Rytme, dynamikk, rom og relasjoner i barns egeninitierte estetiske uttrykk : en mikroetnografisk studie av barn i alderen 1-3 år i barnehage

Master i barnehagepedagogikk ; This thesis focuses on children’s self made aesthetic practise in the daily life of kindergartens. Do children aged 1-3 years old express themselves aesthetically, and if so, how will this appear in the kindergartens daily life? This study has a micro-ethnographic approach and witch also consist video observation. The study has been done in a Norwegian kindergarten on 12 children aged 1-3 years with focus on their physical and oral expressions. The aesthetic approach in this study emerges from my background as a professional drummer and musician. This background influences all parts of the thesis and has therefore been of importance for the contents and focus in the study. The approach in the thesis is inspired by post-modern perspectives. I choose not to follow modernisms understanding and will not apply for universal truth and neither does this thesis. Childhood and children’s culture are approved as important, and the multiple children are seen and respected as equal human beings. The different aesthetic expressions of children in this thesis, are all understood as a child cultural expression. A limitation for the research is a division of children’s culture in to three categories; aesthetics for, with and from children (Mouritsen, 1996). In the Norwegian kindergartens daily life, and in the framework for the kindergartens contents and duty Rammeplanen for barnehager (2006), the cultural and aesthetics focus of children is pointed out, but mostly what’s made for and with children. Lack of research and knowledge about how young children express them selves aesthetically, brings the focus elsewhere. This thesis focuses on the importance of the cultural expressions produced from children themselves, and how important these expressions are important in children’s daily life. The main themes discussed in this thesis’ theory and analysis is aspects consisting of: aesthetics, language, relations, children’s and kindergartens time and space, rhythm and dynamics. Trough the ethnographic study of the children and further with the analysis of the five episodes from my audiovisual data material, the self made aesthetic expressions of children appeared. The “findings” from the five different episodes have some resemblance and sorts out in five points of interest: - The study tells us that children’s physical and oral aesthetic expressions are complex and advanced both dynamic and rhythmic. - The aesthetic expressions often develops in a relation, either between child-child, child - object or child-object-child. - The aesthetic expressions are formed and developed in different relations based on the individual subjective child and his/her experiences. - In resemblance to improvisation, it seems that children often develop their aesthetic expressions in a spontaneous process with other human beings and the surrounding context. - It points out form this study that children’s self produced aesthetic expressions is used by children as a kind of language to communicate with.