er sú að málþroski leikskólabarna útiloki ekki beitingu kenningar Bandura. Hins vegar sé þá nauðsynlegt að þróa annars konar maelitaeki á trú á eigin getu en hin hefðbundnu sjálfsmatspróf sem notuð eru við rannsóknir á eldri börnum og fullorðnum. Stungið er upp á beitingu uppeldisfraeðilegrar skráningar sem vaenlegu maelitaeki og tekin daemi um hvernig beita má því til greiningar á gögnum úr yfirstandandi doktorsrannsókn fyrri höfundar. Víðtaekari ályktun greinarinnar er að takmarkanir sjálfsmatsprófa í rannsóknum á fullorðnum séu vanmetnar. Hefðbundin sjálfsmatspróf á trú á eigin getu maela ekki endilega slíka trú heldur skoðun einstaklingsins á því hver trú hans er á eigin getu. Því þarf að huga að aðferðafraeðilegum kostum þess að þróa hlutlaegari maelikvarða á trú á eigin getu almennt. INNGANGUR Þessi grein á sér fremur óvenjulega og krókótta tilurðarsögu og þar sem sú saga segir talsvert um endanlegt viðfangsefni hennar, sem birtist á þessum blöðum, er rétt að rekja hana í stórum dráttum hér í upphafi. Upphafleg hugmynd fyrri höfundar ¹ var að greina gögn úr stórri doktorsrannsókn sinni (á námstaekifaerum barna í tilteknum leikskóla á einu skólaári) í ljósi þekktrar kenningar Alberts Bandura um sambandið milli trúar á eigin getu (e. perceived self-efficacy) og árangurs. Rannsóknin sjálf hafði verið gerð frá sjónarhóli hugtaksins valdefling (e. empowerment) og snerist um að Uppeldi og menntun 21. árgangur 2. hefti 2012
The main aim of this article is to answer the following research question.: How does children’s p... more The main aim of this article is to answer the following research question.: How does children’s participation in decision-making processes manifest itself within preschool work? More precisely, is it possible to answer this question by inter- twining two theoretical perspectives with Malaguzzi’ ́s democratic ideas and Hart’s (1992) ladder of participation?
The article summons two theoretical perspectives. First discussed is attribution theory, based on the work of Fritz Heider (1958), which claims that an individual’s behaviour is mainly based on the views and ideas that that the individual holds in relation to him/herself. Secondly, certain aspects of critical theory, primarily Jürgen Habermas’s theories, are examined. Critical theory contends that soci- eties (here the preschool community) constitute the individual’s awareness of his or her conditions and possibilities with the aim of empowering autonomy
(Outhwaite, 2005[1996]).
Ideas concerning the value of democracy within preschool work are inspired by Loris Malaguzzi (1998) and the Reggio Emilia approach. According to it, the parti- cipation of children in decision-making process forms the foundations of pre- school work (Edwards, Gandini and Forman, 1998; Hoyuelos, 2013; Moestrup and Eskesen, 2004; Rinaldi, 2006). The research was conducted in one Icelandic pre- school in 2004–2005, in which around sixty children, between the ages of eight- een months and five years, were registered. At that time, around twenty staff members worked at the preschool. The researcher visited the preschool on aver- age twice per week for one school year. The research data consisted of field not- es, a diary, interviews and other data, such as the curriculum, extracted from the preschool.
The data were analysed in terms of Roger Hart’s (1992) ladder of participation. The main findings of the research showed that the preschool work most com- monly fell under the heading of the 7th step of the participation ladder, i.e. that the children both initiated and directed the participation. The second most com- mon finding was that adults initiated participation, characterised by shared de- cision-making with the children, or the 6th step of Hart’s ladder of participation. Ranking third was the 5th step, where the children were consulted and informed by the adults. There was hardly any trace of children-adult interaction that could be categorised as belonging to the first four steps, where there is little or no child-initiated participation. Similarly, there was little evidence of activity that could be defined as belonging to the 8th step, where the children initiate partici- pation and share the decision-making process with the adults. An example of the 8th step would be a situation in which children come up with ideas regarding tasks and assignments and where children and adults would then share the de- cision-making process. Nonetheless, the findings indicate that children’s parti- cipation is more prominent than previous Icelandic and foreign research has sug- gested.
