Using Socio-Cultural Approaches For Educational Research

Abstract

This paper discusses insights arising from my doctoral study in a New Zealand early childhood setting. I was interested in how young children learn to be part of the group. Using a socio-cultural framework, I carried out a qualitative case study to investigate the enculturation of young children into a group care setting. The field work comprised two phases of data collection over a total period of six months. The first phase involved observations of one child for two weeks in the centre and for a briefer time in his home. The second phase focused on children's and teachers' collective participation in cultural events and was carried out over four months. The particular event that I studied was shared mealtimes in the childcare centre. My observations also included teachers preparing children for meal and rest times.