'The funeral': a study of children's shared meaning-making and its developmental significance

This article argues the need to examine communication in joint play situations rather than individual assessments in solitary play situations when children's development is focused. Informed by Bakhtin's dialogical and Moscovici's interactionist perspectives, observations were made of the interaction between two girls, aged 31/2 and 4, playing at holding a funeral ceremony, in the setting of a Swedish pre-school. The analysis shows that new knowledge occurred through negotiations of appropriate actions in play. The children's interactions resulted in shared meaning-making of the funeral as a ritual of revival.