ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the link between the development of a rudimentary concept of spatial organization, a sense of self, and the concepts of personal space, territoriality and privacy in the preschool child, and presents realistic provisions for privacy in the design of day-care centres. It presents the experiments which point to the existence of a concept of personal space at the preschool level and those which help to chart the growth and development of the concept of personal space in preschool children. The chapter indicates that personal space and territorial behaviour are part of the repertoire of behaviours of preschoolers. As personal space and territoriality operate as mechanisms in the control of self/other boundaries and interpersonal interactions, both may be viewed as regulators of privacy. Privacy is seen as performing the following functions for adults: personal autonomy; emotional release; and self-evaluation. In the child's development, privacy aids in the development of personal autonomy; information processing; emotional release; self-evaluation; and self-identity.
