Adult-initiated touch and its functions at a Swedish preschool: controlling, affectionate, assisting and educative haptic conduct

The study investigates the variation and functions of touch between adults and children in everyday kindergarten situations. The article focuses on adult-initiated physical touching between kindergarten teachers and children aged between one to five years old.

The study describes the most common functions of kindergarten teachers’ haptic behaviour: (1) controlling, (2) affectionate, (3) affectionate-controlling, (4) helping and (5) educational. The authors discuss these in relation to the children’s age, gender and the relevant kindergarten activity. The discussion reveals the complexity of touch and shows how physical contact serves a variety of purposes in the everyday lives of kindergarten teachers. The kindergarten teachers utilised touch without using force and the children did not react with clear and strong resistance (such as pushing them away or protesting in other ways).

Adult-initiated physical contact had a number of social purposes – from social-relational work, such as establishing and developing positive, affectionate social relationships, to practical organisation of educational work in the complex and busy life of kindergarten. The five touch categories pointed out by the authors draw attention to the bodily aspects of the kindergarten setting, and show how some of the objectives set out in the kindergarten curriculum, with their focus on educare, are embodied through the kindergarten teachers’ bodily behaviour.

The data is based on naturalistic observations and video recordings of everyday kindergarten activities in a Swedish kindergarten. The observations consist of 24 hours of video recordings from a toddler department and department for older children. The participants were nine kindergarten teachers (women) and 35 children. Fifteen children were 1–3 years old (nine girls and six boys) and 20 children were 3–5 years old (ten girls and ten boys). In this material, the researchers identified a total of 322 episodes of adult-initiated physical contact between adults and children as a basis to analyse touching in kindergarten. 

Bergnehr, D. & Cekaite, A. (2018). “Adult-initiated touch and its functions at a Swedish preschool: controlling, affectionate, assisting and educative haptic conduct”. International Journal of Early Years Education, 26(3):312–331.