The child's perspective on what is the purpose of preschool

Abstract

This qualitative case study focuses on the child’s perspectives of their preschool provision. Examining how the child’s voice is recognised and facilitated within their Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC). The 2017 Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) is the statutory framework which underpins early years practice, advocating for provision that is inclusive, child-centred and driven by the child’s best interests. However, increasing pressures on standards and results, has led to the escalation of formal practices and adult-initiated learning within early years provision, disrespecting and disregarding the child’s voice. This study highlights the tensions within the current framework, EYFS (2017) and supporting guidance document, Development Matters (2012). A multimodal methodology was applied to work collaboratively with the children and provide an insight into their views and experiences of preschool. Photo elicitation, semi-structured interviews and observations were the multimodal approaches selected to collect data with a group of children in a preschool. The main findings of this research imply the areas of provision that are most significant to the children are; play and imagination, friendships and socialisation, and the home environment and role models. Which question if the increasing formal practices, dominating current early years provision, respect and value the child’s voice.