European Early Childhood Education Research ...

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European Early Childhood Education Research Journal Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/recr20

Early Childhood Professionals' experience of time to facilitate children's thinking a

Hiroko Fumoto & Sue Robson

a

a

Roehampton University , UK Published online: 15 Jun 2007.

To cite this article: Hiroko Fumoto & Sue Robson (2006) Early Childhood Professionals' experience of time to facilitate children's thinking, European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 14:2, 97-111, DOI: 10.1080/13502930285209941 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13502930285209941

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European Early Childhood Education Research Journal Vol. 14, No. 2 2006

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Early Childhood Professionals' Experience of Time to Facilitate Children's Thinking HIROKO FUMOTO & SUE ROBSON

Downloaded by [University of Roehampton] at 02:47 22 October 2014

Roehampton University, UK

SUMMAR Y: This"paper reports on the second phase of the Froebel Research Fellowship project "Ownership and Autonomy in Early Childhood" (2003-5). Based on the first phase of the project (Robson and Hargreaves, 2005), a questionnaire survey o f SOprofessionals working in the Foundation Stage (age 3 5) in England was conducted to obtain an overview of their experiences of facilitating children's thinking. The results show important differences in the way respondents" experience time. Although approximately 71% of respondents reported that they feel they have enough time to enhance children ~ thinking, fewer of them reported that they have enough opportunity to play with the children, and enough time to 'stand back' and reflect upon what they are doing (66% and 55% respectively). Drawing on the ecological perspective o f human development (Bronfenbrenner, 1979) and the notion of the importance of capturing learners" momentum towards learning (Fumoto, Hargreaves and Maxwell, 2004), the paper highlights the diversity of the ways in which children's thinking is being facilitated in nursery settings (age 3 - 4) and in reception classes (age 4 - 5). RESUM[~. Cet article pr~sente la deuxibme partie du projet de recherche de la Froebel Research Fellowship intitul~ "Acquisition et Autonomie clans la Petite Enfance" (2003-05). Suite glla premibre partie du projet (Robson et Hargreaves, 2005), une enquOte par questionnaire a dt~ effectuOe en Angleterre auprOs de 80 professionnels de l '~cole maternelle, afin d'obtenir une vue d'ensemble sur leurs pratiques pour faciliter la rdflexiondes enfants. Les rdsultats de cette enqu~te montrent des ~carts importants quant g~la dimension temporelle, entre les personnes interrog~es. Bien qu 'environ 71% disent avoir assez de temps pour favoriser la r~flexion des"enfants, peu d'entre elles affirment avoir assez d'occasions pourjouer avec eux ou pour prendre du recul et rdfl~chir h ce qu 'elles sont en train defaire (66% et 55% respectivement). A partir de la perspective ~cologique du d~veloppement de l'homme (Bronfenbrenner, 1979) et de la conception fond~e sur I'importance d'utiliser la dynamique de l 'apprenant pour l 'amener vers les apprentissages (Fumoto, Hargreaves et Maxwell, 2004), l 'article montre la diversit~ des fagons de faciliter la r~flexion des enfants de 3-4 ans h l "~cole maternelle et de 4-5 ans dans les "receptions classes' "'. ZUSAMMENFASSUNG: Berichtet wird iiber die zweite Phase des Froebel-ForschungsstipendiumProjekts "Eigentum und Selbststgindigkeit im Kleinkindalter" (2003-5). Es wurde eine Umfrage mit FragebOgen bei 80 Faehrgiften, die in England in der Foundation Stage (3-5 Jahre) tiitig sind, durchgef~hrt, um einen Oberblick iiber deren Erfahrungen beim F6rdern von Denkprozessen bei Kindern zu bekommen. Die Umfrage beruht auf der ersten Phase des Projekts (Robson und Hargreaves', 2005). Die Ergebnisse zeigen gravierende Unterschiede beziiglich der Erfahrung von Zeitrahmen bei den Befragten auf Obwohl rund 71% der Befragten berichteten, dass sie geniigend Zeit haben zum Verbessern von Denkprozessen der Kinder, berichteten weniger, dass sie ausreichend Gelegenheit haben, mit den Kindern zu spielen (66 %) und ausreichend Zeit, dariiber nachzudenken, was sie tun (55%). Der Text betont die zahlreichen M6glichkeiten, das Nachdenken von Kindergartenkindern (3-4 Jahre) und vom Vorschulalter (4-5 Jahre) zu fOrdern, indem er sich auf