According to a value-laden Habermasian perspective, it could be claimed that the preschool activities scrutinized in the research facilitated the autonomy of the
children toward an increased participation in the preschool work. However, the findings of the research also indicate that the preschool, working in the spirit of Reggio Emilia, had not – at least during the time the research was conducted – reached a stage where the decision-making process was initiated by the children. And even though the final goal of preschool work, according to Malaguzzi’s ideas, had not been achieved, this preschool seems headed in the right direction – and has actually reached further than most other preschools reported in earlier research, both in Iceland and abroad. It is likely that this difference is related to the fact that Laxnes operates according to the Reggio Emilia approach.
I denna teksten kommer jag att beskriva en undersökning som å ena sidan handlar om en vision om b... more I denna teksten kommer jag att beskriva en undersökning som å ena sidan handlar om en vision om barns lärande och undervisningssätt inom filosofi med barn (P4C) och å andra sidan om arbete inom förskolan i den italienska staden Reggio Emilia. Undersökningen har sitt ursprung i mitt intresse (från 1985) för förskoleverksamheten i Reggio Emilia och senare för filosofi med barn. Jag kom i kontakt med filosofi med barn för ungefär sex år sen och allt eftersom min kunskap blev bättre tyckte jag mig kunna se flera likheter med den och den vision som finns inom förskolan i Reggio. Det väckte mitt intresse att undersöka om det fanns likheter mellan dessa två metoder och i så fall vilka. Filosofi med barn 1 är ett ämne som har sin upphovsman hos filosofen Matthew Lipman (1993). Han började utforma sina idéer i slutet av 60-talet, han ansåg att den filosofiska bredden inom grundskolan var bristfällig. Lipman utgår ifrån att filosofiska funderingar är en del av varje barns naturliga läggning redan i ung ålder. Han har inte som målsättning att barn bör inpräglas vissa meningar eller påståenden om världen, utan att deras färdigheter i kritiskt och kreativt tänkande borde styrkas. Lipman (1988a) påpekar att vår nuvarande kunskap åldras fort och att det viktigaste är att lära barnen tänka klart. Phillips (2001) anser att Lipman har med filosofin med barn gett filosofin ett nytt liv. Man kan utan vidare påstå att filosofin med barn har väckt stor uppmärksamhet runt om i världen och i dag praktiseras den i grundskolor i ungefär 70 länder över hela världen (Gregory & Kennedy 2000). 1 Se artiklar om ämnet i %DUQ nr. 2 2002.
This paper presents parts of some research I carried out between 1999 and 2002, arising from my l... more This paper presents parts of some research I carried out between 1999 and 2002, arising from my long-standing interests in early childhood education practices in Reggio Emilia (Italy) and Matthew Lipman's Philosophy for Children (P4C) (USA). The research is based on my own integral concepts, vision and ideas, prompted my studies of pre-schools in Reggio Emilia since 1985 - I took courses in both the philosophy and methods, and spent six months there in 2002 - and my reading about P4C since 1996 - for three months in autumn 2001 I was at the Institute for the Advancement for Philosophy for Children (IACP) in Montclair, New Jersey, where Professor Lipman is the Director.
The purpose of the research is to scrutinize learning opportunities, that is, preschool children’... more The purpose of the research is to scrutinize learning opportunities, that is, preschool children’s opportunities of participation and possibilities of impacting the preschool activities within one Icelandic preschool whose
practice is inspired by the methodologies named after the Italian city of Reggio Emilia. According to the ideas of Reggio Emilia, an emphasis is placed on bolstering children’s abilities to influence preschool activities (Malaguzzi, 1998). The research is grounded on two theoretical perspectives; attributionism and critical theory. Moreover, the research draws on definitions
of the key-terms ‘self-efficacy’ and ‘empowerment’, as well as Judith Butler’s (2004) theories concerning gender. The PhD project is based on four articles:
1) Attitudes of two preschool teachers and methods of empowerment of preschool children. 2) Perceived self-efficacy amongst preschoolers: Some methodological variations on themes from Bandura’s theory. 3) Children and Democracy in Preschool: Children’s Participation in Preschool Decision-
Making Processes. 4) Gendering in one Icelandic preschool.
