This qualitative study focuses on preschool practitioners' teaching about death. The theoretical framework draws on ideas about dialogic teaching and the concepts that are of importance for understanding what biological death entails. The study was conducted within a qualitative, participant centered paradigm. The data consist of video recordings…

This study aims to examine preschool literacy practices during observations in Swedish preschools with a focus on environment, read-alouds and emergent writing. The study reported on in this article is based on empirical data from 433 observations in preschools in 80 Swedish municipalities that has been analysed qualitatively and quantitatively.…

The purpose of this study was to explore how the COVID-19 pandemic affected leadership through the case of a Swedish preschool. The analytical framework draws from turbulence theory and multiple ethical paradigms. Findings indicate that established routines, principals' flexibility, explicit communication, and ethical sensitivity contributed to a…

In this article, we analyse overarching patterns of social stratification in, and quality differences between, Swedish preschools. Drawing on a Bourdieusian social classification scheme, we evidence in what type of preschools different social groups enrol their children in, and to what extent Swedish preschool children encounter different levels…

In this article, a collaborative Deleuze-Guattarian-inspired cartography is produced with preschool practitioners to explore the assemblages of teaching in preschool. The aim is to map how teaching comes into being in preschool planning and reflection practices following the movements of territorialisation and re-/de-territorialisation. Unwinding…

The aim of this study is to deepen the understanding of how preschool teachers can use representations of different kinds to bring fore the mathematical content that may be afforded in pictures and narrative designed for numerical learning purposes. Seventy-three video documentations of reading sessions with 27 toddlers (1-3 years of age) over the…

Current research points out the need to develop early childhood education science content didactics. This qualitative study contributes to the field, illuminating teacher's and children's communication about physics. Teaching activities in five preschools, children age 1-5, are inspired by a science teaching model including digital support. The…

This article explores the conditions required for preschool managers to support change through research aimed at developing educational practice. It examines factors that enable and constrain support of change and the arrangements that can be identified in relation to these factors. The results suggest that arrangements that support a more…

Even though construction tasks have a long history as an activity in the Swedish preschool, technology as a content matter (e.g., construction) is relatively new. Hence, preschool teachers are generally unsure of the content of technology and how to handle it from a teaching perspective. Thus, there is need for deeper understanding of how…

Swedish preschool science practice is confined to a unique educational setting where upbringing, care, and education are intertwined. This allows teachers to develop innovative cross-curricular and multidimensional science teaching. At the same time, society demands the digitalization of preschool practice, which has caused concern not only about…

At a time when inclusion is valued, an important question is how it can be put into practice. This study investigates how one Swedish preschool and one of its units achieve inclusion. It adopted a mixed method research approach and a case study design. Participating in the study were one head teacher, five preschool staff members and five children…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore existing and desired methodologies for systematic quality work to promote quality in preschools from the principal's perspective. Design/methodology/approach: A collaborative approach was used in this research project, and principals were asked to complete portfolio assignments. Their answers to…

National policies aiming at marketisation and privatisation in welfare sectors such as Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) require governance and organisation to be realised. In Sweden, the municipalities are key but largely under-researched organisers for preschool quasi-market infrastructures. This study explores the different ways in…

This study aims to develop knowledge about how 'the Deviant' is produced through identificatory mapping materials that operate in Swedish preschools. This is achieved by identifying and critically reviewing a base of mapping materials commonly used in Swedish ECEC today, focusing on how the documents per se, and the formulations therein, risk…

The aim is to investigate early childhood mathematics in a preschool unit in Sweden. A mixed-method research approach and a case study research design were used. Three preschool staff members and 19 children were enrolled. Data were collected by means of observations and a focus group interview. Numerical and thematic analyses were conducted. The…