Looking for children's competence in home-preschool communications CCYP Session Michele Leiminer 16 September 2008

What will we be doing in the session? Examining (very briefly) the literature on home-preschool communications Examining (very briefly) the literature on home-preschool communications Looking at the extent to which children are involved in home-preschool communications and the types of involvement Looking at the extent to which children are involved in home-preschool communications and the types of involvement Conduct short analyses of parent-teacher-child conversations Conduct short analyses of parent-teacher-child conversations Examine ‘Who am I as the observer/analyst and what competence can I see/not see? Examine ‘Who am I as the observer/analyst and what competence can I see/not see? Why do this type of analysis? Why do this type of analysis?

The literature on home-preschool communications Increasing importance accorded to involving parents more in their children’s education – underpinned by research that indicates that a lack of dissonance between home and school/preschool produces the best educational outcomes for children (David, 1993) Increasing importance accorded to involving parents more in their children’s education – underpinned by research that indicates that a lack of dissonance between home and school/preschool produces the best educational outcomes for children (David, 1993) High profile in education policy and debate – UK, US and more recently in Australia with the Federal Government’s Family-School Partnerships Framework (2005) High profile in education policy and debate – UK, US and more recently in Australia with the Federal Government’s Family-School Partnerships Framework (2005) These policies talk of partnerships with parents BUT are overwhelmingly proposing ‘schoolwork’ for the ‘family’ (and home), and for a particular configuration of the family These policies talk of partnerships with parents BUT are overwhelmingly proposing ‘schoolwork’ for the ‘family’ (and home), and for a particular configuration of the family

Two lines of flight in the literature 1.There is a great deal of literature that speaks to the importance and benefits of maintaining close relations between the EC service/school and home, and relatedly - There is also a great deal of advice and resources for practitioners as to how to ensure and improve these relationships

2 nd line of flight 2. Critique of current policy and practices in home- preschool/school relations and communications 2. Critique of current policy and practices in home- preschool/school relations and communications This literature has focused on the general colonising and disadvantaging effects of the school/preschool’s project for home/parent/family involvement for those already marginalised by ‘race’, ‘class’, gender and ethnicity, these policies and practices. It has focused on issue of language, power and identity and the different ways that gender, ‘race’, ‘class’ and ethnicity are implicated either separately, or more commonly as intersections of more than one element of difference in the construction of home- preschool/school relations and disadvantage and marginalisation

A 3 rd line of flight? There is very little research that examines the practices of home-preschool/school communications, instead it is on parent and staff beliefs or perceptions about these communications and involvements SO There is a need to examine the concrete practices of home-preschool/school communications/relations Why might research such as this, ie. on the actual practices of these communications be important?

Where are the children? There is a limited amount of research that examines children’s participation in home- preschool/school communications and relations There is a little research on secondary aged children’s participation, a tiny amount on primary aged children’s participation and very limited research on preschool children’s participation

The Study A study of children’s participation in home-preschool communications Collected data in 3 early childhood services in regional Qld – their preschool programs (an Education Qld preschool, a C&K preschool program in a long day child care centre, and a preschool program in a community-based long day child care centre Primarily the data was in the form of audio-recordings of parent-teacher conversations and parent-teacher-child conversations

Where are the children? 252 home-preschool conversations were recorded 110 of these conversations involved children Of these: 121 occurred at Poinciana Preschool (55 parent-teacher- child conversations 68 occurred at Bellenstone LDCCC (23 parent-teacher- child conversations) 63 occurred at Derringal C&K LDCCC (32 parent-teacher- child conversations)

What do children get to do in these conversations? Tell the news from home to school and from school to home Tell the news from home to school and from school to home Provide their perspective on an issue Provide their perspective on an issue ‘Give evidence’ to support their position on an issue ‘Give evidence’ to support their position on an issue Aligning with and presenting the preschool’s position on an issue/version of the world to parents and vice versa Aligning with and presenting the preschool’s position on an issue/version of the world to parents and vice versa Manage competing versions of ‘the child’ delivered by parent and teacher Manage competing versions of ‘the child’ delivered by parent and teacher Mediate between the preschool and the home Mediate between the preschool and the home

Thinking about your own conversations with children How often do you talk with parents, informally/formally? How often do you talk with parents, informally/formally? How often are children involved in these conversations? How often are children involved in these conversations? Do you invite children into the conversations or do their parents? Do you invite children into the conversations or do their parents? For what purposes? For what purposes? What do children get ‘to do’ in these conversations? What do children get ‘to do’ in these conversations? How do you construct children in these conversations? As competent participants? As language learners? etc How do you construct children in these conversations? As competent participants? As language learners? etc

Analysing conversations 1. Mitchell, his mum Kylie, and the preschool teacher Mrs Allen 2. Cody, his dad Raymond, and the preschool teacher Mrs Allen

Ask the following questions of the data… 1. How does the child enter the conversation? Does an adult invite the child into the conversation? The preschool teacher or their mother/father? 2. For what purpose? 3. What does the child get ‘to do’ in the conversation? 4. How is the child constructed in these conversations by the preschool teacher? By their mother/father? As a competent participant? Why? Why not?

Ask yourself… 1. Do I construct some children as competent and others as not? On what grounds do I make this judgement? Myself as…My knowledge of… 2. Does the gender and class (or race or ethnicity) of the child influence how much space I give them to participate in conversations and my expectations? 3. Can I see ‘other-than-preschool/school’ competencies? How do I respond to these? Eg. Do I maintain ‘the preschool line’ or do I celebrate diversity and difference? Does this have to be a dichotomy or can children learn to be discourse analysts? 4. Who am I as the observer and analyst? What categories do I bring to the analysis of the conversations? Eg. As a mother, a father, a teacher, then add more descriptors in front of this - a child development expert (Piagetian, Vygotskian etc.), working class/underclass/middle class, Aboriginal/non-Aboriginal, Christian/Muslim/Hindu/Buddhist/Atheist etc.

Why do this type of analysis? To understand the possibilities of children’s participation in parent-teacher conversations and our role in making space for children To be able to see a range of competence. To do this we need to firstly locate the categories we are using to see the world AND THEN start building up a repertoire of categories to allow us to ‘see differently’ and ‘see competence’ It is through these ‘everyday’ categories and in this day- to-day work such as conversations that discourses are locked into place (for better or worse). As such these are powerful moments to say and do things differently

A final note In the study I found that teachers and schooling recognised and valued only a limited range of competencies. To value the diversity and complexity of children's competence requires teachers to utilise a diverse range of categories to view and assess children's actions. An outcome such as this corresponds with Richard Rorty's (1991) call for making available multiple descriptions of the world. As Rorty (1991, pp.13-14) suggests: So our best chance for transcending our acculturation is to be brought up in a culture which prides itself on not being monolithic - on its tolerance for a plurality of subcultures and its willingness to listen to neighbouring cultures…[O]ur minds gradually [grow] larger and stronger and more interesting by the addition of new options - new candidates for belief and desire, phrased in new vocabularies.