Exploring children's learning stories as an assessment method for research and practice

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to apply and explore, in the context of an Icelandic preschool, the methods developed by the New Zealand Te Whaariki curriculum to assess children's well‐being and learning dispositions. This article describes the process of piloting learning stories as a research method, where researchers and preschool teachers cooperate in generating data. Data were generated by means of interviews, observations and documentation, following a research process in which learning stories were documented, reflected upon and analysed by the researchers and teachers, where possible in cooperation with the four‐ to five‐year‐old children. The learning stories were constructed and analysed using the five domains of learning dispositions identified in the Te Whaariki curriculum. The study asks how a collaborative approach to assessing children's well‐being and learning dispositions could be used in preschools both for professional learning and for research purposes. The findings show children as skilful communicators who are capable of finding solutions and reacting to various situations arising from the social context of the preschool. The study demonstrates that documenting children's learning stories enables researchers to focus on children's strengths and capabilities, and adds to preschool teachers' knowledge of individual children and groups.