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The growing interest in researching and documenting young children’s perspectives and experiences, has led to an increasing use of visual methods, such as photograps and videos. Studies to date, however, have seen artifacts as neutral tools, and have not revealed the differences between the functions of visual artifacts in the research process, and their functions in children’s lives more broadly. In view of this, we scrutinize the function of visual artifacts, using Wenger’s notion of reification, Vygotsky’s idea of mediation, and Wartofsky’s historical epistemology. We enliven the theoretical discussion by featuring illustrative vignettes from our previous study conducted at a Finnish preschool. We then discuss the consequences of our analysis in terms of documentation, and joint reflections that capture and construct the children’s experiences. A number of educational implications are highlighted.

From research we know that there is no specific early childhood education programme that is superior to other approaches (National Research Council. 2001). At the same time, historically it looks like people think there is a specific programme that will solve all problems and guarantee a high quality in early years education, since different discourses keep appearing. Right now based on the UN Convention of the Right of the Child, children’s voices and perspectives are central to education for young children. In this theoretical article we will discuss what an early childhood education based on child perspectives and children’s perspective could be. The two perspectives will be defined. Central notions and features for a pedagogy that takes both of these perspectives into practice will be illustrated, but also aspects that link care and education. The important relation between children’s experiences in the family and in early childhood education call for a sensitivity and dialogue with children that presuppose adults’ skills to empathically and cognitively make sense of children’s worlds. This means that, instead of arguing for a certain programme to early years education, we try to focus attention to certain features and aspects that could be of importance for a child’s right to education.

Participatory approaches to engaging in research with young children place a great deal of emphasis on children’s rights to choose whether or not they wish to be involved. A number of recent studies have reported a range of strategies both to inform children of their research rights and to establish options for checking children’s understanding of these rights throughout the research process. This paper seeks to move the debate around children’s informed agreement to participate forward by considering the ways in which children might indicate their dissent their desire not to participate at various stages of the research process. Drawing on examples from Iceland and Australia, involving children aged two six years, the paper explores children’s verbal and non-verbal interactions and the ways in which these have been used, and interpreted, to indicate dissent. Reflection on these examples raises a number of questions and identifies several tensions, as well as offering some suggestions for ways in which researchers can recognize children’s decisions to opt out of research participation.