Observation Of A Child

ED1009 INTRODUCTION TO EARLY CHILDHOOD STUDIES

OBSERVING YOUNG CHILDREN
(Summarised from Taylor, J & Woods, M. (Eds) (1998:14-29) Early Childhood Studies: An Holistic Introduction. London: Arnold.)

Observation is an essential and integral aspect of the role of every early years professional, practitioner and student. They should regularly observe the children for whom they have (orintend to have) responsibility. Sometimes children are observed for a very specific purpose - perhaps to ascertain the level of a child's language development or performance on a predetermined task. At other times they may be observed in order to achieve broader knowledge and understanding of an individual child or group of children - perhaps to ascertain how they might be settling into a newenvironment. Mostly children are observed in their usual day-to-day activities and environments, although occasionally a particular activity for observation may be set up in what is termed a ‘controlled setting', e.g. in a quiet room free from the distractions of other activities.
It is good practice to reflect on an observation and make a reasoned analysis and interpretation of the observation.Whenever possible, it is also good practice to share one’s findings, analysis and interpretation with respected colleagues, fellow students, tutors, children's parents or carers. It is this shared discussion and evaluation, as well as pooling of joint knowledge of children, which can help to ensure that conclusions are valid.


WHAT CAN BE GAINED FROM OBSERVATION?
Through the processes ofobservation we can gain much greater insight into:


• individual children's all-round development, needs, health and well-being;
• individual children's capabilities and the extent of their knowledge and skills;
• children's interaction with other children and with adults;
• typical patterns of all-round childhood development;
• typical childhood behaviours;
• what is unique about eachchild;
• the very different experiences and familial, social and cultural environments of individual children and groups of children;
• the possible consequences of these different backgrounds.


It is important for early years professionals to act on the information they have acquired and use it to inform planning and practice. With the insight from the observations and their assessments,they are better equipped to:

• devise optimum environments to promote the holistic development of each child and respond to his other needs;
• take appropriate action if any aspect of a child's development, behaviour, health or well-being causes concern and does not appear to be within the range typical for his or her age;
• interact more sensitively with children and form happyrelationships with them;
• monitor, evaluate and improve the provision we make for children, i.e. the care we give, the curriculum we devise and the outcomes we achieve.


For students, competence in observation also promotes the integration of theoretical knowledge of childhood with practice.


WHAT MAY BE OBSERVED?

In order to increase holistic knowledge and understanding of young childrenand their development observations can be made of the following:

• characteristics of children's physical growth and development (e.g. appearance, height, weight,
• coordination, fine and gross motor skills, general physical activity);
• development of children's communication skills (e.g. non-verbal, language, speech, understanding, listening, reading and writing, emergent literacy andnumeracy skills);
• development of children's cognitive skills (e.g. memory, understanding, thinking, reasoning, discrimination, knowledge, formal learning skills, concentration);
• evidence of emotional development and expression (e.g. aggression, regression, shyness, tantrum, excitement, distractibility, concentration, fear, confidence, independence, feeding and sleeping problems, obsessive...