Purpose
The study investigates the significance of age in the social world that the kindergarten represents, and age as a discursive resource in everyday kindergarten practices. The research questions are: 1) How do kindergarten children practice age categorisation and what type of interaction goals are achieved through categorical work in collaboration with other children and with kindergarten teachers? 2) In what ways is the institutional order in kindergarten managed and developed through the participants’ categorical work? 3) How and in what ways are age categories discursive resources in participants’ socialisation practices?
Result
The study shows how age categories are actively used by adults and children in different interactions to achieve specific goals, such as excluding or including other children, or to define what is appropriate behaviour according to the children’s age. The results also show how institutional norms and age-related discourses become an integral part of everyday kindergarten life, and how these norms affect children’s socialisation processes. Through the analysis, it becomes clear how age, as a social category, is constantly being reproduced and reinforced in kindergarten practices.
Design
The data collection was conducted over the course of a year involving participatory observation among a group of kindergarten children aged 3-5 years. The study is grounded in an ethnomethodological approach, where age is treated as an interactional accomplishment created through the various activities of children and adults in kindergarten.
References
Häll, L. (2022). "Är han en jätte, nej han är liten, en bebis": Ålderskategorisering i förskolan Akademisk avhandling. Linköping univeristet.