TUIKKU – tunnetaitoja ja osallisuutta varhaiskasvatukseen: monimenetelmällisen tutkimuksen tutkimusaineistot

Abstract

This research project focuses on the themes of socio-emotional skills and participation in early childhood education and care (ECEC). The study focused on these themes from the perspective of children, parents, and early childhood practitioners. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected. The data consists of baseline and final surveys, mobile diaries of ECEC practitioners, observations, interviews, and visual multi-method data. The data were collected 1/2022–6/2022 and 11/2023–12/2023. Below we will describe each type of data in more detail.

Survey data. Parents and ECEC practitioners responded to the baseline and final questionnaires. 63 practitioners from the sample group and 24 practitioners from the control group answered to the baseline questionnaire and 49 practitioners from the sample group and 16 practitioners from the control group answered to the final questionnaire. 220 parents of the sample group and 65 parents of the control group answered to the baseline questionnaire and 153 parents of the sample group, and 55 parents of the control group answered to the final questionnaire. Validated questionnaires on emotional and social skills, bullying, and ECEC practitioners’ competences and well-being at work, were used. The baseline and final surveys included both educators and parents’ assessments of children's social, emotional, and self-regulation skills, and educators’ assessments of bullying in the child group and well-being at work.

The mobile diary app eKoutsi was used to collect diary data from ECEC practitioners. 50 practitioners from the sample group and 20 practitioners from the control group completed the mobile diary. This provided more detailed information on daily variations on emotional and social skills, group atmosphere, ECEC practitioners wellbeing at work.

The observations were conducted in three ECEC centres, in three child groups. The groups had children aged 3 to 5 years old. The observations focused on both the interaction between children and educators and the peer relationships between children. The aim was also to observe children's and educators' emotional expressions, and educators' actions as supporters of children's emotional skills. The observations produced a total of 8 hours of video material and 120 pages of observation notes. Additionally, 28 structured observations were made, in which, observations were made of educational interaction, socio-emotional competence, participation and cooperation between practitioners. One of the evaluation methods used was the CLASS scale, which provided a holistic view of the quality of interaction between the educators and the children. Furthermore, children's gatherings were observed, which produced 2 hours of video material.

In the interviews the method of video cued interviews was used. In the interviews, the participants discussed the thoughts and feelings that the video, that had been constructed of the everyday life in the daycare, provoked. Furthermore, the interviews included themes of children’s participation and emotional skills.

o Interviews with the ECEC practitioners There are total 10 video-cued interviews with 15 ECEC practitioners. 3 of the interviews were group interviews and 7 individual interviews. The interviews conducted from 4 different ECEC groups, from 3 different ECEC centres. The length of the interviews were 16-72 minutes, and the average length was 38 minutes. Transcribed interview data was 115 pages. In addition to the video cued interviews there has also been made shadowing interviews of three educator’s emotions (length 104 minutes), network map interviews; totally 3 interviews of which 2 was pair interviews and 1 individual interview (length 97 minutes), and nice day, bad day -interviews; totally 3 pair interviews (length 3 hours). In addition to these there are total 13 semi-structured interviews with ECEC practitioners that was gathered in 2023.

o Interviews with the children There is total 17 video cued interviews of the children. 34 children participated in the interviews. 5 of the interviews was individual interviews and 12 was group interviews of 2 to 4 children. The length of the interviews were 5-26 minutes, and the average length was 13 minutes. Transcribed data was 74 pages.

o Interviews with the parents There are total 7 video cued interviews from the parents from 3 different ECEC centers.

Visual multimethod data has been gathered in the project: 1) network maps: 3 network maps of the whole child group and 19 individual network maps from three ECEC centers, 2) 78 pictures of comics that children have drawn of the theme fear, 3) 19 stories made by the storytelling method from three ECEC centers, 4) six friendship books, and 5) drawings of the ten children of the topic nice day, bad day.

The study is conducted by the University of Jyväskylä and JAMK University of Applied Sciences. The study provides a rich insight into the enhancement of socio-emotional skills, participation, and bullying prevention in the context of ECEC.

Tutkimushankkeessa syvennyttiin sosioemotionaalisten taitojen ja osallisuuden teemoihin varhaiskasvatuksessa. Tutkimuksessa näitä teemoja tarkasteltiin lasten, huoltajien ja varhaiskasvatuksen työntekijöiden näkökulmista. Hankkeessa kerättiin sekä määrällistä että laadullista aineistoa. Aineisto koostuu alku- ja loppumittauksista, varhaiskasvatuksen henkilöstön mobiilipäiväkirja-aineistosta, havainnoinneista, haastatteluista sekä visuaalisesta monimenetelmäaineistosta. Aineisto kerättiin 1/2022–6/2022 ja 11/2023–12/2023. Tutkimus tuottaa monipuolista tietoa sosioemotionaalisten taitojen ja osallisuuden kehittämisestä sekä kiusaamisen ennaltaehkäisystä varhaiskasvatuksessa. <br> Ks. tarkemmat tiedot englanninkielisestä kuvauksesta.