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die 6kologische Perspektive der Entwicklung (Bronfenbrenner, 1979) und auf die Bedeutung, den Lernimpetus der Lernenden aufzugreifen (Fumoto, Hargreaves & Maxwell, 2004) stiitzt. RESUMEN: Este articulo informa sobre la segunda fase del proyecto de la Beca Froebel de Investigaci6n "Propiedad y autonomia en la primera infancia" (2003-5). Basado en la primera etapa del proyecto (Robson y Hargreaves', 2005) se realiz6 una encuesta entre 80 profesionales a cargo del 'Foundation Stage' (3-5 ahos de edad) en Inglaterra, para obtener una visi6n de sus experiencias de promover el pensamiento en los nihos. Los resultados muestran grandes diferencias en la forma en que los profesionales perciben el tiempo. Aunque aproximadamente el 71% de los profesionales responden que tienen tiempo suficiente para estimular el pensamiento en los ni~os, menos han respondido que tienen oportunidades parajugar con los nihos y tiempo para detenerse a reflexionar acerca de lo que estdn haciendo (66% y 55% respectivamente). A partir de la perspectiva ecol6gica del desarrollo humano (Bronfenbrenner, 1979) y de la idea de la importancia de capturar los momentos de aprendizaje (Fumoto, Hargreaves y Maxwell, 2004), el articulo muestra la diversidad de formas en que el pensamiento de los nihos esta siendo estimulado en los jardines (3-5 ahos) y e n los primeros grados (4-5 ahos).

Keywords: Early childhood professionals, time, thinking, early learning, shared experience Introduction

The support and development of thinking is often seen as a core element in any discussion of curriculum and pedagogy for young children. Pramling (2004), whilst drawing distinctions between associative (narrative) thinking and logical analytical thinking, highlights the emphasis placed on either or both aspects in a number of highly influential curriculum as identified by the OECD (2004), including Te Whariki from New Zealand, High/Scope from the USA, and Reggio Emilia in Italy. Practitioners and policy-makers in the United Kingdom reflect similar interests. For example, two government-funded research projects (Moyles, Adams and Musgrove, 2002; Siraj-Blatchford, Sylva, Muttock, Gilden and Bell, 2002), both had, as part of their brief, the requirement to gather information on effective practice in developing thinking skills in the early years. At that time, practitioners in England working in settings with children aged 3-5 years were in the second year of implementation of a statutory curriculum: the Curriculum Guidance for the Foundation Stage (CGFS: QCA/DfEE, 2000). Embracing this age range in early childhood settings across the private, voluntary and maintained sectors, the CGFS was introduced in order to provide a more coherent experience for children throughout this early learning phase, and to promote fluency during transition between, for example, day nurseries and playgroups, and reception classes in school. Children in England embark on their statutory schooling at the age of five and, prior to this, many four year olds attend reception classes. This has been a target of controversy over the years as a result of evidence suggesting the inadequacy of facilities, as well as the training of staff, in meeting the needs of these children (e.g. Pascal, 1990; Mcinnes, 2002). One result of the CGFS has been, albeit gradually, to close the gaps between the pedagogical stances often taken by the professionals in nursery settings, which are based on play and child-initiated activities, and those in reception classes, which are often described as based on more adult-led activities (Mcinnes, 2002). The CGFS promotes a balance between child-initiated and adult-led activities 'both indoors and outside' and the provision of opportunities for 'children to learn through play, to experiment, plan and initiate activities themselves' (Aubrey 2004, p.634). It also makes explicit reference to the importance of the development of young children's thinking as in the following statements taken from 'Communication, language and literacy', one of the six areas of learning in the CGFS: Practitioners should give particular attention to: 3a providing opportunities for children to communicate thoughts, ideas and feelings (p.44) 3b (Goal) Use talk to organise, sequence and clarify thinking, ideas, feelings and events (p.58)


