Children's use of knowledge of place in understanding social relations

The paper explores how children use different types of knowledge of place to make sense of social relations in town. The point of departure is childhood geography, in which the focus is on the construction of childhood through different spaces, places and spatial discourses (Philo 2000, Holloway and Valentine 2000a, Christensen and O’Brien 2003). The concept of emplaced and spatial knowledge is central (2003). The research was carried out with children aged eleven to twelve and the methodology used was place mapping with group interviews. The children were asked to place dots for places they like and avoid/dislike on a map of the town, while asked questions about why they like or dislike them. A significant outcome is that participating children connect emplaced and spatial knowledge in their efforts to understand themselves and others. Their emplaced experiences form their knowledge of the two most disliked and avoided places on the map. Their understanding of the entire neighbourhood where these places are situated and its inhabitants is, however, also influenced by existing place-images. This spatial knowledge affects the children’s interpretation of events they see and are involved in when moving around in the neighbourhood. However, the participating children’s emplaced knowledge sometimes contradicts existing place-images. The results thus shows that children’s perspectives differ, which in turn indicate that childhoods can be experienced, thought of, and lived in many different ways