Adult/child Interaction: How Patterns and Perceptions Can Influence Planning

Individual testing and assessment are often problematic with preschool-aged children. Difficulties include adverse reactions to test procedures, inconsistent performance on tests and unsuitable tests for 3, 4, and 5 year old children as well as the need for unobtrusive observation methods and data collection, so new ways of assessment need to be investigated.

This article examines alternative assessment strategies which Involve teachers, parent/caregivers and children in the process. As motor development is an essential part of child development, children's movement behaviour is the focus for assessment. An adult/child observation coding system with physical, social, cognitive and task dimensions has been developed and used in various early-education settings to identify patterns of interaction between adults and children from both the adult and the child's perspective. This is supplemented by structured interviews at regular intervals with a parent/caregiver to ascertain changes in children's behaviour and mode of interaction with use of a motor checklist to determine children's motor proficiency.

This multi-faceted approach has yielded useful results for teachers, parents/caregivers and children and has made the process meaningful for all parties. The results of this research have implications for teachers, parents and programs with regard to the role of adults in the education of young children and the role of movement and motor programs within child development and curriculum in early childhood education.