A trajectory of belonging: negotiating conflict and identity in an early childhood centre

ABSTRACT

Using the concept of a trajectory, we trace one child’s negotiation of his sense of belonging within his early childhood centre through analysing his participation in conflict and conflict-like interactions. Video data were gathered 2 days a week over a 6-month period from the start of his attendance at the centre. Sociolinguistic interactional analysis showed the child’s experience was one of learning and testing the norms and rules of centre life allowing him to negotiate a sense of belonging that straddled the identities of being a helper and eventually a member of the ‘big boys’ group.

KEYWORDS:

• Belonging
• conflict
• early childhood education
• trajectory
• entry into early childhood education
• interactional sociolinguistic analysis

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. Data comes from the project War and peace in the nursery: How do young children negotiate conflict to establish belonging and well-being in a multi-ethnic NZ early childhood centre? (Royal Society of New Zealand, Marsden Fund, 2017–2020, # VUW-1623).

2. All names used are pseudonyms.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Royal Society of New Zealand [Marsden grant 2017-2020].