Exploring multimodal story interactions between toddlers, families, and teachers in a culturally and linguistically diverse community

Abstract

Stories are an important aspect of literacy through which children learn to make and share meaning in all cultures of the world. Little is known, however, about the everyday story interactions of 1-year-old toddlers in Aotearoa New Zealand at a time of increasing diversity, and with growing numbers of 1-year-olds spending significant amounts of time in early childhood education (ECE) settings. Against this contextual backdrop, this thesis contributes fresh perspectives around toddlers’ experiences of stories, within and across their home and ECE settings.

Much current literature is grounded in developmental, linguistic views of stories. Research to date has primarily focused on toddlers’ story interactions within adult–child book reading. Adults are typically positioned as active talkers and readers, with toddlers in the role of passive observers and listeners. Few studies have ventured beyond books to explore other conceptions of stories, considered story relationships outside family homes, or focused on the active role that 1-year-olds play in co-constructing meaning.

This qualitative case study explored the nature and content of toddlers’ story interactions in a culturally and linguistically diverse community of Aotearoa New Zealand. A kaleidoscope approach, combining sociocultural and semiotic theoretical lenses with multimodal ethnography, provided the means to view story interactions from multiple angles. Answers to three research questions reflected attention towards rich, multifaceted perspectives of toddlers’ story interactions within and across their home and ECE settings.

Naturalistic data were generated in family homes and ECE centres over a period of 8 months. Multiple methods included fieldnotes, video observations, and interviews using video stimulus recall. Ethical considerations around using video methods with 1-year-olds in a diverse community were paramount. Thematic and multimodal analyses revealed multifaceted insights regarding story interactions in this community, including 1) how stories were defined and enacted, 2) story roles and relationships, and 3) efforts towards intersubjectivity by toddlers and others.

I argue that 1-year-old toddlers are active, competent co-constructors of meaning when their efforts are viewed through sociocultural and semiotic, mana-enhancing lenses. This study provides unique perspectives on the diverse, multimodal, and collaborative nature and content of toddlers’ story interactions within a network of relationships spanning family home and ECE settings. Toddlers have competencies in co-constructing meaning with others, but validating their purposefulness requires a collective, multimodal approach. This study therefore makes a critical contribution to understandings of early childhood literacy, with implications for research, policy, and practice.