Elementary Education Online, vol.17, pp.1444-1462, 2018 (Scopus)
© 2019, Ankara University. All rights reserved.This study examined, from the perspectives of teachers, how well the pedagogical documentation—as a teaching, learning and assessment method and tool— contributed to the development and learning of young children in early childhood education programs. Being part of a larger phenomenological research initiative, this study used semi-structured teacher interviews. The data for this research was collected using a purposive sampling technique and the sample included 22 teachers working in nine early childhood institutions in a metropolitan city. Three main themes emerged from this study: contribution to ‘individual’ ‘interpersonal’ and ‘learning processes.’ Feeling valued, taking responsibility, express themselves, listening, active involvement in learning process, motivation and interest for learning, self-evaluation and learning awareness were the categories under these themes. The results of this study highlighted that physical and social learning environments should be arranged, in-class and out-of-class interactions should be supported as well as through pre-service and in-service trainings teachers need to be trained about pedagogical documentation principles and practices in order to implement it in early childhood classrooms effectively.