Estetiken i praktiken: Om relationen mellan estetik och pedagogik vid läsning av Lisen Adbåges Samtidigt som

The study investigates how aesthetic elements in picture books can support children’s understanding of time as an abstract phenomenon. Using Lisen Adbåge’s picture book Samtidigt som, the researchers investigate how different aesthetic expressions in the book capture children’s interest and stimulate their reflections on simultaneity. The study also seeks to identify specific aesthetic traits in the book that can trigger children’s thoughts about time in educational contexts.

The research questions are:

1. How does the phenomenon of time appear through the artistic forms of expression in the book?
2. What do children focus on when reasoning about what ‘simultaneous’ means?
3. Is it possible to identify what specifically triggers thoughts about time through the book’s aesthetic design?

The results show that seven of the thirteen spreads in the book captured the most interest and engagement among the children, particularly those spreads that played with the concept of simultaneity and the alternation between ‘as is’ and ‘as if’. The book’s visual and textual expression stimulated the children’s reasoning around time through parallel events, time intervals and repetitions, and laid the foundation for linking abstract thoughts to concrete observations. The interaction between the real and the possible helped the children engage in cognitive play that supported their understanding of time as a relative phenomenon. The study suggests that aesthetic devices in picture books can be crucial for developing children’s abstract understanding.

The study is based on video recordings from read-aloud sessions in three kindergarten departments in Sweden. The kindergarten teacher read aloud and showed the pictures in Samtidigt som to the children. Afterwards, the children’s comments and discussions were transcribed and analysed using conversational analysis to identify patterns and common features in their responses, particularly in the children’s reflections over time through the aesthetic expressions in the book. The theory of ‘as is’ and ‘as if’ from play research was used to highlight how the book’s expressions promote cognitive play and abstract thinking in the children.

Lyngfelt, A., & Björklund, C. (2023). Estetiken i praktiken: Om relationen mellan estetik och pedagogik vid läsning av Lisen Adbåges Samtidigt som. Barnboken: Tidskrift för Barnlitteraturforskning, (46).