Aesthetics, Materiality and Spaces as Mediators in Children’s Learning Processes

• Play, creative activities and the use of fantasy is core activities in children’s development (Vygotskij, 1930/1995) and are considered to be dimensions of learning in educational framework of early childhood education (SOU1992:94). Vygotskijs addition of a cultural factor to the view of cognitive development was based on the notion of social interaction and use of different kind of intellectual tools (as spoken and written language)(Vygotsky, 1978; Säljö, 2010). The social context and culture that the child grows up in provide different symbolic tools and sign-systems for this development. Aesthetic activities adherently offer promotion of children’s intellect and cognitive development through use of cultural tools. Aesthetics has been described as search for equilibrium, a harmonizing (cathartic) quality in development but also to have an organizing function in cognition and meaning-making (Lindqvist, 1999; Lim, 2004, Karlsson Häikiö, 2012; 2014). Through the symbolic function meaning-bearing objects integrated into the child's understanding realm becomes the symbol of all the same or similar items (Vygotsky, 1978). Therefore a multiplicity of different materials, situations, pedagogical settings constitute the learning space, spaces for meaning-making, spaces as offerances for exploration (Qvarsell, 2012). Through materials and situations children develop their basic understanding of space, shape, position and orientation and conception of numbers, order and measurement, time and change (Karlsson Häikiö, 2014). In these processes materiality constitute and intra-act with the child (Barad, 2003; Lenz Taguchi, 2012). Through documentation and micro-analyses small shifts in the learning process can be observed and this micro-genetic learning builds for major changes over time (Rogoff, 1999).

Subject headings

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Utbildningsvetenskap (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Educational Sciences (hsv//eng)

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Annan samhällsvetenskap -- Övrig annan samhällsvetenskap (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Other Social Sciences -- Other Social Sciences not elsewhere specified (hsv//eng)

Publication and Content Type

vet (subject category)

kon (subject category)