The findings of the research provide holistic ideas regarding interconnected determinants in relation to children’s educational environments;
children’s opportunities of learning depend largely on the teachers’ views, i.e. the teachers’ views govern their behaviour which in turn impact the children’s self-image and their ability to actively participate in their own learning and develop stronger beliefs concerning their own capabilities, which is an integral aspect of success and which generally facilitates the children’s capabilities. The research draws on several sources: psychology (Heider), political philosophy (Habermas), sociolog
(Ziehe), early childhood education (Malaguzzi), gender studies (Butler) and social psychology (Bandura).
The central findings of the research bring to light that the views of the
teachers who participated in the research were consistent with work methods and the children were frequently invited to participate in the decision-making processes. Ultimately, the teachers facilitated the children’s empowerment; however, the children’s gender limited the extent of their empowerment. One could claim that this aspect manifests most clearly the way in which teachers’ views impact the children. The research furthermore reveals that preschool children’s language
development does not undermine analyses of their beliefs in regard to their own abilities but it is nevertheless necessary to create alternative evaluation tools that focus on children, in contrast to commonly used evaluation tools used to analyse adult individuals’ beliefs in their own abilities. The research suggests pedagogical documentation as a possibly fruitful means of assessment.
The aim of this article is to shed light on gendering in preschool. It analyzes the opinions and ... more The aim of this article is to shed light on gendering in preschool. It analyzes the opinions and beliefs of preschool teachers with regard to boys and girls in one Icelandic preschool, and how gender performative acts are manifested in the preschool’s children. The preschool, which was observed for one school year, comprised 60 children, aged 18 months to five years, and 20 employees, of which eight were qualified teachers. The research material is analyzed in terms of Judith Butler’s gender constructivism. Butler contends that gender is constituted by, and is a product of, society, and that the individual’s empowerment is therefore limited in relation to society, with individuals typically seeking to identify themselves with the dominant norms concerning gender. The main conclusions suggest that “gendering” is prominent within the preschool. There is a strong tendency among the preschool teachers to classify the children into categories of boys/masculine and girls/feminine, and specific norms direct the children into the dominant feminine and masculine categories, thus maintaining and reinforcing their gender stereotypes. The children used symbols such as colors, locations and types of play as means to instantiate the “girling” and the “boying”. These findings are consistent with previous Nordic research and indicate a prevailing essentialist perspective towards both girls and boys. The originality of the research, however, lies in focusing on children’s gender from the individual’s perspective and how the individual child generally enacts gender performatively within the confines of society’s norms.
Conference Presentations by Gudrun Alda Hardardottir
Democracy and human rights, health and welfare are one of the fundamental pillars in the Icelandi... more Democracy and human rights, health and welfare are one of the fundamental pillars in the Icelandic curriculum guide for preschools (Ministry of Education, 2011). The presentation will focus on democratic mealtimes in the preschool Aðalþing in Iceland. The democratic mealtimes in the preschool are based on; democracy, empowerment, sustainability, health and welfare.
It is clear that a person needs nutritious food to have energy to learn. In a British (EPPI-Centre, 2003) and Danish study (Björgen, 2009) we learn that children think it is important that the food tastes good. A child generally eats appropriately large amount of food if it gets the opportunity to be responsible to how much it eats each time (Livsmedelsverket.se).
Children’s opportunities of learning depend largely on the teachers’ views, i.e. the teachers’ views govern their behaviour which in turn impact the children’s self-image and their ability to actively participate in their own learning and develop stronger beliefs concerning their own capabilities, which is an integral aspect of success and which generally facilitates the children’s capabilities. (Harðardóttir, Gudrun Alda, 2013; 2014). Democracy at mealtime is no less important than at other times of school activities.
Traditional mealtimes in preschool emphasize more to create quiet time and to provide education to children (Nyberg and Grind Land, 2008) than to the empowerment of children. In the Danish study (Björgen, 2009) among 36 preschool children aged five to six, the children were asked to describe a good mealtime. A good meal in the opinion of the children was to eat with friends that they choose themselves, that they get plenty of time to eat and chat.
