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The Valuable Index Finger: Communicating Democratic Values Through Pointing

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Values Education in Early Childhood Settings

Abstract

This study is part of the Nordic research project, Values education in Nordic preschools: Basis of education for tomorrow, which examines values education in early childhood education. The aim of this study is to explore children’s finger pointing as part of mealtime communication and to interpret the values that such pointing communicates from a democratic perspective. The empirical material consists of 14 recorded video observations during mealtimes in seven Norwegian preschools. Theories about democracy, values, and pointing as communication form the framework of the study. Five functions of children’s pointing are used as analytic tools: proto-imperative, proto-declarative, expressive, informative, and private pointing. The results reveal that children less than three years old participate in complex communication through pointing. From a democratic perspective, they communicate values that can be associated with collectivity, such as trust, discipline, unfairness, solidarity, care, and responsibility for others, as well as values associated with individuality, such as their own enjoyment, satisfaction, and passion. The study demonstrates that it is important for educators to recognize the small body language of young children like pointing behavior as real communication. The study’s political implications are that everyday situations, such as mealtimes, can be important occasions for putting democracy into practice.

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Acknowledgment

NordForsk funded this study (Values education in Nordic preschools – Basis of education for tomorrow, project number 53581).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Early Childhood Education, Faculty of Arts and Education, The University of Stavanger, Stavanger, Norway

    Berit Tofteland

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  1. Berit Tofteland
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Correspondence to Berit Tofteland .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Arts and Education, University of Stavanger, Stavanger, Norway

    Eva Johansson

  2. School of Education, Linnaeus University, Kalmar, Sweden

    Anette Emilson

  3. Faculty of Education, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland

    Anna-Maija Puroila

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Tofteland, B. (2018). The Valuable Index Finger: Communicating Democratic Values Through Pointing. In: Johansson, E., Emilson, A., Puroila, AM. (eds) Values Education in Early Childhood Settings. International Perspectives on Early Childhood Education and Development, vol 23. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-75559-5_17

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-75559-5_17

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

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  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-75559-5

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