Young children’s communication and expression of values during play sessions in preschool

Abstract

The article explores how young children between one and three years old communicate and prioritise values in order to create and be a part of a community during play sessions in an Icelandic preschool. Furthermore, it aims to investigate the value conflicts that might occur and how the children resolve such conflicts. The study adopts the phenomenological approach of Merleau-Ponty emphasising human bodily existence. Data consist mainly of video recordings. The findings show three main categories that illustrate the values that the children prioritised and found meaningful to their interaction in their play: the value of ownership of toys, the value of others’ well-being and the value of belonging to the community. The values could also be in opposition to values that were either prioritised within the group of children or emphasised by the educators. The study implies that play situations are a valuable arena for children’s learning of values. The value conflicts appeared to be especially important, including children’s confrontations with each other’s perspectives and requiring the children to clarify their views. Thus, children’s positions and possibilities within the group became visible and influenced the resolution of the conflicts.

Keywords:

• preschool
• lived values
• young children
• play