BOOK REVIEW
The Social Process of Building Knowledge in a
Classroom
Maryanne Theobald
Queensland University of Technology
Conversation Analysis and Early Childhood Education: The
Co-Production of Knowledge and Relationships
By Amanda Bateman.
Surrey: Ashgate, 2015.
This book presents an investigation into how knowledge and relationships are built in
the everyday activities of early childhood classrooms. While these concepts are cen-
tral aims of educational institutions, a focus on the outcomes of knowledge building
is sometimes privileged over relationships. This volume is particularly pertinent for
those interested in how teaching and learning exists and is responded to as a social
process.
Developmental perspectives have reigned supreme as the theoretical lens through
which children’s experiences have been studied, and as the dominant theoretical
perspective informing early childhood education, with important contributions.
This book, however, brings a sociological perspective to the study of interaction
and learning in the feld of early childhood education, complementing earlier and
ongoing work that bring a sociological frame (Corsaro 2015; Danby 2002; Prout and
James 1997; Speier 1973). It serves to provide evidence for children’s competence
with detailed analysis from a research program that focuses on the members’ under-
standing of their everyday practices rather than an outsider’s perspective or a defcit
view of children.
Bateman delivers a nicely paced narrative that leads the reader on a journey from
an insider’s point of view. Chapter 1 provides a rationale for the project. This chapter
explores the role of the TeWhariki curriculum (Ministry of Education 1996), which
informs early childhood education in New Zealand. This “intentional approach,” that
sees diversity as a strength, provides a backdrop to the study and context in which
to situate the investigation. The data-driven approach of conversation analysis and
membership categorization analysis is introduced in this chapter.
The second chapter presents an overview of studies of teacher-child interactions
and concepts of care, education, and quality are provided. The analytic method is
further discussed in relation to studies with and about teachers and children. This
Symbolic Interaction, (2017), p. n/a, ISSN: 0195-6086 print/1533-8665 online.
© 2017 Society for the Study of Symbolic Interaction. All rights reserved.
DOI: 10.1002/SYMB.323