Collage: A symbolic activity in early childhood education

This study of young children's collage in organised educational settings focuses specifically on collage as a symbolic activity. The research was conducted at two sites and involved 42 children aged between 3 and 5 years. The research was based on a contextual approach which acknowledged the multiple influences affecting the participants and the activity. I employed participant observation using microethnographic techniques to collect the data. This resulted in over 33 hours of video data and transcripts from the observation of children engaged in 411 collage activities. The study has provided evidence to suggest that young children employ collage symbolically in several forms, ranging from symbolic play to intentional symbolisation. Children's development in, and the effect of the social context on, their symbolic use of collage is considered. The ability of young children to engage in symbolic activity is influenced by their experience and play with collage materials, their facility with the tools, interaction with others, their intentions, and their realisation that the materials can stand for other entities. Symbolic activity is differentiated from representation in this context. This study offers a method by which to categorise collage symbolisation and to identify when children are engaged in symbolic activity in collage.