A Photo Essay Study on Matter~Meaning of Play Materials in the Field of Early Childhood Education

This study aimed to explore the matter~meaning of play materials that exist in in the field of early childhood education. Through photo essay exploration, we attempted to reveal the agential cut of the teacher pressing the ‘shutter’ of the camera, alongside the material agency of the photo itself. Data were collected from photo essays, researcher journals, documents, and other materials from the 4-year-old N class at Public M Kindergarten in City B. Data were analyzed through the process of selecting photos, contextualizing, and categorizing. As a result of the study, the matter~meaning of play materials in the early childhood education field was found to include ‘play materials that traverse familiarity and unfamiliarity, play materials that are constantly created and lead to change, and play materials that are intertwined in the field of learning.’ Through this study, teachers need to perceive play materials as living and created materials, facilitate encounters with various play materials, and understand the learning that occurs in the entanglement with play materials, thereby leading to the implementation of the curriculum. Furthermore, it is expected that the actions of early childhood teachers who think and reflect with play materials in entangled relationships can open up new possibilities of teacher pedagogy oriented toward practice.