Abstract

This paper explores the dynamics of space in Early Childhood Education (ECE). In particular, the manner in which space affects teaching and learning practices in Foundation Phase classrooms is discussed, with a focus on teachers’ perceptions from within a particular context. Regarding the manner in which space enhances or constrains teaching and learning, this paper examines the way in which teachers utilize the available space for effective teaching and learning in their classrooms. This study is underpinned by Lefebvre’s social construction of space in order to understand how teaching and learning becomes meaningful in ECE spaces, with an understanding that space is a socially constructed interrelationship between teachers and learners. Data was collected from four teachers in one primary school; semi-structured interviews and classroom observations were conducted. The findings reveal that space constrained teaching and learning activities at the selected school, and that teachers adopted their own coping strategies to ensure that teaching and learning took place despite the constraints being experienced.