Examining Levels of Involvement in the Early Years

Engaging with children’s possibilities

Annie Woods

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2016
• Print ISBN:
  9781138885011
• eBook ISBN:
  9781317504887
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

Examining Levels of Involvement in the Early Years studies the theory and rationale behind using young children's levels of involvement as a tool for enhancing their experiential learning in diverse settings by exploring values, beliefs, ideology, resourcefulness and environmental contexts.

Drawing on Laevers' process-oriented Self-evaluation Instrument for Care Settings and the Leuven Involvement Scale for Young Children, this book examines the theoretical constructs that underpin the development of these instruments as well as the practical implications of how and why practitioners may use the scales in their settings. More importantly, it looks at children's deep level learning capabilities and reflects on the engaging possibilities this presents.

Using encounters with children and adults from a range of settings, it covers:

• connecting levels of involvement with local, national, international and theoretical approaches;

• embracing levels of involvement;

• involving the environment;

• levels of outdoor involvement;

• engaging with adult involvement;

• nurturing involvement through observation, assessment and planning.

Including contributions from experts in the field, this book will be essential reading for students, trainee early years practitioners and all those wanting to continue their professional learning.

1 Why involvement?

Annie Woods

DOI: 10.4324/9781315715735-2

All of you use a range of observation methods and techniques to help you support the learning of young children. You have developed these skills during your time as students, practitioners and parents. Some of you will be students just beginning to understand both why and how child observation is the key to effective planning for the environment you provide, the interventions you may make, and above all, the amazing developmental progress that children demonstrate, which you share with their parents. Some of you will also be managers and advisors, helping practitioners to use a range of tools for the observation and assessment of children and providing the means to sustain and enhance high quality early years care and education; indeed, it is very rare when visiting settings and talking with practitioners that the term levels of involvement has not been heard of, recognised, used or fully integrated into assessment practice. What is perhaps less clear, is the extent to which we all understand why and how the Leuven Involvement Scales of Involvement for Young Children (LIS-YC) have become such an important and international aspect of our work as early years practitioners.

In this chapter, a professional and personal examination of Laevers’ research and practice is presented to deepen and further inform our practice as effective practitioners, and a range of theoretical ideas that appear to inform the practice of looking for and acting upon the levels of involvement in individual and groups of children is considered. The aim is to explore how Laevers’ work is both informed by researchers and theorists and continues to inform current practice. The clarity and eloquence with which Laevers expresses his ideas, which some of you will have heard first-hand, is exploited through longer references than perhaps would be usual in a chapter because Laevers continues to work, write, advise and research. In addition, Laevers’ concept of experiential education will be considered, as this is an important and continuing aspect of his work and not always explored fully by those of us ‘cascading’ the training of using the process-oriented approach to others.

In Chapter 2, we move from the why levels of involvement to the how: being involved in using the observational scales of involvement and the key element of reflective self-evaluation, as we deepen our effective practice and use the information gathered about the children in our provision to encourage their level of involvement by raising the quality of our environment.

Having taught students for many years, it has always been a privilege to encourage students to re-search the philosophical and pedagogical steps and journey that inform current thinking and practice with very young children; to comment upon and critique what Bruce (2005) would term ‘the bedrock of the early childhood traditions’. It is through observational traditions that theoretical influences can be traced through Laevers’ research papers, lectures, presentations and consultations with local authorities, advisory groups and Education Scotland, in Reggio Emilia and in New Zealand, with High Scope Educators and children’s centres, and in the Research Centre for Experiential Education, Leuven University in Belgium.

Laevers and Heylen (2003: 13) write:

In May 1976 twelve Flemish pre-school teachers, assisted by two educational consultants, start a series of sessions with the intention to reflect critically upon their practice. Their approach is ‘experiential’: the intention is to make a close, moment by moment description of what it means to a young child to live and take part in the educational setting.

Laevers adds, in 2011 (online):

The educational model Experiential Education (EXE) evolved during the 1970s and 1980s, from a series of observations of young children in early education settings in Flanders, Belgium. Since that time, EXE has grown to become one of the most influential models in the area of early childhood education in Flanders and has been disseminated across a range of world regions and countries, including Australia, Croatia, Ecuador, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Japan, the Netherlands, Portugal, South Africa and the U.K. In sum, Experiential Education sees well-being and involvement as a measure of deep learning and of the effectiveness of the learning environment. Because these indicators of quality learning can be easily accessed by practitioners, the process-oriented strategy has an empowering impact on them and can help them to develop the huge potential of children. The approach has been further developed for child care, special education, secondary education, higher education and in service training.

Research on quality at the level of the learner, EXE [Experiential Education] theory suggests that the most economical way to assess the quality of any educational setting (from preschool to adult education) – in particular, from the perspective of the learner – is to focus on two process dimensions: the ‘emotional well-being’ and the ‘level of involvement’ of the learner. ‘Well-being’ indicates that the basic needs of the child are satisfied and refers to the degree to which children feel at ease, act spontaneously, and show vitality and self-confidence. ‘Involvement’ is evident when children are concentrated and focused, interested and fascinated and when they are operating at the very limits of their capabilities.

As Whalley (2007: 58) suggests:

Laevers’ work is well established and rigorous, and it is particularly accessible to early years workers. Laevers has been looking at the processes of learning as well as the outcomes or products. He is interested in what is happening inside children as they learn.

Edwards et al. (2010: 136) concur:

Process over product supports children’s learning and knowledge acquisition. Process over product has been emphasised as an important component of learning, suggesting that the act of participation in play is more important than what the play itself generates.

