Children under three in Greek day-care relationships with adults, peers and environment

This thesis explores the experiences of ten children aged one year four months to two years eleven months old in two Greek day-care nurseries, with the aim of informing thinking about the future development of policy and practice in relation to Greek Early Childhood Education and Care (henceforth known as ECEC) services. The study’s framework is an ethnographic case study which took place in two settings over the course of six months. Children’s perspectives were researched using an adaptation of the Mosaic Approach (Clark and Moss, 2011). This approach employs a range of visual (cameras), verbal (informal discussions with children), and observational techniques to identify children’s experiences and requires their active participation. Furthermore, it requires an additional input of information from adults who are significant for children. Thus, children’s parents and practitioners were interviewed to provide their perspectives and interpretations on the children’s experiences. A significant contribution of the research stems from identifying the important role that ancillary staff members, such as cooks and cleaners, also had in children’s lives in the day-care settings. Photographic, observational and interview data was collected and then analyzed using data-driven thematic analysis. Three main themes were identified and are examined in depth within this thesis: children’s relationships with adults, their peers and their nursery environment. The broader theme of the environment refers to the nurseries spaces which appeared to be constituted by three elements: the space marked by a room (or outside area), particularly the floor, walls, and ceiling; the space defined by nursery toys and furniture, and the space defined by the positions of actors, the children and adults, within this space. In conclusion, this study is a contribution to the ‘new sociology of childhood’. It extends the literature of the Greek ECEC research field by identifying childhood as a social construction and children as social actors. The study emphasises methodological and ethical issues and it is anticipated that it will contribute to the literature and methodology on conducting research with children under three.