The study explores perceptions of nursery education held by staff, parents and children in three state nursery classes in a single local education authority. I have adopted a theoretical framework combining ecological systems theory (Bronfenbrenner, 1979,1992) and phenomenography (Marton, 1981,1988a and 1988b) which have not been combined in previous research in early years education. Such a paradigm synthesis allows me to interpret perceptions within the context of the nursery class, of the broader social milieu and of the research process itself. The research employs a variety of interviewing techniques, observation and documentary analysis. I have developed an interviewing technique specifically for the study in order to overcome some of the problems associated with obtaining young children's perceptions of their educational experience. I consider textual representation of voice, context and processes as problematic, a situation which has effected a change in my epistemological position and my move towards postmodernism. Therefore, I present the research within the context of my development over time. The research suggests that young children are able to voice their own perceptions of their nursery education, and that these perceptions, and children's ability to voice them, may be influenced by certain characteristics of the nursery class setting. Also illustrated is the complex and relative nature of adult perceptions, which must be considered within their situational and temporal context
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:284897 |
| Date | January 1998 |
| Creators | Evans, Pauline E. R. |
| Publisher | University of Bristol |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://hdl.handle.net/1983/79918550-d787-45f8-89ca-31797d9f34ab |
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