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Reciprocal Caring in ECEC Settings

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Values Education in Early Childhood Settings

Abstract

This study investigates how caring is communicated and received in educator–child interactions in early childhood education and care (ECEC) settings. The research material is based on video observations from the NordForsk project titled ‘Values education in Nordic preschools: Basis of education for tomorrow (ValuEd)’. Approximately 230 educators and 650 children (aged 1–4 years) participated in the Norwegian part of the study. Seven groups in seven different ECEC settings were recorded. The analyses are based on Noddings’ and Løgstrup’s perspectives on caring as a reciprocal relation. This theoretical framework enables consideration of caring from the ‘one-caring’ and ‘cared-for’ perspectives. The findings show that educators communicate caring via words, tone of voice, gestures, eye contact, physical closeness, and body contact and that children’s responses to the caring communicated are mainly instantiated in their body language, gestures and gaze.

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Acknowledgements

This project was funded by NordForsk (Values education in Nordic preschools: Basis of education for tomorrow; project number 53581). Thanks to all the educators and children who participated in the study and to my colleagues for their constructive comments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Early Childhood Education, Faculty of Arts and Education, University of Stavanger, Stavanger, Norway

    Kristin Fugelsnes

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  1. Kristin Fugelsnes
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Correspondence to Kristin Fugelsnes .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Arts and Education, University of Stavanger, Stavanger, Norway

    Eva Johansson

  2. School of Education, Linnaeus University, Kalmar, Sweden

    Anette Emilson

  3. Faculty of Education, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland

    Anna-Maija Puroila

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Fugelsnes, K. (2018). Reciprocal Caring in ECEC Settings. In: Johansson, E., Emilson, A., Puroila, AM. (eds) Values Education in Early Childhood Settings. International Perspectives on Early Childhood Education and Development, vol 23. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-75559-5_11

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-75559-5_11

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-75558-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-75559-5

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