Manning-Morton and Thorpe (2003: 110) also illuminate this point:

[Laevers] has developed the LIS [Leuven Involvement Scale] as a means of assessing the effects of the learning situation on the child, by observing and rating the child’s level of involvement in play according to certain defined signals. He describes involvement as a quality of human activity that can be recognised by concentration and persistence. It is characterised by motivation and fascination, openness to stimuli and intensity of experience both at the sensory and cognitive level.

When re-searching Laevers’ ideas, a number of terms, ideas, concepts and themes are repeated and stressed, forming the bedrock of his theoretical approach and practice in examining children’s learning and incorporated into signals and scales of involvement.

The language and ideas appear to reflect the theories and approaches of Piaget, Rogers and Maslow, Csíkszentmihályi, Dewey, Vygotsky, Bruner, Rogoff and Bronfenbrenner, alongside the observational work of Steiner, McMillan, Isaacs and Carr, and it is through these theorists that Laevers’ work will be examined to support and deepen your understanding and appreciation ‘on the importance of play, of observing and tuning into the “child-mind”’ (Pound, 2011: 40). There will be few practitioners unfamiliar with the theorists or the language that pervade Laevers’ published work.

Involvement

Laevers (2007a: 61) defines the concept of ‘involvement’ as

a quality of human activity, characterised by concentration and persistence, a high level of motivation, intense perceptions and experiencing of meaning, a strong flow of energy, a high degree of satisfaction, and based on the exploratory drive and basic development of schemes. Involvement is a dimension of human activity. It is not linked to specific types of behaviour nor to specific levels of development.

This high intensity of experience indicates a great deal of (mental) energy is being mobilised and used in a most efficient way. Furthermore, the activities reflect the level of functioning attained by this particular person. One cannot get involved in activities that are too easy or that require more developed capabilities. Involved persons are highly motivated. But we have to stress that the source of this motivation is the exploratory need, eagerness to understand and learn, the drive to get to grips with reality (in the literal and figurative sense of the word). Involvement always implicates intrinsic motivation.

We hypothesise that this kind of activity leads (gradually or suddenly) to shifts in the fundamental schemes.

In reviewing the research of Ulich and Mayr (2003: 183) Laevers reiterates their conclusion that:

involvement as a single concept ‘is addressing motivational, emotional and cognitive aspects of a child’s activity.’ An involved person is narrowing his or her attention to a relatively limited (concentration). There is at the same time a tendency to continue the activity (persistence). An involved person is fascinated and gives him (her) self completely (motivation). A generally acknowledged signal of this state is the distortion of time perception: time passes by without being noticed. At the level of cognitive functioning there is alertness and an openness to (relevant) stimuli. Perception is remarkably fresh and vivid and at the more abstract level of cognition, meanings are felt in an intensive way. The activity is accompanied by a bodily felt stream of positive energy and strong feeling of satisfaction. The source of this satisfaction is a complex of motives that comes down to the exploratory drive, the basic need to get a better grip on reality (intrinsic motivation). Further, involvement is situated at the verge of one’s personal capabilities or in one’s ‘zone of proximal development’. An involved person uses the full potential of his/her capabilities. Finally, for all of the aspects mentioned in the definition, involvement is seen as an indication for developmental changes taking place, changes that have to be defined as deep level learning.

(Laevers, 1993)

We recognise many of these ideas in Laevers’ (1994) LIS-YC signals of involvement (Table 1.1).

Laevers explains (Laevers’ bold emphasis):

Children with a high level of involvement are highly concentrated and absorbed by their activity. They show interest, motivation and even fascination. That is why they tend to persevere. Their mimic[ry] and posture indicate intense mental activity. They fully experience sensations and meanings. A strong sense of satisfaction results from the fulfilment of their exploratory drive. When there is involvement we know children are operating at the very limits of their capabilities. Because of all these qualities involvement is the condition that brings about deep level learning.

(Laevers, 2005: 10)

The encounter below (Woods, 2013: 56) illustrates many of these aspects of absorption, concentration, interest and satisfaction over a period of 40 minutes; in addition, Freddie shows us how affected he was by the experience of the ladybird on his coat, giving it a voice and feelings. We can associate this learning with both Piaget’s animism and Rogers’ ‘empathic understanding’ of other (Rogers, 1983).

Encounter: The language of ladybirds

Freddie (with ladybird): He loves me. He wants to come home with me. (Voicing for ladybird) I can’t fly as I have no wings. I can only be his pet. (To me) Why can ladybirds swap legs when they walk? Long way to climb up, maybe he can climb all the way up here. Wait and see. He can climb up my zip. He’s never gonna fly off me. He can climb up the tree (lifts onto tree).

(Woods, 2013: 56)

Table 1.1 LIS-YC signals of involvement

Concentration The child is narrowing his/her attention to the limited circle of his/her activity. Only intense stimuli can reach and maybe distract him/her. A main point of reference for the observer (with most activities) are the child’s eye movements: are the eyes fixed on the material or do they occasionally wander?

Energy In motor activities physical energy is involved. One could even regard the degree of transpiration as a measure for involvement. In other activities a physical component may still catch the eye: loud talking (shouting), the actions being carried out in a relatively short t...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Half Title Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Contributors
• Acknowledgements
• Introduction—ANNIE WOODS
• 1 Why involvement?—ANNIE WOODS
• 2 Being involved in levelling—ANNIE WOODS
• 3 Involving the environment—VICTORIA BROWN
• 4 Levels of outdoor involvement—SALLY McMEEKING, MOIRA MORAN AND DANUSIA TAYLOR
• 5 The role of practitioner engagement in supporting children’s involvement—VICKY McEWAN
• 6 Embracing levels of involvement—JULIE KENT
• 7 Nurturing involvement through assessment and planning for possibilities—CATHERINE GRIPTON
• Index