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Needless to say, any changes to the ways in which adults work with young children can potentially be challenging for all those who are involved in enhancing children's well-being. As Aubrey (2004) suggests, there is a need to consider a wide range of strategies to ensure that children's potentials are being extended by taking into account their diverse needs. It was against this background that the Froebel Research Fellowship project, 'Ownership and Autonomy in Early Childhood', was developed in 2003. In the first phase of this project, an interview study examined the perceptions of five early childhood professionals about their roles in supporting and facilitating children's thinking (Robson and Hargreaves, 2005). The study found a high level of commitment amongst the participants towards extending children's thinking, although its process was described as 'often remaining implicit rather than explicit in their planning and in their own thinking' (ibid., p.92). There was some difference in their views about the extent to which they felt they should intervene in children's activities, and interestingly, views on the CGFS and the impact it has had on their practice were divided between those who worked in nursery settings (3 - 4 year-olds) and those in reception classes (4 - 5 year-olds). The importance of ensuring time to enhance children's thinking was also highlighted in the study. The present paper reports on a questionnaire survey which forms the second phase of the 'Ownership and Autonomy in Early Childhood' project. It was conducted with 80 professionals in the Foundation Stage (age 3 - 5) in England in order to examine their experience of time, in particular in the context of enhancing children's thinking. The rationale of the study is based on the assumption that the recent changes in the way early childhood professionals work with children and their families could be creating a certain level of uncertainty in the field and that there is a need to examine a fundamental aspect of practice: that is, the ways these professionals experience time to engage with children.

Conceptual Framework and the Rationale The process of enhancing children's thinking is inherently a relational experience for both children and adults. As Hobson (2002) emphasises, the process of enhancing another person's thinking is underpinned by the emotional exchanges between the individuals, which involves a fundamental appreciation of other individuals' experiences (Hobson, 1989): this notion is closely associated with what Stern (1985) refers to as 'affective attunement'. Emotional connectedness between adults and children ultimately underpins the learning environment, and children's process of development can also influence teachers' emotional responses during their interactions (Fumoto, Hargreaves and Maxwell, 2003). The creation of an optimal social-emotional climate for learning is embedded within positive interpersonal relationships between all those involved (Howes, 2000). To develop this requires time (e.g. Bronfenbrenner, 1979; Hinde, 1997): that is, the time for professionals 'to be' with children, which Fromm (1976) refers to as experiencing the pleasure of sharing experiences with them. This very human aspect of education has, however, been the subject of considerable change over the years. For instance, Siraj-Blatchford (1993) stresses that teachers often do not have enough time to be with children because of increasing record keeping and paperwork - often seen as a result of 'political interference and ideology' (p.403). Hanko (1999) al so argues that there is an increasing external agenda which is not necessarily in accord with that of the teachers: There is a tension between what teachers know to be important for the process of learning and the perceived official emphasis on its measurable content. Working conditions seem to impede their capacity to act in the best interest of their charges. Constantly changing priorities and uncertainties cumulatively seemed to conspire against their professional task. (p.5, emphasis in original) Furthermore, Hanko stresses her concerns about a climate which affords teachers less time to focus on the underlying emotional experiences of the learning environment:

