Children’s role in organising materials in the classroom space

Research shows that teachers have the main role in organising early childhood classrooms. Little is known whether children are involved or have a role in organising the materials in preparation for teaching and learning in the kindergarten classroom space. From the limited research it is unknown the types of roles children are able to have that facilitate children’s right to be heard and taken seriously on matters that affect them. Such matters as, how the classroom is organised, has an effect on children’s behaviour and sense of belonging in the early childhood classroom. The research reported in this paper takes a sociomaterial theoretical stance that examines how the play equipment, educational resources and materials in the classroom space, along with the children and adults influence or limit opportunities for children to organise the kindergarten classroom. The paper is interested in hearing how children describe their role and the role of others, human and non-human material of the process of organising the kindergarten classroom. Children’s much needed insights were considered using a participatory methodology and design that had the researcher view children as competent to interpret their world and; had children work with the researcher to support their voice and participation in the study. Children worked with the researcher by firstly conducting child-led tours where children were asked to take the researcher around the classroom showing the researcher where they put things. The children walked the researcher around the classroom, talking while video recording and taking screenshot photographs on a tablet device. The same children were later involved in video-stimulated recall interviews with the researcher where they were given the opportunity to discuss the child-led tour video-recordings and screenshot photographs that were produced. Photographs were also captured of the indoor kindergarten classroom. These methods aimed to work with children when collecting data rather than using methods such as, ...