‘This place does not feel safe’: safe and unsafe spaces in Swedish school-age educare

Abstract

This study explores the occurrence of violence in children’s everyday lives in different places in school and school-age educare. School-age educare is a Swedish institution providing care before and after school. The study is based on interviews, observations, and walk-and-talk sessions with 11 children in a school-age educare institution. A thematic analysis informed by the theoretical concepts of Doreen Massey (space and place) and Johan Galtung (direct, structural, and cultural violence) was conducted. Three themes were developed: spaces of tense waiting; pop-up yard spaces; and ignored spaces in the woods. The results show that physical and psychological violence arises in the schoolyard, gym, and canteen. The staff did not always pay attention to the violence that occurred, and the children found ways to navigate and handle violence by avoiding certain places. They also used relationships with children and adults for their support. This study examines the everyday life in which direct and cultural violence occur.