TY - JOUR
T1 - Wrapped up in covers
T2 - preschoolers' secrets and secret hiding places
AU - Corson, Kimberly
AU - Colwell, Malinda J.
AU - Bell, Nancy J.
AU - Trejos-Castillo, Elizabeth
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2014, Taylor & Francis.
PY - 2014/12/15
Y1 - 2014/12/15
N2 - In this qualitative study, interviews about children's secret hiding places were conducted with 3–5-year-olds (n = 17) in a university sponsored preschool programme using art narratives. Since prior studies indicate that children understand the concept of a secret as early as five and that they associate secrets with hiding places, the purpose of this study was to look specifically at preschool children's experiences within their secret spaces. Analyses using interpretive phenomenology indicated that preschool children view secret hiding places with a sense of complexity, and they reserve certain areas as off limits to everyone, even in terms of the knowledge that these places exist. Consistent with a sociocultural framework, hiding places appear to serve individual, relational, and collaborative purposes, and children show heightened agency when deciding the function of a particular place. Children also relate secrets with secret hiding places and describe both with excitement, imagination, and intimacy. Finally, children's conceptualisations of secret hiding places are discussed in relation to the sociocultural perspective and the implications for children's social and emotional development.
AB - In this qualitative study, interviews about children's secret hiding places were conducted with 3–5-year-olds (n = 17) in a university sponsored preschool programme using art narratives. Since prior studies indicate that children understand the concept of a secret as early as five and that they associate secrets with hiding places, the purpose of this study was to look specifically at preschool children's experiences within their secret spaces. Analyses using interpretive phenomenology indicated that preschool children view secret hiding places with a sense of complexity, and they reserve certain areas as off limits to everyone, even in terms of the knowledge that these places exist. Consistent with a sociocultural framework, hiding places appear to serve individual, relational, and collaborative purposes, and children show heightened agency when deciding the function of a particular place. Children also relate secrets with secret hiding places and describe both with excitement, imagination, and intimacy. Finally, children's conceptualisations of secret hiding places are discussed in relation to the sociocultural perspective and the implications for children's social and emotional development.
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U2 - 10.1080/03004430.2013.876627
DO - 10.1080/03004430.2013.876627
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84912025635
SN - 0300-4430
VL - 184
SP - 1769
EP - 1786
JO - Early Child Development and Care
JF - Early Child Development and Care
IS - 12
ER -