ERIC Number: EJ1331492
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2022
Pages: 16
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0966-9760
EISSN: N/A
When and Why Do Early Childhood Educators Reminisce with Children about Their Past Experiences?
International Journal of Early Years Education, v30 n1 p71-86 2022
When children reminisce with adults about their own past experiences, they are offered a rich forum in which to develop cognitive and socioemotional skills, build their sense of self, and form emotional bonds. Little attention has been directed to reminiscing in educational contexts, however. Our aim was to explore when, how often, and why early childhood educators engage young children in reminiscing conversations. Participants included 251 Australian educators with 1-45 years of experience. Educators completed an online survey asking them (i) the number of times per day they engaged children in reminiscing, relative to other types of talk, and (ii) the times and places these reminiscing conversations were most likely to occur. While individual differences were apparent, more than 85% of educators reporting engaging children in reminiscing multiple times per day. Popular times included arrival (67.7%), meals (65.7%) and group/circle time (58.2%). Educators' qualitative explanations suggested several important reasons to engage children in reminiscing, including to bond, establish home-centre connections, build children's socioemotional competence, reflect on 'centre life' and support intentional learning activities. Implications for research and practice are discussed.
Descriptors: Recall (Psychology), Teacher Student Relationship, Interpersonal Communication, Preschool Teachers, Preschool Children, Preschool Education, Foreign Countries, Child Care, Incidence, Child Development
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; 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: Australia
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A