Relationality and cultural construction in early education: dialogue between peers under 18 months

Abstract

This paper reports on research developed at the preschool level, specifically in a Chilean nursery school. The objective of this study was to analyze the phenomenon of relationality and cultural construction that unfolds in peer interaction during the first 18 months of life. With this purpose, a qualitative approach was used, collecting data through interviews, participant observation and microgenetic analysis of diverse interaction situations performed mainly by babies, followed by data source triangulation. This study reports on the relational dynamics that unfold between small girls and boys in the first stage of preschool education, from a cultural and dialogic perspective of subject construction. The results are organized in three analysis categories named gazes, gestural resonance and mediation. These categories evidence the richness and complexity of the cultural construction processes from very early ages, in which the diverse narratives intertwining in the peer relationship and their distinction with adult/baby relationality stand out. The final conclusions point to the relevance of peer interactions in the construction of meanings of each baby. At the same time, the importance of adult mediation in these relational dynamics is discussed. This researco enriches the debate about the appropriateness and relevance of preschool education for girls and boys under three years of age.