Purpose
The pivotal point of this study is the Udvikling i fællesskaber (development in communities) research and development project The project involves a three-year collaboration between Brønderslev Municipality and the LSP Laboratory for research-based development of schools and pedagogic practice at Aalborg University, on research-based and research-informed municipal and institutional development of the learning environment in ECEC centres in the municipality. The research part of the project comprises a quantitative as well as a qualitative part. The quantitative part of the study consists of two survey studies before and after a two-year development project and is reported elsewhere, whereas the qualitative part consists of a case study, which forms the content of this report. The aim of the qualitative case study was to obtain more in-depth knowledge about ECEC centres' focus on children's well-being, learning and development in a number of selected ECEC centres. The purpose of this study is thus to examine the learning environment in two ECEC centres in Brønderslev Municipality. The two ECEC centres scored high and low, respectively, in the quantitative survey study.
Result
Overall, the study shows general clear differences between the two ECEC centres, exactly as the results in the quantitative survey showed.
In the ECEC centre which had scored high in the quantitative survey, the following was observed: general positive atmosphere, good organisation, good interactions, empathetic behaviour, support for learning and support for child-child interaction, regardless of type of situation and the persons observed. The study shows that the ECEC teachers express a common behaviour and attitude towards the children, in which they follow the children's processes with precision and establish development zones. Observations and interviews of the ECEC teachers and leaders indicate that a common and positive culture has been established in this ECEC centre as a framework for the educational practice. The researchers found that clear goals had been set for the centre and that the leader was actively present. According to the researcher, this ECEC centre seems to have a learning environment that is challenging and has been organised as an intentional environment with set learning objectives and planned steps. This is a learning environment in which the ECEC teacher is in charge of the children's learning, makes the learning processes visible and ensures that the children attain their objectives. Moreover, the learning environment is characterised by warm relationships and interactions.
In the ECEC centre which had scored low in the quantitative survey, the researchers found that the adult-child interaction varied depending on the staff members and situations observed. Thus the researchers indicate that the educational work in the observed practice tends to vary according to which adult is dealing with the children. The researchers also observed some inappropriate correction of the children. The researchers suggest a problem in that the quality of the interaction between adults and children at this ECEC centre is person-dependent. However, the researchers emphasise that they also observed many situations of medium quality. Moreover, the researchers observed that there were only few planned activities, and that there was only a low degree of visible objectives for the pedagogical practice. A common understanding of how the staff are to promote children's learning was not presented during the interviews with the ECEC teachers. For example, it was revealed that the curriculum has been implemented differently in the various departments, and examples of how the ECEC teachers supported children's learning were relatively instrumental (many closed-ended questions and primarily closed forms of dialogue).
Finally, the researchers point out that more observations over a prolonged period could have shown different results, and therefore the results should be interpreted in light of the limitations of the case study.
Design
This qualitative case study was carried out in two ECEC centres selected on the basis of their results/scores in the quantitative survey study. The two ECEC centres scored high and low, respectively, and thus represented two different results in relation to relationships, sociality and language skills. The data material consists of structured observations of interactions and educational practice in two departments in both ECEC centres (a total of four observations) and semi-structured interviews with a total of seven ECEC teachers (two group interviews) and two ECEC centre leaders.
References
Drugli, M. B., Frederiksen, P., & Hansen, O. H. (2017). Resultater fra to kvalitative casestudier i Brønderslev Kommune 2016. Aalborg Universitetsforlag. FULM: Forskningsinformeret udvikling af læringsmiljøer.