OBSERVATION AND EXAMINATION OF THE PROBLEM
(of the child, the context and the relationships)

Deciding to take part in a training course for teachers implies the necessity to be open to and willing to accept changes. In relationships with children it is essential to use communication strategies which must be clear and useful for the well-being of the children and the adults. Teachers cannot behave in a spontaneous fashion, in other words in a way which is often limited and influenced by prejudice.
In order to bring about a change in an educational context, the teachers must accept being involved in relationships with the children and being observed while working by other trainees. It is possible, in fact, to transform weak points regarding an attitude, a posture or a way of speaking into resources only through knowledge and a change of one's perspective.
During the course a videocamera was used for the above-mentioned reasons to record the activities with the teachers and with the children. This was very important for the personal training of the individual person, and for the whole group and also useful to understand better, to reflect and to reorganize the educational activities.
During the everyday routine at the crèche observation consisted in the following:
a) observation of the group of children, the context of the relationships, and the educational activities, which were noted in the teachers' diaries;
b) observation of individual children,which was noted instead on a chart created by the teachers at the crèche and subdivided according to what was being observed.
In this way observation was not at random but systematic and precise, and carried out in order to understand needs or some difficult intervention and in order to modify techniques if necessary. For this reason observations were periodically re-examined by the group of teachers at the crèche.
During the educational training course observation was based on three phases:
1) Descriptive Phase: all the elements at institutional and semantic level together with details of relationships and the children's behaviour;
2) Investigative Phase: the field of observation was limited and the aspects to be observed were identified more clearly and a distinction was made between what was convergent and what was divergent;
3) Research Phase: observation took place in a more specific manner as regards knowledge, evaluation, monitorizing in order to make adjustments to the educational and pedagogical proposals.
It is obvious that this type of subdivision of observation in these three phases derives from previous experiments and reflections.
The trainees were asked to observe a child chosen at random for fifteen days and then to present what they had observed to the whole group. For this reason the trainees were divided into two groups and they worked separately until the presentation phase.
Their reflections were aimed at discovering a method for organizing what they had observed for example:
- what they felt,
- unnecessarily repetitive behaviour,
- what was meaningful for themselves,
- the questions which sprang to mind,
- the organization of material collected,
- the creation of charts for the collection of the observations,
- ways of delimiting the data found,
- ways of connecting the data with the context.
All the work concerning observation (for example the identification of the above-mentioned phases) up to the examination of problems was based on the trainees' reflections which were chiefly based on two areas:
a) the aspects of observation (How should the children's behaviour be interpreted and their needs understood? How was it possible to avoid the risk of interpretation and base evidence on facts? How could the most suitable solution be identified for this educational context?)
b) the importance of using a method for the collection of information (in other words not only what to observe and when, and why, but also how to use all the results of the research).
This is the reason why two directions were followed: the first more descriptive and concerned with the clarification of the educational method, the second more based on solution of problems seen from the point of view of action-research.
We think that it is significant that, even if we had decided not to use interpretative systems or connotative references during observation, we still wondered how to base evidence on facts, how to give a clear meaning to these facts and from what point of view. Each of us had our own opinions and without a common basis it was easy to run the risk of being too spontaneous or of interpreting.
In other words, it is impossible to exclude pre-comprehension in any educational activity: confusion can be avoided by means of only knowledge and clarity. It is, in fact, impossible to ignore experiences or the type of culture and idea of life which each of us has. Therefore it is necessary to make clear what type of knowledge we have, what sort of mentality, which educational model influences our work and which point of reference guides us in our work.
The idea of the course was for everybody to use the same code. In particular the analysis of the cycle of the experience of contact was the theoretical model which was a guide when needs had to be listened to and a solution for this particular educational context had to be found. As this became more and more precise the work on observation, too, was organized more clearly. It was no longer a problem of how to interpret or how to "read" an action, but more a question of how to transform what had been observed into a creative energy for the individual and for the group.
At this point it is necessary to go back to what has been said on the time of relationships, in other words to the importance of the help given to the child as he learns to become independent, providing him with the time and the space to fulfil his wishes and providing at the same time strength and organization to the group of children so that a part of each of their life stories can form part of the group's life story.
If the individual child is listened to and understood, if his rhythms are respected and recognized, if his proposals are accepted and transmitted to others, then all the children will benefit from this calm attentive energy and will be able to find ways of playing well together.
During the training in observation the trainees came across some difficulties.
They were asked to divide into two teams and then to confront each other back to back. The aim was to beat one's opponent, pushing her away from her position.
During the reflection, after this activity, the importance of belonging to a team and the consequent behaviour was discussed. The trainees were asked the following questions: how did you organize yourselves to reach the aim? Which group technique did you use?
In an institutional context it is fundamental to carry out experiments as a work group and to prepare and use different methodologies, especially when problematic situations arise.
The observations, the work in the crèche and the personal and group dynamics were often blocked when a difficulty arose.
- How can I calm Mario if he bites and wants my attention?
- How shall I organize myself with my job and my children ?
- How shall we organize the afternoon shifts?
By discussing these and other questions, working actively and trying to find a solution to the problems, it was gradually possible to enter the field of action-research: seen as an educational style, as ways to ask oneself questions in order to grasp fully the essence of the problem.
Only after formulating exactly the possible aspects of the problem is it possible to collect data which could lead to discovery and clarification and a precise description. For this the teachers worked on themselves because behaviour and attitudes must be analysed. The central aspect of the action-research was the identification of the problem which had to be cleared of what was unnecessary and had to be limited in order to be dealt with.
In the project "Goccia-Genera" the following were essential:
1) Lecture notes by Professor Carlo Romano from the University of Palermo;
2) The ABC technique devised by Albert Ellis in Rational and Emotional Psychotherapy;
3) Seminar on organizations and institutional proposals put forward by educational services.

