Digital and Analogue Play : Children’s Interactions Around Popular Culture Artefacts in School-Age Educare

Research topic/aim Popular culture (henceforth: pop culture) is part of children's everyday expressions in creating social relationships. This study focuses on children's interests and needs as the central starting points of school-age educare (SAEC) centres (Skolverket, 2022), allowing the child to share their interests. This article explores children’s use of play activities as boundary objects, and the transmedial boundary work done in Swedish SAEC centres as children bring their experiences of digital media into SAEC. Theoretical framework Previous research indicates the problematic relationship between children’s free time interests and the pedagogical and social mission of the SAEC (see, e.g., Fast, 2007; Sparrman, 2002). Star and Griesemer’s (1989) boundary object concept is utilized here to analyse children’s free time activities as objects that they ‘carry’ from home, and how these objects are negotiated and constructed at the SAEC. Methodological design Through field observations in an SAEC centre in southern Sweden, we collected ethnographic field data, together with two groups of children in Years 2-3, aged 8-9, and their teachers and other personnel. In total, 47 children and 7 staff took part in the study. This case study is ethnographically inspired, and fieldnotes have been used for the collection of data, focusing on interaction between children and staff. Based on a thematic analysis, data has been coded, labeled, categorized and thematized (Braun & Clarke, 2006). Expected conclusions/findings The results demonstrate that children’s digital free-time activities are either ignored, banned, or reconstructed in the SAEC centre as analogue activities, including drawing, dancing, and more. Furthermore, digital activities considered inappropriate due to, e.g., violence or sexual content are ‘cleaned up’ in this process. These results indicate that children’s activities are objects that change to fit within the institutional limitations. Teachers of S