1. |
- Areljung, Sofie, 1983-, et al.
(author)
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Young children’s learning in physics : A (dis-)trustful play with gravity, friction and counterforces?
- 2023
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In: European Early Childhood Education Research Journal. - : Routledge. - 1350-293X .- 1752-1807. ; 31:4, s. 660-672
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This article seeks to contribute to an early childhood specific conceptualisation of physics education. The article is a collaboration between a researcher in science education and two preschool teachers and revolves around the teachers’ work with 2–4 year old children. Grounded in a posthumanist understanding of the world, we focus on physics learning that emerge in children’s intra-actions with material. In our analysis, we first use ‘physics verbs’ to identify everyday intra-actions where physical phenomena act as ‘playmates’. For instance, the verbs climbing and clinging point at intra-actions where gravity and counterforce act as playmates. Next, we seek to identify signs of children’s physics learning within these intra-actions. Our findings suggest that emergent physics learning can be inferred from changing levels of trust in child-matter intra-actions. For example, children may move from distrustfully clinging onto a railing, towards trustingly pushing and pulling the railing to climb higher. The article provides pioneering conceptual support for researchers and teachers who seek to identify non-verbal signs of physics learning in the everyday life of early childhood settings.
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2. |
- Björklund, Camilla, 1977, et al.
(author)
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Teachers' involvement in children's mathematizing - beyond dichotomization between play and teaching
- 2018
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In: European Early Childhood Education Research Journal. - : Taylor & Francis. - 1350-293X .- 1752-1807. ; 26:4, s. 469-480
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The focus of this article is on mathematics teaching in a play-based and goal-oriented practice, such as preschool, and on how different lines of actions may impact children's learning opportunities. Video recordings of authentic play activities involving children and nine teachers from different preschools were analyzed qualitatively to answer the following research questions: (1) What lines of action do teachers use when they teach mathematics in play? and (2) What implications may different ways of teaching have for children's learning opportunities? The analysis revealed four different categories: confirming direction of interest; providing strategies; situating known concepts; and challenging concept meaning. As these differ regarding both the mathematics content focused on and the kind of knowledge emphasized, they have implications for children's learning opportunities.
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3. |
- Borg, Farhana, Lektor, 1967-, et al.
(author)
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Preschool children's agency in education for sustainability: the case of Sweden
- 2022
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In: European Early Childhood Education Research Journal. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1350-293X .- 1752-1807. ; 30:1, s. 147-163
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Although children's participation and agency are highly prioritized in early childhood education for sustainability, both researchers and educators have paid little attention to this topic. This paper explores how the revised preschool curriculum Lpfo2018 in Sweden addresses education for sustainability (EfS) with regards to children's participation and agency. A sociocultural perspective on agency combined with a holistic view of sustainability was used, while a critical content analysis was conducted to investigate major changes in the curriculum in relation to both EfS and children's participation and agency. Findings show that the curriculum Lpfo2018 has explicitly introduced the concept of sustainability from a holistic perspective, integrating environmental, social, and economic dimensions. Children are recognized as competent beings who can actively participate in and influence their learning. Moreover, the notion of transformative learning has been observed in the curriculum, which emphasizes changes in the ways children think, act, and learn in relation to sustainability.
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4. |
- Broström, Stig, et al.
(author)
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Preschool teachers' view on learning in preschool in Sweden and Denmark
- 2014
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In: European Early Childhood Education Research Journal. - 1350-293X .- 1752-1807. ; 22:5, s. 590-603
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The aim of this study was to examine how preschool teachers in Sweden and Denmark perceive children's learning in preschool. The study aimed to answer the following questions: What is 'learning'? How do children learn? What are the best conditions for children's learning? What is the role of participation in children's learning? The results show that from the teacher's perspectives, children's learning is connected to children's social interaction and development in which the children's initiatives are crucial. Learning, to a great extent, results from children's active involvement. There are many similarities between how Danish and Swedish preschool teachers think of learning and participation. This supports earlier assumption about the coherence of Nordic preschool beliefs which unites education and care.
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5. |
- Castro, Susana, et al.
(author)
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The relationship between classroom quality-related variables and engagement levels in Swedish preschool classrooms : a longitudinal study
- 2017
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In: European Early Childhood Education Research Journal. - : ROUTLEDGE JOURNALS, TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD. - 1350-293X .- 1752-1807. ; 25:1, s. 122-135
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Child engagement has been defined as active participation in classroom routines, appropriate interactions with the environment and it also predicts academic achievement. Therefore, it is necessary to identify predictors of engagement over time. Moreover, cross-cultural data is needed to provide a global picture of the quality of Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) across countries. This study aims to describe the quality of Swedish preschool classrooms and its relationship with students' engagement over time. Data was collected from 165 preschool teachers in 55 preschool units in Sweden. Results show that all classroom-related variables (Emotional Support, Instructional Support and Classroom Organisation) have increased levels over time, while engagement remained stable. Three groups of preschool classroom units were identified with similar patterns of classroom quality over time (higher emotional support and lower instructional practice) and similar differences in level. Emotional Support was found to be the best predictor of student engagement over time.
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6. |
- Cekaite, Asta, et al.
