Children's Perspective in Play: Documenting the Educational Process / Dječja perspektiva u igri: dokumentiranje odgojno-obrazovnog procesa

Abstract

Abstract
Our initial hypothesis is that documenting the educational process encompasses the entirety of the context in which children and adults in preschool institutions live, work and play. In this manner, documentation is approached as a means of changing and improving educational practice. By using a qualitative case study, we researched the role that social interaction plays in the learning processes of children of an early and preschool age. As a theoretical anchor for our perusal of the conversations and interaction between the children in a kindergarten group, we made use of sociocultural perspectives on learning and the socialisation of children. Exploring the discourse of children is valuable not only because it aids in appreciating individual and group learning experiences, but also because it assists us in gaining an understanding of children's actions and the active role they play in their own learning. Thus the research was rooted in an extensive examination and documentation of activities of learning and exploration within the stimulating environment of the kindergarten. Within this study, children are understood as creators of the meaning and active participants in their own learning processes. In addition to this, the relationships between children have become a context in which the co-construction of theories unfolds, as does the interpretation of different perceptions of reality.

Key words: a child, documentation, exploration, educators, stimulating environment

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Sažetak
Naša polazna teza jest da dokumentiranje odgojno-obrazovnog procesa obuhvaća cjelokupni kontekst življenja djece i odraslih u instituciji ranog i predškolskog odgoja. Na taj način o dokumentaciji raspravljamo kao o sredstvu mijenjanja i unapređivanja odgojno-obrazovne prakse. Uz pomoć metodologije kvalitativne studije slučaja istražili smo koju ulogu ima društvena interakcija u procesu učenja djece rane i predškolske dobi. Istražili smo dječje rasprave i interakcije unutar vrtićke grupe oslanjajući se na sociokulturne perspektive o učenju i socijalizaciji djece. Proučavanje dječjeg diskursa vrijedno je ne samo zbog razumijevanja individualnih i grupnih iskustava učenja već nam pomaže u shvaćanju dječje poduzetnosti i njihove aktivne uloge u vlastitom učenju. Istraživanje je usredotočeno na iscrpno dokumentiranje i proučavanje istraživačko-spoznajnih aktivnosti u poticajnom okruženju vrtića. U ovom istraživanju djecu se smatra tvorcima značenja i aktivnim sudionicima u vlastitom procesu učenja. Uz to su dječji odnosi postali kontekst u kojemu se odvijala sukonstrukcija teorija i interpretacija raznih shvaćanja zbilje.

Ključne riječi: dijete, dokumentacija, istraživanje, odgajatelj, poticajno okruženje