Standpoints on quality: Listening to children in Verona, Italy

Abstract

EARLY CHILDHOOD RESEARCH and policy, globally, are focusing increasingly on issues of ‘quality’ in early childhood education. However, much of the focus to date has been on adult notions of quality, with little attention being devoted to children's accounts. Conducted in the context of early childhood education in Verona, Italy, this study offers children's views of quality in two early childhood classrooms. Informed by the participation mandates of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UN, 1989) and a sociological conceptualisation of child competences (Mayall, 2002; Smith, 2007), the research methodology draws on the mosaic approach (Clark & Moss, 2001) whereby children's photography, mapping and conversations were used to represent indices of the quality of their early childhood settings. The data in this study was generated with the understanding that young children are competent to articulate their ideas by using a range of symbolic literacies. The children formed opinions about their prior-to-school experience, particularly about their teachers, and gave a clear and articulate indication of what constitutes good quality. The findings point to the importance young children place on their relationships with their teachers, and the moral, ethical and social justice implications. In conclusion, the study calls for those engaged with children, particularly teachers, to take affirmative action on children's contributions to our understanding of quality.