Iloa tekemässä – Lasten suhteissa performoitu ilo varhaiskasvatuksen arjessa

Authors

• Satu Karjalainen University of Oulu, Finland https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1975-0074

Keywords:

early childhood education, ilo, joy, performatiivisuus, performativity, varhaiskasvatus

Abstract

The significance of joy and other positive emotions is emphasized in multiple life areas. Indeed, joy is considered to be part of the well-being and happiness of human beings. In particular, the prevailing discourses related to childhood consider positive emotions to be a natural part of children’s lives. In my doctoral thesis, I broadened the examination from the traditional perspective of individual experiences of joy to understand joy as relationally constructed and lived and as active doings (Karjalainen, 2021). According to the study findings, based on analysis of broad video recordings and observation notes of everyday life in early childhood education settings, the performed joys shaped children’s everyday lived relations. In children’s peer relations, joy was a means to underline the bonds between children and also a means to exclude others. While performing joy, teachers emphasized children’s success and encouraged them to participate in their preferred activities. Within shared moments of joy, the traditional teacher–learner roles became blurred. Surrendering into shared joyous moments created a favorable soil for establishing relational agency. The study raises critical questions related to the prevailing discourses in early childhood education. Does the general discourse that highlights a happy school and a happy early childhood education meet the reality of everyday life in these settings?