Gråtens mange ansikter: Toner og tempo i barnehagen.

The purpose of the study is based on a discourse-theoretical approach to gain new insight about pedagogical practices as they unfold in caring situations related to crying children; especially in relation to the pedagogical staff's physical caring skills. In the study, the body is viewed as a tangible subject (with different genders and colours) that creates movements that are contextualised through physical space and caring discourses.

In the study, crying is regarded on the basis of a discourse-theoretical approach as something tangible linked to the body, and reactions initiated by crying are examined; e.g. adults move through the room at the day nursery, and small and big bodies meet in various expressions of care. These tangible interpretations are compared with linguistic representations of crying as expressed by the pedagogical staff, such as hierarchical categorisation of crying such as 'anger-crying', 'sadness-crying' and 'tired-crying'. It is concluded that the bodily practices in relation to crying are more complex than the linguistic categorisations that the pedagogical staff use in the interpretation of the crying of children, and that the way children unite in crying determines their positions at the day nursery.

Data was collected on two boys and two girls aged 11 months to 2 years through participant observations and interviews with personnel at two day nurseries in Norway. Three of the children had a non-Norwegian ethnic background. Crying episodes for each of the four children in the study are analysed on the basis of a discourse-theoretical approach.

Rossholt, N. (2010). Gråtens mange ansikter: Toner og tempo i barnehagen. Nordic Studies in Education, 30(2), 102-115.