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[There are] growing concerns that teachers' opportunities to attend to the emotional and social factors in children's learning have been severely reduced in recent decades and been considered as lying outside an academic remit, while an excessively competitive teaching climate is feared to have led to academic failure for too many children.' (p. 143) More recently, Robson and Hargreaves (2005) report on concerns expressed by early childhood professionals about missing opportunities to facilitate children's thinking, and to engage in one-toone interaction with them. This may have important consequences if, as Siraj-Blatchford et al. (2002) emphasise, sustained shared thinking is a valuable way of extending children's experiences. The significance of time in the learning environment is emphasised by Moss and Petrie (2002), who suggest the need 'to provide a space where new possibilities can be explored and realised' (p. 145). Hargreaves (2003) reflects their views and argues that' [w]hen teachers have their time stolen from them, one of the most precious things they lose is the time to learn and to think' (p.82). These authors reinforce the importance of time in the efforts of professionals to facilitate children's thinking. The significance of examining early childhood professionals' experiences of time to enhance children's thinking is twofold. Firstly, time that is experienced by these professionals is a crucial part of children's developmental context, and part of a sociocultural milieu that puts certain constraints upon individuals' opportunities to explore their own possibilities. Martin and Sugarman (1999), in their effort to bridge sociocultural and constructivist accounts of educational development, suggest that: Education ... entails maximizing resources and possibilities for human learning and creativity while, at the same time, limiting unnecessarily restrictive sociocultural constraints on human innovation and chance. (p.97) Here the importance lies not only in the actual time that is ensured during the sessions for professionals to engage with children, but also in the professionals' perceived time. That is, whether or not they feel that they have enough time to facilitate children's thinking, for instance, by taking part in children's play in order to enhance their shared meaning with them, or the time to stand back and make observations of their activities. A phenomenological perspective on perception is regarded as the underpinningof our consciousness that provides meanings to the objects of our perception (e.g. events, phenomena, other individuals, material objects) and our experience of interacting with them (Merleau-Ponty, 1945). In other words, a minute of one-to-one interaction with a child may elicit a very different experience for professionals according to the way in which they attach meaning to the interaction and to the child's experience. Exploring professionals' experience of time could provide an important basis for the ways in which they support children's thinking because it gives rise to the ways they create the developmental context for the children (and for themselves) by prioritising their own action during the session, as well as how they attempt to minimise the constraints placed upon them that prevent them from sharing experiences with the children. Secondly, time that professionals experience during the session presents a space for them to capture children's momentum towards learning: that is, the process of children attempting to achieve a goal that is manifested with certain momentum. These moments can be conceptualised as what Bronfenbrenner(1979) terms molar activities: ' an ongoing behavior possessing a momentum of its own and perceived as having meaning or intent by the participants in the setting' (p. 45). It is a moment in time when one's environmenthas a significant meaning to the developing person and hence influences the ways in which he/she interacts with the world. As has been discussed by Fumoto, Hargreaves and Maxwell (2004), these moments can arise at any time, for instance, while children are painting, playing with sand and water or even when looking through a window. Bronfenbrenner (1979) suggests that they can be seen as the manifestation of the children's desire to achieve a goal. Therefore, if the adults are too busy to notice their intention, valuable opportu-

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nities to extend their experiences can be missed (Fumoto, Hargreaves and Maxwell, 2004). Our earlier work has suggested that:


In order to capture the children's momentum towards learning, it is therefore vital that adults are able to observe what the children are doing critically, and to make judgements as to whether or not they should intervene at that particular moment, or whether they should allow the children more time to explore the events or phenomena on their own. Through critical observations, adults make assessments of the children's current understanding of the content of what is being learned, and of the ways in which it is being learned. (ibid., p.187) To capture children's momentum towards learning is a sensitive process that requires time for adults and children to engage in shared meaning. This, according to Maxwell (1997), refers to the ways in which the significance of the interactions is shared between the professionals and the children, whereby the importance of the professional's attempt to see things from the child's perspective is paramount. The process also requires professionals to gauge the timing of the interactions so that they can relate their intention towards the children in a way that resonates with the latter's psychological state (Bronfenbrenner and Evans, 2000). Indeed, the ways in which professionals attempt to capture the children's momentum towards learning depend on how they make judgements about children's experiences of the content of learning. This may explain why some differences may be observed between the experience of time reported by adults working within different types of early childhood setting, for example, in nursery and reception settings, which cater for children from different age groups. The aim of the present questionnaire survey therefore is to build on the first phase of the project and to obtain an overview of professionals' experiences of time during the sessions in relation to facilitating children's thinking. For this, three research questions will be addressed: (1) What are the professionals' experiences of time in relation to extending children's thinking in the Foundation Stage?, (2) What factors e.g. external constraints, training, planning- are associated with the professionals' experiences of time? and (3) Are there any differences in their experiences which can be attributed to working in different age-related settings, in particular in nursery and reception class settings? The objective is to provide the basis for the final phase of the project that explores in depth the ways in which professionals make time to facilitate children's thinking. Method

