Lesson 2

Guidelines for
Observing Children
 Activity 2.1 Three Dimensions in
Observations
 1. Degree of observer’s interaction with children
- may be described as the extent to which the observer is or is not a
participant. This dimension suggests the continuum of participant-observation
versus nonparticipant observation.
 2. Situation
- is the extent to which the situation is natural or contrived.
 3. Subjects’ awareness
- is the extent to which the children are or not aware of the observer. The
observer’s presence in the field, if he can be seen/sensed, can upset the
children, even if they are not aware of being observed.
 Types of Observation According to Each Dimension
 Nonparticipant and participant
Nonparticipant
_observer is an eavesdropper.
_someone who attempts to observe people without interacting with them.
_without their knowledge that they are being observed
Participant
_observer participates actively for an extended of time.
_ may required observer to live or work in that area.
_assumes that observer will become accepted member of the group.
_historically field research has been associated most strongly with participant observer.
 Natural and contrived
Conducting the study in a natural setting essentially means that you are simply observing your subjects in their “real life”
environments. Because you have no way of influencing what your subjects are doing, this method can be time consuming to gather
the information that you are specifically trying to obtain for your project. Alternatively, the data that is collected in a natural setting does
have more accuracy in reflecting “real life” behaviour rather than “contrived” behaviour.
A contrived setting is one where the specific situation being studied is created by the observer. The contrived setting offers you, the
observer, greater control over the gathering of data and specifically will enable you to gather the information more quickly and
efficiently.
 Covert observations- involve the researcher not informing members of the group the reason for their presence, keeping their true
intentions secret.
 Overt observations- refer to the researcher being open about their intentions in the field and ensuring all members of the social group
are aware of what is happening.
 Activity 2.2 Preparation for Observing
Step 1: Identifying the Objectives is the first and very important task
because everything else depends on it. Objectives must be defined
to bring the observational activity down to a manageable size.
Observational objectives are numerous. An objective might be to
observe children at different ages. A more specific and defined
purpose is to learn how children behave in particular situations and
why they have as they do. The information could be used to change
the equipment and materials in a classroom or to change the
arrangement of the equipment and the materials. A teacher’s
observation with some children when sitting together became
inattentive and may result to modification of seating patterns. Same
objectives are not specifically identified beforehand.
 Questions to answer before one begins to observe

1. What developmental area or behaviours are the focuses of the

observation?
2. How much time are you going to spend observing those
behaviours (an hour, several minutes, a long as they occur)?
3. Whom are you going to observe(individual children, a group, a
particular child)?
4. How are you going to record your observations (checklist,
duration record, time sampling)?
• Step 2: Knowing the site of the observation is related to
the identified objective (s). As the objectives change , the
site may have change. Availability of facilities may set some
limitations on certain aspects of the observation.
Observations will have to fit the possibilities afforded by
the setting. For example, the community you are to observe
is one preschool with 3-, 4-, and 5-year-olds, then you are
unable to observe 2-year-olds. The observation is limited to
the children accessible, and to the characteristics and
abilities typical of those age groups.
Step 3: Knowing what the observer may or may not do may
give the observer considerable leeway to do what is necessary to
accomplish his objectives. Some settings are more formal and
would not allow certain behaviours. For example, some
preschool teachers would not allow an observer to just sit and
write inside the classroom. Therefore, the observer may just rely
on his memory to recall what he saw and heard. Some teachers
may require observers to even help in classroom routine
activities.