The researchers agree that one of the cores to promote empowerment lies in the attitude to look at individual’s capabilities; to focus on their strengths instead of their weaknesses. (Adams, 2008; Tengqvist, 2007). For example, their ability to; choosing a food (buffet), dose themselves, choose where they want to sit, eat on their own, evaluate how long it takes to eat, clean up after themselves after a meal and self-evaluate how well they ate.
Qualitative methods were used in the study, the research data was collected as normal circumstances and the researcher tried to understand the subject, which in this case are the mealtimes of the respective preschool. Collecting data was in the form of videos, photographs, focus group of children, the opinion of the parents and teacher’s discussion.
The results show the multidimensional significance of democratic mealtimes in a preschool. Children themselves appreciate most the freedom to choose for themselves where they sit at mealtimes. The results show that children are empowering in democratic mealtimes; to be more aware for how much they need to eat, peers motivation increases, conversational freedom of the children increases.
Diversity fit better within democratic mealtimes than within traditional mealtimes.
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Papers by Gudrun Alda Hardardottir
Mealtimes in most Icelandic preschools have remained primarily unchanged for several decades; the children sit with the teachers to partake in family-style mealtimes. In the autumn of 2012, preschool Aðalþing decided to develop an innovative approach to empower and make mealtime pleasurable for children. The preschool Aðalþing opened in 2009, and from the beginning, all food was prepared from scratch and with high-quality ingredients. The innovative approach consisted of children taking their meals in a specially designed dining hall, with attention to the aesthetics, and children’s opportunities to help themselves, for example, choosing a table and the peers with whom they want to sit. All food is served on a buffet at children’s height, where main and side dishes, such as seeds and vegetables, are available. A few teachers are in the room with the children, but they do not sit at the tables or control the conversations or what children choose to eat.
The article discusses two approaches to mealtimes: the traditional form called teacher- led mealtimes, where teachers sit and have a meal with children family style and the new form of child-led mealtimes. One of the authors led the project implementation in Aðalþing and documented it regularly for eight years through video recordings— the data from which forms the basis of this article.
The article examines the conditions needed for the dining hall to work as developed in Aðalþing. We used Sigurðardóttir’s ideas about the framework of conditions needed in all preschools to organize the physical and educational environment and theories about habitus and empowerment as background research.
Sigurðardóttir’s framework consists of two conditions: an external condition that the teacher must consider from a pedagogical perspective and internal conditions based on the preschool’s ideology and knowledge of good practices. The idea of the framework conditions proved helpful the development of mealtimes. They made visible what was in the teachers’ power to change regarding the physical and pedagogical environment, what the children had control over, and what was part of their empowerment.
The findings indicate that the child-led mealtime supported:
Friendship, learning, and children’s joy. The children had time and privacy to talk to each other. No subject was forbidden.
A platform for free dialogue among children. The children used the opportunity to play with the language. It was common among the children to discuss the food together while they ate. Making jokes about the food or deciding it was something else (eating fish while pretending it was pizza, for example).
The children’s helpfulness and consideration. They poured each other’s glasses, buttered bread, and picked food from the buffet for each other, to name a few tasks. There were few conflicts among the children. When conflict arose, the children usually showed how solution-oriented they were by resolving the conflicts themselves.
The children’s empowerment and independence; they entered the dining hall independently, chose their food and where to sit, ate by themselves, spread the bread, cut the food, and talked about whatever topic was on their minds.
The children’s awareness of the food; they discussed a lot about their food, its quality, and how it tasted. Those discussions were more likely to take place when they liked the food. The findings show that children developed their habitus, which, among other things, was expressed and manifested in the taste of food, the humour, and the discussions between them.
This research could be used to discuss children’s mealtimes and empowerment. The research supports preschools in examining how mealtimes are conducted.
