Examining Children’s and Adults’ Ways of Looking in Kindergarten: An Analysis of Documented Observations from the 1930s

The study analyses documentation from an observational practice in a Swedish kindergarten in the 1930s. The researchers investigate how kindergarten teacher students at that time observed and described the children’s ways of seeing things. In addition, they explore the students’ ways of seeing the children: what they were looking at or looking for.

The analysis shows how the children became interested in the students’ observations and tried out similar practices on the adults and other children. The researchers believe this shows that the children strove to participate in the students’ observations. They encourage today’s kindergarten teachers to include children in observational practices and use a child-centred approach when observing how children see the world.

The data material consists of a sample of handwritten notes from the observations in the period 1931-1932. These are observations of four boys and three girls between the ages of three and seven. In the written notes, the researchers also find documentation of how the students observed fellow students, kindergarten staff and how the children observed the adults.

Lindgren, A.-L. & Grunditz, S. (2020). “Examining Children’s and Adults’ Ways of Looking in Kindergarten: An Analysis of Documented Observations from the 1930s”. in Alasuutari, M., Kelle, H. & Knauf, H. (Red.), Documentation in Institutional Contexts of Early Childhood. Normalisation, Participation and Professionalism.