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PRESENTATION OF THE TEAM
Early Development
and Education
DETEDUCA is a research team of the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid created in 2011. It is made up of a multidisciplinary team of developmental psychologists, educational psychologists, teachers, early childhood care teams, musicians and professionals in social science didactics. It maintains cooperative relationships with international research teams in Latin America, France, England and Switzerland.
Its main interest is the study of early development in everyday contexts, such as the home and the nursery school. The studies carried out are based on the theoretical-epistemological perspective of Object Pragmatics and have the following characteristics in common:
- They understand that objects, as material culture, are used in everyday life to do things
- They argue that objects are also used to communicate
- The unit of analysis is the triadic interaction child-adult-object
- They use the method of microgenetic analysis
- They carry out longitudinal studies that account for development
- Their studies are situated in everyday contexts that guarantee the ecological validity of the research.
- They focus on processes rather than outcomes.
Ongoing Research
The team is currently developing the project Origin and development of cognitive control and educational action in 0-1 and 1-2 classrooms: A pragmatic perspective.
The general objective of the project is to study the origin and early manifestations of Executive Functions, Cognitive Control and Self-Regulation in early childhood classrooms in Madrid, Spain.
This objective is approached from three fundamental areas of early development, which are the birth and organisation of:
- Intentional behaviour, i.e. the goal setting and the means and processes necessary to achieve them.;
- Intentional communication through gestures and its relationship to early self-regulation;
- Early categorisations and the pragmatic origin of concepts, necessary for self-regulation.
The Pragmatics of the Object
It is a theoretical perspective that originated in the Geneva School in the 1980s. It defends the need to give a pragmatic turn to the understanding of objects and their uses when studying early development.
Objects are not just a “physical reality”: (1) they are part of a cultural tradition, (2) they are subject to conventional rules of use of varying semiotic complexity and (3) they are protagonists in communicative exchanges as we communicate about and through them.
It is important to distinguish between objects and their uses, i.e. what is done with them. Functional uses are evident to adults but not to children. Their understanding is a progressive construction that is achieved through mediation by others. Adults use a variety of semiotic mediators with which they progressively introduce the child to the conventional uses of objects. The uses of objects are conceived as a privileged place for communication and the construction of meanings during the first years of life..
In its studies, the Pragmatics of the Object focuses on the analysis of the semiotic systems at play in communicative-educational processes. Its unit of observation is the triadic child-object-adult interactions and it is especially interested in the sign systems that provide the child with the possibility of communicating with others and with him/herself, and which function as instruments of thought..
Research Lines
ORIGIN AND EARLY DEVELOPMENT OF EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS
ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF GESTURES AND THEIR FUNCTIONS
EDUCATIONAL ACTION IN NURSERY SCHOOLS
USES OF OBJECTS AND EARLY COMMUNICATION IN AUTISM
DEVELOPMENT OF OBJECT CONCEPTS IN CHILDHOOD
DEVELOPMENT OF THE TYPES OF USES OF OBJECTS AND INSTRUMENTS
RHYTHMIC-SONORUS SEMIOTIC SYSTEMS IN EARLY DEVELOPMENT
DEVELOPMENT OF THE NUMBER IN THE THIRD YEAR OF LIFE
Our Team
Cintia Rodríguez Garrido
Team Coordinator
Principal Investigator | University Professor UAM
José Luis De los Reyes
D. in Philosophy and Letters (Geography and history) | Professor UAM
María Jesús Del Olmo
D. in Psychological Development, Learning and Education: Contemporary Perspectives. | Professor UAM
Pedro Palacios
Professor and Researcher C | BUAA
Ángeles Medina
Early Childhood Education Teacher | Colmenar – Tres Cantos Early Attention Team Counselor | Associate Professor UAM
Iván Moreno Llanos
PhD Student | Psychologist
Irene Guevara de Haro
PhD Student | Research Technician | Psychologist
Julia Benassi
PhD Student |
Nuria Rupérez
Educative Counselor | Associated Professor UAM | Educational Psychologis | Special Education Teacher
Noemí Yuste
Early Childhood Education Teacher | PhD in Psychology | Psychologist
Karina Cárdenas
PhD in Psychology | Professor and Researcher at Universidad de Chile
Gabriela Sousa de Melo Mieto
PhD in Psychology | Professor and researcher at the Universidade de Brasília
Gonzalo Flecha
Early Childhood Education Teacher and Psychopedagogist
Rosa Elena Barrantes
Educational Counselor | PhD Student | Psychologist and Psychopedagogue
Laura Zapardiel
PhD Student | Predoctoral researcher
Upcoming Events
Every year DETEDUCA participates in a series of national and international scientific dissemination events, with the aim of publicizing the most recent results of its research.
These events are usually aimed at a diverse audience of researchers, psychology and education professionals, teachers, parents and students, among others.
The events are composed of Congresses, Seminars, Research Conferences, Workshops and specialized courses.
News
Seminar-«From the other side of the pond»
Spanish-Argentinian Day between Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto and DETEDUCA (Universidad Autónoma de Madrid) On October 18, 2022, DETEDUCA participated in the Spanish-Argentinian Day “From the other side of the[…]
Read moreColaboration
The team collaborates with several universities, research teams and organizations focused on education and early childhood.
Contact the team
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