Narrative meaning-making in Preschool

Project summary

The general aim of this thesis is to study preschools for the youngest children as cultural and culture-generating forum. This is achieved by describing, analysing and discussing the joint creation of meaning by children and adults in everyday situations in the preschool. More specifically, the aim is to study the creation of meaning in co-narratives, in order to explore their pedagogical potential. To this end, an analysis is undertaken of the typologies and categories into which child-initiated and adult-initiated co-narratives fall, on the basis of content and usage. The epistemological foundation for this approach is social constructionism. Cultural context is considered to be interwoven in the meaning-making processes. Based on data collected in the course of ethnographic fieldwork, I have written four articles. The article entitled ?What?s worth talking about? Meaning-making in co-narration in toddler-initiated co-narratives in preschool? (Early Years nr. 1 2006) presents what it is that some children seem to consider relevant through an analysis of 39 child-initiated co-narratives. They took up several serious themes such as feelings of fear, anger, loss and desire. Using the co-narrative genre, therefore, the children raised and explored life issues that they were having to deal with and found problematic. Two further articles are based on the case of ?Captain Andreas? voyage?: ?Participation, play and power - a two-year-old boy in curriculum construction? (Manuscript submitted) and ?Captain Andreas and his crew ? a discussion of research data about a two-year-old boy?s voice and his influence on preschool content (Barn nr 1 2006).? These articles thematise and problematise children?s contributions to preschool content. The starting point for this discussion is the micro-analysis of a co-narrative about the pirate Captain Sabeltann. Based of this analysis, thick descriptions are then provided of the teacher?s shift in position from a strategy of ignoring to one of engagement. The child, Andreas, uses experiences he has gained from a visit to a theme park and the media in a way which may be characterized as serious playfulness. In his play, he takes various roles: those of a bold and threatening pirate, of a strong and offensive sword-wielding dancer, and of a frightened and defensive victim. The fourth article, ?What?s on the teachers? agenda? Teachers? didactical projects in co-narration with very young children? (In print in International Journal of Early Childhood, autumn 2007), analyses 63 adult-initiated co-narratives and describes the pedagogical discourses. An overview is provided of a typology including 8 different ways in which the teachers made use of co-narrative. Child-initiated co-narration can challenge the adults? authority and thereby increase the child?s interaction space; on the other hand, it can also give the child authority over other children. From this perspective, the role of adults is to try to distribute such power positions among the co-narrative participants. Adult-initiated co-narratives can be used to focus children?s attention on a common theme.