Bodies and emotions in movement – how emotions affect movement opportunities of preschool children aged 1–3

Emotions play a central role in education. Investigating emotions in different educational contexts can contribute to a holistic understanding of how teaching and learning take place. This paper explores how emotions shape opportunities for movement in preschool. In this study, emotions are understood as emerging through the interplay between body, language, situations and relationships rather than existing solely within the individual. Ethnographic fieldwork was conducted at one preschool department for children aged 1–3 in Sweden. Data included film, photos, fieldnotes and planning documents. The study draws on theoretical perspectives on emotions and affects to analyze how emotions operate between staff, children and the material environment. The results suggest that emotions are shaped by previous experiences, relationships and the current context, and in turn shape opportunities for movement. These findings indicate that emotions do not merely emerge for staff and children individually but occur relationally in everyday interactions. From this perspective, emotions can be seen as a communicative resource, a process taking place between staff and children as they move and are moved.