Using a mosaic-based approach to construct children’s understanding of safe space in school

Abstract

AimThis participative, creative research aimed to explore the meaning of ‘safe space’ at school, defined as areas which children could access when emotionally dysregulated. This study aimed to answer the research question – how do children and teachers understand the meaning of safe space at school?RationaleSafe space is an overused and conceptually confused term, which has been described as the second-most popular strategy for supporting children’s anxiety in UK schools. However, the scarce research literature documents adult views of the benefits of safe space, with little reference to children’s perceptions.MethodA Mosaic-based approach, which offers child-centred, multi-modal methods for exploring views, was used to enable seven children and their three teachers to construct their understanding of safe space in school. Children designated as users of safe space led the researcher on a school tour and took photos of a puppet in their chosen safe spaces. Teachers participated in a semi-structured interview. Visual data was categorised using content analysis and combined with inductive, reflexive thematic analysis of verbal data to identify themes.FindingsChildren’s multiple, dynamic understandings of safe space generated themes of liberated places, safe bases and belonging, contrasting with teachers’ differing understanding of a static, boundaried, restricted space. The value of psychological safety in school alongside giving children agency to self-regulate according to context and need is emphasised when considering safe space.ImplicationsDiscussing the ‘dilemmas of difference’ regarding teachers’ operationalising of a safe space in school leads to consideration of the potential implications for educational policy and practice. The value of deconstructing dominant adult discourses through visibly listening to children using a humanistic, empowering psychological framework is highlighted.LimitationsChildren’s words, photographs and actions were filtered and interpreted by the researcher which could be conceived as constraining child voice and furthering adult-child power imbalances. The full Mosaic approach where a platform for communication between adults and children is facilitated did not take place due to school closures because of the pandemic.ConclusionsThis research extends, and to a degree challenges previous UK literature which suggests that safe space is a beneficial strategy for managing anxiety, as child participants had a more dynamic and flexible understanding of safe space than their teachers. Concerns were raised about the understanding and awareness teachers have regarding wellbeing interventions and how these have the potential to become stigmatising within a behaviourist-dominated school perspective.