Browsing by Subject "Lapsen toimijuus"

Objective for this thesis was to survey how children themselves, under early childhood education environment, demonstrate their operational strategies. And how children expressed their social skills in operational models and in their thinking. Qualitative survey from children perspective was carried out to gain knowledge on how children utilize operational strategies during typical social interaction situations. Based on previous research, children’s ability to experience content of learning has strong influence on the learning outcome, and each individual impression contributes to learning event formulation. Classification in the agency model follows fourfold table formulation after Reunamo (2007). According to common knowledge from childhood research, children can be seen as competent social operators that are linked to their environment. Activity and possibility to interact and to participate is enabler to capability to act as an operator. Research data consists of interview study of 15 children, born in year 2009 and during study were four or five years old. The study was carried out as a set of discretionary interviews in one kindergarten during two days in October 2016. The data was analyzed using fourfold table model for agency of children perception after Reunamo. Research showed that children used different operational strategies and that they were having more adaptive role to control the situation during interaction with their peers. Theoretical framework of this study does not distinguish difference of children social interaction in their relationships between adults compared to their peers. However, this study indicated significant importance of social interaction between children and education personnel during early childhood education. Most challenging for the subjects was finding answers to questions related perceiving different perspectives between children and adults. The role between an adult and a child is always anti-symmetric where the adult is in superior role and meanwhile the child is greatly dependent on the adult from various aspects. It is known that social skills are demonstrated differently according to the relationship. Children can safely test and develop their skills with their peers. Theoretical models often emphasize the importance of peer interaction as an enabler for the development of social skills, and has even greater role in the development of emotional skills.