Refusal sequences in kindergarten interaction
| Author: | Karrebaek, Martha |
| Abstract: | |
| This paper presents an analysis of peer group socialization during refusal sequences (RS). As explicit manifestations of disagreement, refusals are dis-preferred responses (Davidson 1984) to a prior turn. Also, they invite a response (Maynard 1985), making RS a tri-partite sequence. Refusals constitute a social practice to be learned, and as they invite a reaction, they put a communicative and social pressure upon a novice. However, as RS are also moments of (re-)creation and negotiation of a group’s social organization (Maynard 1985; Eisenberg & Garvey 1981; Danby & Baker 1998), they constitute an opportunity for the novice to negotiate his social position. Consequently, RS offer insight into some of the aspects of socialization that may not be felicitous, ideal, or easy, and that may even lead to marginalization. This paper builds on a study of peer group socialization by a 3-year old minority kindergartner. Ethnography formed the basis of linguistic and interactional (CA) analysis. In this paper both sequential analyses of his multi-modal and linguistic reactions to refusals and a longitudinal record of the response types are presented. These demonstrate how the focus child used an increasing number of explicit, linguistic, and non-accepting responses. The consequences for his long-term peer socialization are discussed. |
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