Bakhtinian Analysis of Social Engagement at Preschool Clean-up Time: Carnival for Engaging Everyone

Abstract

Drawing on an ethnographic study of two immigrant children’s first year experiences at U. S. preschools, this paper reports the children’s social engagement through clean-up time. Data were collected and analyzed through participant observations and video-cued interviews. Framed by research of peer culture in preschool and Bakhtin’s concept of carnival, I examine differences between playtime and clean-up time that resulted in the two children’s different degrees of social engagement at each time. Findings show that the carnivalistic mode of clean-up time allows the children to be free from the social order at playtime and actively use the time for enriching their social engagement. The findings suggest that educators recognize constraints immigrant children experience from the established order at school and the need to rethink the value of carnivalistic moments such as clean-up time for social engagement of all children.