Abstract
The aim of this research was to gain a deeper understanding of young children’s participation in a diverse peer culture within an Icelandic preschool and their sense of belonging in the preschool community. The participants were 12 children, aged 5–6 years. Data were constructed with each child while they engaged in a walking tour of the preschool in which children took photographs of features of interest as a basis for a subsequent conversation. Participant observations in the preschool classroom were also undertaken to understand in more detail the nature of children’s relationships with each other. Children with Icelandic backgrounds had more power and control in play activities than children with diverse backgrounds. Children who had been enrolled at the preschool for longer periods and who were more fluent in the Icelandic language had greater participatory opportunities than children with more recent enrolment and less experience with the Icelandic language. To ensure a more just preschool community in which all children experience belonging, teachers can encourage children to support and welcome other children’s different experiences and backgrounds, build communication skills and friendships.
Résumé
Le but de cette recherche est d’avoir une compréhension plus approfondie de la participation de jeunes enfants à une culture de pairs diversifiée dans le cadre d’un établissement préscolaire islandais et de leur sentiment d’appartenance à la communauté préscolaire. Les participants étaient 12 enfants âgés de 5 à 6 ans. La construction de données s’est faite avec chacun des enfants alors qu’ils participaient à une promenade de l’école maternelle, au cours de laquelle ils prenaient des photographs de points d’intérêt comme base d’une conversation subséquente. Des observations participantes ont également été effectuées dans la classe préscolaire pour comprendre plus en détail la nature des relations des enfants entre eux. Les enfants d’origine islandaise avaient plus de pouvoir et de contrôle dans les activités de jeu que les enfants d’origines différentes. Les enfants inscrits à l’école maternelle depuis plus longtemps et maîtrisant mieux l’islandais avaient plus de possibilités de participation que les enfants plus récemment inscrits et ayant moins d’expérience de la langue islandaise. Afin d’assurer une communauté préscolaire plus équitable à laquelle tous les enfants se sentent appartenir, les enseignants peuvent encourager les enfants à soutenir et accueillir les expériences et les antécédents différents des autres enfants, à construire des habiletés de communication et des amitiés.
Resumen
El objetivo de este estudio fue obtener una comprensión más profunda sobre la participación de niños pequeños en una cultura diversa dentro de un contexto preescolar en Islandia y su sentido de pertenencia a la comunidad preescolar. Doce niños entre 5 y 6 años participaron en el estudio. Se recolectó información con cada niño mientras participaban en un tour de la escuela preescolar donde tomaron fotos de espacios de interés como base para una conversación posterior. También se observó a los participantes en el salón de clase preescolar para comprender en forma más detallada la naturaleza de las relaciones de los niños con los demás. Los niños de procedencia islandesa mostraron más dominio y control en las actividades lúdicas al compararlos con los niños de otras culturas. Los niños que habían formado parte de la institución preescolar por períodos más largos y cuyo manejo del idioma era más fluido, tuvieron más oportunidades de participación que los niños matriculados más recientemente y con menos experiencia con el idioma de Islandia. Para garantizar una comunidad preescolar más justa en la que todos los niños tengan mayor sentido de pertenencia, los educadores deben motivar a los niños a apoyar y aceptar las diversas experiencias y procedencia de otros niños, mejorar sus habilidades de comunicación y establecer nuevas amistades.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Arvola, O., Lastikka, A.-L., & Reunamo, J. (2017). Increasing immigrants children’s participation in the Finnish early childhood education context. The European Journal of Social and Behavioural Sciences. https://doi.org/10.15405/ejsbs.223
Bertram, T., Formosinho, J., Gray, C., Pascal, C., & Whalley, M. (2016). EECERA ethical code for code for early childhood researchers. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 24(1), iii–xiii.
Boldermo, S. (2019). Practicing belonging in kindergarten: Children's use of places and artifacts. In S. Garvis, H. Harju-Luukkainen, & P. Williams (eds.). Nordic families, children and early childhood education. pp. 61–79. Palgrave Macmillan. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-16866-7
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101.
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2013). Successful qualitative research: A practical guide for beginners. SAGE.
Corsaro, W. A. (1985). Friendships and peer culture in the early years. Ablex Publishing.
Corsaro, W. A. (2015). The sociology of childhood (4th ed.). SAGE.
Corsaro, W. A. (2020). Big ideas from little people: What research with children contribute to social psychology. Social Psychology Quarterly. https://doi.org/10.1177/0190272520906412
David, N. N., & Kilderry, A. (2019). Storying un/belonging in early childhood. Global Studies of Childhood, 9(1), 84–95. https://doi.org/10.1177/2043610619832893
Dockett, S., Einarsdóttir, J., & Perry, B. (2012). Young children’s decisions about research participation: Opting out. International Journal of Early Years Education, 3(20), 244–256. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669760.2012.715405
Dockett, S., Einarsdóttir, J., & Perry, B. (2017). Photo elicitation: Reflecting on multiple sites of meaning. International Journal of Early Years Education, 25(3), 225–240. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669760.2017.1329713
Dusi, P., Steinbach, M., & Falcon, I. G. (2014). Intergration in Italian primary schools: Immigrant children’s voices. The European Journal of Social and Behavioural Sciences. https://doi.org/10.15405/ejsbs.123
Dyson, A. H. (2019). Childhood cultures: Ethnography upside down. In N. Kucirkova, J. Rowsell, & G. Fallon (Eds.), The Routledge international handbook of learning with technology in early childhood (pp. 74–87). Routledge.
