tandfonline.com – Too much, too little: preschool teachers’ perceptions of the boundaries of adequate touching

ABSTRACT

In the present study we focus on physical touch that is judged to be just outside what is considered to be ‘normal’. We explore how preschool teachers describe and explain situations where educators give children too much or too little touching. Semi-structured interviews have been conducted with 30 qualified preschool teachers working in Swedish preschools. When the informants talk about situations where educators give children too much touching, the descriptions involve a behaviour that does not lie within the preschool mission, teachers who do not set boundaries, and actions that have disadvantages for the children. On the other hand, situations where educators give children too little touching are described solely with reference to the teacher and that person’s fear or cold personality. The results have been interpreted in relation to the discourse of preschool professionalisation and Hochschild’s theory of emotional labour.