Exploring the Micro-Social Geography of Children's Interactions in Preschool: A Long-Term Observational Study and Analysis Using Geographic Information Technologies

The authors describe an observational and analytic methodology for recording and interpreting dynamic microprocesses that occur during social interaction, making use of space-time data collection techniques, spatial-statistical analysis, and visualization. The scheme has three investigative foci: Structure, Activity Composition, and Clustering. In each case, these are associated with either acquiring resources or using socioenvironmental features to influence social intercourse. For each point of focus, the authors provide an analytic strategy and demonstration of its usefulness, using data generated from a 2.5-year observational study of young children's play behavior. Each tool, and its associated concepts, is used to illustrate how early socializing behavior is embedded in time and space. The results show that geography is a significant catalyst for social dynamics in young children: It provides the opportunity for novel interpretations of sociality along with a better understanding of the influence that geographical factors (location, space, place, spatial structure, spatial composition, landmarks, site) have on the evolving reciprocal interplay between individuals and groups.