Terkko Navigator / Preference organisation and peer disputes : how young children resolve conflict

Introduction; Defining child conflict; Conversation analysis; Peer disputes; Dispute outcomes; Preference and dispute outcomes; How to resolve disputes; Appendix; References; Index. What is the most effective way of pursuing one's own goals in preschool? 'Use your words' is an instruction frequently heard in nurseries and pre-schools. Where conflict occurs, young children are encouraged to resolve the situation through verbal rather than physical means. Discourse is seen as the solution, yet, what words are the children supposed to use, and how do they go about revolving disputes? This book offers a conversation analysis of children's arguments, revealing disputing as a highly ordered, rule-governed activity, even amongst very young children. The author provides a rich theoretical discussion of work in conversation analysis and speech act theory dealing with moves in disputes, offering a sophisticated review of a literature which has largely concentrated on adults to date and revealing how it relates to children's culture.