Abstract
The main research question in this article is directed to how children use symbols to build up metaphors and through these metaphors express their messages about their culture and everyday life. In the article, I describe how a child, Oskar, takes hold of the power to be the one defining children’s own lives by challenging adult’s prejudices towards children’s computer activities. He does so by making use of metaphors in his digital story. Metaphors are discussed as expressions for discourse and as a way of creating prerequisites of understanding and intersubjectivity. Questions about the making of meaning and identity are also highlighted. Finally, in concert with Mikhail Bakhtin and Paul Ricoeur, the potential of change promoted by understanding and sudden insight as a result of interpretations of metaphors is argued for.
Résumé
Dans cet article, je décris comment un enfant, Oskar, prend possession du pouvoir d’être celui qui définit sa propre vie d’enfant en remettant en cause les préjugés de l’adulte envers les activités informatiques des enfants. Il le fait en utilisant des métaphores dans son histoire informatisée. Les métaphores sont présentées comme des expressions du discours et comme un moyen de mettre en place les préalables à la compréhension et à l’intersubjectivité. Finalement, de concert avec Mikhail Bakhtin et Paul Ricœur, le potentiel de changement porté par la compréhension et l’aperçu soudain résultant de l’interprétation des métaphores est soutenu en argumentaire.
Resumen
En este artículo describe cómo Oskar, se toma el poder para ser uno de los niños que define su propia vida, a través del cambio de los prejuicios de los adultos respecto de las habilidades computacionales de los niños/as. Él logra esto haciendo uso de metáforas en una historia digital. Las metáforas son discutidas como expresiones para el discurso y como una forma para crear los pre requisitos para la comprensión y la inter subjetividad. Finalmente, en acuerdo con Mikhail Bakhtin y Paul Ricoeur el potencial para el cambio producida por la comprensión y visión repentina que otorga la interpretación de las metáforas, es discutida.
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Notes
In Sweden, the educational setting for schoolaged children between 6- and 9-years old comprise both school- and educare activities. Educare activities have similarities with the activity in after-school clubs and leisure-time centres, but there are also differences. The educare activity have goals directed towards children’s meaning-making processes and children’s rights and is staffed by pedagogues with three and a half-years university-based teacher-education degree.
Klerfelt (2006).
Of respect to Oskar’s own voice, I have chosen to reproduce his words exactly. A native English might have written ‘…ever after’. in the end of a story instead of ‘the rest of your days’, but this is Oskar’s story.
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Acknowledgments
This article is a reanalysis of a part of my thesis (Klerfelt 2006, 2007) and I am grateful for the support I have received from LinCS—Learning, Interaction and Mediated Communication in Contemporary Society—a national centre of excellence at the University of Gothenburg. The pictures have earlier been published in Klerfelt (2006) (http://chd.sagepub.com/content/13/2/175.full.pdf+html). I thank Sage Publications for the permission to re-publish the pictures in this article.
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Klerfelt, A. Out on the Net: into the Web. IJEC 44, 157–169 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13158-012-0062-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13158-012-0062-1