Children’s belonging constructed through material relations in multicultural early education settings

• Published in: Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research
• Main Authors: Juutinen, Jaana, Ólafsdóttir, Sara Margrét, Einarsdóttir, Johanna
• Other Authors: Faculty of Education and Pedagogy, Education
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 2023
• Subjects: Belonging; Early Childhood Education; Ethnography; Material relations; Research with children; Education; Iceland
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11815/4230; https://doi.org/10.1080/00313831.2023.2196540

Publisher Copyright: © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This study explores how children construct their belonging in culturally diverse early childhood settings in Finland and Iceland. Belonging is understood as a holistic phenomenon that is constructed through various relations. The study is a multiple-case study, influenced by ethnographic approaches, conducted with children in two preschool settings, one in Finland and one in Iceland. The children were invited on walking tours with researchers and tablet computers, and participatory observations were utilised. The findings explore the daily moments in which belonging becomes constructed, involving movements, timing, touch, and play, relationally generated moments between children, and their material relations. Peer reviewed