The aim of the study is to explore cross-cultural similarities and differences in preschool quality in South Korean and Swedish preschools as measured by two national adaptations of the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale (ECERS). The approach adopted is that cross-cultural comparisons of preschool quality are both achievable and of great…

An increasingly important part of the work of preschool staff in Sweden today is to present their activities outwardly, including producing and presenting "quality accounts" of their activities and making them visible to a public audience. To grasp the local narratives, interviews were conducted with a few teachers and their school…

This article contains results from a study based on locally produced planning and evaluation texts from 10 preschool settings in a Swedish middle-sized town. The texts were mainly from 1999 to 2005, a period during which Swedish preschools were implementing their first curriculum and were subject to several changes including decentralisation,…

The purpose of this study is to bring forth preschool teachers' and parents' views on both established and future forms of cooperation between the preschool and home. The empirical sample is based on both individual and focus-group interviews. Results show that cooperation mainly revolves around the individual child. The form of cooperation that…

Objective: To investigate the actions of Swedish preschool staff when suspecting the maltreatment of children in their domestic environment, and the staff's further experiences and relations to the family members. Methods: A questionnaire in 2005 to the staff of 189 child groups in community preschools, including 3,100 children. Results: A report…

Preschool teachers share their environment with young children on a daily basis and interventions promoting social competence are generally carried out in the preschool setting. The aim was to find out if and how preschool teachers' definitions of social competence are related to factors in the preschool environment like: a) the number of children…

Research Findings: This article is about computer use in 3 Swedish preschools with a specific focus on the preschool teacher's way of managing this use. Data were collected in 3 preschools serving children from 3 to 5 years of age. The data consisted of approximately 13 hr of video-documented observations and interviews with 9 teachers. The study…

This article discusses the different ways in which students and preschool teachers at two Swedish universities interpret the concept of professionalism. Data for this article are drawn from a study conducted in two different urban areas of Sweden which explored the following four questions: (1) What does the concept of professionalism imply for…

Background: Environmental risk during fetal development for non-right-handedness, an index of brain asymmetry, and its relevance for child mental health is not fully understood. Methods: A Swedish population-based prospective pregnancy-offspring cohort was followed-up when children were five years old (N = 1714). Prenatal environmental risk…

The purpose of this article is to describe and analyse play through a contemporary historical perspective, based upon pre-school teachers', students majoring in education, and teacher education students' descriptions of memories from their childhood regarding play and toys. The overall method is retrospective. The data consists of 111 interviews…

This article theorizes and exemplifies reconceptualized teaching practices, both in early childhood education (ECE) and in a couple of programs within the new Swedish Teacher Education (since 2001). These programs are tightly knit to the last 12 years of reconceptualized early childhood education practices in and around Stockholm, built on…

This article is a theoretical discussion on the dimensions of learning in play and the dimensions of play in learning, using the playful interaction between children and teachers as a starting point. From an empirical study observations of two situations were chosen, one from a mealtime and one of children's play, both typical examples of playful…

The aim of this study was to analyse how a model for practitioner-oriented research can be used as a tool for professional development in the preschool. The focus of interest is the type of knowledge that is formed when researchers and preschool staff cooperate on local projects, and what this new knowledge means for the images of professional…

The aim of this study is to increase knowledge about, and describe how, participants consider their own learning process and development during in-service education, and to consider how they attempt to implement their new knowledge in pre-school after completing the training programme. The sample consists of nine newly qualified pre-school…

The overall aim of this study was to present research areas within early childhood education in a dialogue between municipality and university. The purpose was to produce ideas and develop research in teacher education, with the hope of increasing the understanding of what kind of research is needed into early childhood education. The data…