A report, Listening to Young Children:The mosiac approach, by London University's Institute of Education, explains how the 'mosiac' approach pieces together a picture of individual children's priorities and impressions by collating evidence from the children with the views of nursery staff and their parents.
Researchers asked children aged two to four to take them on tours of teh nursery, draw maps of their surroundings and take photographs. They also asked keyworkers and parents how children felt about being at the nursery.
Alsison Clark, research associate in early childhood provision at the Institute's Thomas Coram Research Unit, who carried out the study with professor Peter Moss, said, 'Getting children's views is high on today's policy agenda, but how do you get the views of children under five? If they are allowed to express themselves non-verbally, they'll surprise you with all that they have say about what goes on in their everyday lives.'
The children's priorities often involved friends and changing relationships, including realtionships with adults and siblings, memories of important people who had left, and aspirations about the future. One shy child, while taking the researcher on a tour asked to have her picture taken beside a photograph of her key worker who had recently left.
The report was funded by the Joeseph Rowntree Foundation and costs Pounds11.99 from the National Children's Bureau (020 7843 6000), www.ncb.org.uk).tour,)
