Citation Link: https://doi.org/10.25819/dedo/130
Puppets in Preschool: Children as the ‘More Knowledgeable Other’ – A Snapshot from a Research Story
Alternate Title
Handpuppen in der Vorschule: Kinder als ‚Kompetentere Andere‘ – Eine Momentaufnahme aus der Feldforschung
Source Type
Article
Author
Subjects
puppets as mediating tools
zone of proximal development (Vygotsky)
early childhood settings
inclusion
Source
denkste: puppe - multidisziplinäre zeitschrift für mensch-puppen-diskurse; Bd. 5 Nr. 1 (2022): Puppen und Puppenfiguren in Narrativen – Themen und Motive in Literatur, Kunst, Theater, Film, Medien, Alltags- und Populärkulturen ; 53-60
Issue Date
2022
Publisher
universi - Universitätsverlag Siegen
Abstract
Puppets and dolls play an infinite number of roles in shaping children’s learning and development in early childhood settings. This paper examines the ‘principle of the puppet’ when viewing the doll/puppet from a twist on the Vygotskian perspective as the More Knowledgeable Other activating imagination and the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) (Vygotsky 1978). Traditionally, approaches in early education have placed the adult as the knower and the child in the position of needing to know. In this paper it is argued that this overlooks the knowledge of children and calls for a different research approach. In the following article I outline how the puppet may occupy the position of the less knowledgeable other, thus, redefining and expanding on the use of this strategy in early childhood settings. It includes one day of a six months research story when a yellow duck puppet, named Mabel, was able to activate the ZPD through this learning process and repositioned the children as experts.
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