Prior research has shown that touch has an important role in preschools. However, less is known about early childhood educators’ views on touch in their work. Hence, we ask what different views of touch early childhood educators narrate as a part of their work. The research material consists of three multiprofessional group discussions with educators working in Finnish preschools.
The findings show how educators balanced between different views of touch. Occasionally they spoke from personal points of view: touch is intimate while an important part of their work. However, educators also spoke from professional and practical points of view:
circumstances and practices influence touch, and they must tolerate touch because of the nature of their work. Additionally, educators spoke about how culture, rules, habits, and other people affect touch. The study suggests that practices of touch must be intertwined with tactful practice and treated as a multisided phenomenon in education.
In educational research, touch is often seen as a natural part of educators’ work, especially in early childhood education, where children are taken care of and nurtured via touch (Cekaite & Bergnehr, 2018; Keränen et al., 2017). Manning (2007) points out that touch is appreciated as a way of creating relations and that touch touches deeper than just one’s skin, which is why it should be done with thought and respect,
also in the relations between children and adults. Simultaneously, prior research has described touch as a contested matter in education. Educators may decide to avoid touching children for fear of being misinterpreted (Andrzejewski & Davis, 2008). In addition, research has acknowledged various rules and guidelines about the “right kind” of touch or whether touch in certain educational contexts is appropriate
(Andrzejewski & Davis, 2008; Manos, 2007). For example, there seems to be an unwritten rule that kissing a child, as one form of touch, is forbidden in education (Piper & Smith, 2003). These practices, rules, and guidelines related to touch reveal its contradictory nature in educators’ work: Touch is simultaneously something to value and something to avoid.
