Browsing by Subject "positiivinen palaute"

Aims. Positive pedagogy and its methods, such as positive feedback given to children, have been popular in early childhood education in the recent years. This is quite justified as the studies have shown that the positive feedback, such as encouragement and praise, given to children, influences in the wellbeing, motivation, learning and positive self-image of the child. Positive feedback can be utilised as a means of guidance or support for children, according to the previous studies. Despite of the favour of the positive pedagogy and the advantages of the positive feedback, I have noticed that not all early childhood education workers use this method actively. The aim of this study is to clarify the experiences of early childhood education teachers in giving the positive feedback to children, and why and how the positive feedback is given to children. Methods. This qualitative research is phenomenographic. The material was collected with the thematic interviews with eight early childhood education teachers. The research material consisted of transcribed interviews and was analysed according to the phenomenographic analysis. Results and conclusions. The results of the study were classified in three descriptive categories: aims for giving the positive feedback, methods for giving the positive feedback and the development of the positive operational culture. Teachers found this way of working as an important part of early childhood education, because they had observed the positive feedback having positive effects in children’s’ development and wellbeing, as well as in the group of children. The teachers also experienced that the positive feedback resulted in the decrease of negative interaction, as the positive feedback was attached not only with the direct feedback and the non-verbal communication but also with positive guiding and rewarding. The teachers considered the positive feedback way of working either as a learned skill or as part of their nature. The positive feedback and more generally, positive attention and work approach with children, were also seen to affect other areas in early childhood education, for example teamwork and cooperation with the parents. The teachers had also noticed that the differences in the operating methods, and the workers part of personality and attitudes, were the hindering factors in giving the positive feedback.