Comparative analysis of a task performed by preschool and daycare center 4-year-old children

Abstract

This paper falls into the field of comparative didactics and is concentrated around the concept of didactic contract and its topogenetic, chronogenetic and mesogenetic dimensions. These theoretical instruments, usually used to understand school praxis, are experimentally used here in order to analyze practices in a preschool context. The study is based on a task conceptualized by a group of teachers and intended for 4-year-old children. The task is car-ried out and studied in two contexts: pre-school and daycare. The aim is thus the comparison of the task within these two distinct institutions, both with 4-year-old children. The analysis focuses on a specific difficulty of the task, identified through an a priori analysis. The techni-cal approaches of the professionals (teachers vs. educators) differ, although their funda-mental outcomes are the same.