Listening to young children: critical reflections
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This module will be of significant interest to anyone interested in the lives and learning of young children, including early childhood practitioners. It will be of particular value to those who want to develop their knowledge and understanding for professional roles linked to careers in education, health and social care. You'll explore why the child’s voice is important, by considering different approaches to listening, and the importance of children’s participation in early childhood provision and practice.
What you will study
The module consists of three blocks:
Block 1: Foundations for listening to all children
You’ll consider what listening to children means, by studying different theoretical and historical ideas around the significance of the child’s voice and children’s participation. You’ll reflect on the complexity of young children’s lives; and explore different situations in which listening is key, for example, for children who are multi-lingual or experiencing transition and change.
Block 2: Responding to the child – how do we listen?
You’ll engage with different approaches to listening that have been used in early childhood research and practice. Throughout this block, you’ll study Alison Clark’s Mosaic approach in depth, as well as several other methods that promote children’s participation. You’ll develop your knowledge and understanding of how listening to young children can be put into practice as well as exploring some of the ethical issues that can arise.
Block 3: Listening, communicating and changing
You’ll think about how listening and children’s participation can be central to early childhood policy, practice and provision. You’ll further reflect on what a listening culture means for young children within their families, settings they attend, and their wider community. You’ll also consider some of the complexities of commitment to children’s participation – in decision making about their lives and experiences – that arise from issues of power and control.
This module will provide you with insights into the many aspects of listening to children, and the value of a participatory approach to supporting their learning. It draws on examples and studies, both from the UK and abroad (for example, Australia, Italy and Scandinavia). By using such a wide range of resources, your perspective will broaden and your thinking will extend beyond situations that are more familiar.
You’ll compare practice that you observe with ideas that you study. You’ll reflect on the practice and experiences you see and how these might be adapted or changed.
You will learn
The module will enable you to:
- analyse and critically discuss concepts, theories, research and practice
- critically reflect on your own and others’ values and perspectives
- critically reflect on the role of the researcher and ethical considerations for the study of children and their families
- build and summarise arguments and arrive at supported conclusions.
Entry requirements
You must be aged 18 or over.
There are no formal academic or experiential requirements to study this module.
However, it’s essential you have an interest in young children’s lives and learning. It would also be beneficial for you to arrange access to an early childhood setting1 if you’re not already working or volunteering in such a setting. We recommend you visit a setting1 weekly/fortnightly throughout the module and particularly during Blocks 2 and 3.
If you’re not sure you’re ready, talk to an adviser.
1Access to settings will require you to meet the ‘fit person’ criteria, in your country, to work with children. You and your setting are responsible for ensuring you meet these requirements, not the OU.
Preparatory work
We strongly recommend you complete both Exploring perspectives on young children’s lives and learning (E109) and Young children’s play and creativity (E110) before starting this module.
What's included
- Access to the module study materials via the module website
- One printed book – Listening to Young Children by Alison Clark
Computing requirements
A computing device with a browser and broadband internet access is required for this module. Any modern browser will be suitable for most computer activities. Functionality may be limited on mobile devices.
Any additional software will be provided, or is generally freely available. However, some activities may have more specific requirements. For this reason, you will need to be able to install and run additional software on a device that meets the requirements below.
A desktop or laptop computer with either:
- Windows 7 or higher
- Mac OS X 10.7 or higher
The screen of the device must have a resolution of at least 1024 pixels horizontally and 768 pixels vertically.
To join in the spoken conversation in our online rooms we recommend a headset (headphones or earphones with an integrated microphone).
Our Skills for OU study website has further information including computing skills for study, computer security, acquiring a computer and Microsoft software offers for students.