Browsing by Subject "esiopetuksen opettaja"

Objectives. The purpose of this study is to find out how pre- primary teachers say they can take notice of the interests of children in the day- to- day activities. Based on previous research data, hearing out children’s ideas and thoughts affects positively on the self- image, motivation to learn, self- esteem and self- empowerment. The purpose of this study is also to find out the obstacles that may keep teachers from noticing children’s wishes. In the theoretical part of this research, I bring out concepts and themes that should be considered when hearing out children’s interests. These include a child- centered approach, participation in early childhood pedagogy and interaction between the child and the adult. Each of the previous concepts/ themes contributes to the realization of high- quality early childhood education in their own way. Methods. This study has been carried out using a qualitative research method and by following a phenomenological-hermeneutic research tradition. The material was collected by interviewing four early childhood teachers in the Helsinki metropolitan area. I recorded every interview situation after which the recordings were transcribed into a readable format. After that, I looked for answers that were relevant to my research questions. Results and conclusion. Based on the results of this research, children’s areas of interests can be taken into account in many ways. The responses showed that it is important to listen to children’s ideas by observing them, let them to vote and discussing with them. In order to achieve high- quality interaction between children and adults, team spirit and trustworthy atmosphere were needed. According to the interviewees, it was important that every child was equally noticed and heard. Based on the results, there were also some obstacles that made it difficult to take children’s interests into account. These obstacles were such as lack of resources, too small spaces, lack of staff and turnover. Teachers should always be ready for possible change of plans. Also, according to the results children’s ideas had to be left out sometimes because they did not fit in the schedule or were too vivid. The National Core Curriculum for Pre- primary Education was considered to provide a framework for all activities. The role of the adult in child- initiated education to happen and as enabler of participation was considered important. This research is a reminder of how it is important to hear children’s wishes and ideas.