Participatory Interactions in Care and Sleep Situations

This project in cooperation with a social enterprise (AWO Potsdam gGmBH) is dedicated to the research and practical gap in ensuring children's rights in the education, care and upbringing of children in the first years of life through the participatory organisation of everyday educational activities. To date, there has been a lack of comprehensive empirical data on the implementation of participation in crèches, particularly in sensitive situations such as sleep and personal hygiene. This also poses a problem for practitioners, who have a duty of care. Initial studies have shown that Microaggressions and boundary violations are frequently observed nationwide, and professionals often fail to recognise the problematic interactions. The project aims to research non-verbal pedagogical behaviour for the first time using eye-tracking technology and, based on this, to develop a concept for the systematic proactive design of participation with infants and toddlers. A consultation crèche will be set up with the company, which will serve as a prototype for a transfer instance between research and practice. The overarching aim is to promote participation and the development of democratic competences in young children in crèches. The most important products of the project are a scientifically sound concept, a best-practice manual for consultation crèches and digital teaching materials for nationwide dissemination. The innovation of the project lies in the focus on non-verbal professional behaviour and the creation of a practice development tool for day nurseries.