Nysgjerrighetens muligheter - en utforskning av nysgjerrighet som et aspekt ved kvalitet på småbarnsavdeling gjennom constructing grounded theory

摘要

Curiosity is a complex concept that has been discussed in the field of psychology andalso in the fields of philosophy and religion. It is often used with negative connotationsin daily speech. Requirements to support curiosity are often mentioned withinpedagogical settings, without further definitions (Barnehageloven, § 2). This master’sthesis tries to explore the concept of curiosity as an aspect of quality in earlychildhood education (ECEC) for children under the age of 3. Curiosity is seen in thisstudy as a (social) process. This process is examined with the use of constructinggrounded theory (Charmaz 2006, 2014). This branch of grounded theory developedthe traditional approach (Glaser and Strauss, 1968) with social constructionist viewson knowledge creation. The aim of the constructed theory is to point out possiblefactors in relation to curiosity as an aspect of quality.I therefore conducted an informed grounded theory study (Charmaz, 2014) with adelayed literature review. As the main participants in this study are children under theage of 3, with a limited use of verbal language, I collected empirical data throughvisual ethnography and participating video observation while memo writing started.Out of the collected video materials, 47 sequences with a duration of between 15 secand 10 min were chosen and became the empirical basis for further study. Initialcoding was accomplished through the use of storyboards to describe the sequenceswith their main actions. These storyboards were compared with a method of contrast(Jaccard og Jacoby, 2010) in order to point out similarities and dissimilarities. With areflexive approach, which contains problematization of the construction, I try to drawattention to influences of earlier understandings of curiosity. Through comparison Iconstructed a basic dramaturgy of the process, which contains three main ingredients:disruption, interaction, and solution. These are further investigated in terms of e.g.setting, movements, and interaction with peers or teachers. Theory is understood inthis study as thick description of the process, using the metaphor of a map (Clarke,2011). Through pointing out dissimilarities I constructed scales for these areas, whichallowed me to organize sequences in relation to each other and to situate them in amap of the process. The aim of the map is to create a reference point for examiningcuriosity as an aspect of quality, by comparing situations in which curiosity occurs.Furthermore, I turn back to the sensitizing points of departure and create a reflectivedialog with other dimensions of curiosity as seen from the fields of psychology,philosophy, and sociology, showing possible connections. This is to highlight thecomplexity of curiosity and to prevent that the concept and its possibilities aresimplified when it comes to early childhood education for children under the age of 3.