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ERIC Number: EJ1048184
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2015
Pages: 18
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1354-0602
EISSN: N/A
Teachers Conceptualizing Childhood: Conversations around Fictional Childhood Texts
Chang-Kredl, Sandra
Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice, v21 n2 p203-220 2015
This article offers a unique perspective on teacher thinking by connecting the study of early childhood teachers' beliefs with the field of childhood studies, and with film and literature studies. The purpose of the research is to examine (a) how films can be used to evoke responses in teachers about their implicit beliefs in childhood and (b) the processes through which the teachers generate conceptualizations of childhood. Focus group discussions following viewings of short film clips were conducted with five experienced teachers. Thematic analysis suggests that the selection of film narratives influences the patterns of beliefs expressed by the teachers. Conversation analysis reveals that the teachers tended to use both their own memories of childhood and their identification with children to cross boundary spaces in time (past, present, and future), and between adulthood and childhood. The teachers tended to shape their beliefs in dichotomous renderings as oppositions to others, but also to display a playful willingness to surrender themselves to interior spaces of boundary crossings, and to share and dialog their discoveries with others. In terms of implications of the study for teacher education, the use of books and films seemed to provide teachers with tools to discuss and situate their understandings of childhood in ways that involved processes of memory, identification, lived experience, and teacher practice.
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 325 Chestnut Street Suite 800, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Fax: 215-625-2940; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Early Childhood Education; Preschool Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Canada (Montreal)
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A