EBOOK: Studying Children: A Cultural-Historical Approach

Book excerpt: Studying Children is the first book of its kind to offer a theoretical and practical discussion of how to undertake research using cultural-historical theory when researching the everyday lives of children. The authors discuss the complexities of child development, providing a critique of alternative perspectives of research and notions of development. They provide a number of case studies following researchers in early childhood as they move from a developmental approach to a cultural-historical framework for observing and planning for young children. The chapters: Provide a solid framework for understanding the foundations of this approach Address the importance of viewing research as an interactive technique Offer guidance on how to collect and interpret material Show how to make observations of and interviews with children, within a dialectical research approach Present examples of how to write and present findings using this technique The book is rich with examples of how to undertake specific methods, such as surveys, experiments, case studies, digital video observations, interviews, and children as researchers. Studying Children is a valuable resource for academics, researchers and students working in the field of Early and Middle Childhood at both undergraduate and postgraduate level.