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Constructing child participation in early years classrooms: An exploration from Wales

Jane Waters‐Davies Orcid Logo, Alison Murphy Orcid Logo, Sarah Chicken Orcid Logo, Jacky Tyrie Orcid Logo, Jennifer Clement

Children and Society, Volume: 38, Issue: 5, Pages: 1824 - 1841

Swansea University Author: Jacky Tyrie Orcid Logo

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DOI (Published version): 10.1111/chso.12848

Abstract

This paper addresses the research problem that arises from evidence that, despite supportive policy contexts, enactment of pedagogies that attend to young children's participation rights in classroom settings is highly variable. We report our exploration of the ways in which the child, and chil...

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Published in: Children and Society
ISSN: 0951-0605 1099-0860
Published: Wiley 2024
Online Access: Check full text

URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa67332
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Abstract: This paper addresses the research problem that arises from evidence that, despite supportive policy contexts, enactment of pedagogies that attend to young children's participation rights in classroom settings is highly variable. We report our exploration of the ways in which the child, and child participation are constructed in early education settings in Wales, where legislation and policy around children's rights has been a key feature of the Welsh Government agenda post-devolution. Data were gathered via a qualitative online bilingual (English and Welsh) survey offered via email to teachers of children aged 3–7 in Wales. The overarching research question of the project was: How do teachers of children 3–7 years understand and enact the notion of participation as it relates to the children they teach? Data analysis focused on research participants' apparent constructions of the children they teach and their capabilities, and unpacked the ways in which these constructions relate to the reported opportunities for participation. The discussion is informed by the notion of the threshold concept, described by Meyer & Land as akin to a portal that opens new and previously inaccessible ways of thinking. We consider the extent to which the conceptual construction of the capable child maybe a threshold concept in shaping the realisation of children's participation rights in educative contexts.
Keywords: Child participation, construction of childhood, early education, early years, Wales
College: Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
Funders: This study was undertaken as an unfunded pilot for a wider project that has now received ESRC funding.
Issue: 5
Start Page: 1824
End Page: 1841