Young Children as Active Participants in the Investigation of Teaching and Learning

Y

9

Investigations; Young Children; Educational Practices; Child Development; Policy Formation; Semiotics; Early Childhood Education; Emergent Literacy; Audiovisual Instruction; Educational Technology; Student Participation; Participatory Research; Foreign Countries; Educational Research

10.1080/13502930685209791

1350-293X

Gathering data about children's development and learning has long been the domain of adults. However, there is increasing interest in including children's voices in their education and, a more challenging task, in research that impacts on educational practice and policy making. Techniques such as Instant Video Revisiting (IVR) offer a way for children's voices to be heard. In this paper, we discuss the use of IVR in investigations of young children and their symbol systems. Four year old children are offered opportunities to comment directly upon their experience in shared book reading and spontaneous singing. We discuss the opportunities offered by IVR and comment on the challenges faced by children, teachers and researchers when there is no shared meta-language for discussion.

As Provided

28

2009

EJ830170