Markmið rannsóknarinnar var að kanna, út frá sjónarhorni barna á aldrinum eins til þriggja
ára í einum leikskóla, hvernig gildi birtast í samskiptum þeirra í leik og hvernig börnin takast
á við ágreining um gildi. Í greininni eru niðurstöður rannsóknarinnar ræddar í tengslum við
gildamenntun í leikskóla. Rannsóknin fellur undir hugmyndir innan menntunarfræði ungra
barna þar sem virkni og hæfni barna til að tjá sjónarmið sín eru í brennidepli. Jafnframt er
byggt á kenningum innan fyrirbærafræði þar sem lögð er áhersla á að börn skapi merkingu
með líkamlegri tjáningu. Gagna var aflað í frjálsum leik með myndbandsupptökum en auk
þess voru vettvangsnótur ritaðar í rannsóknarferlinu. Ígrundun, siðferðilegar vangaveltur
og spurningar eru hluti rannsóknar frá upphafi og í gegnum allt rannsóknarferlið. Niðurstöður
rannsóknarinnar sýna fjögur samtvinnuð meginþemu og tjáningu barnanna á mikilvægum
gildum í leiknum; (a) réttindi (b) umhyggja, (c) að tilheyra, (d) agi. Þemun tengjast
aðallega tveimur sviðum gilda; annars vegar gildi sem beinast að einstaklingnum og hins
vegar gildi sem snúast um barnahópinn eða starf í leikskólanum. Einnig birtist ágreiningur
og mismunandi valdatengsl meðal barnanna þegar réttindi og viðurkennd gildi innan
hópsins voru dregin í efa eða þeim hafnað. Í augum barnanna voru hinir fullorðnu hluti af
þeirra daglega lífi og þau leituðu til þeirra eftir stuðningi í leiknum.
The aim of this study was to explore, from children’s perspectives, what values are
important in play. Also how children resolve value conflicts that might occur. In the
article, the findings are discussed in the context of value education in preschools.
In the Icelandic national curriculum guidelines for preschools, emphasis is placed
on children’s learning of democratic values through active participation and play
(Aðalnámskrá leikskóla, 2011). Hence, the guidelines support the ideas of Hess (2009)
which indicate that democracy is closely linked to daily interactions where children in
schools learn democracy by doing. She also points out that conflicts between individual
and social perspectives are a necessary part of developing democratic values in
education (Hess, 2009).
The study is placed within the discourse of early childhood education and care
(ECEC), where children are considered active, competent, and able to express their
views and meanings (Clark and Moss, 2005; Samningur Sameinuðu þjóðanna um réttindi
barnsins [United Nations Convention on Children’s Rights], 1989). The research
is inspired by phenomenological theories based on the notions that children communicate
and express their feelings with bodily expressions, that through their interactions
they learn about themselves and others (Merleau-Ponty, 1945/1962), and that play is considered a complex phenomenon originating in the movements of the
body (Bujtendijk, 1933). Through complex interactive processes, play demands that
children indicate their perspectives and intentions and at the same time respond to
others’ perspectives. Thus, children communicate and express values about good
and bad, right and wrong regarding their own and others’ actions and behaviours
(Hrönn Pálmadóttir and Johansson, 2015; Johansson, 2011). Values are, therefore,
intertwined in children’s preschool interactions and play. The phenomenological approach
is grounded in qualitative research paradigms. The study was conducted with
children aged one to three years, in two units of one preschool in Iceland. Data were
gathered during a five-month period with observations by video recordings and field
notes written during the research process. Informed consent was obtained from the
municipal authorities, the preschool principal, the educators, the children and their
parents. Children’s free play in the morning was chosen for data collection. A hermeneutics
approach was used in interpretation in order to understand the children’s
experiences from their own perspectives (Bengtson, 2013; Gadamer, 2004). Additionally,
the analysis of the data was inspired by thematic research analyses described
by Braun and Clarke (2006).
Researchers have ethical obligations to the participants in a study, no matter what
their age is. The researchers’ main obligations are to respect people’s integrity and
humanity (Alderson, 2014). Thus, ethical questions are included in the research project
from the very beginning and continue to inform it throughout the entire process.
Acquiring the youngest children‘s assent can be problematic and demands ethical
awareness. The researcher is responsible for interpreting children‘s expressions regarding
their assent and dissent and pays attention to children‘s bodily communication
(Dockett, Jóhanna Einarsdóttir and Perry, 2012; Løkken, 2012).
The findings indicate that, in the eyes of the children, the interactions formed through
play were both desirable and challenging. The centrality of the body was a predominant
factor in children’s meaning-making. The communication and expression
was built upon intersubjective processes.
The findings reveal that the children saw free play as common ground for communicating
and expressing values and value conflicts. Four intertwined themes occurred,
showing children’s expression of important values in their play: (a) rights, (b) care,
(c) belonging, and (d) discipline. These values were mostly connected to two value
fields: the individual, and the group or daily life in the preschool. The children sought
educators’ support in their play. Unequal power relations, appeared in children’s interactions,
on occasions when they challenged or rejected values acknowledged by
the group. In order to foster value education in preschool, the study reveals the importance
of identifying conflicting perspectives in children’s play. The play sessions
and preschool pedagogy should, therefore, provide children with ample opportunities
and encouragement in creating their relationships and play.
