Children perspectives on everyday life in ECEC

A Danish study (Children's ombudsman 2011) shows that children are rarely involved in decision making in their ECEC (Early Childhood Education and Care) facilities. Children express a need to be more involved and listened to.... [ view full abstract ]

A Danish study (Children's ombudsman 2011) shows that children are rarely involved in decision making in their ECEC (Early Childhood Education and Care) facilities. Children express a need to be more involved and listened to. The first aim is to present and discuss methods of how to voice children's own perspectives on everyday life. The second aim is reflection on the significance of such children's perspectives on pedagogical knowledge and practice. Our research on children as participants in research and in institutional developments addresses overall interests in democratization and humanization, that can be traced back to strategies for Nordic welfare developments and the Conventions on Children's Rights.  

We will show how involving and empowering children's participation can be substantiated by methods that enable children to raise their own ideas, wishes and critique related to their everyday life. This is important for the quality of pedagogical work, as it is equal important to discuss the implication and relation between micro, meso and macro level regarding children’s life and pedagogical work in daycare. Due to a European focus on effective preschool practice, many preschools and child care settings have been enrolled in educational programmes and projects aiming to develop more effective and high quality practice    

We will present two metodologily perspectives giving voice to children. The first presentation will be on quality in ECEC from the children’s perspectives. How do staff and politicians make sure that we include children’s different voices when taking and measuring quality in ECEC. (Sheridan og Williams  (2007). The second presentation is Future creating workshop involving Kindergarten Children. An action research project concerning children's well-being and workslife. It is designed to accommodate children's participation through graphic illustrations of children's critique and utopias. The design stems from (Reason and Bradbury 2001; Bloch 1991; Ahrenkiel et al. 2012)