Keywords: Preschools, slow pedagogy, mealtimes, habitus, empowerment, framing
The article summons two theoretical perspectives. First discussed is attribution theory, based on the work of Fritz Heider (1958), which claims that an individual’s behaviour is mainly based on the views and ideas that that the individual holds in relation to him/herself. Secondly, certain aspects of critical theory, primarily Jürgen Habermas’s theories, are examined. Critical theory contends that soci- eties (here the preschool community) constitute the individual’s awareness of his or her conditions and possibilities with the aim of empowering autonomy
(Outhwaite, 2005[1996]).
Ideas concerning the value of democracy within preschool work are inspired by Loris Malaguzzi (1998) and the Reggio Emilia approach. According to it, the parti- cipation of children in decision-making process forms the foundations of pre- school work (Edwards, Gandini and Forman, 1998; Hoyuelos, 2013; Moestrup and Eskesen, 2004; Rinaldi, 2006). The research was conducted in one Icelandic pre- school in 2004–2005, in which around sixty children, between the ages of eight- een months and five years, were registered. At that time, around twenty staff members worked at the preschool. The researcher visited the preschool on aver- age twice per week for one school year. The research data consisted of field not- es, a diary, interviews and other data, such as the curriculum, extracted from the preschool.
The data were analysed in terms of Roger Hart’s (1992) ladder of participation. The main findings of the research showed that the preschool work most com- monly fell under the heading of the 7th step of the participation ladder, i.e. that the children both initiated and directed the participation. The second most com- mon finding was that adults initiated participation, characterised by shared de- cision-making with the children, or the 6th step of Hart’s ladder of participation. Ranking third was the 5th step, where the children were consulted and informed by the adults. There was hardly any trace of children-adult interaction that could be categorised as belonging to the first four steps, where there is little or no child-initiated participation. Similarly, there was little evidence of activity that could be defined as belonging to the 8th step, where the children initiate partici- pation and share the decision-making process with the adults. An example of the 8th step would be a situation in which children come up with ideas regarding tasks and assignments and where children and adults would then share the de- cision-making process. Nonetheless, the findings indicate that children’s parti- cipation is more prominent than previous Icelandic and foreign research has sug- gested.
According to a value-laden Habermasian perspective, it could be claimed that the preschool activities scrutinized in the research facilitated the autonomy of the
children toward an increased participation in the preschool work. However, the findings of the research also indicate that the preschool, working in the spirit of Reggio Emilia, had not – at least during the time the research was conducted – reached a stage where the decision-making process was initiated by the children. And even though the final goal of preschool work, according to Malaguzzi’s ideas, had not been achieved, this preschool seems headed in the right direction – and has actually reached further than most other preschools reported in earlier research, both in Iceland and abroad. It is likely that this difference is related to the fact that Laxnes operates according to the Reggio Emilia approach.
practice is inspired by the methodologies named after the Italian city of Reggio Emilia. According to the ideas of Reggio Emilia, an emphasis is placed on bolstering children’s abilities to influence preschool activities (Malaguzzi, 1998). The research is grounded on two theoretical perspectives; attributionism and critical theory. Moreover, the research draws on definitions
of the key-terms ‘self-efficacy’ and ‘empowerment’, as well as Judith Butler’s (2004) theories concerning gender. The PhD project is based on four articles:
1) Attitudes of two preschool teachers and methods of empowerment of preschool children. 2) Perceived self-efficacy amongst preschoolers: Some methodological variations on themes from Bandura’s theory. 3) Children and Democracy in Preschool: Children’s Participation in Preschool Decision-
Making Processes. 4) Gendering in one Icelandic preschool.
The findings of the research provide holistic ideas regarding interconnected determinants in relation to children’s educational environments;
children’s opportunities of learning depend largely on the teachers’ views, i.e. the teachers’ views govern their behaviour which in turn impact the children’s self-image and their ability to actively participate in their own learning and develop stronger beliefs concerning their own capabilities, which is an integral aspect of success and which generally facilitates the children’s capabilities. The research draws on several sources: psychology (Heider), political philosophy (Habermas), sociolog
(Ziehe), early childhood education (Malaguzzi), gender studies (Butler) and social psychology (Bandura).
