Primary schoolboys’ embodied relationships in the classroom

Supporting, nudging, wrestling and grooming as haptic sociality

Authors

  • Julia Katila Tampere University
  • Kreeta Niemi University of Jyväskylä

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1558/rcsi.22540

Keywords:

touch, classroom interaction, affect, embodied interaction, haptic sociality, social relationships, open learning environment, video analysis

Abstract

Interpersonal touch is crucial for establishing interpersonal bonds. Drawing on the framework of haptic sociality, this study explores the interactional emergence of embodied relationships among second-grade schoolboys as part of ongoing classroom activity. Focussing on forms of body-to-body behaviour that occur during classroom activities, we describe four different types of touch occurring between the boys – supporting, nudging, wrestling and grooming – and how they are collaboratively accomplished, how they change from one type to another, and how they are deployed as embodied negotiation withing a continuously unfolding embodied relationship. Complementing previous studies on embodied relationships among schoolgirls, our study focuses on the haptic social life of schoolboys.

Author Biographies

  • Julia Katila, Tampere University

    Julia Katila is a postdoctoral researcher from the Faculty of Social Sciences, Tampere University. Her research interests include the study of affect, touch, and other forms of intercorporeal sociality in naturally occurring interactions. Her current research considers touch and affective practices among romantic couples and embodied interaction in health care settings.

  • Kreeta Niemi, University of Jyväskylä

    Kreeta Niemi works as a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Teacher Education in University of Jyväskylä. Her current interest is how recent changes in pedagogy and learning spaces are being enacted in everyday classroom interaction. She uses ethnomethodology, multimodal conversation analysis and Goffman’s concepts to investigate social organisation and learning interaction practices as well as the role of space, embodied interaction and material ecology in classrooms.

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Published

2022-10-05

How to Cite

Katila, J., & Niemi, K. (2022). Primary schoolboys’ embodied relationships in the classroom: Supporting, nudging, wrestling and grooming as haptic sociality. Research on Children and Social Interaction, 6(1), 82–107. https://doi.org/10.1558/rcsi.22540