Non-verbal interaction

The influence of non-verbal interaction on the relationship between practitioners and pre-schoolers and subsequent development of pre-pre-schoolers’ agency towards contributing to their well-being was illustrated in my research journal:

“The practitioner was seated when she conversed with the pre-schoolers. Her body language portrayed a lecturing position as she sat and asked the pre-schoolers to recite the days of the week, seasons, numbers and letters of the alphabet. Her static, non-verbal body language could have contributed to the obedient and disciplined way in which the pre-schoolers sat around in the circle. She did not dramatise what she said with body movements. (R/RJ/p.1, 19 May 2017/SS)

Photograph 4.1 complements my notes of non-verbal interaction in the relationship between practitioners and pre-schoolers.

Photograph 4.1: Non-verbal interaction (SS)

In photograph 4.1 the pre-schoolers sat on the floor in rows of three in front of the practitioner, while she sat on a chair. They had to put up their hands if they wanted to

answer her questions. There was no evidence of spontaneous exchange of ideas or perspectives from the side of the pre-schoolers.

I further noted in my research journal that:

"The pre-schoolers were very obedient and focus was on revising days of the week, seasons, alphabet letter of the day and teaching the children about the theme ... They sat in a half moon with crossed legs." (R/RJ/p.1, 19 May 2017/SS);

I further commented:

"The circle time begin with the teacher standing in a circle with the children. They clap their hands as the teacher says a number. They need to listen to the teacher's command and copy what she is clapping or stamp their feet. They then sit in a circle with the teacher on the chair. They all chant 'Good morning, everyone.'"(RJ, p. 5, 8 June 2017/PP); and that "They had to put up their hands when they wanted to answer." (R/RJ/p.2, 26 May 2017/PP)

At one point I joined the circle time discussion as a participant. I wanted to discover if a more interactive approach would lead to greater expression or spontaneity. I sat on the carpet with the pre-schoolers around me and used a variety of facial expressions and tones of voice to engage them. I asked permission from all three practitioners to join their circle time discussions and asked them if they could observe the activity. I noted the following in my research journal after the activity:

"I then join the circle time and sit on the floor in front of the children. I portray energy and enthusiasm. Children become engaged ... They become less contained and put up their hands quickly. They seem to concentrate and give me their attention." (R/RJ/p. 5, 8 June 2017/PP)

My eye-to-eye and expressive interaction during circle time indicated that active engagement is paramount to the development of pre-schoolers' agency and enhanced the relationship between the practitioner and the pre-schoolers. The value of circle time discussions was reflected upon by as follows:

"To find out what the children know about a certain topic and also add information that they do not know. It also sets the tone of the day and makes the child think ... also I was focusing on mathematics, theme discussion, the knowledge they already have and promoting life skills." (OEQ/SS); and "It is also their chance to talk about the things they know and explore from their knowledge." (OEQ/PP)

Practitioners’ comments suggested to me that they understood that circle time is a valuable time to provide an opportunity to teach pre-schoolers new knowledge, but also a time to hear what they have to say. I thus found a dissonance between the restrictive atmosphere of the circle time discussions and the practitioners' perspectives about the value of circle time. During circle time discussions the practitioners did most of the talking.

What I found correlates with a study done by Koran and Avci (2017:1048). They

concluded in their study that early childhood education practitioners see themselves as the only source of information, and that children are deemed passive recipients of knowledge. Findings from their study indicated that practitioners ignored the needs, desires and opinions of children and were more interested in teaching them about correct and acceptable ways of doing things. Such an attitude resonates more towards a modernist discourse which views the pre-schooler as a universalised subject that needs to be filled with knowledge by an outside expert (Dahlberg et al., 2013:46).

These findings are in direct contrast to the discourse of rights which encourages the right of pre-schoolers to express their opinions and viewpoints. From a rights-based perspective children are understood as individuals and citizens who have a right to be heard and considered in decisions affecting their lives as indicated in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child:

State parties shall assure to the child who is capable of forming his or her own right to express those views freely in matters affecting the child, the views of the child being given due weight in accordance with the age and maturity of the child (Art.12)

Early childhood practitioners should adhere to the rights of pre-schoolers and afford them opportunities to express their ideas and opinions.