‘Pedagogic Strategies’: a conceptual framework for effective parent and practitioner strategies when working with children under five

Abstract

This article traces the development of adult Pedagogic Strategies with children aged 0–5 years at the Pen Green Centre for Children and Their Families in England. Pedagogical Strategies are a conceptual framework of effective strategies both practitioners and parents already have to support children's learning. The methodology was participatory with parents and practitioners analysing video observations of adult–child interactions. The 2012–2013 research group repeated a previous process of 1997 in order to extend from working with three- to five-year-olds to work also with children below the age of three. Two new strategies emerged: acknowledging the presence of children; and the use of touch and the body, an embodied pedagogy. The implications for practice are that what constitutes effective pedagogy can be identified and owned at the setting level, by each educational community.