Enhancing Peer Interaction in Early Childhood Special Education: Chains of Children’s Initiatives, Adults’ Responses and Their Consequences in Play

Abstract

<p>This article focuses on the initiatives taken by children and the responses given by professional adults with regard to the pedagogy of enhancing peer interaction among diverse learners. The study took place in four integrated special groups of public early childhood education. In groups of this kind, typically developing children and those with special educational needs (SEN) spent time together on a daily basis. We analysed 12 videotaped play sessions with 33 (3- to 6-year-old) children and 10 adults to examine the children’s initiatives, the adults’ responses, and the consequences that ensued. The study revealed verbal and nonverbal initiatives followed by a variety of responses scaffolding the children’s interaction and participation. However, the nonverbal or faint initiatives, especially those taken by the children with SEN, were at risk of being unnoticed or ignored. These findings call for professional reflection on pedagogical sensitivity in recognizing and responding to the initiatives of children.<br /></p>