Listening to young children outdoors with pedagogical documentation

If children are to be heard in research and pedagogy, we need to find ways to listen to them. But how do we listen to young children when words are not their primary means of communication? Drawing on research investigating children’s perspectives of outdoor spaces in pedagogical settings, this arti...

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Main Author: Merewether, Jane
Format: Journal Article
Published: Taylor & Francis 2018
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/67675
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author Merewether, Jane
author_facet Merewether, Jane
author_sort Merewether, Jane
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description If children are to be heard in research and pedagogy, we need to find ways to listen to them. But how do we listen to young children when words are not their primary means of communication? Drawing on research investigating children’s perspectives of outdoor spaces in pedagogical settings, this article discusses the use of pedagogical documentation as a way of listening to young children. This listening involves children and adults working together in a relationship of co-experimentation which requires suspension of judgment, openness and preparedness to be affected by the ‘other’ [Davies, Bronwyn. (2014). Listening to Children: Being and Becoming. London: Routledge; Rinaldi, Carla. (2006). In Dialogue with Reggio Emilia: Listening, Researching and Learning. London: Routledge]. The article explores ways in which pedagogical documentation can not only lead to insights into children’s thinking, but also to questioning of taken-for-granted assumptions about children, learning and the wider world. Furthermore, the article highlights the way in which the materiality of pedagogical documentation strategies also actively contributes to the research. The study’s findings suggest that in thinking with pedagogical documentation, children, adults and nonhuman elements all work together in an interconnected and ever-changing assemblage which does not result in definitive conclusions but instead leads to more questions.
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institution Curtin University Malaysia
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-676752018-08-13T07:26:45Z Listening to young children outdoors with pedagogical documentation Merewether, Jane If children are to be heard in research and pedagogy, we need to find ways to listen to them. But how do we listen to young children when words are not their primary means of communication? Drawing on research investigating children’s perspectives of outdoor spaces in pedagogical settings, this article discusses the use of pedagogical documentation as a way of listening to young children. This listening involves children and adults working together in a relationship of co-experimentation which requires suspension of judgment, openness and preparedness to be affected by the ‘other’ [Davies, Bronwyn. (2014). Listening to Children: Being and Becoming. London: Routledge; Rinaldi, Carla. (2006). In Dialogue with Reggio Emilia: Listening, Researching and Learning. London: Routledge]. The article explores ways in which pedagogical documentation can not only lead to insights into children’s thinking, but also to questioning of taken-for-granted assumptions about children, learning and the wider world. Furthermore, the article highlights the way in which the materiality of pedagogical documentation strategies also actively contributes to the research. The study’s findings suggest that in thinking with pedagogical documentation, children, adults and nonhuman elements all work together in an interconnected and ever-changing assemblage which does not result in definitive conclusions but instead leads to more questions. 2018 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/67675 10.1080/09669760.2017.1421525 Taylor & Francis restricted
spellingShingle Merewether, Jane
Listening to young children outdoors with pedagogical documentation
title Listening to young children outdoors with pedagogical documentation
title_full Listening to young children outdoors with pedagogical documentation
title_fullStr Listening to young children outdoors with pedagogical documentation
title_full_unstemmed Listening to young children outdoors with pedagogical documentation
title_short Listening to young children outdoors with pedagogical documentation
title_sort listening to young children outdoors with pedagogical documentation
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/67675