Participants' 80 adults (2 male, 78 female) working with children aged 3-5 years within the Foundation Stage (DfEE, 2000) in two London boroughs responded to the questionnaire survey, which was conducted in June and July 2004. These adults were selected from various early childhood settings in the private, voluntary and maintained sectors (Table 1). Table 1 makes a distinction between settings that mainly cater for 3 to 4 year-olds (e.g. nursery classes, playgroup/pre-school settings) and those that cater for 4 to 5 year-olds (i.e. reception classes) for the purpose of the present study. It should be noted that the distinction is not always clear-cut. For instance, some children may attend a nursery setting which includes children up to the age of five, whilst other nurseries may only take children up to the age of four years, after which they transfer to a reception class. In addition, the duration of children's attendance in a setting may vary considerably. It should also be noted that obtaining an equal spread of participants in nursery and reception settings was beyond the remit of the present study. The majority of the settings in both authorities were contacted and sent questionnaires. The greater number of nursery settings in both authorities had an inevitable impact on the relative representation of views from nursery and reception settings.


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TABLE 1 : Participants in questionnaire by type of setting (N=80) Nursery settings a

N

Reception settings b

N

Children's Centre

3

Reception class (LA)

13

Day nursery (private)

23

Reception class (private)

3

Nursery class (LA) °

11

Nursery class (private)


Nursery school (LA) Nursery school (private)

3

Playgroup/Pre-school

15

College Nursery

2

Day nursery (voluntary) Nursery & Reception

2

Total

64

16

a Caters predominantly for 3-4 year-olds; u Caters for 4-5 year-olds; ~ Local Authority (publicly funded) Table 2 provides a summary of the participants' roles in the setting. The selection of participants with diverse roles was intentional because one of the aims of the present questionnaire survey was to obtain an overview of early childhood professionals' experiences of time during the session to enhance children's thinking. The participants' experiences of working with young children also varied from less than a year (2.5%); 1 to 5 years (31.6%), 6 to 10 years (19%), 10 to 15 years (13.9%), t5 to 20 years (19%) to over 20 years (13.9%). TABLE 2: Participants' role according to the type of settings - self identified (N=80) Primary role

Nursery settings

a

Reception settings b

Chief Executive Officer

1

0

Deputy Headteacher

1

1

Deputy Manager

2

0

Early Years Coordinator

14

4

Early Years Practitioner

7

1

Headteacher

2

0

Nursery Assistant

2

0

Nursery Manager

2

0

Nursery Nurse

14

1

Nursery Teacher

1

0

Playgroup Assistant

1

0

Playleader

6

0

Playleader Supervisor

1

0

Qualified Teacher

9

9

Teaching Assistant Total

1

0

64

16

Caters predominantly for 3-4 year-olds; b Caters for 4-5 year-olds


103

Table 3 provides a summary of the participants' qualifications according to the type of setting. It shows that approximately 75% of those in the reception settings have a degree or a postgraduate level qualification whereas the percentage having qualifications at this level is approximately 19% for the participants in the nursery settings. TABLE 3: Participants' qualifications according to the type of settings - self identified (N=80) Qualifications


BA in Early Childhood

Nursery settings ~

Reception settings u

0

3

BA in Education

6

6

BTec

3

0

Certificate in Early Childhood

1

0

Certificate in Education

1

1

DCE

4

0

GNVQ level 3

1

0

M A / M A in Education

1

1

Montessori Diploma

3

0

National Vocational Qualification level 2

9

0

National Vocational Qualification level 3

12

0

Nursery Nurse Education Board

14

2

PLA Diploma

1

0

Playgroup Preschool Diploma

1

1

Post Graduate Certificate in Education

2

1

Qualified Teacher Status

3

1

None

1

0

Missing data

1

0

64

16

Total

a Caters predominantly for 3-4 year-olds; b Caters for 4-5 year-olds

Questionnaire The questionnaire consisted of three main parts. Participants' background information was sought in the first section (their role in the setting; their qualification background; whether they were currently studying or not; the age range which their training covered; and how long they had worked with young children since receiving their first qualification). The second section consisted of 19 questions based on a 5 point Likert-type format, designed to elicit practitioners' feelings about children's thinking. The 19 questions derive from the phase 1 interview study referred to earlier (Robson and Hargreaves, 2005). The third section invited general comments from the respondents that would enable illustration of the quantitative data obtained from the first and the second sections. A pilot study with 41 students on the BA Early Childhood Studies programme at Roehampton University was carried out in order to refine the wording of each question and also to avoid repetition.

