Fostering Agency Through Verbal Cuing During Risky Play With Two and Three Year Olds

• In Event: Crown Plaza Roundtable Session 8
  In Roundtable Session: Social and Emotional Teaching and Learning

Abstract

The United States has become increasingly wary of allowing young children (0-3) to engage in play that might result in physical injury, creating an environment that seeks to limit children’s engagements with risk. In doing so, young children are subjected to high levels of surveillance and restricted movements in the name of safety. This exploratory case study explores how one teacher provides opportunities for two year olds to engage in risky play (Sandseter, 2009; Armitage, 2011) in a university based child care center. Findings demonstrate the ways verbal cues (alerting, questioning, instructive, and boundary creating) are used to foster agency in the children’s risky play.

Author

• Amanda Reeves Fellner, Teachers College, Columbia University