Re-mediation in Early Childhood Teachers’ Reasoning about their Role in Play: An Empirical Study of the Learning Process of a Work Team

This study aims to help fill the research gap on teachers’ professional learning as a process by generating new knowledge on how kindergarten teachers change their thinking about their role in play with children. The study investigates how teachers in a team collaborate to change their way of thinking when introduced to a theoretical framework that deals with this topic. The research question is: How do members of a kindergarten teacher team collaborate to change their way of reasoning regarding their role in play when introduced to a theoretical framework of principles and implications for understanding this topic?

The results of the study show that the focus group interviews helped the kindergarten teachers change the way they thought about their role in play. The teachers transitioned from being uncertain about how much they should direct the play to viewing their role as coordinators who facilitate the further development of play. The study found that the teachers were initially concerned about directing the play too much, but through discussions and reflections, they developed a more nuanced understanding of their role. The study highlights that learning is a process that takes time, and that teachers do not necessarily move linearly from one understanding to another. It is unclear whether, and possibly how, the changed understanding of the teacher’s role influenced the teachers’ actual practice in kindergarten.

The data collection in the study consists of six audio recorded focus group interviews with a kindergarten team of 4 teachers working with children aged 1-3 years in a Swedish kindergarten. The interviews, which lasted approximately one hour each, were conducted over the course of eight months and focused on the teacher’s role in children’s play. Before the first interview, teachers read two articles on play-responsive teaching in order to stimulate reflection. In later interviews, video recordings of teachers were used as the basis for video-stimulated recall, where they reflected on their own practice. Teachers also attended lectures on play-responsive teaching during the period.

Stavholm, E., Lagerlöf, P., & Wallerstedt, C. (2022). Re-mediation in Early Childhood Teachers’ Reasoning about their Role in Play: An Empirical Study of the Learning Process of a Work Team. Early Years, 44(2), 341–355.