Procedures 198 questionnaires were sent out to two London boroughs, each with a covering letter and a stamped self-addressed envelope. The letter asked for two members of staff directly involved in children's learning to complete the questionnaire, for example, those involved in planning sessions


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or in facilitating children's learning on a day-to-day basis. In addition, it was requested that these staff should be working with children within the 3-5 year age range, for at least three sessions a week. Whilst the intention of the present study was by no means to exclude any adults who work with young children in their professional capacity, these requests were made in order to ensure that the questionnaire was completed by staff who have direct influence on the day-to-day activities of the settings and those who are in a position to bring about possible changes. The return rate was 40 per cent. As mentioned earlier, the quantitative data obtained from the questionnaire survey was analysed in relation to the general comments that participants included in the questionnaire by focusing on (1) the early childhood professionals' experiences of time to enhance children's thinking, and (2) the factors that are associated with their experiences of time. The data analysis was conducted firstly by describing the overall percentage of the responses made by the participants. Secondly, correlational analyses were performed between scores obtained for question 10 - 'I feel that I have enough time during the session to enhance children's thinking' - and the scores of the rest of the questions, and these were performed separately for each type of setting. Qualitative data in the form of general comments made by participants was employed alongside the quantitative analysis. Results

Early ChildhoodProfessionals "Experiences of Time Three questions that explicitly investigated the participants' experiences of time are: first, '1 feel that I have enough time during the session to enhance children's thinking' (Q 10); second, 'I feel that I have enough opportunity during the session to play with the children' (QI3), and third, 'I feel that I have enough time to "stand back" and observe the children' (Q14). The percentages of participants' responses to the 5 rating scale points on these three questions are shown in Table 4. Overall, 71.3% of the respondents felt that they had enough time to enhance children's thinking during their day-to-day interactions with them. 65.9% and 55.1% of them felt that they had enough time to play with the children, and that they had enough time to 'stand back' and observe the children during a session, respectively. TABLE 4: Participants' responses to items concerning their personal experience of time for supporting and extending children's thinking (%) Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Unsure

Agree

Strongly Agree

QI 0. I feel that I have enough time during the session to enhance children's thinking. Overall

2.5

Nurserya Reception b

12.5

13.8

52.5

18.8

3.1

7.8

15.6

50.0

23.4

0

31.3

6.3

62.5

0

Q13. t feel that I have enough opportunity during the session to play with the children. Overall

2.5

24.1

7.6

49.4

16.5

Nursery

1.6

17.5

7.9

54.0

19.0

Reception

6.3

50.0

6.3

31.3

6.3

QI4. I feel that I have enough time to 'stand back' and observe the children. Overall

1.3

34.6

9.0

41.0

14.1

Nursery

0

30.6

9.7

43.5

16.!

6.3

50.0

6.3

31.3

6.3

Reception "N=64, bN=16


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When the data was broken down by type of setting, participants working in both private- and public-sector reception settings with children aged 4-5 years were approximately three times more likely to say that they did not have enough time during the session to enhance children's thinking compared to their nursery counterparts (31.3% and 10.9% respectively). In addition, participants from the nursery settings were twice as likely to say that they feel that they have enough opportunity during the session to play with the children (73% and 37.6% respectively). Differences were less stark between the two overall categories of settings when they were asked about whether they feel that they had enough time to 'stand back' and observe the children (59.6% and 37.6% respectively).


Factors Associated with Participants 'Experiences of Time Correlational analyses were performed between scores on question 10 ('1 feel that I have enough time during the session to enhance children's thinking') and the rest of the questions, in order to examine whether there were factors that may be particularly associated with the participants' experiences of time. Table 5 shows that, overall, scores on the questions that directly address the issue of time have significant positive associations with scores on question 10 (e.g. Q 8 'In our setting, we provide enough time for children to complete activities': r 0.61, p