Pedagogical documentation and children's learning dispositions

This study explored the intellectual and social dispositions of young children as they engaged in the collaborative practice of pedagogical documentation inspired by the philosophy and principles of the Reggio Emilia approach to early childhood education. It was hypothesized that pedagogical documentation would serve as a positive educational practice by supporting positive intellectual and social dispositions towards learning. The participants were 17 preschool children from middle to upper middle class families attending a Reggio-inspired nursery school in New Jersey. Data were collected during art-based small group project work time and the viewing of displayed documentation panels. Methods of data collection included observation, reflection, interviews, and audio and video recording. Results revealed that intellectual dispositions occurred more frequently during small group projects and social dispositions were exhibited more frequently during documentation panel visitations. Implications for further research called for evaluating current assessment and documentation practices in light of children's learning dispositions.