Abstract:

This study is focused on childhood pedagogy and its dimensions, with a special focus on adult-child interaction. Childhood pedagogy studies pedagogical practices developed, in both school and non-school contexts, for the education of children, in its relationship with theories and beliefs, through an analysis of the delivery processes and the justification for action, and through a reflection in – and about – that action. (Oliveira-Formosinho, 2013). Within childhood pedagogy adult-child interaction has a crucial role on children's construction of knowledge, and in this sense this pedagogical dimension is the core of childhood pedagogy (Malaguzzi, 1998; Hohmann & Weikart, 1997). The main goal of the study is to understand the relationship among the quality of adult-child interaction and children’s learning within different early childhood pedagogical approaches. The methodology used is the Mixed Methods Research and data was collected through the application of PIP - Preschool Implementation Profile, and Target Child (Pascal & Bertarm, 1999). The participants are 40 preschool teachers working with different pedagogical approaches, and 160 children aged 3 to 5 years. Data analysis showed the role of different pedagogical approaches to the development of high quality adult-child interaction and to the quality of children’s learning experiences. One of the main conclusions of the study is that the quality of adult-child interaction varies according the pedagogical approach adopted by early childhood education teachers, and has positive impact on the quality of young children’s learning experiences.

Keywords:

Childhood pedagogy, adult-child interaction, children's-learning.