This research project approached one to three-year-old children’s everyday life and well-being from a multidisciplinary perspective (childhood geographies, sociological childhood studies, and developmental psychology). The main objective of the project was to address the dynamic interplay in between the culturally constructed meanings, ideals and expectations of (good) toddlerhood, the local level of practices, and the toddlers’ construction of places (lived-through-experiences). The project was based on a qualitative case study approach. In addition to analysis of Finnish curricula and guiding documents for ECEC, the project included ethnographic fieldwork in one daycare centre. The questions were: how are (good) toddlerhoods and the 'best interest of the child' narrated and materialized in everyday practices, and how do toddlers engage in construction of lived spaces (places)? In addition, with a comparative qualitative data from Brazil, two different cases were investigated to interpret how the commitment to the 'best interest of the child' was translated into local, culturally diverse practices in child care institutions.

Team

Professor Katia de Souza Amorim and research group CINDEDI (Centro de Investigação sobre Desenvolvimento e Educação Infantil); Elisa Tanner; Kaisa-Reeta Laitila; Sirja Hannula; Salla Jokinen