In the field of early childhood research children's mobility is usually discussed only in terms o... more In the field of early childhood research children's mobility is usually discussed only in terms of physical activity in the preschool yard. More seldom is it discussed in terms of mobility practices and how young children move in public spaces. With unique detailed video-ethnographic data on mobile preschools and a new combination of theories on space, mobilities and peer culture this article analyses how young children negotiate mobility practices and engage in embodied learning in the collective preschool routine of walking in line. Two empirical examples of walking in line in contrasting public spaces show how the mobile preschool group moves in space as a collective body co-produced by children's and teachers' individual bodies. It is argued that walks in line are not merely a form of 'transport' between places but are important as social and learning spaces. While walking in line, children collectively 'do' space in diverse ways depending on where and how they move, and in relation to where and when teachers negotiate safety issues. In this process, the spaces, activities and routines alike are transformed.
The mobile preschool, a form of preschool practice in a bus, is a new and growing phenomenon in
... more The mobile preschool, a form of preschool practice in a bus, is a new and growing phenomenon in
Swedish preschool education. Combining theories of time-spatial organisation and mobility, we critically
investigate the implications of transforming traditional stationary preschool practice into a mobile preschool.
Our findings show that the social order of the mobile preschool is ‘being on the move’ and that the
travelling shapes the time-spatial organisation, with major implications for daily routines and activities.
In our analyses we show how constant travelling characterises the mobile preschool as a social practice
with (i) logistics and choice of place prevailing over daily planning, (ii) creation of time and space for
embodied habits, (iii) teachers as attendants and children as passengers, and (iv) walking in lines.
However, mobility and time-spatial constraints are also co-constructed and intimately connected with
the participants’ agency, since both children and teachers are actively ‘doing time’ and ‘creating space’
within the dominant structure of ‘being on the move’.
Sociologisk forskning årgång 51 nr 1 2014 p. 29-46
"Children and urban space – relations between competence, age and participation
In this paper we... more "Children and urban space – relations between competence, age and participation
In this paper we focus on how children and adults discuss children’s competence in urban space, and how this relates to the age of the child. Spatial competence is linked to the possibility to experience and participate in urban space. Gaining spatial competence thus requires children to be allowed to make experiences in public space. However, our research suggests that age is the organizing norm regarding who is viewed as competent enough to gain access to and participate in urban space. Firstly, spatial competence is related to age-based categories, where children and adults are viewed as homogeneous categories. Adults are viewed as spatially competent while children are viewed as non-competent. Secondly, spatial competence is related to chronological age and defined from an adult perspective which means that increased chronological age is equated with increased competence. It is shown that chronological age is the organizing norm also for how children order other children within the category of children in terms of how spatially competent they are.
"
Geografiska Annaler: Series B, Human …, Jan 1, 2008
This study examines the ways in which children aged 11 to 15 in six adjacent neighbourhoods in a ... more This study examines the ways in which children aged 11 to 15 in six adjacent neighbourhoods in a medium-sized Swedish town place themselves and others in local space. Special attention is given to how they discuss a neighbourhood stigmatized in the public discourse and how children who live in this neighbourhood react to the negative representations of the place in which they live. The study is based on group interviews and maps. The study shows that children construct representations of their own neighbourhoods as “quiet” neighbourhoods and place objects of “trouble” and “danger” somewhere else. It is argued that this is done both in relation to their personal knowledge of the neighbourhood and in relation to local and/or media representations of their own and other neighbourhoods. It is shown that the children are influenced by media representations of a stigmatized neighbourhood, but also that they are not passive reproducers of these discourses and that some of them are able to offer counter-discourses. The children living in this neighbourhood experience difficulties in defending it as the quiet place which they perceive it to be to outsiders because of the negative discourses.""
This article discusses how professionals understand the theory and practice of children's partici... more This article discusses how professionals understand the theory and practice of children's participation in physical planning processes. Drawing on group discussions between Swedish professionals we analyse how children's participation is understood and negotiated, and why it is problematic to implement. The participants had difficulties in understanding the difference between participation and consultation, as well as recognising children as social actors with competences. We argue that while Swedish children have a strong position in society, they are excluded from planning processes due to the rigidity of the planning process, neoliberal influences and planners' lack of competence.