1) Examination of the Problem
The central point of the research was the examination of the problem: in other words the definition of the problem, the identification of the limits and the aims to be achieved.
The tendency and the need sometimes to reach a conclusion immediately can create confusion regarding the nature of the problem. One goes through a series of methods which diverge from the analysis of the situation as, for example, concentrating directly on action or trying to get to the conclusion without having collected and analysed the data.
Having identified the possible aspects of the problem, the group of trainees asked a series of questions to clarify the nature of the problem. The questions were aimed at explaining even further the context in which the problematic situation existed and at trying to reach a more precise definition of the difficulties.
Clarifying the problem meant defining "the current unsatisfactory situation", next to which it was useful to put the hypothesis of "a future satisfactory situation" (in which the future is limited by time) and in this way, with the use of the question words (who, what, where, how, when, why) delineating when the situation takes place in order to hypothesize the type of intervention necessary.
For example: the activities at the crèche were going very slowly. The group of the older children was very restless and went completely wild when the games were not organized.
Through questions and records already planned the following was hypothesized:Present unsatisfactory situation: "The organization of the group as a section does not work". Future satisfactory situation: "In a week I will have an organization which will work". By using the question words it was possible to define the complete situation: in other words who played the leading role (the children chosen for the observations and the records, but also the teachers: what had been done and what had not been done) all the elements which played a part, the definition of where and when (Does the room have corners? Which are they? Do they respond to the children's needs? Which is the moment during the day when the difficulties are most felt?) and so on.
At the end it was possible to establish a type of intervention aimed at changing the different phases of the day (nearer to the children's different proposals), the organization of the corners (so they provided more stimuli and were suitable for the children's needs) and the role of the teachers (more in the background and centred on mediation).
It was interesting to see how, at the end of the problematic situations dealt with, the importance of recording the results was fully understood. One trainee said : "It is important to write down a full account of the meetings because in this way you can find more than the notes that seemed important at that particular moment. In the minutes everything is written down, so afterwards you can realize the importance of other aspects which you had not taken into consideration at the time".

2) The ABC Technique
This technique is useful when seeking deeper awareness.
A.B.C. is a abbreviation which stands for:
A-Activating event (the event which causes something)
B-Belief system (the set of meanings I attribute to that event)
C-Consequences (my reaction to that event caused by the meanings I have attributed to it)

Within the different tensions concerning relationships, the conflicts or the difficult situations with the children which arose, it was useful to apply this technique taken from Rational and Emotional Therapy in order to discover personal difficulties and the emotional block of a teacher when connected with a problematic situation.
At this point the previous example may be considered again.
The children shout, quarrel and go wild (A). The teacher gets angry and makes them choose another game (C). By examining the problem it is possible to make a hypothesis concerning what has happened in the group and what to do to change the situation. However a fundamental aspect is understanding what the meaning of the event could be for the teacher (for example feeling challenged by the child) (B).
What often happens is that one goes from A to C without being conscious of B. In this way one is open to all types of tension. If the teacher does not look for the reason for her disoriented state or for her reactions (B) when the children are restless (A), any consequence (C) will be momentary and temporary and she will not manage to change the situation.
Therefore it can be said that the real deep change does not consist in changing the facts (which can occur again and again) nor in convincing oneself that the reaction should be modified (words are not sufficient to stop anger), but in understanding the personal meaning and the motivations of that reaction when faced by the fact. If a deep change does not take place in the teacher, the children in turn will not be able to change and modify their own behaviour. This is an invitation to reflect and to observe oneself in order to understand and to modify one's own point of view and perception, instead of acting immediately.

3) Seminar on organizations and institutional proposals put forward by educational services
This seminar which was held at the crèche gave the trainees the opportunity of gaining more organizational skills regarding this time not relationships or pedagogy, but the essential links between the institutions and the local area.
It was important to analyse a section of the market which made up the body of potential users and the services connected with the crèche in order to make a hypothesis regarding the most suitable future development for the area. In this way not only could the trainees improve their organizational abilities, but they could also acquire a more professional and a more business-like role in their search for solutions to institutional and organisational problems.
In conclusion, it is important to underline once again how necessary it is to know about different interpretations in order to understand and analyse a problematic situation, an event, or a difficulty. Only in this way is it possible to ask oneself what action should be undertaken.

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