<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>In this article, we endeavour to think spatially about the texture of infants’ everyday lives and their ways of ‘doing’ belonging in the babies’ room in an Australian early childhood education and care centre. Drawing on data from a large, multiple case-study project, and on theorisations of space that reject Euclidean notions of space as empty, transparent, relatively inert containers into which people, objects practices and artefacts are inserted, and instead emphasise space as complex, dynamic and relational, we map the navigating movements (<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="j_jped-2018-0006_ref_018_w2aab3b7b6b1b6b1ab1ac18Aa">Massumi, 2002</xref>) of baby Nadia. Through the telling of ‘stories-so-far’ (<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="j_jped-2018-0006_ref_017_w2aab3b7b6b1b6b1ab1ac17Aa">Massey, 2005</xref>), we convey how Nadia, as part of a constellation or assemblage of human and non-human beings, found ways to intensify space and to mobilise new vantage points, thus expanding the spatial possibilities of what we initially took to be a particularly confined and confining space.</p></abstract>

In this article, we endeavour to think spatially about the texture of infants’ everyday lives and their ways of ‘doing’ belonging in the babies’ room in an Australian early childhood education and care centre. Drawing on data from a large, multiple case-study project, and on theorisations of space that reject Euclidean notions of space as empty, transparent, relatively inert containers into which people, objects practices and artefacts are inserted, and instead emphasise space as complex, dynamic and relational, we map the navigating movements (Massumi, 2002) of baby Nadia. Through the telling of ‘stories-so-far’ (Massey, 2005), we convey how Nadia, as part of a constellation or assemblage of human and non-human beings, found ways to intensify space and to mobilise new vantage points, thus expanding the spatial possibilities of what we initially took to be a particularly confined and confining space.

Spatial perspectives on babies’ ways of belonging in infant early childhood education and care

Journal of Pedagogy

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

In this article, we endeavour to think spatially about the texture of infants’ everyday lives and their ways of ‘doing’ belonging in the babies’ room in an...

Spatial perspectives on babies’ ways of belonging in infant early childhood education and care

Published Online: Jul 31, 2018

Page range: 109 - 131

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/jped-2018-0006

Keywords
early childhood education and care, belonging, infants, babies, space

© 2018 Jennifer Sumsion et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Spatial perspectives on babies’ ways of belonging in infant early childhood education and care

Published Online: Jul 31, 2018

Page range: 109 - 131

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/jped-2018-0006

Keywordsearly childhood education and care, belonging, infants, babies, space

© 2018 Jennifer Sumsion et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Keywords
early childhood education and care, belonging, infants, babies, space