The kindergarten as a space of heterotopia

Abstract

The space of the kindergarten is an integral part of the pre-school education programme, in view of the fact that the manner in which the space is structured and used, also reflects the conceptional fundaments of the programme. In this paper, we have strived to explore the relations of power that shape the physical environment of the kindergarten, being also visible in the structure of the kindergarten and the way its communal spaces (halls and corridors) are used. In our research, we have proceeded from Foucault's concept of heterotopia, in order to gain a profound understanding of the contradictions and the tension existing in the practice of the kindergarten, which are manifested in the space physically. The research was conducted in a public kindergarten in Belgrade, with the participation of a nurse-educator and an expert associate-pedagogue in the process of analyzing the space, which was performed by a walk-along interview tour of the kindergarten. The experience of the participants in the research indicates that heterotopias within the kindergarten emerge from the attempt to transform the practice from the one based on hierarchical relations of power, to a practice based on the sharing of power, as well as highlighting that creating 'other places' in the kindergarten contributes to changing the way the educators, the children, and their families are involved in the utilisation of the communal spaces within the kindergarten. kindergarten space, Michel Foucault, heterotopia, relations of power, walk-along interview.