Purpose
The study investigates how kindergarten assistants, who also work as practical training supervisors, assess upper secondary school pupils in supervised professional training when working with children in Swedish kindergartens. The goal is to understand what kind of professional knowledge and judgement kindergarten assistants show in everyday situations with the children. The research question is: What professional judgement emerges when practical training supervisors assess upper secondary pupils' interaction with kindergarten children during supervised professional training periods in day-to-day kindergarten activities?
Result
The results show how professional judgement, through the ability to recognise and assess situations based on bodily experiences and reactions, is a key part of the kindergarten assistants' professional knowledge. Professional judgment becomes visible, for example, in how supervising kindergarten assistants are consistently one or more steps ahead of both the kindergarten children and the upper secondary school pupils.
Design
The data material consists of video sequences from two different Swedish kindergartens, taken from a larger dataset from two case studies commissioned by the Swedish National Agency for Education. The video sequences show pupils from the second year of the ‘Children and Extracurricular Programme’ interacting with children aged three to five. The supervising kindergarten assistants have over fifteen years of experience and have supervised pupils for many years. After selecting the two video sequences, detailed transcriptions and visual representations of them were created. The analysis focused on the interactions between participants, including verbal communication and body language.
References
Paul, E. & Gåfvels, C. (2021). "Ligga steget före: Barnskötares yrkesomdöme åskådliggjort genom bedömningshandlingar". Nordic Journal of Vocational Education and Training, 11(3):22-46.