Abstract
Many children in the USA spend a significant amount of time in center-based childcare. However, research has yet to explore their information practices in this setting. This study investigates young children’s perceptions of the concept of information and their own information-seeking practices within the context of their day care classroom. The participants included 13 children between three and five years of age. Data was collected using participant observation, semi-structured interviews, child-led photo tours, and photo-elicitation interviews. The findings indicate that the children did not perceive the concept of information in a manner consistent with adult understandings of the term, and that they engaged in information-seeking related to finding out new things on their own, through interactions with others, and through classroom resources, activities, and routines. The findings have implications for both researchers and practitioners working with young children.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 144-158 |
| Number of pages | 15 |
| Journal | Journal of Librarianship and Information Science |
| Volume | 54 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Mar 2022 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:The author would like to thank Dr. Ross Todd for his feedback on earlier drafts of this paper, Drs. Vikki Katz and Roger Hart for their methodological guidance throughout data collection and analysis, and the Chickadee class for their participation in this study. The author received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2021.
Keywords
- Information-seeking
- center-based childcare
- conceptions of information
- information practices
- young children
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Library and Information Sciences