Studien belyser hur barn i förskolan uppfattar det när ett nytt barn integreras till gruppen. Fokus ligger på det relationella samspel som sker mellan individer och grupp på en avdelning i förskolan. Det som studeras är hur barnen uppfattar det just i den fas som ett nytt barn inträder till gruppen. Studien har en fenomenografisk ansats och utgår från barnens perspektiv. Sju barn i åldern 4-6 år har intervjuats och deras uppfattningar ligger till grund för resultatet. Det är inte gruppens gemensamma utvecklingsprocess som studeras utan det är barnens ögonblicksbilder av hur de upplever det när ett nytt barn integreras i en förskolegrupp. Resultatet redogör först för barnens individuella uppfattningar av fenomenet, därefter görs en analys med hjälp av positioneringsteori som ger en mer samlad bild av barnens uppfattningar. Slutligen används ekologisk systemteori för att koppla barnens individuella uppfattningar till samspelet på en avdelning som då ses som ett microsystem. Fyra teman framträder som centrala för hur barnen beskriver integrering i en avdelnings microsystem. Det handlar om mötet med det nya: bli ensam eller en del av gruppen, barns ansvar för lek och sociala regler, pedagogers ansvar för yttre struktur och organisation samt gemensamt ansvar för inkludering. I alla tema framträder positionering och centralt är att det ur barnens perspektiv råder ett ojämnt maktförhållande som innebär att barnens perspektiv, både som individ och grupp, kommer i andra hand efter den etablerade verksamhetens perspektiv.

Diss. Linköping : Univ., 2002.

This case study examines three newly renovated children’s sections at the city libraries in Borås, Göteborg and Malmö. The aim is to investigate, from a spatial and socio-cultural perspective, what characterizes modern children’s sections at public libraries. The research questions look at the intentions behind the constructions of the spaces, how concepts like child participation and perspectives on childhood have been used, how the children interact with one another and the room itself, and finally how the librarians and other staff members’ work environments have been affected by the changes. I have conducted six qualitative interviews with librarians and other staff members at the libraries in question and combined the interviews with observations of the children’s sections. The material is analyzed with the theoretical frameworks from several research fields like human geography. The main theoretic tool is the four-space model. This is used to place the testimonies and observation findings in four abstract spaces; inspiration space, learning space, meeting space and the performative space. The result shows that all three libraries have based their projects heavily on children’s play and child participation. The library spaces have all been designed with a child perspective in mind and they are colourful and creative for the children to discover. The staffs have had to come to terms with the changes in their work environment and maybe we have to revalue what it means to work at a children’s library. This is a two years master’s thesis in Library and Information Science.

Introduction. We investigated how librarians viewed childhood, children’s participation and their own profes- sional role in relation to these two topics. Recently the Convention on the Rights of the Child became law in Sweden, and we explored the possible effects on the library professional’s role in comparison to a country where little has been done in regard to children’s rights during the past few years. Method. Qualitative interviews were conducted in Sweden and in England. The empirical data consisted of tran- scriptions and note-taking from four interviews conducted in each country. In total we interviewed eight librarians working with children. Analysis. We carried out a qualitative analysis of the empirical data by a basic thematic approach. The analysis consisted of two separate parts - based on the data from Sweden and England respectively - leading up to a final joint discussion and comparison of our results. Results. There was a pattern of viewing the child more often as “becoming” in England. When the child was viewed as “being” in England this was linked to a norm of children feeling safe, happy and playful. The analysis showed that formal training and awareness of children’s rights to participate were greater amongst the Swedish librarians. Still, children were not actively involved in the planning of events at the library. Conclusion. The views conveyed in the Convention on the Rights of the Child is now part of the Swedish librari- ans’ professional role with an emphasis on the right of participation. In the case of English librarians, certain aspects of the convention are important, although the need for children’s participation seems to have been set aside in favor of children’s feeling of safety. This is a two years master’s thesis in Library and Information Science.