Voksnes mediering av jevnaldringsrelasjoner i barnehager. En undersøkelse av voksnes bidrag til samhandling mellom barn under tre år

Author
Os, E. (2020). «Voksnes mediering av jevnaldringsrelasjoner i barnehager. En undersøkelse av voksnes bidrag til samhandling mellom barn under tre år». Akademisk avhandling. Universitetet i Oslo.
Year
2020

Purpose

Based on sociocultural perspectives, the study investigates employees’ mediation of peer relationships between children under the age of three in toddler departments. The research questions are: 1) To what extent do adults mediate the youngest kindergarten children’s peer relationships in free play and during meals? 2) What is the content of the adults’ mediation and how is the mediation expressed? 3) How can differences in adults’ mediation of children’s peer relationships be linked to a common focus between the children immediately after the adults’ involvement?

Result

The results show that mediation of the youngest kindergarten children’s peer relationships is part of everyday life in toddler departments and is a specific aspect of the interaction between adults and children. The mediation is particularly expressed through adults’ involvement in children’s play, making children visible to other children and regulating children’s peer interaction. The mediation is mainly aimed at individual children and not at groups of children. To a limited degree, it challenges children to master things within their immediate developmental zone. The researcher believes that playful and maintained mediation aimed at groups of children, which also provides room for the children’s participation, seems to support the children’s interaction in the moment.

Design

The investigation is an observational study of nine toddler departments involving children under three years of age. Data has been obtained through video recordings of free play and meals.

References

Os, E. (2020). «Voksnes mediering av jevnaldringsrelasjoner i barnehager. En undersøkelse av voksnes bidrag til samhandling mellom barn under tre år». Akademisk avhandling. Universitetet i Oslo.