Emergent Science and gendered Bodies in Preschool Outdoor play. Swedish title: Begynnande naturvetenskap och könade kroppar i förskolans utelek

Author
Günther-Hanssen A.
Source
Tidskrift för genusvetenskap, 39(4):9-30.
Year
2018

Purpose

This study investigated kindergarten children’s gender identity development as they played and explored together in natural environments. Based on neo-materialist theory, this article investigated kindergarten children’s existence as gendered subjects in outdoor play where two large stones were used as props. In addition, the researcher looked at what these existences could entail regarding the introduction to science and a scientific approach. The research questions were: (1) How do children develop their gender identity in play and exploration of science together with two large stones in a natural outdoor environment? (2) In what ways do the stones help create scientific curiosity and the development of gender identity in the children?

Result

The results indicate that natural materials, such as the stones in this study, could help shape children’s scientific explorations and their gender identity. This means that the ways in which children explore and develop depend on how they interact and play with natural surroundings. However, the stones and the natural surroundings in the study were not the only things that shaped the children; gender norms also played a role. This, according to the researcher, runs contrary to the usual thought of children’s play in nature as ‘free and equal’, a thought that is not often challenged. Studies that investigate children’s play and learning outdoors often lack gender perspectives, especially when science is the focus.

Design

Data collection took place during a field study in a Swedish kindergarten where 25 five-year-olds and three educators participated. The field study’s focus was placed on children’s joint play and exploration in the kindergarten environment and in activities without the guidance of educators. The researcher used video recordings as a documentation method for the data collection, where a total of 12 hours of video material was recorded.

References

Günther-Hanssen, A. (2018). Günther-Hanssen, A. (2018). «Emergent Science and gendered Bodies in Preschool Outdoor play. Swedish title: Begynnande naturvetenskap och könade kroppar i förskolans utelek». Tidskrift för genusvetenskap, 39(4):9-30.