Stop and Freeze: The Negotiation of Social and Physical Space in a Kindergarten/First Grade Classroom¹

Abstract

Going to school involves more than the mastery of academic content. Children learn as well to become socially competent members of the classroom community. Classroom interaction is a social activity comprised of the verbal and nonverbal behaviors which students and teachers manifest and interpret in face‐to‐face encounters. This study uses microethnographic techniques to discover and describe important aspects of the social competence acquired by children in a kindergarten/first grade classroom. ETHNOGRAPHY OF CLASSROOM INTERACTION, ACQUISITION OF SOCIAL COMPETENCE, KINDERGARTEN/FIRST GRADE CHILDREN, FACE‐TO‐FACE INTERACTION.