Alle kolmivuotiaat paikkansa tuottajina päiväkodissa

Authors

• Niina Rutanen University of Tampere, Finland

Keywords:

space and place, tila ja paikka, under three-year-old children, alle kolmivuotiaat, children’s peer interaction, lasten vertaisvuorovaikutus

Abstract

In multidisciplinary childhood studies, the concepts of ’space’ and ‘place’ have been applied in large extent in discussions related to childhood institutions. In this article, the concepts of space and place will be applied to early childhood education and care, from the point of view of the space and place produced by the children. The empirical material for the study has been produced by video recordings and observations in a daycare group for 1 to 3-year-olds in 2010. The main focus will be on the lived space produced by the children; how do under three-year-olds produce their own personal place (lived space) in early childhood education and care? The results indicate that children construct lived space and their relation to the physical space with body, nonverbal and verbal negotiations with their peers and on the basis of observations of others’ actions. Children negotiate the meanings related to the physical space, set boundaries for actions and also defend their physical and symbolic territories.