In this paper we conduct a poststructural discourse analysis inspired by Carol Bacchi's 'What's the problem represented to be?' (WRP) approach. We explore what kinds of problems are formulated in preschool educational policy on multilingualism, and what underlying assumptions underlie the dominant discourse on language proficiency in Sweden.…

Purpose: Understanding what is known about the language profiles of children with hearing loss (CHL) is vital so that researchers and teachers can identify the specific complex syntactic structures that CHL may struggle to master. An understanding of which aspects of complex syntax pose difficulties for CHL is necessary to inform the kind of…

Preschool education is an education process that prepares children for primary education, provides the training and upbringing conditions in the home and also aims to remove the inequalities in terms of language and society in the early period. The audit is to evaluate learning and all the factors that affect learning and also prepare the…

In the Nordic countries, there is a culturally rooted understanding of nature as a 'good' place for children. The aim of the article is to deconstruct this understanding by exploring how different mobile preschools -- buses that bring children to different places on a daily basis -- relate to nature spaces and children's learning and well-being in…

The aim of the research is to examine how technology is communicated in technology education in relation to humans, society and nature in preschool class. According to the Swedish curriculum for preschool class, pupils should be given the opportunity to explore, ask questions and discuss technology and how the choices of people affect sustainable…

The research examines the concepts of 'friendship' and 'best friend' among preschool children (n=52) who live in different countries (Sweden and Turkey), with the aim of presenting their ideas about the concepts of 'friendship' and 'best friend'. For this purpose, 52 children, 4-5 year olds (25 from Turkey and 27 from Sweden) participated in…

The purpose of this critical study is to generate knowledge about decisions by education authorities that serve an advisory and normative function for Swedish preschool education at the operational level, with a focus on work with children in need of special support. This has been achieved by scrutinising documents generated in conjunction with a…

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 Lpfö2018 in Sweden addresses education for sustainability (EfS) with regards to children's…

This article investigates and discusses Swedish preschool teachers' work with and understanding of teaching dance. Preschool teachers should teach aesthetic expressions such as dance, according to the curriculum. This study depicts how preschool teachers, in semi-structured group interviews in 18 preschools, describe their work with teaching…

Children begin learning about gender stereotypes as early as age two. The pre-primary education system does not always deliver on its potential to tackle and address harmful gender stereotypes while they are being absorbed by the youngest learners. All components of the pre-primary system have a role to play in breaking down these stereotypes.…

With the aim of exploring how science is done in collaborative interactions when children discuss reasons for animal diversity, this paper provides insight into the relationships between acts of doing science and collaborative interactions. Video data from four small-group discussions (N = 14) were analysed using Lemke's (1990) talking science…

There is a tension in Swedish preschool policy when it comes to a subject curriculum and a child-centred curriculum. This article examines how Swedish preschool teachers have dealt with this relationship by focusing on the purpose of the preschool and how preschool teachers become part of the enacted preschool policy. The purpose of the study is…

A sense of belonging is essential for children in preschool. During the past decade, there has been a striking change in the orientation of the Swedish preschool environment. Now more child observations tend to focus on individual skills and assessment of ability to handle future schooling. A new discourse is clear; one that moves from a group…

A substantial body of research highlights the value of nature experience in supporting children's well-being and development. Given the growing interest in connectedness to nature (C2N), a better understanding of C2N measurement provides multiple opportunities, including consideration of the use of tools for research purposes and practitioner…

How preschool teachers and children spend their time in preschool sets the stage for child engagement and learning. To describe characteristics of environments and activities and to compare child engagement in indoor and outdoor free play, systematic observations of children and teachers were performed in 78 Swedish preschool units. Results showed…