To Örebro University

This thesis focuses on physical touch as a pedagogical action in the interplay between male preschool teachers and children in preschool. Previous research shows preschool teachers consider touch an essential resource when supporting children’s care, learning, and development. Touch has also been subject to surveillance due to a discourse on children’s protection and the adoption of policies towards children’s rights to bodily integrity. Men, as a minority group working in a female-dominated preschool, express that they are extra careful when involved in touch situations with children to avoid possible suspicions that may arise. Against this background, the thesis aims to gain knowledge about touch as a pedagogical action for male preschool teachers and children, focusing on its functions, usage, and contextual conditions.

The study draws upon John Dewey’s pragmatism from a transactional perspective by examining different types of touch as pedagogical action. Fieldwork with participant observation has been conducted in three Swedish preschool classes with 45 children and three male preschool teachers. The findings present five types of touch as pedagogical action according to their functions: focus-oriented action, guiding action, assisting action, affectionate action, and playful action. Touch is used in different forms and is shaped by contextual conditions such as pedagogical situations, unexpected events, male preschool teachers’ and children’s initiative, children’s communication needs, and children’s age. These findings suggest that touch can support children’s meaning-making, participation, and caring relations with their teachers during several situations. Touch, understood as a pedagogical action, also contributes to strengthening male preschool teachers’ professional practice.