ABSTRACT

Friendship is of great concern to young children (Unicef 2011. The State of the World's Children. New York: United Nations Children's Fund). Research also suggests the positive outcomes friendships have on children's development, learning and well-being (Daniels, Tina, Danielle Quigley, Lisa Menard, and Linda Spence. 2010. “My Best Friend Always Did and Still Does Betray Me Constantly: Examining Relational and Physical Victimization Within a Dyadic Friendship Context.” Canadian Journal of School Psychology 25 (1): 70–83; Hedges, Helen, and Maria Cooper. 2017. “Collaborative Meaning-Making Uusing Video Footage: Teachers and Researchers Analyse Children's Working Theories About Friendship.” European Early Childhood Educational Research Journal 25 (3): 398–411). This paper highlights how young children select their friends and how practitioners might use these data to support children's friendship choices. It draws upon on a phenomenological study of 5 and 6 year olds during which data were collected through small world play interviews. Findings provide new insights into how children select their friends, including pre-selection, using a selection criteria and putting selection into action. This paper argues for the need to listen to children's friendship selections and consider potential implications for practice.

摘要

友谊是幼儿非常关心的问题（联合国儿童基金会 2011 年。世界儿童状况。纽约：联合国儿童基金会）。研究还表明，友谊对儿童的发展、学习和幸福有积极的影响（Daniels、Tina、Danielle Quigley、Lisa Menard 和 Linda Spence。2010 年。“我最好的朋友一直背叛我，现在仍然如此：审视关系和二元友谊背景下的身体伤害”。加拿大学校心理学杂志25 (1): 70–83；Hedges、Helen 和 Maria Cooper。2017。“使用视频片段的协作意义创造：教师和研究人员分析儿童的工作理论关于友谊。”欧洲幼儿教育研究杂志25 (3): 398–411)。本文重点介绍了幼儿如何选择他们的朋友，以及从业者如何使用这些数据来支持儿童的友谊选择。它借鉴了一项针对 5 岁和 6 岁儿童的现象学研究，在此期间通过小世界游戏访谈收集数据。研究结果为孩子们如何选择他们的朋友提供了新的见解，包括预选、使用选择标准和将选择付诸行动。本文主张需要倾听儿童的友谊选择并考虑对实践的潜在影响。