Antti Rajala

Exploring the foundations of visual methods used in research with children

The growing interest in researching and documenting young childrens perspectives and experiences, has led to an increasing use of visual methods, such as photograps and videos. Studies to date, however, have seen artifacts as neutral tools, and have not revealed the differences between the functions of visual artifacts in the research process, and their functions in childrens lives more broadly. In view of this, we scrutinize the function of visual artifacts, using Wengers notion of reification, Vygotskys idea of mediation, and Wartofskys historical epistemology. We enliven the theoretical discussion by featuring illustrative vignettes from our previous study conducted at a Finnish preschool. We then discuss the consequences of our analysis in terms of documentation, and joint reflections that capture and construct the childrens experiences. A number of educational implications are highlighted.

Connecting Learning across School and Out-of-School Contexts

Understanding and promoting learning across school and out-of-school contexts have received increased attention in recent educational research and practice. Children and young people spend considerable time in out-of-school learning settings. Whether it be outside in the park playing with friends, fishing with an uncle, taking part in everyday family chores, or engaging in virtual communities, these everyday learning environments form a rich and complex learning ecology within which children build a variety of experiences, competencies, and interests (Barron, 2006; Erstad & Sefton-Green, 2013; Ito et al., 2013; Kumpulainen et al., 2010).

Fostering theory–practice reflection in teaching practicums

ABSTRACT This article presents a design for supporting theory–practice reflection in teacher practicums. This design is based on three design principles that promote a transformative stance towards the creation of novel pedagogical approaches: mutual transformation of theory and practice, co-design among supervising teachers, university lecturers and student teachers, and participating in the long-term development of pedagogical practices. To evaluate the design, we analyse and compare student teachers’ portfolios across two implementations of the teacher practicum: a thematic practicum based on the proposed design and the conventional class teacher practicum of the University of Helsinki. The results show that the student teachers who participated in the thematic practicum used theory more frequently in their reflections. Moreover, their theory–practice connections were more robust than those made by student teachers who participated in the conventional practicum. On the basis of our results, we make suggestions regarding how to promote theory–practice reflection in teacher education.

Deliberative Communication in Elementary Classroom Meetings: Ground Rules, Pupils' Concerns, and Democratic Participation.

ABSTRACT Previous research has identified numerous obstacles that counteract attempts to involve pupils in democratic processes in schools. Drawing from deliberative democratic theory and sociolinguistic research on dialogic teaching we discuss an intervention grounded on the ideas of deliberative communication and decision-making in an elementary classroom in Finland. We show that deliberative communication can provide pupils with opportunities for democratic participation. This process involves altering conventional classroom interactional patterns and the power processes they uphold. The possibilities of expanding deliberative communication from isolated democratic meetings to everyday schooling are considered.

Visual tools as mediational means: A methodological investigation

In this study, we investigated how Finnish children used photographs and drawings to discuss their preschool day experiences in focus groups. Building on sociocultural perspectives on mediated action, we specifically focused on how these visual tools were used as mediational means in sharing experiences. The results of our embodied interaction analysis highlight the relevance of visual tools for the participants and the task at hand in the moment-to-moment, micro-level flow of interaction and its material environment. More specifically, our analysis illuminates different ways in which the visual tools were relevant for participating children and adults when sharing and talking about their experiences. In all, our study advances present-day understanding regarding how sociocultural and embodied interaction frameworks can guide visual research with children.