Dramatisering i spänningsfältet mellan som om och som är och sexåringars meningsskapande av kemiska begrepp och processer

In this study, we discuss dramatizing as a form of play-responsive teaching in early childhood education. Based on empirical observation, the purpose of the study is to contribute to knowledge-building through offering possibilities for children to make sense of scientific knowledge by engaging in mutual fantasizing about certain fundamental processes and concepts in chemistry. The empirical foundation consists of interviews conducted with eleven 6-year-old children after they had participated in a workshop at a culture center for children where they dramatized certain chemistry concepts and processes. Theoretically, dramatizing is understood as role play in an imaginary dimension (as if) and learning is conceptualized in terms of the appropriation of cultural tools and practices. Based on our analysis, we argue that central to dramatizing (and in general, play-responsive teaching) is how participants distinguish, relate and shift between engaging with the phenomena and the processes of as if and as is.