Browsing by Subject "digitaaliset portfoliot"

Objectives. According to studies, pedagogical documentation is not implemented with sufficient quality in Finnish early childhood education. Because of this kindergartens in Helsinki have introduced digital portfolios as a new way of doing pedagogical documentation. But because portfolios are a new working method, constant evaluation and development is needed. The purpose of this study was to find out children’s experiences with digital portfolios, what is meaningful to children in portfolios and how they see their own participation in making portfolios. The results of this study were used by the city of Helsinki in a project that aimed at developing digital portfolios and having children’s participation as their active agents. Methods. This qualitative study used photo elicitation and children’s group interviews as a research method. 36 children aged between four to six participated in the interviews. The interviews were conducted in kindergartens in Helsinki in the spring of 2023. The material was analyzed using thematic analysis. Conclusions. In this study, the important thing for children were the pictures in the portfolios and especially who was shown in them. According to the children, the purpose of the portfolios is to show what has been done in the kindergarten. Based on this, it can be interpreted that portfolios mostly contain past-oriented documentation, which does not reach the criteria of pedagogical documentation. In this study children hardly mention the planning, evaluation and development that is essential in pedagogical documentation. The children’s own experiences of their participation in making portfolios appeared passive. The children felt that they were viewers of the portfolio and not active creators. Some children wished for a more active role in making portfolios. The children had many development ideas of how to make portfolios more interesting for them. They wished portfolios would be less serious and contain more pictures and colors. The children also hoped that portfolios would contain pleasant evaluation symbols such as emojis.