SwePub titelinformation: "Där man bor tycker man det är bra" [Elektronisk resur... more SwePub titelinformation: "Där man bor tycker man det är bra" [Elektronisk resurs] : Barns geografier i en segregerad stadsmiljö.
Contents
EDITORIAL
Sabine Bollig, Zsuzsa Millei: Spaces of Early Childhood: Spatial Approaches i... more Contents
EDITORIAL Sabine Bollig, Zsuzsa Millei: Spaces of Early Childhood: Spatial Approaches in Research on Early Childhood Education and Care
ARTICLES Aisling Gallagher: E-portfolios and Relational Space in the Early Education Environment
Mari Vuorisalo, Raija Raittila, Niina Rutanen: Kindergarten Space and Autonomy in Construction – Explorations during a Team Ethnography in one Finnish Kindergarten
Carie J. Green: Young children’s Spatial Autonomy in Their Home Environment and a Forest Setting
Danielle Ekman Ladru, Katarina Gustafson: ‘Yay, a Downhill!’ Mobile Preschool Children’s Collective Mobility Practices and ‘Doing’ of Space in Walks in Line
Jennifer Sumsion, Linda J. Harrison, Matthew Stapleton: Spatial Perspectives on Babies’ Ways of Belonging in Infant Early Childhood Education and Care
Zsuzsa Millei: Distant Places in Children’s Everyday Activities: Multiple Worlds in an Australian Preschool
Sabine Bollig: Approaching the Spatialities of Early Education and Care Systems from the Position of the Child
In the field of early childhood research children's mobility is usually discussed only in terms o... more In the field of early childhood research children's mobility is usually discussed only in terms of physical activity in the preschool yard. More seldom is it discussed in terms of mobility practices and how young children move in public spaces. With unique detailed video-ethnographic data on mobile preschools and a new combination of theories on space, mobilities and peer culture this article analyses how young children negotiate mobility practices and engage in embodied learning in the collective preschool routine of walking in line. Two empirical examples of walking in line in contrasting public spaces show how the mobile preschool group moves in space as a collective body co-produced by children's and teachers' individual bodies. It is argued that walks in line are not merely a form of 'transport' between places but are important as social and learning spaces. While walking in line, children collectively 'do' space in diverse ways depending on where and how they move, and in relation to where and when teachers negotiate safety issues. In this process, the spaces, activities and routines alike are transformed.
The mobile preschool, a form of preschool practice in a bus, is a new and growing phenomenon in
... more The mobile preschool, a form of preschool practice in a bus, is a new and growing phenomenon in
Swedish preschool education. Combining theories of time-spatial organisation and mobility, we critically
investigate the implications of transforming traditional stationary preschool practice into a mobile preschool.
Our findings show that the social order of the mobile preschool is ‘being on the move’ and that the
travelling shapes the time-spatial organisation, with major implications for daily routines and activities.
In our analyses we show how constant travelling characterises the mobile preschool as a social practice
with (i) logistics and choice of place prevailing over daily planning, (ii) creation of time and space for
embodied habits, (iii) teachers as attendants and children as passengers, and (iv) walking in lines.
However, mobility and time-spatial constraints are also co-constructed and intimately connected with
the participants’ agency, since both children and teachers are actively ‘doing time’ and ‘creating space’
within the dominant structure of ‘being on the move’.
Sociologisk forskning årgång 51 nr 1 2014 p. 29-46
"Children and urban space – relations between competence, age and participation
In this paper we... more "Children and urban space – relations between competence, age and participation
In this paper we focus on how children and adults discuss children’s competence in urban space, and how this relates to the age of the child. Spatial competence is linked to the possibility to experience and participate in urban space. Gaining spatial competence thus requires children to be allowed to make experiences in public space. However, our research suggests that age is the organizing norm regarding who is viewed as competent enough to gain access to and participate in urban space. Firstly, spatial competence is related to age-based categories, where children and adults are viewed as homogeneous categories. Adults are viewed as spatially competent while children are viewed as non-competent. Secondly, spatial competence is related to chronological age and defined from an adult perspective which means that increased chronological age is equated with increased competence. It is shown that chronological age is the organizing norm also for how children order other children within the category of children in terms of how spatially competent they are.