The central findings of the research bring to light that the views of the
teachers who participated in the research were consistent with work methods and the children were frequently invited to participate in the decision-making processes. Ultimately, the teachers facilitated the children’s empowerment; however, the children’s gender limited the extent of their empowerment. One could claim that this aspect manifests most clearly the way in which teachers’ views impact the children. The research furthermore reveals that preschool children’s language
development does not undermine analyses of their beliefs in regard to their own abilities but it is nevertheless necessary to create alternative evaluation tools that focus on children, in contrast to commonly used evaluation tools used to analyse adult individuals’ beliefs in their own abilities. The research suggests pedagogical documentation as a possibly fruitful means of assessment.
Conference Presentations by Gudrun Alda Hardardottir
It is clear that a person needs nutritious food to have energy to learn. In a British (EPPI-Centre, 2003) and Danish study (Björgen, 2009) we learn that children think it is important that the food tastes good. A child generally eats appropriately large amount of food if it gets the opportunity to be responsible to how much it eats each time (Livsmedelsverket.se).
Children’s opportunities of learning depend largely on the teachers’ views, i.e. the teachers’ views govern their behaviour which in turn impact the children’s self-image and their ability to actively participate in their own learning and develop stronger beliefs concerning their own capabilities, which is an integral aspect of success and which generally facilitates the children’s capabilities. (Harðardóttir, Gudrun Alda, 2013; 2014). Democracy at mealtime is no less important than at other times of school activities.
Traditional mealtimes in preschool emphasize more to create quiet time and to provide education to children (Nyberg and Grind Land, 2008) than to the empowerment of children. In the Danish study (Björgen, 2009) among 36 preschool children aged five to six, the children were asked to describe a good mealtime. A good meal in the opinion of the children was to eat with friends that they choose themselves, that they get plenty of time to eat and chat.
The researchers agree that one of the cores to promote empowerment lies in the attitude to look at individual’s capabilities; to focus on their strengths instead of their weaknesses. (Adams, 2008; Tengqvist, 2007). For example, their ability to; choosing a food (buffet), dose themselves, choose where they want to sit, eat on their own, evaluate how long it takes to eat, clean up after themselves after a meal and self-evaluate how well they ate.
Qualitative methods were used in the study, the research data was collected as normal circumstances and the researcher tried to understand the subject, which in this case are the mealtimes of the respective preschool. Collecting data was in the form of videos, photographs, focus group of children, the opinion of the parents and teacher’s discussion.
The results show the multidimensional significance of democratic mealtimes in a preschool. Children themselves appreciate most the freedom to choose for themselves where they sit at mealtimes. The results show that children are empowering in democratic mealtimes; to be more aware for how much they need to eat, peers motivation increases, conversational freedom of the children increases.
Diversity fit better within democratic mealtimes than within traditional mealtimes.
Mealtimes in most Icelandic preschools have remained primarily unchanged for several decades; the children sit with the teachers to partake in family-style mealtimes. In the autumn of 2012, preschool Aðalþing decided to develop an innovative approach to empower and make mealtime pleasurable for children. The preschool Aðalþing opened in 2009, and from the beginning, all food was prepared from scratch and with high-quality ingredients. The innovative approach consisted of children taking their meals in a specially designed dining hall, with attention to the aesthetics, and children’s opportunities to help themselves, for example, choosing a table and the peers with whom they want to sit. All food is served on a buffet at children’s height, where main and side dishes, such as seeds and vegetables, are available. A few teachers are in the room with the children, but they do not sit at the tables or control the conversations or what children choose to eat.
The article discusses two approaches to mealtimes: the traditional form called teacher- led mealtimes, where teachers sit and have a meal with children family style and the new form of child-led mealtimes. One of the authors led the project implementation in Aðalþing and documented it regularly for eight years through video recordings— the data from which forms the basis of this article.
The article examines the conditions needed for the dining hall to work as developed in Aðalþing. We used Sigurðardóttir’s ideas about the framework of conditions needed in all preschools to organize the physical and educational environment and theories about habitus and empowerment as background research.
Sigurðardóttir’s framework consists of two conditions: an external condition that the teacher must consider from a pedagogical perspective and internal conditions based on the preschool’s ideology and knowledge of good practices. The idea of the framework conditions proved helpful the development of mealtimes. They made visible what was in the teachers’ power to change regarding the physical and pedagogical environment, what the children had control over, and what was part of their empowerment.
