Material as actor in the enactment of social norms

Engaging with a sociomaterial perspective in childhood studies to avoid the ‘traps of closure’

Bibliographic Data

ID14895615
AuthorsIngvild Kvale Sørenssen (0000-0001-8729-6761, Department of Education and Lifelong Learning Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) Trondheim Norway, corresponding author), Karianne Franck (0000-0002-8053-375X, Queen Maud University College of Early Childhood Education Trondheim Norway)
Year2021
Volume35
Issue5
Pages694-707
Publication date2021-09-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueChildren & Society (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0951-0605 • E-ISSN: 1099-0860
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/chso.12438
OpenAlexW3120040135
LanguageEN
Citations received10
References cited43

This article employs a sociomaterial perspective and explores how material artefacts take part in the enactment of social norms by analysing empirical examples from two different childhood studies projects in Norway. Drawing on interview data with tweens, (children aged 8–12), and observational data from an early education and care institution (ECEC), we argue that material, in this case toys and makeup, make a difference in the enactment of social norms in children's everyday lives. Our aim is to demonstrate the malleability of a sociomaterial perspective and show how this can lead to new insights and open childhood studies as a field

Closure (psychology · Developmental psychology · Early childhood · Early childhood education · Epistemology · Field (mathematics · Institution · Pedagogy · Perspective (graphical · Political science · Social science · Sociology · Children's Rights and Participation · Participatory Visual Research Methods · Posthumanist Ethics and Activism · Psychology

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