Research methods 3 - semi-structured interviews

The third and final method of data collection that we employed in our study was interview. Having gained some information about the reclaimed resources that were available in the setting, and how the children were using them, this was an opportunity to talk with the nursery managers. Our main aim in conducting the interviews was to explore answers to our final research question: Why are reclaimed resources used?

The interview schedule that was drawn up had four headed sections. These were: children; staff; parents; and curriculum. Each section included open questions about recycled and reclaimed materials and how and why they were accessed and used.

The questions about 'children' related to the kinds of materials that children of different ages chose to use and their access to these. The final question was about children's concepts of the 'environment'.

The 'staff' section focused upon how staff accessed, stored and used reclaimed materials. We also asked about training relating to environmental education and knowledge about environmental issues.

The 'parents' section explored parental involvement in the collection and uses of recycled resources. We also asked about parental involvement in any environmental education.

Finally, in the 'curriculum' section, the managers were asked about their curriculum, the resources that they bought and found, and their rationale for the use of recycled materials. We also discussed education for sustainability and whether and how it was included within the curriculum.

The interviews were carried out at a place and time agreed with the managers, typically the manager's office. The interviews were audio-recorded, except in one case where notes were taken.

We are pleased with the overall structure of the interviews and the four foci. The interview data shows the unique responses from each of the four settings but it is also possible to make some effective comparisons. We would now like to refine the schedule further to give interviewees more scope to talk through all the evidence from the audit and the observations. We think that this would elicit some more in-depth answers about benefits for children's learning.

Why are reclaimed resources used?

Why are reclaimed resources used?

Research methods 2 - observation

In order to find out something about how reclaimed resources were used, in early years settings, we recorded short narrative observations of children playing with these materials.

The observations were non-participant and recorded subtly by the visiting researchers during daily free play in each of the four nurseries. It was a great way to capture naturally occurring behaviours. From the children who assented to be observed, and whose parents had given consent, the researchers looked for children who had chosen to play with reclaimed materials and recorded what they did.

There were observations of both adult-led and child-initiated activities, recorded indoors and outdoors, with children of different ages from young babies to four year olds. These included: play with Treasure Baskets and with plastic drink bottles filled with sensory materials; heuristic play; messy play; sand play with recycled cartons and tubes; dressing up; play with old phones; mud kitchens; junk modelling; and creating collages from fabrics.   

Like the audit tool (see previous post), the observation methods will benefit from refinement. For a further study we would standardise the approach to observing so that the observation records can be more easily analysed and compared. We have also become interested in observing the features of play with reclaimed materials and making comparisons to play with manufactured toys.

Observation is a topic that Paulette has researched and written about, including two books with colleagues: Child Observation for Learning and Research with Theodora Papatheodorou and Janet Gill; and Observation: Origins and Approaches in Early Childhood with Val Podmore.

Research methods 1 - the audit

The first step in our data gathering for this project was to audit the reclaimed resources in use in each of the four early years settings. The audit, carried out by the researcher and setting staff, took the form of a checklist. The checklist was prepared with lists of resources under headed categories representing different types of materials. The four categories were: natural resources; food stuffs; craft materials; and found / donated materials.

The researchers ticked where resources were seen, added items to the audit if they saw things that were not on the original list, and in some cases also annotated the audit form with additional information about the items. It was necessary to complete the audit together with staff in order to gain access to materials that were out of sight, e.g in storage cupboards, and to identify some equipment that was reclaimed rather than purchased. For example, in one of the nurseries, a sofa, tables, soft furnishings and a wooden climbing frame had all been found in skips or charity shops and given a new lease of life!

In every setting the checklist was accompanied by photographs of the resources in context. Such as this one:

The audit form offers a means of recording the materials in use within each setting. It is also useful for making comparisons of the amount and types of reclaimed resources between settings. Having grown to include over seventy items, our checklist would now benefit from further work to refine the original categories and so make it more user-friendly.

We are interested in hearing from people who want to try out the checklist in their own setting and / or to help us to improve and develop it as a tool for practice and research. If you would like a copy of the audit checklist then please let us know - via the comments box, below, or by email to our gmail account.

Our research study - the methodological approach

So, what methodological approach are we using? What are the theoretical bases for our research? How would we describe the research design? These three questions probably justify more than one blog post but we will try to summarise our answers to all three questions here.

Our methodology is qualitative and  interpretive, as befits an initial exploratory study of a research area. Our intention is to make sense of the ways that reclaimed materials are used in early childhood settings. We want to gain some understanding of the beliefs and attitudes of practitioners in relation to the uses of these materials in their settings.

This qualitative, interpretive methodology fits with the ecological, contextualist theories that underpin our research. We recognise that knowledge in the social world is created and recreated between people. Our sources of knowledge about reclaimed materials are the actions and voices of practitioners, and children, within their workplaces - accessed and developed through our interactions with them. We are aware, like Anne Edwards, that contexts shape and are shaped by those who participate in them[i]. We are beginning to explore the systems theory that those researching and writing about education for sustainability draw upon. 

