The present paper addresses children’s participation through pedagogical structuring in an early childcare programme in Australia. Research shows inequality in participatory opportunities depending on skills in the spoken (majority) language. Against this background, the focus in the present study is on participatory opportunities for toddlers with a first language other than English. The toddlers’ participation was video recorded over a six-week period. Participatory opportunities are understood in terms of pedagogical structuring, with an institutional and an interactional level. Through the use of a model of conditions for participation as an analytic tool, teachers’ attending to children’s perspective as a starting point for guidance is shown to characterize the pedagogical structuring. Non-verbal actions can become a useful tool for interaction, and offer a starting point for experiencing extended communication at an early age. In addition, the study shows an alternative way of interpreting decision-making in relation to the youngest children. A pedagogy built on a nuanced understanding of conditions for participation is emphasized and discussed.
International Research in Early Childhood Education, vol. 7, no. 3, pp. 2–15