Exploring foundations : sociocultural influences on the learning processes of four year old children in a pre-school and reception class

Abstract

This study considers differences in the experiences of two small groups of children, analysing within a sociocultural framework the pedagogical processes and learning outcomes involved in two common scenarios for four year olds in England.

The study examines two distinct sub-cultures of pedagogy and children’s learning within them over the year from different viewpoints, including the children’s.  It explores patterns of interaction and the complex flow of teaching and learning in episodes typical to the settings.  It uses an innovative blend of outline video stills, contextual features, diagrams and detailed transcription to analyse participation, meanings and understandings across data for the year.  In reception, multimodal delivery was expertly used to focus on entry to vertical discourse (Bernstein, 1999), creating new common contexts for learning, but with few opportunities made for negotiated entry via horizontal discourse for children who found access difficult. All children made progress, but differences between them were exacerbated, contributing to less positive learner identities for some.  Pre-school provided inter-subjectivity on a more individual basis, using horizontal discourse and collaborative, proleptic instruction (Addison Stone, 1993), but with few links from these to more abstract vertical discourse. Children made less measurable progress, but there appeared to be a ‘levelling’ effect, contributing to more positive learner identities.

This thesis highlights how school entry policy can cause some children to experience less time in the Foundation Stage and the differential effects of this.  It explores what is involved in effective sustained shared thinking, extending detailed examination beyond words to non-verbal factors.  It reveals interaction patterns that determine space for adult or child initiated activities, sub-cultural features influencing the formation of such patterns, and factors influencing the subtle, multi-modal ways in which adults can effectively extend or restrict children’s interactions.

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