"
Geografiska Annaler: Series B, Human …, Jan 1, 2008
This study examines the ways in which children aged 11 to 15 in six adjacent neighbourhoods in a ... more This study examines the ways in which children aged 11 to 15 in six adjacent neighbourhoods in a medium-sized Swedish town place themselves and others in local space. Special attention is given to how they discuss a neighbourhood stigmatized in the public discourse and how children who live in this neighbourhood react to the negative representations of the place in which they live. The study is based on group interviews and maps. The study shows that children construct representations of their own neighbourhoods as “quiet” neighbourhoods and place objects of “trouble” and “danger” somewhere else. It is argued that this is done both in relation to their personal knowledge of the neighbourhood and in relation to local and/or media representations of their own and other neighbourhoods. It is shown that the children are influenced by media representations of a stigmatized neighbourhood, but also that they are not passive reproducers of these discourses and that some of them are able to offer counter-discourses. The children living in this neighbourhood experience difficulties in defending it as the quiet place which they perceive it to be to outsiders because of the negative discourses.""
This article discusses how professionals understand the theory and practice of children's partici... more This article discusses how professionals understand the theory and practice of children's participation in physical planning processes. Drawing on group discussions between Swedish professionals we analyse how children's participation is understood and negotiated, and why it is problematic to implement. The participants had difficulties in understanding the difference between participation and consultation, as well as recognising children as social actors with competences. We argue that while Swedish children have a strong position in society, they are excluded from planning processes due to the rigidity of the planning process, neoliberal influences and planners' lack of competence.
SwePub titelinformation: "Där man bor tycker man det är bra" [Elektronisk resur... more SwePub titelinformation: "Där man bor tycker man det är bra" [Elektronisk resurs] : Barns geografier i en segregerad stadsmiljö.
Contents
EDITORIAL
Sabine Bollig, Zsuzsa Millei: Spaces of Early Childhood: Spatial Approaches i... more Contents
EDITORIAL Sabine Bollig, Zsuzsa Millei: Spaces of Early Childhood: Spatial Approaches in Research on Early Childhood Education and Care
ARTICLES Aisling Gallagher: E-portfolios and Relational Space in the Early Education Environment
Mari Vuorisalo, Raija Raittila, Niina Rutanen: Kindergarten Space and Autonomy in Construction – Explorations during a Team Ethnography in one Finnish Kindergarten
Carie J. Green: Young children’s Spatial Autonomy in Their Home Environment and a Forest Setting
Danielle Ekman Ladru, Katarina Gustafson: ‘Yay, a Downhill!’ Mobile Preschool Children’s Collective Mobility Practices and ‘Doing’ of Space in Walks in Line
Jennifer Sumsion, Linda J. Harrison, Matthew Stapleton: Spatial Perspectives on Babies’ Ways of Belonging in Infant Early Childhood Education and Care
Zsuzsa Millei: Distant Places in Children’s Everyday Activities: Multiple Worlds in an Australian Preschool
Sabine Bollig: Approaching the Spatialities of Early Education and Care Systems from the Position of the Child
Uploads
Swedish preschool education. Combining theories of time-spatial organisation and mobility, we critically
investigate the implications of transforming traditional stationary preschool practice into a mobile preschool.
Our findings show that the social order of the mobile preschool is ‘being on the move’ and that the
travelling shapes the time-spatial organisation, with major implications for daily routines and activities.
In our analyses we show how constant travelling characterises the mobile preschool as a social practice
with (i) logistics and choice of place prevailing over daily planning, (ii) creation of time and space for
embodied habits, (iii) teachers as attendants and children as passengers, and (iv) walking in lines.
However, mobility and time-spatial constraints are also co-constructed and intimately connected with
the participants’ agency, since both children and teachers are actively ‘doing time’ and ‘creating space’
within the dominant structure of ‘being on the move’.
