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Paper short abstract

Based on ethnographic fieldwork, this paper analyzes emotion socialization in a rural East German daycare center, revealing divergences from urban WEIRD norms and practices and underscoring the importance of culturally sensitive pedagogies grounded in local socioeconomic realities.

Paper long abstract

This paper explores how children aged 1-6 years are socialized and educated in a daycare center in the Prignitz, a rural district in the East German state of Brandenburg. Particular attention is given to the socialization of emotion, which is analyzed through two theoretical lenses: the emergence of socioemotional pathways and human bonding. Drawing on six months of ethnographic fieldwork, the study identifies significant divergences between emotion socialization in rural East Germany and the normative ideas and practices prevalent among urban Euro-American middle-classes who are also known as WEIRD people (Henrich et al. 2010).

Adopting an anthropological and developmental perspective, the study highlights how polarized futures are continuously (re)created through micro-interactions within preschool education. Whereas urban middle-class settings prioritize self-esteem as a socializing emotion, emotion socialization in rural East Germany is oriented around pride and shame. Socialization practices in the Prignitz daycare center emphasize group conformity over individual needs and interests, guiding children toward fitting in while reducing educators’ workloads.

The Brandenburg Educational Plan (2024), reflecting urban middle-class lifeworlds, fails to account for rural socioeconomic realities marked by material scarcity and face-to-face solidarity. In many respects, the hegemonic discourse between middle and working classes, between urban centers and their peripheries, and between West and East Germany (or Europe) mirror the dynamics between the Global North and the Global South. For pedagogical guidelines to be meaningful, they must be locally grounded and build on established community values, allowing for multiple, culturally sensitive pedagogies.