Dokumentationens nötta hörn : Ett agentiskt realistiskt perspektiv på de yngsta barnens delaktighet i förskolans dokumentationspraktiker

Sammanfattning: This study is about 1-3-year-old children and their meeting with the documentation made available to them by preschool teachers. Eight preschool teachers in seven different preschools were interviewed. These interviews were combined with observations of the preschool environments to be able to view the documentation that was made available to the children. In this study we examine what happens in the meeting between children and material objects in documentation practises. We also sought to understand how material objects play a role in children’s participation in documentation practises. In this study we therefore use Karen Barads (2007) theory of agential realism to analyse the relationship between humans and the material environment. Basing the analysis on agential realism by viewing material objects as active agents instead of passive, we were able to gain insight into how photographs of children taking part in earlier activities or pictures of insects played a part in the activities and negotiations around the documentation. The youngest children’s handling of the documentation made available to them did not always coincide with the expectations of the preschool teachers. The documentations hanging on the wall would be worn out or taken down by the youngest children. Understanding the potential meaning behind the worn-out corners was made possible by using an agential realist approach where the child is seen as entangled in a constant intra-action with the human and non-human environment. We found that an agential realist approach has the potential to contribute to a versatile understanding of documentation practices with preschools youngest children.