Selecting the appropriate framework

3) Selecting the appropriate framework to interpret observations

Selecting the appropriate framework to interpret observations helps the observer make sense of what you observe. There are four major frameworks that can be used to help interpret observations: theoretical perspective (background), time, stage of development of the child, and context.

Theoretical Perspective

Observers will have one or several preconceived ideas about what is important to watch and what matters in the young child’s development. For example, in the field of early childhood development, professionals may use Attachment Theory as the theoretical perspective of an observation. This leads the observer to focus on how babies signal their needs, how parent/caregivers read and respond to those cues, and the extent to which the babies use the parent/caregivers as a secure base from which to explore. From this Early Childhood Training Program, you have been introduced to many topics and perspectives, all of which have one or multiple theories supporting them.

Although theoretical perspectives are a helpful way to organize observations and to attempt to understand behavior, it is important to be open to new perspectives and flexible enough to receive new information or inputs throughout our observations. If we stick to only one perspective, we can miss other subtleties that might be going on at the same time.

Below is a video to give you a better picture of what it means to use a particular theoretical perspective.[2]

In the video, you were asked to count the number of passes between the basketball players. Then, a gorilla walks into the scene. You may or may not have seen the gorilla, depending on how focused you were on counting the passes. Did you notice the other things that changed? This video is an example of what happens when you focus on one element of a situation. Are you so focused that you miss obvious (not just subtle) information? Are you able to catch the other changes in the situation? It is important to balance your focus on one component in an observation, but be able to recognize other components in the environment.

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