Place, space and materiality for pedagogy in a kindergarten.

The purpose of this study is to investigate how space and materiality at daycare facilities can be crucial for children’s exploration of participation opportunities and how the physical surroundings enable children to interact and position themselves in relation to each other and in relation to space in play as well as in meaning-making. Thus the study examines the concepts space/place, room and materiality. The concepts open for participation and meaning-making whilst they can have an excluding effect in that they are embedded in existing values and expectations.

The author highlights two recurring themes in the data material. These themes are what the author calls 1) making room, materiality and participation and 2) power relations in play. The study shows that space, room and materiality interact with the children and adults and reflect ideas, values and expectations. The expectations are often invisible even though they form practice and rules that influence the everyday life at the daycare centre. The study also shows that it is important that early childhood educators can position themselves differently from being an active participant to sometimes being a body which is available, but withdrawn from the centre of play. Flexible materials support the children in creating new opportunities for joining a game or for safeguarding a game. Furthermore, the study shows that individual children can have different power relations by positioning themselves differently. The physical layout of the daycare centre opens for different possibilities of positioning between which the children can alternate depending on the various physical possibilities in the play rooms. The children are able to change positions and at the same time manage to be part of the group and maintain a sense of community.

Data consists of participating observations, field notes and photos. The analyses were presented as three narratives. Two groups, each of 18 children between the ages of two and five from two Norwegian daycare centres took part in the study.

Nordtømme, S. (2012). Place, space and materiality for pedagogy in a kindergarten. Education Inquiry 3(3), 317–333.