ABSTRACT
This chapter describes elements of PhD research that used a playful after-school club methodology to investigate how reception children’s ideas could be used to problematise narrow conceptualisations of ‘school readiness’. Inspired by the theoretical work of Deleuze and Guattari, the approach fostered the development of affective, creative methods, such as using clay and picture books. Researching in this way respected the children’s interests and allowed for numerous expressions of their voice. Using an after-school club also offered the time and space to ‘slow down’, and thus accommodate better the complexity of researching with young children.