In this paper we focus on how children and adults discuss children’s competence in urban space, and how this relates to the age of the child. Spatial competence is linked to the possibility to experience and participate in urban space. Gaining spatial competence thus requires children to be allowed to make experiences in public space. However, our research suggests that age is the organizing norm regarding who is viewed as competent enough to gain access to and participate in urban space. Firstly, spatial competence is related to age-based categories, where children and adults are viewed as homogeneous categories. Adults are viewed as spatially competent while children are viewed as non-competent. Secondly, spatial competence is related to chronological age and defined from an adult perspective which means that increased chronological age is equated with increased competence. It is shown that chronological age is the organizing norm also for how children order other children within the category of children in terms of how spatially competent they are.
"
EDITORIAL
Sabine Bollig, Zsuzsa Millei: Spaces of Early Childhood: Spatial Approaches in Research on Early Childhood Education and Care
ARTICLES
Aisling Gallagher: E-portfolios and Relational Space in the Early Education Environment
Mari Vuorisalo, Raija Raittila, Niina Rutanen: Kindergarten Space and Autonomy in Construction – Explorations during a Team Ethnography in one Finnish Kindergarten
Carie J. Green: Young children’s Spatial Autonomy in Their Home Environment and a Forest Setting
Danielle Ekman Ladru, Katarina Gustafson: ‘Yay, a Downhill!’ Mobile Preschool Children’s Collective Mobility Practices and ‘Doing’ of Space in Walks in Line
Jennifer Sumsion, Linda J. Harrison, Matthew Stapleton: Spatial Perspectives on Babies’ Ways of Belonging in Infant Early Childhood Education and Care
Zsuzsa Millei: Distant Places in Children’s Everyday Activities: Multiple Worlds in an Australian Preschool
Sabine Bollig: Approaching the Spatialities of Early Education and Care Systems from the Position of the Child
Swedish preschool education. Combining theories of time-spatial organisation and mobility, we critically
investigate the implications of transforming traditional stationary preschool practice into a mobile preschool.
Our findings show that the social order of the mobile preschool is ‘being on the move’ and that the
travelling shapes the time-spatial organisation, with major implications for daily routines and activities.
In our analyses we show how constant travelling characterises the mobile preschool as a social practice
with (i) logistics and choice of place prevailing over daily planning, (ii) creation of time and space for
embodied habits, (iii) teachers as attendants and children as passengers, and (iv) walking in lines.
However, mobility and time-spatial constraints are also co-constructed and intimately connected with
the participants’ agency, since both children and teachers are actively ‘doing time’ and ‘creating space’
within the dominant structure of ‘being on the move’.
In this paper we focus on how children and adults discuss children’s competence in urban space, and how this relates to the age of the child. Spatial competence is linked to the possibility to experience and participate in urban space. Gaining spatial competence thus requires children to be allowed to make experiences in public space. However, our research suggests that age is the organizing norm regarding who is viewed as competent enough to gain access to and participate in urban space. Firstly, spatial competence is related to age-based categories, where children and adults are viewed as homogeneous categories. Adults are viewed as spatially competent while children are viewed as non-competent. Secondly, spatial competence is related to chronological age and defined from an adult perspective which means that increased chronological age is equated with increased competence. It is shown that chronological age is the organizing norm also for how children order other children within the category of children in terms of how spatially competent they are.
"
EDITORIAL
Sabine Bollig, Zsuzsa Millei: Spaces of Early Childhood: Spatial Approaches in Research on Early Childhood Education and Care
ARTICLES
Aisling Gallagher: E-portfolios and Relational Space in the Early Education Environment
Mari Vuorisalo, Raija Raittila, Niina Rutanen: Kindergarten Space and Autonomy in Construction – Explorations during a Team Ethnography in one Finnish Kindergarten
Carie J. Green: Young children’s Spatial Autonomy in Their Home Environment and a Forest Setting
Danielle Ekman Ladru, Katarina Gustafson: ‘Yay, a Downhill!’ Mobile Preschool Children’s Collective Mobility Practices and ‘Doing’ of Space in Walks in Line
Jennifer Sumsion, Linda J. Harrison, Matthew Stapleton: Spatial Perspectives on Babies’ Ways of Belonging in Infant Early Childhood Education and Care
Zsuzsa Millei: Distant Places in Children’s Everyday Activities: Multiple Worlds in an Australian Preschool
Sabine Bollig: Approaching the Spatialities of Early Education and Care Systems from the Position of the Child