ABSTRACT

This article concerns young children’s social preferences in early childcare in Denmark. Based on detailed and long-term ethnographic observations, the analysis shows how children’s choices of playmates are patterned in ways that reflect their various social and cultural experiences in and out of the institutional settings. In general, children seem to prefer to be with others who share and acknowledge the same kinds of knowledge, experiences, and references and this leads to a pattern of rather distinct social interest-groups. The article explores why such lines of divisions are to be found in an institutional context designed to overcome social inequality and prevent social fragmentation. Furthermore, it argues that systematic ethnographic observations not only can help to understand what matters in early childcare for different persons, but also examine the social processes behind preferences and priorities and how they resonate with social divisions of broader society.

摘要

本文涉及丹麦幼儿在早期儿童保育方面的社会偏好。基于详细和长期的人种学观察，分析显示了儿童对玩伴的选择如何以反映他们在机构环境内外的各种社会和文化经历的方式进行模式化。一般来说，儿童似乎更喜欢与分享和承认相同类型的知识、经验和参考的其他人在一起，这导致了一种相当不同的社会利益群体的模式。本文探讨了为什么在旨在克服社会不平等和防止社会分裂的制度环境中会发现这种分歧。此外，它认为系统的人种学观察不仅有助于了解不同人在早期儿童保育中的重要性，