Browsing by Author "Paaso, Vilma"

Objectives. The core of early childhood education activities is the interaction between early childhood education staff and toddlers, i.e., children under 3 years of age. The relevance of the interaction is especially emphasized in the basic functions. According to previous research, a child has a need to interact with other children as well as adults. The basic functions are realized in an interaction that makes it a pedagogical event. Singing can be used as a method of pedagogical interaction in basic functions. For example, singing can activate a child as a part of activities and it is also an important goal of early childhood education. The goal of this study was to find out how singing could be used as a method of pedagogical interaction in dressing and undressing situations in a toddler group. Research questions were: (1.) How does singing appear as a method of pedagogical interaction in dressing and undressing situations in a toddler group? (2.) What are the goals of singing in the usual dressing and undressing situations of pedagogical interaction in a toddler group? (3.) What are the consequences of singing as a method of interaction in dressing and undressing situations in a toddler group? Methods. This study was a qualitative interaction study. The total quantity of the video material was 1 hour 35 minutes and 1 second. The video featured moments of singing moments before and after the actual event of singing. These moments were reduced to 24 episodes which total duration was 23 minutes and 34 seconds. Multimodal interaction analysis was used in the study of the episodes. After transcribing the material, I reviewed the material in turn and did a theory-guided content analysis. Results and conclusions. Singing as a method of pedagogical interaction appeared as a diverse method. The study found four categories describing the pedagogical goal of singing: singing as a method of entertaining, a method of soothing, a method of connecting participants in pedagogical interaction, and giving undivided attention to one child. The study emphasized the pedagogical purpose of singing to entertain a child. The research revealed the diversity of singing as a method of pedagogical interaction. In the future, it should be considered what other pedagogical goals can be achieved in early childhood education through the interaction method of singing.