Kosketus päiväkodin kasvattajien kertomuksissa

Authors

• Virve Keränen Oulun yliopisto, Finland
• Jaana Juutinen Oulun yliopisto, Finland
• Eila Estola Oulun yliopisto, Finland

Keywords:

touch, kosketus, early childhood education, varhaiskasvatus, professionalism, ammatillisuus, embodiment, ruumiillisuus

Abstract

This article focuses on the stories that practitioners tell about the touch in the context of professional early childhood education. Touch is a part of educational em-bodied practice to which personal experiences and cultural aspects intertwine. Our research is inspired by philosophy Maurice Merleau-Ponty’s philosophy of embodiment. Research data consists of two narrative group interviews. In the first group interview as a tuner of the discussion worked the video episodes’ which were filmed in practitioners’ everyday life in the day care center. These video episodes showed the moments where the practitioner and a child touched each other. In the second group interview participated the same three practitioners as in the first one. In the narrative group interviews the practitioners told and re-told their own experiences about the touch. This proved to be significant way to reflect one’s own professional habits to touch. In the group interviews the practitioners emphasized the unconscious character of the touch, the child’s and the practitioner’s personal boundaries to the touch, the child as a touching and being touched and participating touch as a part of the pedagogy. Our research shows that becoming aware of one’s own ways to touch, the meaning of the touch in educational relationships deepens and it can be part of pedagogy in professional early childhood education.