Peer Relationships in Early Childhood Education and Care

Teachers' contribution to the social life in Finnish preschool classrooms during structured learning sessions

“…Thus, teachers-as adults-are always standing in a potential pedagogical relation to the children (van Manen, 1991). Kernan, Singer and Swinnen (2011) have suggested that teachers' interaction with children is expressed on three levels, with each level providing unique support for children's well-being in group settings as well as a secure base for learning and development. This idea elaborates the variety of interactions teachers can have with children, as well as children with each other in a group context, and further highlights the fact that different forms of interaction are necessary as these serve differing purposes in children's development.…”

“…From an early age, children seek the company of other children but often need the support from the teacher to join in activities (Kernan et al, 2011). Teachers, thus, should support children to function constructively with each other in daily interaction.…”

“…Teachers, thus, should support children to function constructively with each other in daily interaction. Third, interactions on the level of the whole group, as well as within subgroups, serve as a platform on which to develop relationships among groups of children (Kernan et al, 2011;Vaughn & Santos, 2008). The relationships on the level of whole group are also of importance in developing children's sense of belonging to the group, also referred to as instilling a feeling of togetherness (Hännikäinen & van Oers, 2002;van Oers & Hännikäinen, 2001).…”

“…The beauty of teacher-child interactions lies within the intertwined nature of these different levels as teachers aim to take the needs and abilities of individual children into consideration while keeping the group as a whole in mind. The research conducted by Kernan et al (2011) focused on the education of toddlers, who are much younger than the children (6-year-olds) examined in this study. However, perhaps the same group levels of interaction are present no matter how young or old the children are, but the amount of time spent on each type on interaction may differ with age (i.e., younger children may spent more time on seeking security from the teacher, but as the children's competence grows with age teachers are able to direct the children's interactions more toward each other, for instance in the form of shared play).…”

“…Theme 3, called supporting the individual child as a part of the group, consisted of interesting episodes during which teachers enabled the parallel between individual and group work dynamics. This means that teachers worked with the whole group of children but simultaneously allowed individual children some degree of leadership or personal visibility, thus acting on two levels of social interaction-the individual and the group level-at the same time (Kernan et al, 2011). Opportunities for this occurred, for example, when a teacher would establish a show-and-tell situation where an individual child gets the floor for a while and others learn to listen but are also able to learn more about their friend by asking relevant questions.…”