Four- to six-year-old children using photographs as sources of information about space

Abstract

Do early childhood education children comprehend photographs as spatial representations and are they able to use them to obtain information about space? Can they identify the location where the shooting was done? Can they use photographs to identify the positions where objects are located? These are the research questions that this article aims to investigate making a first qualitative approach. The photographs used during the research depicting a long hallway at the children's preschool, taken from two different angles. The research sample consisted of 18 children aged four-to six-years-old attending a Greek public preschool. The individual interviews with the children highlighted their ability to use photographs as sources of information about space. More specifically, the children of the sample identified from the photographs spaces known to them, and some of them were able to identify their location in the photographs and the location from where the photographs were taken. Finally, a smaller number of children were able to use photographs as a 'map' to track objects in a real space.

Children’s experiences of play in digital spaces: A scoping review

“…For example, the mosaic approach enables researchers to use a plethora of creative visual tools to ensure children are listened to thus supporting successful participation and acknowledging them as meaning-makers [ 4 , 20 ]. Techniques such as Photovoice or the use of drawings can also provide children with a visual representation and enables researchers to elicit and generate children’s narrative of participation in play thus providing participants with autonomy [ 72 , 73 ]. Furthermore, the scoping review highlights that to date, children from more diverse backgrounds or with particular needs, for example, those with disabilities have been largely ignored.…”