Abstract
This paper offers a practical representation of evolving research within a PhD project, exploring play in a child-centred design process. During a workshop with children aged 6–8, the question "Can I cut the big box?" created a moment of tension that became a site of emerging knowledge. Drawing on abductive reasoning, the paper uses doubt as a generative method to explore uncertainty in fieldwork. Through writing and the notion of emplotment, the concept of Material hierarchies emerges - first grounded in material methods that position materials as active agents, then through the notion of playables - as a lens for reading the discrepancies between children's attitudes toward materials and the imaginative possibilities those materials afford. The paper argues that attending to these contradictions is essential to child-centred research: by holding both perspectives simultaneously, it becomes possible to more honestly represent the complexity of children's perspectives and the now they inhabit.
Keywords
child-centered design, play, material hierarchy, abduction
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2026.996
Citation
Alveniz, C.A. (2026) ‘Can I cut the big box?’: Exploring doubt and material hierarchies in child-centred design, in Simeone, L., Gray, C. M., Verhoeven, A., de Götzen, A., Bakırlıoğlu, Y., Zohar, H., Stead, M., and Buwert, P. (eds.), DRS2026: Edinburgh, 8–12 June, Edinburgh, United Kingdom. https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2026.996
Creative Commons License
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Included in
‘Can I cut the big box?’: Exploring doubt and material hierarchies in child-centred design
This paper offers a practical representation of evolving research within a PhD project, exploring play in a child-centred design process. During a workshop with children aged 6–8, the question "Can I cut the big box?" created a moment of tension that became a site of emerging knowledge. Drawing on abductive reasoning, the paper uses doubt as a generative method to explore uncertainty in fieldwork. Through writing and the notion of emplotment, the concept of Material hierarchies emerges - first grounded in material methods that position materials as active agents, then through the notion of playables - as a lens for reading the discrepancies between children's attitudes toward materials and the imaginative possibilities those materials afford. The paper argues that attending to these contradictions is essential to child-centred research: by holding both perspectives simultaneously, it becomes possible to more honestly represent the complexity of children's perspectives and the now they inhabit.