Video Recording as a Research Method for Investigating Children under Three Years of Age

Abstract

This paper explores the use of video recording as a method to investigate the under-three-year-old age group's interactions, learning, and development in kindergarten. Despite the continuous growth in the numbers of infants and toddlers attending early childhood education and care (ECEC) services in OECD countries, educational research focusing on children under three years of age is still scarce. One of the reasons for this scarcity is methodological, and this paper briefly addresses some issues for ECEC practitioners to reflect on in terms of toddlers as informants. The paper presents two different methods of video recording, points out issues concerning ethical procedures when video recording young children, and discusses ideas on what kinds of actions could be implemented in order to assure the participation of children in the research process.