This paper is focused on interaction of a child and preschool teacher caused by the child’s question. By his/her spontaneous questions, a child expresses initiative for interaction with adults as well as the initiative to direct educational activities.
The research presented hereby is based on registering interaction situations that children started by asking their teacher a question. Situations have been analysed in relation to the type of children’s questions, and responses and reactions of both the teacher and the children, depending on continuation or completion of the interaction. Possibilities and specificity of an interaction established in the stated way have then been analysed, depending on the nature of the activity in which the children and teachers were engaged, and the age and sex of children.
Results show that the responses of teachers depend on the type of questions and characteristics of the context in which the interaction occurs, and that the response also determines whether the interaction will continue. Answers provided by teachers that are not finished or are given in the form of a question will encourage further interaction, while closed answers, as well as the lack of response will make children give up or break the interaction. Children’s questions are not always welcome, in particular when they go beyond the contents framework of the activity the teacher is guiding. Not all children’s questions require the same type of interaction. After children get answers to questions aimed at getting new information, or to those by which they tend to achieve the required conditions to act, they finish interaction. However, children ask some questions for the sake of interaction so that the response of their teacher determines whether the interaction will continue or not.
Question asked by a pre-school child, response of teacher, interaction, initiative, institutional context
