High quality educators’ conceptualisation of children’s risk-taking in early childhood education: provoking educators to think more broadly

Cooke, Mandy, Wong, Sandie and Press, Frances ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8980-5096 (2020) High quality educators’ conceptualisation of children’s risk-taking in early childhood education: provoking educators to think more broadly. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 28 (3). pp. 424-438. ISSN 1350-293X

Preview

Accepted Version Available under License In Copyright. Download (504kB) | Preview

Abstract

Children’s risk-taking is increasingly acknowledged as an important part of early childhood education. Previous research has predominantly focussed on children’s engagement with, and educators’ perspectives on, children’s risk-taking in outdoor physical play. However, little attention has been paid to how educators conceptualise children’s risk-taking more broadly. Our study addresses this research gap. A three-site case study, the research gathered data from educators in high quality early childhood services through observations and interviews. Findings show that educators predominantly framed children’s risk-taking as taking place in physical and outdoor play. However, with minimal provocation, educators extended their conceptualisations of risk to encompass a broader range of children’s experiences. Data suggests that participation in the research provoked many participants to think more broadly about children’s risk-taking.