Children's interests in the early years classroom: Views, practices and challenges

Publication date: Available online 6 December 2018Source: Learning, Culture and Social InteractionAuthor(s): Maria BirbiliAbstractEarly childhood teachers' understanding of interest as a learning phenomenon often comes from brief references in textbooks and curriculum documents. This can create a gap between rhetoric and the reality of practice. The study presented here aimed to explore how teachers conceptualize children's interests in early years curriculum and appropriate related curriculum guidelines in their practice. It responds to calls in the literature for more studies on teachers' knowledge and decision making in creating curricula that build on children's interests and contributes to a burgeoning literature that takes a critical approach to a ‘taken for granted’ practice of early childhood education. Data were collected through semi-structured, open-ended interviews and analysis of the official Greek early childhood curriculum. Twenty-one early childhood teachers working in Greek public kindergartens participated in the study. Results show that differences in the way teachers respond to children's interests in the classroom may be associated with differences in teachers' perceptions of what counts as worthwhile knowledge for preschool children, teachers' image of children and teachers' conceptualization of young children's interests. The paper concludes that while the rhetoric of following children's interests is well established, teachers need a stronger base ...
Source: Learning, Culture and Social Interaction - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research