Individual and collective rights expressed in educator and child interactions in Nordic preschools

The purpose of this study is to examine the rights in the interaction between children and educators, and how these are communicated. The study also investigates the gender patterns that can be identified in the interactions.

The authors identify two kinds of rights: individual and collective rights. The results show that the children primarily claim individual rights such as the right to verbal and physical expression, including the right to participate in various games, to play with the toys at the preschool, etc. However, preschool teachers, childminders and assistants were more oriented towards collective rights, which include children's right to participate in the various activities of the preschool and children's possibilities to be part of the community of the preschool.

The results indicate that children's individual rights were limited, as they were overruled by the collective institutional rules and the intentions of the staff. The study shows that children's claims of individual rights conflict with the institution's rules during mealtime. When the children's behaviour does not comply with the collective norm in the preschool, the children's right to choose how to eat their food, for example, is undermined.

The authors identify an overall gender pattern, showing that boys positioned themselves and were positioned by the staff as individuals with a right to speak and make their own decisions. However, girls were positioned as having to adapt, which, according to the authors, also meant that the girls had to waive their rights.

The study is part of the Nordic research project "Values education in Nordic preschools: Basis of education for tomorrow”, which includes video observations from a total of 17 preschools in Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland and Iceland with 72 preschool teachers, childminders, and assistants and around 345 children aged 1-6 years. The observations focussed on interactions between staff and children in connection with mealtimes, playtime, circle time and other routine situations. In addition, focus was on conflicts played out in the interactions, as they enabled the authors to identify different opinions, power relations and emotions. The data material analysed in this study consists of 25 selected video observations categorised on the basis of theories about rights and gender.

Johansson, E., Emilson, A., Röthe, M., Puroila, A.-M., Broström, S., & Einarsdóttir, J. (2016). Individual and collective rights expressed in educator and child interactions in Nordic preschools. International Journal of Early Childhood (48), 209-224. DOI: 10.1007/s13158-016-0164-2