The purpose of this study is to contribute to the discussion concerning adaptations and improvements of preschool teacher education. Such changes are crucial, because many newly qualified preschool teachers struggle to live up to the requirements the profession places upon them. This study is conducted in Sweden, where early childhood education…

This paper aims to (1) explore how notions about STEM in different contexts, times, scales and places affect STEM-practices in ECE and beyond, and (2) with this as a point of departure, highlight the need and potential of using feminist perspectives and a feminist pedagogy in STEM-related courses within ECTE (Early Childhood Teacher Education). To…

During the last few years, the Swedish preschool curriculum has undergone several changes. Among those changes is the introduction of the concept of teaching as a goal-oriented activity. Preschool teachers have been given a specific responsibility for leading the teaching in preschool. This study aims to explore how preschool teachers' didactical…

The article focuses on preschool teacher education in Sweden. The purpose of the study is to explore and analyse opportunities for and impediments to cooperation around digital competence among three groups: preschool teacher students, local teacher educators, and teacher educators at a university. The study presented in the article is performed…

This study investigates preschool teachers' perceptions about the pedagogical use of digital play and, by using the Learning in Working Life framework as a theoretical point of departure, it also investigates how these perceptions are connected to the teachers' professional learning environment. Participants wrote a self-report essay about digital…

This study examines preservice preschool teachers' university science education experience. The empirical data are from a research and intervention project conducted on teacher education programs at two Swedish universities. We analyzed one of the assignments completed by 111 students within a science course as well as their conversations about…

With this study we have a twofold aim. Firstly, to develop a model for identifying and analyzing the status of students' scholarly thinking, and secondly to design and evaluate an educational practice with the aim of supporting these skills. A series of webinars connected researchers and students from Finland, Norway and Sweden and gave the…

What do we need to know about our students to better provide for more equitable outcomes? Who will succeed depends on many factors, and student personality traits constitute one factor that has received less attention in the engagement and teaching literature. The aim of the present study is to add to discussions on teaching in higher education by…

Preparing the next generation of preschool teachers who can integrate and make use of ICT to capitalise on and develop young children's digital competences remains a challenging goal for teacher education programmes (TEP). Given the current gaps in the literature, this study aims to expand and deepen our understanding of the extent to which early…

In Sweden, as in Western countries generally, most preschool teachers are women. This fact sometimes leads to the assumption that preschools are "feminine", and that this might be bad for boys. We challenge this assumption. Using a gender critical approach we have studied preschool student teachers. "Femininity" might be used…

For preservice teachers in early childhood education, having a rich exposure to multiple forms of literacy in diverse communities is an essential dimension of their teacher education. In this study, 10 Australian preservice early childhood education students, in the first year of their course, visit two early childhood settings in a large city in…

The overall interest is to understand how men who study preschool teaching negotiate masculinities. Earlier research shows how male teachers negotiate masculinities when being in and entering a predominantly feminine work area, such as early childhood education [see, for example, Brody, D. L. (2015). The construction of masculine identity among…

This research reports intercultural dialogue of meaning making in literacy by lecturers, engaged with an assessment moderation process of early childhood education (ECE) preservice teacher education across Australia, New Zealand and Sweden. The purpose of the dialogue was to inform pedagogical and conceptual knowledge in their courses. The…

This study explores the extended demands for writing in the Swedish public service sector of early childhood and how academic writing in the higher education programmes aimed at professional work in that sector is perceived to be of value for early childhood practice among practitioners. Empirical data was collected in individual interviews and…

This article reports on student preschool teachers' views of science and its role in preschool. Three cohorts of students have been given a written questionnaire with open-ended questions before and after a one-semester course including science (specifically Chemistry and Physics) in a 3.5-year preschool teacher programme in Sweden. The science…