Date of Award

3-3-1994

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

Teaching & Learning

First Advisor

Sara Hanhan

Abstract

This study had as its purpose the exploration of meaning-making within the social context of friendship. It was guided by Lev Vygotsky's concept of internalization and Patricia Carini's perspective on the expressiveness of the individual. The questions directing the study were (a) how do friends influence the construction of personal and shared meaning, and (b) can evidence of the internalization of constructed meaning be observed through close examination of children's works?The mode of inquiry used to explore these questions was qualitative in nature, consisting of a case study of two preschool children identified as friends. Procedures used to collect data included observations of the children in their classrooms, interviews of their teachers, a compilation of drawings produced by the children over a period of 15 months, close descriptions of these works, and reflections on words chosen as meaningful to the study.Five study groups, consisting of 6 to 12 educators, met for a total of seven times and examined closely the collection of works produced by the children. The study groups looked for indications of coherency and expressiveness of the individual, as well as internalization of the other child's themes, motifs, and style. Narrative records were kept of all study group sessions and of all observations. The data resulting from these procedures were organized and integrated into categories and descriptors for each child, using a constant comparative method of analysis. The resulting categories were: Approach to learning, interests, and themes and motifs. Each child's individual variations within these categories, listed as descriptors, resulted in a depiction of the child's expressiveness. By looking at the collection of works longitudinally, and with personal expressiveness as the framework, evidence of the influence of the other child's modes of expression became apparent, suggesting that internalization had taken place.This study suggests the importance of encouraging collaboration between peers in an educational setting, the value of descriptive methods of assessment of children's works, and the need for respecting individual modes of expressiveness.

Download

Share

COinS