De yngste barna og tingene deres – en ANT-analyse av lek i småbarnsavdelinger

Abstract

Artikkelen presenterer en mikro-etnografisk undersøkelse av barns forhold til tingene i to småbarnsavdelinger i norske barnehager. Hensikten er å forstå hvordan barns relasjoner til ting virker inn på deres mulighet til deltagelse og sosial posisjonering i gruppen. Undersøkelsen er basert på Aktør-Nettverk-Teori som vektlegger tingenes betydning som agens i sosiale nettverk og tingenes funksjon som forlengelse av barnas kropper. Undersøkelsen viser at tingene har betydning som legitim inngangsbillett til deltagelse i lekegrupper og at tingenes innbyrdes hierarkiske orden bidrar i å uttrykke den sosiale orden mellom barna som inngår i relasjon med dem. The article presents a micro-ethnographic study on toddlers’ relationship to the material artefacts in two Norwegian kindergarten groups. The purpose of the study is to understand how their relationship with objects influences their possibilities for participation in peer groups. The study is based on Actor-Network-Theory. A main point is that material artefacts have agency in social networks surrounding us and function as extensions of our bodies. The study indicates that material artefacts serve as entrance tickets for participation in group activities and that the hierarchic order between the objects in the room, influences the social order among the children using them.

Toddlers as ignorant citizens: An explorative study of conflicts and negotiations involving toys in kindergarten

“…Children manage to use items as entrance tickets to activities. If a group of children is playing with toy animals, the best way of joining the group is to get hold of an animal of a similar type and let the toy animal approach the scene first (Nome, 2017).…”

“…The sound it made could also be seen as part of Peter’s way of interacting with Andrej. Previous research has disclosed how children can strengthen or weaken their position by which toys they choose (Nome, 2017). A big and noisy car dominates smaller and less audible ones and, as a consequence, the citizenship of the children holding it in their hands is affected by these different qualities.…”

“…Previous observations of toddlers’ ways of playing highlight not only comprehensive non-verbal bodily expressions (Andersen and Kampmann, 1988; Greve, 2007; Løkken, 2000), but also the importance of their material surroundings. Toys seem to be a part of their social life in numerous ways (Mayer and Musatti, 1992; Nome, 2017). Many of the conflicts between children involve toys as well (Corsaro, 2014).…”

Material as actor in the enactment of social norms: Engaging with a sociomaterial perspective in childhood studies to avoid the ‘traps of closure’

“…In ECEC settings, researchers have illustrated how toddlers’ relationships with material objects influence their possibilities for participation in peer groups (Nome, 2017). Nordtømme (2015) shows how space and materiality are educational resources in kindergarten as well as theoretical tools in order to understand the possibilities of play.…”

“…It enables a toddler to move fast and with stability and as such does something with the child‐actors movement and latitude (cf. Nome, 2017). However, more than one toddler attempting to steer and move at a relative high speed within the confined space of an ECEC unit can be challenging for personnel.…”