Einarsdóttir, J., & Egilsson, S. (2016). Embracing diversity in childhood studies: Methodological and practical considerations. In A. Farrell & I. P. Samuelsson (Eds.), Diversity: Intercultural learning and teaching in the early years (pp. 35–53). Oxford University Press.
Einarsdottir, J., & Ólafsdóttir, S. M. (2020). Children’s perspectives on belonging in Icelandic preschools. In J. Murray, B. B. Swadener, & K. Smith (Eds.), The Routledge international handbook of young children’s rights (pp. 343–446). Routledge.
Graham, A., & Powell, M. A. (2015). Ethical research involving children: Encouraging reflexive engagement in research with children and young people. Children and Society, 29, 331–343. https://doi.org/10.1111/chso.12089
Guo, K., & Dalli, C. (2016). Belonging as a force of agency: An exploration of immigrant children’s everyday life in early childhood settings. Global Studies of Childhood, 6(1), 254–267. https://doi.org/10.1177/2043610616665036
Hilppö, J., Lipponen, L., Kumpulainen, K., & Rajala, A. (2017). Visual tools as mediational means: A methodological investigation. Journal of Early Childhood Research, 15(4), 359–373. https://doi.org/10.1177/1476718X15617795
Juutinen, J. (2018). Inside or outside? Small stories about the politcs of belonging in preschool. University of Oulu.
Kalkman, K., & Clark, A. (2017). Here we like playing princesses - newcomer migrant children’s transitions within day care: exploring role play as an indication of suitability and homw belonging. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 25(2), 292–304. https://doi.org/10.1080/1350293X.2017.1288020
Kultti, A., Pramling, N., & Pramling Samuelsson, I. (2017). Young children's participation in a new language context: A synthesising analysis for a holistic perspective. In A. C. Gunn, & C. A. Hruska (eds) Interaction in early childhood education: Recent research and emergent concepts. pp. 55–68. Springer. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-4879-1
Lähdesmäki, T., Saresma, T., Hiltunen, K., Jäntti, S., Sääskilahti, N., Vallius, A., & Ahvenjärvi, K. (2016). Fluidity and flexibility of “belonging”: Uses of the concept in contemporary research. Acta Sociologica, 59(3), 233–247. https://doi.org/10.1177/0001699316633099
Lincoln, Y. S., & Guba, E. G. (1985). Naturalistic Inquiry. Sage.
MacNaugthon, G., Smith, K., & Davis, K. (2007). Researching with children: The challenges and possibilities for building "child friendly" research. In J. A. Hatch, Early childhood qualitative research. p. chapter 10. Routledge.
Ministry of Education Science and Culture. (2011). The Icelandic national curriculum guide for preschools. Retrieved from https://www.government.is/lisalib/getfile.aspx?itemid=3e4939f4-cb84-11e7-9421-005056bc530c
Ólafsdóttir, S. M., Danby, S., Einarsdottir, J., & Theobald, M. (2017). “You need to own cats to be a part of the play”: Icelandic preschool children challenge adult-initiated rules in play. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 25(6), 824–837. https://doi.org/10.1080/1350293X.2017.1380880
Rose, G. (2016). Visual methodologies: An introduction to the researching with visual materials (4th ed.). SAGE.
Statistics Iceland. (2019). https://statice.is
Tisdall, E., & Kay, M. (2012). The challenge and challenging of childhood studies? Learning from disability studies and research with disabled children. Children and Society, 26(3), 173–267.
United Nations. (1989). Convention on the Rights of the Child. Geneva: Office of High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). https ://www.ohchr.org/EN/Profession alInterest/Pages/CRC.aspx.
Vourisala, M., Rutanen, N., & Raittila, R. (2015). Constructing relational space in early childhood education. Early Years: An International Research Journal, 35(1), 67–79. https://doi.org/10.1080/09575146.2014.985289
Zachrisen, B. (2018). Play in an ethnically diverse perschool: Conditions for belonging. In E. Johansson & J. Einarsdottir (Eds.), Values in early childhood education: Citizenship for tomorrow (pp. 132–146). Routledge.
Acknowledgements
The study was funded by: The Icelandic Center for Research, Educational Continuity: Supporting Positive Transition for Children from Diverse Backgrounds (Project nr. 163325-052). It was also supported through the research project, Politics of belonging: Promoting children’s inclusion in educational settings across borders, funded by NordForsk (Project nr: 85644) and the University of Iceland Research Foundation.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ólafsdóttir, S.M., Einarsdóttir, J. Peer Culture in an Icelandic Preschool and the Engagement of Children with Diverse Cultural Backgrounds. IJEC 53, 49–64 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13158-021-00283-x
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13158-021-00283-x