The Possibilities of Video-Cued Ethnography for Early Childhood Systems Change

• In Event: Data Use in Early Childhood

Proposal

In this presentation, I discuss the potential for video data to inform early childhood systems reform. I draw on data from a video-cued ethnography (VCE) (Tobin, 2019) that examines diverse stakeholders’ perspectives on pre-primary quality in Tanzania. VCE is a qualitative research method in which short films are used to prompt conversations about a phenomenon of interest. By showing the films to key stakeholders and documenting their reactions, the researcher creates a “virtual conversation” among these groups (Tobin et al., 2013, p. 24). Employing elements of VCE in early childhood systems change efforts can help to ensure diverse perspectives, particularly those often excluded from the policymaking process (e.g. teachers, parents, marginalized groups), are included in reform efforts.

To showcase the possibilities of VCE in early childhood systems change, I present findings from a VCE I conducted in Tanzania. In this study, I created five short video clips of math and reading lessons in two pre-primary classrooms and showed them to national policymakers (2), university researchers (6), teacher training college lecturers (7), and pre-primary teachers (25) across Tanzania. After viewing the video clips online, participants took part in a phone interview lasting 30-90 minutes. The interviews, in which participants shared their reactions to the clips, provided insight into their perspectives on what constitutes “good quality” in the context of pre-primary education in Tanzania and the strategies and interventions they believed most necessary to improving pre-primary quality.

My analysis revealed a lack of consensus about what “good quality” teaching looks like in pre-primary classrooms. National policymakers, university researchers, and teacher training college lecturers were generally critical of the teaching practices they saw in the video clips but had different ideas about why teachers employed what they perceived as low-quality methods. In contrast, pre-primary teachers who viewed the clips were far less critical and described a desire to emulate the teachers they observed in the clips. This lack of alignment among stakeholders is important to understand because it has implications for national efforts to improve early childhood systems and the quality of pre-primary education in Tanzania.

This example from Tanzania highlights the possibilities of VCE for generating nuanced insight into areas where change is needed to improve early childhood systems. This approach can support greater inclusivity in the reform process, by opening up policy conversations to groups who are often left out of the policy process. Importantly, these virtual conversations can reveal areas where there is a lack of consensus among stakeholders, which may impede reform efforts. Drawing on evidence and experience from Tanzania, I will conclude the presentation by describing how a modified version of VCE might be used to gather diverse stakeholder perspectives as part of early childhood systems change efforts.

Author

• Bethany Wilinski, Michigan State University