How the Classroom Schools: Uneven Access to the Profits of Space in One Kindergarten

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 31
  In Roundtable Session: In-Between Space: Teaching and Learning at the Intersections of Race, Space, and Time

Abstract

Considering space as relational and socially constructed (Massey, 2005) this paper presents a case of how physical and material anchors within a kindergarten impacted kids’ socialization and access to learning opportunities. Via kid-created maps and child-led video tours, kindergarteners revealed how they made sense of the opportunities afforded through the built environment. Findings indicated distinct zones existed for work, learning, privacy and play. Access to resources, respite, and other opportunities within the classroom (via mobility) intersected with kids’ perceived smartness, agency, and alignment with teacher norms. The “powerful social advantage through the command over place and/or place plus mobility” (Mace, 2017) some kids possessed resulted in uneven distribution of access to the profits of space in their kindergarten classroom.

Author

• Meredith Devennie