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- Klaar, Susanne, 1964-
(författare)
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A democratic approach on inclusive learning environment in Swedish preschools : What counts, and who counts?
- 2019
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- The aim is to understand more about inclusive learning environments in preschool. This is done by investigating how different aspects of democracy become visible in teacher's talk about inclusive learning environments, and by discussing possible consequences for children's meaning making. UNESCO (2009:10) states that inclusive "education for all" has to be linked to learners' needs and be relevant for their diverse lives. In similar ways there is a large emphasis on democracy and equality in the curriculum for Swedish preschools (Pramling Samuelsson, Sheridan and Williams 2006:26). However, this inclusive approach on education highlights a complex dilemma between education as compensatory and education as participatory (Nilholm 2006:30). The use of democracy is based on three characteristic aspects of democracy in Swedish preschool education; i) support autonomy, ii) develop solidarity, iii) socialise to institutional norms (Klaar and Öhman 2014). The methodology is based on pragmatic curriculum theory and selective traditions (Öhman 2006, Svennbeck 2004). Walk-and-talk interviews (Klerfelt 2016) have been conducted with four different preschool teachers in four different preschools, and their utterances have been qualitatively analysed. Ethical approval was sought from the preschool teachers and the interviews were conducted when no children were present. The analysing process is still in progress but one preliminary result shows a tension between supporting autonomy and developing solidarity that differ depending on preschool location and current group of children. With a large focus on the autonomy aspect of democracy there is a possibility that the solidary aspect of democracy is left in the background
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| 2. |
- Klaar, Susanne, 1964-
(författare)
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A practice-oriented development of a didactical tool for observation, documentation and reflection in preschool
- 2017
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- The aim is to contribute to the field of pedagogical documentation in preschool by developing a theory-based didactical tool for practice-oriented reflections on teaching and possibilities to learn. The Swedish preschool curriculum (Lpfö98/2016)highlights preschool teachers' responsibility to observe and analyse children's development and learning in order to develop the preschool practice. Despite this, former research shows that preschool teachers often observe and estimate children individual maturity and development, and do not include a critical review, or a focus on the development of practice (VallbergRoth 2012, Eidevald 2013, Formosinho & Formosinho 2015). As a result of this criticism, there is a demand for ways to observe, document, and reflect that highlight possibilities for learning from a practice-oriented perspective (Eidevald 2013). The theoretical starting point is John Dewey's transactional perspective (Dewey & Bentley 1949/1991), where learning can be described as undertaking actions and experiencing their consequences, changing actions and experiencing potentially new consequences. We will work together with teachers from two different preschools using a method based on ParticipationAction Research (Herr & Anderson 2005, McIntyre 2008, and Reason & Bradbury 2009). Ethical approval has been sought from the preschool teachers, and will be sought from the parents. The research project is in progress but results will be discussed as e.g. differences between preschools, and questions about diversity and multiculturalism in documenting processes. The ambition is, from a practice-oriented perspective, to deepen critical reflections about children's learning and the learning possibilities offered by preschools.
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| 4. |
- Klaar, Susanne, 1964-
(författare)
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To challenge: one of many aspects when teachers teach science in preschool
- 2015
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- The overarching aim is to deepen the understanding about teaching processes when preschool children learn about nature. Research into the teaching and learning of science in the preschool tends to either focus on teaching for children’s conceptual development (Charlton, 2003; Zembylas, 2009) or practices that prioritises child-centred activities (Garbett, 2003; Thulin, 2011). Nature content in these practices can be either everything or nothing, but still, preferably cognitive. However, in my previous research into preschool children´s learning about nature, I show that teachers guide towards learning contents that intertwine cognitive, moral, aesthetical and practical learning qualities (Klaar and Öhman, 2013). In this study, teaching processes are investigated by the use of a methodology based on John Dewey’s pragmatic philosophy and the concept of transactions (Dewey and Bentley, 1949/1991; Garrison, 2001). Outdoor nature experiences of preschool children (aged one to three) were video-recorded, transcribed and analysed by the use of 'epistemological move analysis' (Lidar et al., 2006), here oriented towards teaching processes and teachers' guidance in children's nature learning. The preschool teachers and the parents gave their written approval and the participants were told that they could withdraw at any time during the recordings. The analyses show that the relations between teaching and nature-learning processes are intertwined and include education and care. The teachers’ guide towards different qualities in learning about nature by challenging, admonishing, instructional, confirming, generative, reorienting and reconstructing moves. The results contribute to nature-oriented teaching practice and nature-oriented preschool research when critically discussing teachers´ guidance in learning processes.
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