Looking, listening-in and making meaning: An infant's encounters at childcare

The Infants’ Lives in Childcare research project aims to investigate what life is like for infants in group care from the perspective of infants themselves. One outcome of the project is a greater appreciation of the extent to which preverbal infants strategically employ looking and listening-in behaviour in making meaning within their physical and social worlds. Frame-by-frame analysis of video material illustrates how a 14-month-old in a family day care home strategically engaged with objects, the educator and his peers in a play environment. The resultant photo narrative raises questions about the role played by educators in supporting infants’ developing social competence.