How can practitioners use digital documentation systems in a way that recognises every child's capacity and potential, ask Dr Rosie Flewitt and Dr Kate Cowan
In their Introduction to this volume the editors look at a macro-question which could be summed up as: “What have we learnt since 1999 about conversations and ways to describe them?” In this chapter, by contrast, we address the question... more
In their Introduction to this volume the editors look at a macro-question which could be summed up as: “What have we learnt since 1999 about conversations and ways to describe them?” In this chapter, by contrast, we address the question at a micro-level: “What does the literature tell us about our particular object of study and how do insights from multimodality and research on computer-mediated conversations help us to structure the way we approach the analysis?” The object of study in this chapter is a video capture of a technology mediated multimodal conversation between two native speakers of different languages who have been charged with discussing a set cultural topic and with reporting their conclusions in writing. Finding ways to describe and analyse webcam-enhanced one-to-one audio and textual conversations is an interesting aim for language and culture teachers, as this mode of communication offers a potential arena for structured, semi-structured and unstructured interact...
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This chapter serves as an anchor for the book by presenting a focused examination of one of Vivian Gussin Paley’s advocated practices in the early childhood classroom: teachers scribing children’s stories (storytelling) and children... more
This chapter serves as an anchor for the book by presenting a focused examination of one of Vivian Gussin Paley’s advocated practices in the early childhood classroom: teachers scribing children’s stories (storytelling) and children enacting these later on the same day (story acting). We begin by tracing the approach back to its origins in the 1970s, where as an early childhood teacher in Chicago, Paley was seeking to offer routes into early education that appealed to children from diverse social and ethnic backgrounds, and with different learning needs. We discuss the affinity of her story-based practice with sociocultural theory, and consider key themes that have emerged from research evidence regarding the contribution of storytelling and story acting to young children’s narrative competence, cognitive and oral language development, and their preparedness for school. We also summarise research findings regarding how children share story elements reworked from popular culture and ...
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There is a growing trend in early childhood education towards using commercial software to record learning in digital formats, where video, audio, photographs and writing can be combined. These multi-media forms of ‘digital documentation’... more
There is a growing trend in early childhood education towards using commercial software to record learning in digital formats, where video, audio, photographs and writing can be combined. These multi-media forms of ‘digital documentation’ offer new possibilities to recognise, represent and value children’s multiple signs of learning in new ways, and to share these narratives with parents and children. Yet there is little research-based guidance on digital documentation, so early education assessment practices run the risk of being guided by commercial drivers rather than by child-centred learning theories. In this study, we worked with educators to develop an early childhood pedagogy of observation, documentation and assessment that brings Froebelian principles of the ‘uniqueness of every child’s capacity and potential’ and ‘holistic nature of development’ to documentation practices in contemporary early years settings. Fieldwork included case studies of children aged 3-5 years livi...
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In this paper, we discuss the concept of ‘competency’ and ‘the competent child’ in relation to young children, particularly those who may be considered ‘less competent’ than others, whether through disability, ethnicity or socio-economic... more
In this paper, we discuss the concept of ‘competency’ and ‘the competent child’ in relation to young children, particularly those who may be considered ‘less competent’ than others, whether through disability, ethnicity or socio-economic background. We critique normative discourses of ‘competency’ and consider how assumptions about competency in early childhood education can support or hinder young children’s learning. We ask how competent are we, as researchers and educators, in recognising and valuing young children’s perspectives? We ground our argument in brief accounts of findings from two UK-based early childhood research studies which were both founded on the principle that all young children are knowledgeable commentators on their own lives. The first example is taken from a small-scale study exploring the learning experiences of four-year-old children with special educational needs who attended both ‘special’ and ‘mainstream’ early education settings. The second example dra...
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This policy brief is based on an extensive body of research across Europe and elsewhere conducted by leading researchers in the field across more than 30 countries. We have studied the use of digital technologies by children under 8 years... more
This policy brief is based on an extensive body of research across Europe and elsewhere conducted by leading researchers in the field across more than 30 countries. We have studied the use of digital technologies by children under 8 years old in a variety of settings using an extensive range of research methods.
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Most children growing up in contemporary homes in post-industrial countries use digital media as part of everyday literacy activities, such as to connect with distant family and friends, watch their favourite programmes, play games and... more
Most children growing up in contemporary homes in post-industrial countries use digital media as part of everyday literacy activities, such as to connect with distant family and friends, watch their favourite programmes, play games and find information. However, conceptualizations of the Home Literacy Environment (HLE) have not yet adapted to the implications of these comparatively new practices for young children’s knowledge about literacy or the ways in which they negotiate affectively intense relationships in digital networks. Furthermore, the digital activity of very young children aged 0-3 years and the diversity of print and digital technologies they use remain under-researched. Reporting on detailed case studies of a two-year-old boy and a one-year-old girl in England, which formed part of an EU-wide qualitative study of 0-3-year-olds’ digital literacy practices at home, we problematise the relevance of conventional definitions of the HLE for contemporary homes. Building on n...
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Most children growing up in contemporary homes in post-industrial countries use digital media as part of everyday literacy activities, such as to connect with distant family and friends, watch their favourite programmes, play games and... more
Most children growing up in contemporary homes in post-industrial countries use digital media as part of everyday literacy activities, such as to connect with distant family and friends, watch their favourite programmes, play games and find information. However, conceptualizations of the Home Literacy Environment (HLE) have not yet adapted to the implications of these comparatively new practices for young children’s knowledge about literacy or the ways in which they negotiate affectively intense relationships in digital networks. Furthermore, the digital activity of very young children aged 0-3 years and the diversity of print and digital technologies they use remain under-researched. Reporting on detailed case studies of a two-year-old boy and a one-year-old girl in England, which formed part of an EU-wide qualitative study of 0-3-year-olds’ digital literacy practices at home, we problematise the relevance of conventional definitions of the HLE for contemporary homes. Building on n...
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In light of growing evidence that many parents are deeply concerned about their young children’s increasing technology use, in this paper we report on aspects of a study funded by the UK Economic and Social Research Council, where we... more
In light of growing evidence that many parents are deeply concerned about their young children’s increasing technology use, in this paper we report on aspects of a study funded by the UK Economic and Social Research Council, where we sought to understand parents’ views on children’s digital book reading. We introduced seven families to four award-winning digital books (story apps and e-books), observed how the mothers mediated their children’s digital book reading over a period of several weeks and subsequently interviewed the mothers about their shared reading experiences with the digital books. Focusing on the interview data and drawing on the theoretical framework of socio-materiality, this paper reports on how parents’ views about digital book features were entangled with their social perceptions of the value of digital reading. Analysis of parents’ accounts show three conflicted themes of trust/mistrust, agency/dependency and nostalgia/realism in parental attitudes towards thei...
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The Routledge Handbook of Multimodal Analysis is the first comprehensive 'research tool kit' for multimodal analysis, with 22 chapters written by leading figures in the field on a wide range of theoretical and methodological... more
The Routledge Handbook of Multimodal Analysis is the first comprehensive 'research tool kit' for multimodal analysis, with 22 chapters written by leading figures in the field on a wide range of theoretical and methodological issues. It clarifies terms and concepts, synthesizes the ...