Browsing by Subject "opettajan näkökulma"

The aim of this study was to describe in which ways child’s participation is seen in round-the-clock daycare centres. Thesis focused on the experiences of early childhood education teachers regarding children’s participation in early childhood education. The aim was to find out how early childhood education teachers consider themselves to support and promote children’s participation. The aim was also to find out early childhood education teachers define the concept of participation and how participation affects everyday early childhood education practices. The thesis is based on qualitative research. The data was collected through semi-structured interviews with six early childhood education teachers working in different round-the-clock daycare centers in Helsinki city, Finland. The need to this kind of research rises from childrens’ right to be heard about matters that concern themselves. Studies of child’s participation in the round-the-clock point of view are lesser. The rights of the child are based on the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) and the Act on Early Childhood Education and Care (540/2018). Previous studies point out that children participation is a multidimensional phenomenon. The theoretical framework of the study is based on the view of participation as one of the principle of hearing children. The theory of participation has been dealt with according to the Hart’s ladder of participation (1992), Shier’s pathway to participation (2001) and multidimensional model of participation by Turja (2017). From the research results it can be concluded that early childhood teachers in round-the-clock groups are aware of the different factors affecting child’s participation. The results confirm also the earlier views that the phenomenon of participation is multidimensional. The results show how adults are aware of the child's right to be heard, influence and participate in his or her own community. The child’s participation is meaningful at the round-the-clock daycare centers and in the quality of the Early Childhood studies. It is important as a adult to support a child to experience that he can influence the aspects that affect him and that he is a unique person. The most essential way to increase child’s participation is to meet the child and come face to face with him by intentionally.