The findings indicate that the child-led mealtime supported:
Friendship, learning, and children’s joy. The children had time and privacy to talk to each other. No subject was forbidden.
A platform for free dialogue among children. The children used the opportunity to play with the language. It was common among the children to discuss the food together while they ate. Making jokes about the food or deciding it was something else (eating fish while pretending it was pizza, for example).
The children’s helpfulness and consideration. They poured each other’s glasses, buttered bread, and picked food from the buffet for each other, to name a few tasks. There were few conflicts among the children. When conflict arose, the children usually showed how solution-oriented they were by resolving the conflicts themselves.
The children’s empowerment and independence; they entered the dining hall independently, chose their food and where to sit, ate by themselves, spread the bread, cut the food, and talked about whatever topic was on their minds.
The children’s awareness of the food; they discussed a lot about their food, its quality, and how it tasted. Those discussions were more likely to take place when they liked the food. The findings show that children developed their habitus, which, among other things, was expressed and manifested in the taste of food, the humour, and the discussions between them.
This research could be used to discuss children’s mealtimes and empowerment. The research supports preschools in examining how mealtimes are conducted.
Keywords: Preschools, slow pedagogy, mealtimes, habitus, empowerment, framing
The article summons two theoretical perspectives. First discussed is attribution theory, based on the work of Fritz Heider (1958), which claims that an individual’s behaviour is mainly based on the views and ideas that that the individual holds in relation to him/herself. Secondly, certain aspects of critical theory, primarily Jürgen Habermas’s theories, are examined. Critical theory contends that soci- eties (here the preschool community) constitute the individual’s awareness of his or her conditions and possibilities with the aim of empowering autonomy
(Outhwaite, 2005[1996]).
Ideas concerning the value of democracy within preschool work are inspired by Loris Malaguzzi (1998) and the Reggio Emilia approach. According to it, the parti- cipation of children in decision-making process forms the foundations of pre- school work (Edwards, Gandini and Forman, 1998; Hoyuelos, 2013; Moestrup and Eskesen, 2004; Rinaldi, 2006). The research was conducted in one Icelandic pre- school in 2004–2005, in which around sixty children, between the ages of eight- een months and five years, were registered. At that time, around twenty staff members worked at the preschool. The researcher visited the preschool on aver- age twice per week for one school year. The research data consisted of field not- es, a diary, interviews and other data, such as the curriculum, extracted from the preschool.
The data were analysed in terms of Roger Hart’s (1992) ladder of participation. The main findings of the research showed that the preschool work most com- monly fell under the heading of the 7th step of the participation ladder, i.e. that the children both initiated and directed the participation. The second most com- mon finding was that adults initiated participation, characterised by shared de- cision-making with the children, or the 6th step of Hart’s ladder of participation. Ranking third was the 5th step, where the children were consulted and informed by the adults. There was hardly any trace of children-adult interaction that could be categorised as belonging to the first four steps, where there is little or no child-initiated participation. Similarly, there was little evidence of activity that could be defined as belonging to the 8th step, where the children initiate partici- pation and share the decision-making process with the adults. An example of the 8th step would be a situation in which children come up with ideas regarding tasks and assignments and where children and adults would then share the de- cision-making process. Nonetheless, the findings indicate that children’s parti- cipation is more prominent than previous Icelandic and foreign research has sug- gested.
According to a value-laden Habermasian perspective, it could be claimed that the preschool activities scrutinized in the research facilitated the autonomy of the
children toward an increased participation in the preschool work. However, the findings of the research also indicate that the preschool, working in the spirit of Reggio Emilia, had not – at least during the time the research was conducted – reached a stage where the decision-making process was initiated by the children. And even though the final goal of preschool work, according to Malaguzzi’s ideas, had not been achieved, this preschool seems headed in the right direction – and has actually reached further than most other preschools reported in earlier research, both in Iceland and abroad. It is likely that this difference is related to the fact that Laxnes operates according to the Reggio Emilia approach.
