(In)visible perceptions of objects (‘things’) during early transitions: Intertwining subjectivities in ECEC

Abstract

Objects in early childhood education (ECEC) experiences have begun to receive a great deal more attention than ever before. Although much of this attention has emerged recently from new materialism, in this paper we turn to Merleau-Ponty’s phenomenological concern with the (in)visibility of ‘things’ to illuminate the presence of objects within infant transitions. Drawing on notions of écart and reversibility, we explore the relational perceptions objects are bestowed with on the lead up to, and first day of, infant transitions. Recognizing the intertwining subjectivities that perceive the object, a series of videos and interviews with teachers and parents across three ECEC sites in Australia and New Zealand provided a rich source of phenomenological insight. Our analysis reveals objects as deeply imbued anchoring links that enable relational possibilities for transitions between home and ECEC service. Visible and yet invisible to adults (parents and/or teachers) who readily engage with objects during earliest transitions, the significance of things facilitates opportunities to forge new relationships, create boundaries and facilitate connections. As such, our paper concludes that objects are far more than mediating tools, or conceptual agents; they provide an explicit route to understanding with potential to play a vital role in supporting effective early transitions when granted visibility within this important phenomenon.

Children Under Two As Co-constructors of Their Transition From Home Care to Early Childhood Education and Care

“…Furthermore, over time, they developed their own arrival routines and became more knowledgeable about the space and its possibilities, thereby strengthening their own creativity and resourcefulness in finding and creating arrival opportunities, for example, initiating peer interactions. First, as the children explored the new space's materiality, they created a space of active involvement (Simonsson, 2015;White et al, 2021). They skillfully explored the space's materiality, as they not only took advantage of materials that were visible, easily accessible, or offered to them but also explored, requested materials, and found places and materials that were not readily available to them.…”

“…On the one hand, they regulate themselves and their environment, for example, by showing emotions (Fein et al, 1993;Klette & Killén, 2018;Pursi & Lipponen, 2021) and self-soothing (Datler et al, 2010). On the other hand, they position themselves within the new environment, for example, by finding connections between the home and ECEC settings (White et al, 2021), negotiating places and accessing materials (Dalli, 2003;Lucas Revilla et al, 2023;Simonsson, 2015), connecting with others, and building relationships with peers and teachers (Dalli, 2000(Dalli, , 2003White et al, 2021). Furthermore, from the beginning of their attendance, young children begin to master their new environment and participation in it by learning about the rules, materials, routines, and ways of being with others in ECEC (Dalli, 2003;Simonsson, 2015).…”

Infants’ emotional and social experiences during and after the transition to early childhood education and care

“…As part of the larger project, an extensive amount of qualitative analysis was undertaken and is reported elsewhere (e.g. White et al, 2021, 2022). In this report, we used quantitative statistical analysis to identify patterns across the 10 cases and then corroborated these findings through synthesis with the qualitative findings, consistent with an embedded case study approach (Scholz and Tietje, 2002).…”

“…While inevitable disruptions occurred (e.g. child illness), as closely as possible all infants were assessed at the following points in their transition to ECEC: the first day, 1 week, then monthly intervals across 7 subsequent months (although there were some variations by country; White et al, 2021). Table 2 shows the observation days for each infant as a function of time since their first day of care.…”

“…The plan was to capture the emotional and social events that took place for the infant at regular intervals across 8 months with the intent to understand the meanings these transitional experiences held for the infant, their parent and teacher (White et al, 2021). Note that we define the 'first day' as the first day the infant was 'officially' left in the care of an educator at the centre without their parent present, excluding any pre-settling visits that occurred prior to this first day.…”