(author)
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Affectionate touch and care: Embodied intimacy, compassion and control in early childhood education
- 2018
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In: European Early Childhood Education Research Journal. - : Taylor & Francis. - 1350-293X .- 1752-1807.
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Relational care, interpersonal intimacy and emotional attunement are crucial for children’s development and wellbeing in ECEC. The present study examines how they are enacted in a Swedish preschool (for 1–5-year-olds) through recurrent adult-child physical conduct, i.e. affectionate and affectionate-controlling touch. The data consist of 24 hours of video-recorded observations of everyday activities. The study shows that educators’ Affectionate-Comforting touch was used for emotion regulation as compassionate response to children’s distress; Amicable touch engaged children in spontaneous affection; and, Affectionate-Controlling touch was used to mildly control and direct the child’s bodily conduct and participation in preschool activities, or to mitigate the educators’ verbal disciplining. The study demonstrates the emotional complexity of ECEC enacted through the practices of haptic sociality. It supports the holistic policies arguing that embodied relational care should be integrated in ECEC, contrary to ideas that connect professionalism with emotional distance and lack of physical contact.
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7. |
- Cobanoglu, Rahime, et al.
(author)
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Sources of teacher beliefs about developmentally appropriate practice: a structural equation model of the role of teacher efficacy beliefs
- 2019
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In: European Early Childhood Education Research Journal. - 1350-293X .- 1752-1807. ; 27:2, s. 195-207
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- © 2019, © 2019 EECERA. The developmentally appropriate practice (DAP) guideline offers professional standards for high quality practice in early childhood education in the United States and abroad. The present study examines how well the three aspects of teacher efficacy beliefs including self-efficacy for teaching, self-efficacy for parent involvement, and general teaching efficacy predict teacher beliefs about DAP as well as developmentally inappropriate practice (DIP) through structural equation modeling. The sample comprised 251 preschool teachers employed in public pre-primary schools in a metropolitan city in Turkey. Results indicated that general teaching efficacy was a significant predictor of teacher beliefs about DAP and DIP. Teacher self-efficacy for parent involvement significantly predicted teacher beliefs about DAP but not DIP. There was not any significant influence of teacher self-efficacy for teaching on teacher beliefs about DAP and DIP. This study overall suggests that teacher efficacy beliefs constitute one of the important sources of teacher beliefs about DAP.
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8. |
- Delacour, Laurence
(author)
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Mathematics and didactic contract in Swedish preschools
- 2016
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In: European Early Childhood Education Research Journal. - : Taylor & Francis. - 1350-293X .- 1752-1807. ; 24:2, s. 215-228
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The purpose of this article is to study and analyse how a teacher implements an outdoor realistic problem situation for children aged 4–5 in a Swedish preschool. By an ‘outdoor realistic problem situation’, I mean a situation initiated by a teacher in which children come into contact with mathematical concepts and in which the outside environment is used to encourage learning. The analysis and interpretation of the data has been influenced by the didactical situation theory and didactic contract is a key concept. The term didactic contract is seen as a metaphor, consequently a broader definition of the didactic contract is used to illustrate how the implicit and the explicit rules of a didactic contract affect the communication of mathematics between a preschool teacher and a children’s group.
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9. |
- Eidevald, Christian, et al.
(author)
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Maneuvering suspicions of being a potential pedophile : experiences of male ECEC-workers in Sweden
- 2018
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In: European Early Childhood Education Research Journal. - 1350-293X .- 1752-1807. ; 26:3, s. 407-417
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Previous research has described a discourse where men working within Early Childhood Education and Care are viewed as potential pedophiles. The aim of this study is to describe and analyze how men, working in Swedish preschools, position themselves in relation to this pedophile discourse. Twenty-five men were interviewed about their work-experiences and the result shows two dominating positions: (1) giving up or (2) maneuvering the pedophile discourse. The discourse is maneuvered by: avoiding certain tasks, do the tasks but in ways that minimize suspicion or do the tasks without acknowledging the personal risk, as the tasks are required in their professional role. Thereby, men do not have the same ability to develop professionalism in childcare as women. However, by overcoming the fear of the pedophile discourse, these men create 'new discourses', where men can be viewed as caregivers. The result highlights an overall question, of what a professional approach is when it comes to care for children in ECEC.
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10. |
- Einarsdottir, Johanna, et al.
(author)
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Children's perspectives about belonging in educational settings in five European countries
- 2022
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In: European Early Childhood Education Research Journal. - : Taylor and Francis Ltd.. - 1350-293X .- 1752-1807. ; 30:3, s. 330-343
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The article addresses children’s perspectives of belonging in early childhood education settings in five European countries. Children’s belonging is understood to be dynamic processes that are formed through multiple relations. Twenty children aged 4–8 with diverse backgrounds participated in the study: two boys and two girls from each country. Data were constructed through walking interviews, during which the individual children walked around the ECE settings with the researcher, taking photos and conversing at the same time. Yuval-Davises’ [2011. The Politics of Belonging: Intersectional Contestations. London: SAGE] three facets of belonging were utilised as a theoretical lens to analyse the data and to shed light on the findings. The findings illustrate how belonging, from the participating children’s perspectives, is strongly related to friendship, being surrounded by caring adults and being a member of the ECE community.
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