practice is inspired by the methodologies named after the Italian city of Reggio Emilia. According to the ideas of Reggio Emilia, an emphasis is placed on bolstering children’s abilities to influence preschool activities (Malaguzzi, 1998). The research is grounded on two theoretical perspectives; attributionism and critical theory. Moreover, the research draws on definitions
of the key-terms ‘self-efficacy’ and ‘empowerment’, as well as Judith Butler’s (2004) theories concerning gender. The PhD project is based on four articles:
1) Attitudes of two preschool teachers and methods of empowerment of preschool children. 2) Perceived self-efficacy amongst preschoolers: Some methodological variations on themes from Bandura’s theory. 3) Children and Democracy in Preschool: Children’s Participation in Preschool Decision-
Making Processes. 4) Gendering in one Icelandic preschool.
The findings of the research provide holistic ideas regarding interconnected determinants in relation to children’s educational environments;
children’s opportunities of learning depend largely on the teachers’ views, i.e. the teachers’ views govern their behaviour which in turn impact the children’s self-image and their ability to actively participate in their own learning and develop stronger beliefs concerning their own capabilities, which is an integral aspect of success and which generally facilitates the children’s capabilities. The research draws on several sources: psychology (Heider), political philosophy (Habermas), sociolog
(Ziehe), early childhood education (Malaguzzi), gender studies (Butler) and social psychology (Bandura).
The central findings of the research bring to light that the views of the
teachers who participated in the research were consistent with work methods and the children were frequently invited to participate in the decision-making processes. Ultimately, the teachers facilitated the children’s empowerment; however, the children’s gender limited the extent of their empowerment. One could claim that this aspect manifests most clearly the way in which teachers’ views impact the children. The research furthermore reveals that preschool children’s language
development does not undermine analyses of their beliefs in regard to their own abilities but it is nevertheless necessary to create alternative evaluation tools that focus on children, in contrast to commonly used evaluation tools used to analyse adult individuals’ beliefs in their own abilities. The research suggests pedagogical documentation as a possibly fruitful means of assessment.
It is clear that a person needs nutritious food to have energy to learn. In a British (EPPI-Centre, 2003) and Danish study (Björgen, 2009) we learn that children think it is important that the food tastes good. A child generally eats appropriately large amount of food if it gets the opportunity to be responsible to how much it eats each time (Livsmedelsverket.se).
Children’s opportunities of learning depend largely on the teachers’ views, i.e. the teachers’ views govern their behaviour which in turn impact the children’s self-image and their ability to actively participate in their own learning and develop stronger beliefs concerning their own capabilities, which is an integral aspect of success and which generally facilitates the children’s capabilities. (Harðardóttir, Gudrun Alda, 2013; 2014). Democracy at mealtime is no less important than at other times of school activities.
Traditional mealtimes in preschool emphasize more to create quiet time and to provide education to children (Nyberg and Grind Land, 2008) than to the empowerment of children. In the Danish study (Björgen, 2009) among 36 preschool children aged five to six, the children were asked to describe a good mealtime. A good meal in the opinion of the children was to eat with friends that they choose themselves, that they get plenty of time to eat and chat.
The researchers agree that one of the cores to promote empowerment lies in the attitude to look at individual’s capabilities; to focus on their strengths instead of their weaknesses. (Adams, 2008; Tengqvist, 2007). For example, their ability to; choosing a food (buffet), dose themselves, choose where they want to sit, eat on their own, evaluate how long it takes to eat, clean up after themselves after a meal and self-evaluate how well they ate.
Qualitative methods were used in the study, the research data was collected as normal circumstances and the researcher tried to understand the subject, which in this case are the mealtimes of the respective preschool. Collecting data was in the form of videos, photographs, focus group of children, the opinion of the parents and teacher’s discussion.
The results show the multidimensional significance of democratic mealtimes in a preschool. Children themselves appreciate most the freedom to choose for themselves where they sit at mealtimes. The results show that children are empowering in democratic mealtimes; to be more aware for how much they need to eat, peers motivation increases, conversational freedom of the children increases.
Diversity fit better within democratic mealtimes than within traditional mealtimes.