Teachers Observe to Learn: Differences in Social Behavior of Toddlers and Preschoolers in Same-Age and Multiage Groupings

Autor/in	Logue, Mary Ellin
Titel	Teachers Observe to Learn: Differences in Social Behavior of Toddlers and Preschoolers in Same-Age and Multiage Groupings
Quelle	In: Young Children, 61 (2006) 3, S.70-76 (7 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1538-6619
Schlagwörter	Toddlers; Teachers; Social Behavior; Action Research; Mixed Age Grouping; Preschool Children; Peer Relationship; Play; Aggression; Antisocial Behavior; Interpersonal Communication; Verbal Communication; Age Differences; Teacher Researchers; Observation; Classroom Environment; Educational Research; Inquiry; Child Behavior + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Infant; Infants; Toddler; Kleinkind; Lehrer; Lehrerin; Lehrende; Social behaviour; Soziales Verhalten; Projektforschung; Jahrgangsübergreifende Gruppe; Pre-school age; Preschool age; Child; Children; Pre-school education; Preschool education; Vorschulalter; Kind; Kinder; Vorschulkind; Vorschulkinder; Vorschulerziehung; Vorschule; Peer-Beziehungen; Spiel; Interpersonale Kommunikation; Age; Difference; Age difference; Altersunterschied; Lehrerforschung; Beobachtung; Klassenklima; Unterrichtsklima; Bildungsforschung; Pädagogische Forschung
Abstract	This article presents an action research conducted by a group of teachers comparing multiage with same-age interactions of children, especially among toddlers. The research involving 31 children ranging in age from two through five-and-a-half was conducted under optimal conditions, with small groups, low teacher-child ratios, and highly trained teachers. The research found that dominance behaviors (hitting, kicking, spitting, taking or demanding objects, etc.) were significantly less prevalent in multiage groupings than in classrooms of same-age peers. The children in the multiage groups also demonstrated higher rates of language exchange--talking to each other and imitating speech--than children with same-age peers. The findings, however limited, raise interesting issues and as action research served to: (1) increase teachers' collective confidence in looking for answers to questions in the environment rather than blaming children; (2) demystify research and convert it from something that is out there to a tool that is available and useful to classroom teachers; and (3) open the door to further inquiry by giving teachers permission and encouragement to examine practices that they had accepted as givens. More refined research can help teachers learn more about how the size and age composition of groupings affects children's behavior. (ERIC).
Anmerkungen	National Association for the Education of Young Children. 1313 L Street NW Suite 500, Washington, DC 22205-4101. Tel: 800-424-2460; Tel: 202-232-8777; Fax: 202-328-2649; e-mail: editorial@naeyc.org; Web site: http://www.journal.naeyc.org
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10