Children's exploration of the concepts of home and belonging: Capturing views from five European countries

Maine, F.; Brummernhenrich, B.; Chatzianastasi, M.; Juškienė, V.; Lähdesmäki, T.; Luna, J.; Peck, J.

Abstract

Understanding one's sense of belonging is a central part of identity formation and self-awareness; feeling safe somewhere, with specific people is identified as a basic human need. This paper explores the ideas of children from three age groups in five different European as they discussed the concepts of ‘home’ and ‘belonging’. Findings showed that the children's ideas could be organised into six interrelated aspects: Spatiality, Materiality, Multiplicity, Social Relations, Affect, and Dislocation. Whilst there were differences in the ways that the children conceptualised home across the classes, even the youngest children were able to describe their ideas using metaphors and abstract concepts, and they agreed that a home was more than just a building.