Wider room for curbing bullying in early childhood education and care – emphasising a democratic, social and contextual approach to bullying phenomenon

The study investigates how kindergarten teachers’ professional reflections and practices for dealing with bullying among children can be improved by considering bullying as a social and contextual phenomenon. The purpose is to contribute to knowledge about different ways in which democratic communities can be developed to prevent bullying. The research question is: What tensions arise when kindergarten teachers are required to consider bullying from social and contextual perspectives?

The study shows that different strategies for dealing with bullying emerge when kindergarten teachers consider bullying through social and contextual perspectives. Rather than relating bullying to children’s challenges, the results show that bullying can be understood through various tensions that affect children’s belonging and community in kindergarten. These tensions are associated with kindergarten routines, organisation of the physical environment, as well as practices related to grouping and play.

The researchers apply a practice-based research design by analysing task texts provided by nine working kindergarten teachers in connection with a development course that they attended. The analyses are also based on audio recording and transcription of a focus group interview that the researchers conducted with two of the course participants afterwards.

Grindheim, L. T., & Sadownik, A. R. (2022). Wider room for curbing bullying in early childhood education and care – emphasising a democratic, social and contextual approach to bullying phenomenon. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 30(5), 745–757.

Online year: 2021

Issue year: 2022

Review year: 2022