Abstract

There has been a growing awareness of the contribution of aesthetics to the pedagogical experience of young children. Aesthetics along with classroom design and curriculum generates implicit and explicit messages that impact and inform the pedagogical process. While discrete elements of classroom design can be defined and taught to early childhood educators, the aesthetic element is less accessible as a point of entry, particularly in relation to how the classroom and curriculum are activated, engaged with and embodied. Given the transformative nature of classroom spaces, it may be better to describe classrooms as holding an aesthetic that is determined and defined by those who occupy and participate in the space at any particular time. The following article will discuss ways that we might begin to articulate and apply an aesthetic lens to early learning classrooms using an arts-informed framework to critique play-based classroom space purposed for children’s exploration and inquiry.

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