Listening Deeply to Fernando, a Four-Year-Old Bricoleur

• In Event: 52.061 - Listening Deeply: Creative and Arts-Based Qualitative Approaches to Research in Early Childhood Education

Abstract

The fourth paper by Elizabeth Quintero listens deeply to Fernando, a four-year old bricoleur. Children share the art of their stories with peers and adults daily. They weave together culture, language, and potential in to every story. How may researchers who listen, document and analyze this information so children are supported? This research reconceptualizes critical theory (Freire, 1997) to include the bricolage as an emancipatory research construct (Kincheloe, McLaren, & Steinberg (2012) The French word bricoleur describes a handyman or handywoman who uses the tools available to complete a task. Children are capable in this capacity as our co-researchers. Through the narrative art of stories, children give meaning to our lives (Andrews, Squire & Tamboukou, 2008).
Fernando was in a preschool in California and his early childhood student teacher shares aspects of his stories. He and many of the children were Spanish speaking and just learning English. The student teacher was a bilingual California native, and supported Fernando’s use of home language. She wrote journal entries about the child, the situation, and his potential. She was asked to sit with Fernando who was unable to sit still on the rug during literacy time. As she sat down with him (and a notebook for journaling) Fernando immediately asked “Yo escribo mi nombre?” (May I write my name?) “Si, despues que salgamos a jugar afuera,” (Yes, after we go to play outside.) “Okay Teacher. Gracias.” Then outside at playtime, Fernando wrote, sitting still for ten minutes. In another journal entry the student teaches tells the story of playing cars. She asked, “Fernando, do you play cars with your family at home?” He replied, “No, teacher, I don’t play cars home.” “You don’t? Why?” He answered, “My dad not home; he’s in jail.” As they talked more he said, “Teacher, yes, mom plays with me.”
Freire encouraged reinventing ourselves in our own cultural and historical contexts (Freire, 1997). Children guide us in this art of reinvention of meaning. Finally, the bricolage of children contributing their knowledge, questions, and creativity, and the teachers who listen, may organize stories for collaborative analysis using the Learning Story model of research developed in New Zealand (Carr, et. al., 2009). This model is an art form that is more comprehensive and participatory among teachers, children, and parents. Children show examples of affordance networks of many resources, including people, which provide opportunities for learning daily through pretend play stories and factual and fantasy stories. Children lead the art of putting together Learning Stories that become meaningful research.

References in Session Summary Document

Author

• Elizabeth P. Quintero, California State University - Channel Islands