Re-Thinking Joy and Young Children’s Literacy Practices Through a Relational Lens
Abstract
This paper investigates the intricate dynamics of joy and literacy practices within the context of early childhood education and care (ECEC) in Finland. By adopting a relational ontology, the research shifts the focus from traditional human-centred approaches to one that considers the agency of both human and more-than-human actors—such as objects, spaces, and materials—in the educational setting.
This conceptual paper is positioned within a postqualitative and non-representational methodological approach. Data are presented as companions for thinking, seeing, and feeling with rather than as representational examples. By thinking with theory and data, the focus is on the relational and material becoming rather than separate pieces of data. This methodological framework enables an exploration of how joy and literacy practices are entangled with the relational, material and affective dimensions within ECEC settings.
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