This study explores children's peer touch in a Swedish preschool using video observations. Two main aspects of children's touch in focus: (1) to what extent do children use touch within the peer group and with whom and (2) in what ways do children touch each other (i.e. what touch forms are used and what areas of other children's bodies are…

Haptics in the sense of active touch, as well as internally felt bodily sensations, add an important dimension to learning sessions at historical sites. Drawing on observations of primary school pupils visiting historical sites in Sweden, and interviews with pupils, teachers, and site educators following the visits, this study investigates in…

Research within the field of intergenerational touch has shown that there is a tension between the need to use physical contact as an obvious pedagogical tool, and the no-touch discourse. Within this tension physical contact between physical education teachers and students has also been shown to be a gender/ed issue with heteronormative points of…

Relational care, interpersonal intimacy and emotional attunement are crucial for children's development and wellbeing in ECEC. The present study examines how they are enacted in a Swedish preschool (for 1-5-year-olds) through recurrent adult-child physical conduct, i.e. affectionate and affectionate-controlling touch. The data consist of 24 hours…

The present study examines adult-child touch and its functions in a Swedish preschool (for 1 to 5-year-old children). The data are naturalistic observations and video-recorded data of everyday preschool activities. The study describes the frequently occurring functions of educators' haptic conduct (control, affectionate, affectionate-control,…