How Children's Collective Interests Influence their Curriculum Experiences: Developing Relationships, Differentiating by Gender, and Defying Adults

Abstract

CHILDREN'S INTERESTS ARE AN acknowledged influence in teachers' day-to-day curriculum planning. However, five months of research focused on the scope of curriculum in an education and care centre suggested children's collective influence in shaping their centre experiences may be more pervasive than is often acknowledged. For children, friendships and the challenges involved in forming and sustaining relationships appeared to be a central concern. Two other widely shared areas of interest were defining themselves by gender and experimenting with their power to resist adults.