Overall, our motivation for undertaking the study is to appreciate uses of reclaimed materials - as a first step towards researching and promoting education for sustainability within early childhood education.

The research design is a 'collective case study', as defined  in The Art of Case Study Research. In this book, Robert E. Stake differentiates intrinsic, instrumental and collective case study approaches. Intrinsic cases arise from curiosity and interest in the distinctive features of a particular case; whereas instrumental cases require the study of people or programs to answer a research question, in order to gain more general understanding of an issue. Collective case studies are instrumental in nature but allow for the study of more than one person or setting to contribute to the inquiry.

This collective case study approach is chosen here in order to include different types of early years setting, from varying geographical areas, and so reflect something of the diversity of early childhood provision. The four settings within this study are not separate cases but rather each informs the shared, collective case to maximise what can be learned about uses and understandings of reclaimed resources.

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[i] Edwards, A. (2004) Understanding context, understanding practice in early education. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 12 (1) 85 – 101.

Our research study - the questions

Our qualitative study is designed around three linked research questions. In each of four settings, we set out to explore:

What reclaimed resources are used?
How are reclaimed resources used?
Why are reclaimed resources used?

The first question, of what resources are used, is simply about identifying the types of resources that are available and in use in each early years setting that can be considered to be 'reclaimed'.

The second question relates to pedagogical uses of the resources: how reclaimed materials are offered to children; and how children play with reclaimed materials.

The third and final question explores the importance and significance of these resources. We are interested in staff perceptions of reclaimed materials and the reasons behind their use. We are particularly interested in notions of education for sustainability.

Our research study - the settings

Four different early years settings, in the East of England, agreed to participate in this project. Two were approached because they were known to researchers for their sustainable practices, including use of reclaimed materials, and could therefore be described as a purposive sample; whilst the other two were selected principally on the basis of accessibility and convenience. We make no claim that these settings are representative of the wider population of early years settings in the localities or in England as a whole.

In brief, the settings, all of which cater for children from birth to four years, can be described as:

1. a workplace day nursery, in a university city; 
2. a small community nursery, attached to an academy school and neighbourhood centre, in a town;
3. a private day nursery sited in an affluent suburb of an outer London town;
4. and a private day nursery in a rural location, in Essex.

We are very grateful to the managers, staff and children in these setting for showing an interest in our project, giving us a warm welcome, and sharing their work.

Our research study - the researchers

In the previous posts we've outlined some of the sources that underpin our work. We are still looking for and finding ideas and inspiration - especially in the area of Early Childhood Education for Sustainability. If you see this blog and can recommend reading and research that links with our project please let us know via the comments - below.

The next few posts will report on our small scale study - the researchers, the questions, the settings, and our methods of data gathering. Finding funding for small-scale projects can be a challenge and we rely on the generosity of people who volunteer their time and efforts! Our university has some great schemes to support research and researchers, too. For this study the Early Childhood Research Group  applied for and were granted 'seed' funding from the Childhood and Youth Research Institute.  Paulette, Pat, Juljana and Gemma started work on the project. The summer studentship scheme, that offers eight week bursaries to aspiring researchers, enabled Sevgi and Rutendo to join in too.

The cooperative team approach fits with the ideals of education for sustainability - including participation and collaborative decision making. Six researchers seems a large team for a rather small study but it has enabled some great sharing of ideas so far - and we hope that the project will grow!

Inspirations for the research 7 - education for sustainability

So, why reclaimed resources? Our posts so far have been about the use of resources with young children but we do have an additional agenda! We are exploring Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) / Education for Sustainability (EfS) and what that might mean for early childhood education.

In higher education Education for Sustainability is on the agenda - supported by the  Higher Education Academy and organisations such as EAUC. Our own institution, Anglia Ruskin University, has an active Global Sustainability Institute. Many primary and secondary schools, too, are incorporating Sustainability and Environmental Education in the curriculum. Several are following an Eco-Schools programme.

An international workshop was held in Göteborg, Sweden, in 2007, as part of the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005-2014). The debates and reflections are published as The contribution of early childhood education to a sustainable society edited by Ingrid Pramling Samuelsson and Yoshie Kaga. This UNESCO document highlights the importance of beginning education for sustainability in early childhood. Values, attitudes, skills and behaviours that are established early in life could be long lasting and lead to global change.

OMEP also campaigns in this area and their publications include a Special Issue of the International Journal of Early Childhood on Sustainable Development in Early Childhood (volume 41 number 2, 2009).

We are interested to find out more about current early childhood education for sustainability initiatives in the UK - so if you read this and are involved in practical projects and/or research please let us know!