Early childhood education and care environments that support children's attentiveness for learning
Garcia-Valero, Paula; Engler, Maxi (2022)
Garcia-Valero, Paula
Engler, Maxi
2022
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2022060716322
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2022060716322
Tiivistelmä
This thesis was conducted to find out educators’ experiences and insights about the effects of the learning environment. The thesis aims to give an overview of how the early childhood education and care environments affect children’s attentiveness, what kind of difficulties children have and how educators can help children to attend better. In addition, a guideline for developing an environment that supports children’s attentiveness was created. The theoretical framework of the thesis is mainly based on the National Core Curriculum for early childhood education and care 2018 (Finnish: VASU) and the Act on early childhood education and care (540/2018). Also, it is based on the Hierarchy of Needs by Maslow, the socio-cultural understanding of learning and the Montessori Theory.
The data was collected through qualitative questionnaires, filled out by work life partners, which are early childhood education and care professionals out of two different day-care centers in Helsinki, Finland. For the questionnaire, open ended questions were used, so the participants were able to answer openly with their views and thoughts. This way, in-depth information on the topic were gathered. Through a thematic analysis, the results were analyzed and then, a functional dimension was added with creating a guideline for developing an environment that supports attentiveness.
Three main conclusions were drawn from the study. These include the importance of sufficient space and structure, the importance of meaningful social contacts and the importance of the caring and confident role of the educator. Additionally, the guideline, containing information on the background of the topic, tips for guidance work and supporting attention in different situations, was found to be useful according to the work life partners. Although progress has been made with this study, further studies are needed to continue to investigate supporting attentiveness on multiple levels.
The data was collected through qualitative questionnaires, filled out by work life partners, which are early childhood education and care professionals out of two different day-care centers in Helsinki, Finland. For the questionnaire, open ended questions were used, so the participants were able to answer openly with their views and thoughts. This way, in-depth information on the topic were gathered. Through a thematic analysis, the results were analyzed and then, a functional dimension was added with creating a guideline for developing an environment that supports attentiveness.
Three main conclusions were drawn from the study. These include the importance of sufficient space and structure, the importance of meaningful social contacts and the importance of the caring and confident role of the educator. Additionally, the guideline, containing information on the background of the topic, tips for guidance work and supporting attention in different situations, was found to be useful according to the work life partners. Although progress has been made with this study, further studies are needed to continue to investigate supporting attentiveness on multiple levels.