‘Knowing’, Mirroring and Containing: Experiences of Facilitating Child Observation Seminars on a Post‐Qualification Child Care Programme

Abstract

This paper seeks to explore the experiences of candidates and educators on a post‐qualifying child care programme who engaged in child observation seminars. The Tavistock child observation model on which this child observation unit was based involves candidates observing a child over a number of sessions and discussing their observations in seminar groups. This approach emphasises a number of ‘ways of knowing’ which challenge prevailing epistemological trends but which seem to resonate with the practice experiences of the candidates. The diverse epistemological perspectives embraced by the model are explored along with two theoretical concepts—mirroring and containment—which are identified as useful ways of making sense of the parallel experiences of the candidates and author (in her role as a seminar facilitator). The paper examines experiences located in the beginning, middle and end phases of the child observation unit and importantly concludes with clear indications of how the candidates and author's practice has been informed by the observational experience.

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