Every rose has its thorns: Domesticity and care beyond the dyad in ECEC

The study investigates how care is created in kindergartens outside of human relationships. The researcher investigates how this materialised care is related to everyday practices and what it means to be well/feel good.

The results show that care in kindergartens is also created outside of pure human relationships. For example, the care can be found in a well-used sofa, toys on the shelves, a song or the smell of freshly baked bread. Although this materialised care may seem banal and unrelated to professionalism or quality in kindergartens, the author of the article believes that it is precisely such banalities that everyday life is built on. She argues that thinking this way can provide us with new ways of understanding how care is created through both the human and material environment in kindergartens.

The data material is taken from observations in a Norwegian kindergarten department involving children under three years of age. The researcher observed daily life in the department over a period of four months in which she was particularly interested in observing her own sensory impressions of ‘materialised care’. The analysis is based on the researcher’s field notes, photographs and conversations with employees at the department.

Aslanian, T. K. (2020). “Every rose has its thorns: Domesticity and care beyond the dyad in ECEC”. Global Studies of Childhood, 10(4):327-338.