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RESEARCH PRODUCT
Toddlers as ignorant citizens: An explorative study of conflicts and negotiations involving toys in kindergarten
Dag ØYstein Nomesubject
media_common.quotation_subject05 social sciences050301 educationGender studiesDemocracyEducationNegotiationEthnographyDevelopmental and Educational Psychology0501 psychology and cognitive sciencesSociology0503 educationCitizenship050104 developmental & child psychologymedia_commondescription
This article explores conflicts among toddlers in kindergarten and the impact of toys in these conflicts. The author describes these interactions as part of how children develop and express their citizenship, and argues that staff members should hesitate before interfering with rules in order to prevent such conflicts. This is based on Mouffe’s theory of democracy as agonistic pluralism and the way Biesta argues for the term ‘ignorant citizen’. The child is an ignorant citizen due to their lack of predefined ways to behave when obstructions and agonisms occur during play. Hence, children’s non-verbal negotiations about toys can be interpreted as political experiments.
| year | journal | country | edition | language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-02-24 | Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood |