Browsing by Subject "nähdyksi ja kuulluksi tuleminen"

This qualitative study examines kindergarten teacher’s views on how they support participation. The subject is linked to early childhood education’s everyday life and how participation can be supported in children’s everyday life. This study is focused on Harry Shier’s (2001) participation theory, which offers different levels to achieve participation. By achieving these levels, participation can be supported. In this theory participation support can lead to situation where adults share their power on activities together with children. The study was implemented by data-based content analysis. Research data was gathered from the website of Finnish National Agency for Education. Research data was an internet annotation. Data collection was obtained by cropping kindergarten teacher’s answers from original data. The goal for this study was to examine kindergarten teacher’s answers and sort them in different groups. The results of this study are the main groups which were formed by analysis and there is four of these main groups. In this this study these main groups were compared to Harry Shier’s (2001) participation theory and purpose was to find some similarities between the results and theory. The main results of this study are linked to the resources that are available for teachers to use while supporting participation. For example, the most functional way to support participation was that children are listened to, but too big groups were seen as the reason that makes it difficult to listen children. Previous researchers have said that there is a huge meaning for children that they are listened to. Also making children’s views visible has a big meaning for children. These are the ways when they can experience that they can influence in their lives. (Gellin, 2011). Resources were also mentioned in Shier’s (2001) theory by as one of the ways how adults can be engaged for supporting children’s participation. In the results educational companionship between staff and parents was also highlighted and also that through shared activities children get a chance to influence to the things which have effect on them. Educational companionship was seen as a good and functional interaction between kindergarten staff and the parents. Children’s chances to affect on the activities was included in the idea that the staff is in the key position to make children seen and heard. According to kindergarten teachers, by listening children, teacher enable children to bring their views to the attention and by that make children’s participation possible in planning activities.