Is Interpersonal Power Exercised in Groups of Early School Children in the Classroom Context?

Research has shown that peer relations are important to children's long‐term adjustment (Bagwell, Newcomb and Bukowski, 1998; Ollendick, Weist, Borden and Green, 1992). Children are increasingly spending time in settings with peers, for example, long‐day care, out‐of‐school‐hours care and occasional care, as well as preschools and junior primary schools. Existing frameworks for understanding peer relations include ethological, critical and sociometric approaches. All share a common, and as yet unrecognised element, that of interpersonal power. In this paper it is argued that research into the power relations between young children has the potential to provide new insight into children's relations with their peers. It is argued that without such insight, understanding of those relations can only be partial. Seven key themes for the analysis of interpersonal power in children's peer relations from a previous study are discussed and recommendations made about how the study of young children's relations with their peers might be conducted.