This study examined the effects of performance feedback information on parenting practices that contribute to development of vocabulary and pre-literacy skills. Fifty-one dyads of parents and their pre-school aged children were randomly assigned to one of three treatment groups. Group one received full treatment including a workshop and feedback. Group two, designated as the control group, did not receive the feedback portion of the treatment; and group three, designated as a wait list control group, received neither the workshop nor performance feedback. All participating parents were administered a survey of parenting practices that lead to vocabulary and pre-literacy development. Treatment produced significant results for the vocabulary measure; however, the data did not yield a significant result for the cognitive measure. There appeared to be a significant difference between the treatment group and the wait list control group. This difference was not found when comparing the treatment group to the control group, or when comparing the control to the wait list control. Also, feedback was shown to have an effect on only one of the five parenting practices surveyed.

Licentiatavhandlingen riktar blicken mot planeringsarbete i förskolan. Syftet är att beskriva och analysera förskollärares autentiska planering av barns möten med matematik. Studiens teoretiska inramning utgörs av den reflektiva skoldidaktiska teorin som betonar, oavsett skolform, lärares ansvarstagande för undervisning. Med den reflektiva skoldidaktiska teorin beskrivs planeringsprocessen som betydelsefull för undervisning. Planeringsprocessen utgörs av tre pedagogiska aktiviteter: intention – handling – reflektion. I denna studie fokuseras det pedagogiska arbete som sker distanserat från handling vilket gör intention och reflektion till studiens centrala begrepp. Studiens empiriska material har producerats med hjälp av deltagande observation. Fältarbetet har genomförts i en förskola på deltid under två terminer läsåret 2012/13 i ett arbetslags återkommande och autentiska planeringssamtal. Resultatet visar att arbetslaget planerar barns möten med matematik genom att de tar sin utgångspunkt i reflektion över planerade och dokumenterade pedagogiska skeenden. Det finns därmed en koppling mellan intention och reflektion. Resultatet visar att arbetslaget har konstruerat en egen planeringsmodell. Förskollärarna utgår inte från explicit uttryckta målformuleringar som anger vad som ska läras utan resonemang om möjligt lärande kommer in som en del i deras samtal om aktiviteter. Resultatet visar även att arbetslagets planering skapar förutsättningar för möten med en mångfald av matematik. Dock visar resultatdiskussionen att det finns utrymme för att utveckla resonemang kring vilka sätt barn kan få göra övergångar från vardagliga matematiska representationsformer till mer abstrakta. Resultatet visar även att det finns ett behov av att utveckla ett matematikdidaktiskt yrkesspråk i förskolan. / Nyckelord: förskola, planering, didaktik, matematikundervisning  This Licentiate thesis focuses on planning in Swedish preschool. The aim is to describe and analyze pre-school teacher's authentic planning of children's meetings with mathematics. The theoretical framing of the study consists of the reflective school didactic theory emphasizing, regardless of school form, teachers' responsibility for teaching. With the reflective school didactic theory, the planning process is described as important for teaching. The planning process consists of three pedagogical activities: intention – action – reflection. This study focuses on the pedagogical work that takes place away from action, which makes intention and reflection to the central concept of the study. The empirical material of the study has been produced using participatory observation. Field work has been carried out in a preschool on part time for two semesters in the academic year 2012/13 in a regular and authentic planning conversation. The results show that the pre-school teachers do plan children's meetings with mathematics by taking their starting point in reflection on planned and documented pedagogical events. There is thus a link between intention and reflection. The result shows that the team has construct a planning model of their own. The planning is not based on explicit expressed goal formulations about what to learn. The reasoning of possible learning comes in as part of their conversations about activities. The result also shows that planning creates conditions for meetings with a multitude of mathematics. However, the results discussion shows that there is room to develop reasoning about the ways in which children can make transitions from everyday mathematical representations to more abstract. The result also shows that there is a need to develop a mathematics didactic language in preschool. Nyckelord: förskola, planering, didaktik, matematikundervisning  This Licentiate thesis focuses on planning in Swedish preschool. The aim is to describe and analyze pre-school teacher's authentic planning of children's meetings with mathematics. The theoretical framing of the study consists of the reflective school didactic theory emphasizing, regardless of school form, teachers' responsibility for teaching. With the reflective school didactic theory, the planning process is described as important for teaching. The planning process consists of three pedagogical activities: intention – action – reflection. This study focuses on the pedagogical work that takes place away from action, which makes intention and reflection to the central concept of the study. The empirical material of the study has been produced using participatory observation. Field work has been carried out in a preschool on part time for two semesters in the academic year 2012/13 in a regular and authentic planning conversation. The results show that the pre-school teachers do plan children's meetings with mathematics by taking their starting point in reflection on planned and documented pedagogical events. There is thus a link between intention and reflection. The result shows that the team has construct a planning model of their own. The planning is not based on explicit expressed goal formulations about what to learn. The reasoning of possible learning comes in as part of their conversations about activities. The result also shows that planning creates conditions for meetings with a multitude of mathematics. However, the results discussion shows that there is room to develop reasoning about the ways in which children can make transitions from everyday mathematical representations to more abstract. The result also shows that there is a need to develop a mathematics didactic language in preschool.

This study, as stated in Chapter I, is designed for the purpose of determining the relationship between an individual's degree of social acceptance and social adjustment in the classroom and the presence or absence of pre-school training.

The thesis adresses the play in role during spontaneous activities children of preschool age in the theoretical and practical dimension. In my mind I have play and activities, where children are not organized or managed and have possibility to freely decided what to do. The introduction of theoretical part of thesis focuses on the importace and meaning of play in human life with insight into the history of games and lists some of its theories. The work is based on theory pf Jean Piaget, who conect the child's play with its intellectual evolution. The second chapter deals with the specific personality of the child of preschool age from the perspective of developmental psychology and development of society focusing on current needs of child to play. The next part of the thesis is related to basic characteristics of current- day nursery schools with respect pre - revolutionary period. The fourth chapter focuses on the meaning of spontaneous activities in nursery school. It identifies the role of adult in these activities, the influence of individual and social differenties of children on play and how influence heterogeneity and homogeneity of this group. The theoretical part concludes with a chapter about the game in the role and its significance for pre-school child. The practical part of the thesis...

Precis: The thesis, research was at nursery school. Dealt with identifying whether they are respected musical development specific of preschool children. The research method used was a questionnaire survey, direkt observation, as well as an interview method of analysis and class documents. The research focused on levels of some factors that that affect compliance with specific set of development and implementation of the resulting needs. In particular, the level of professional competence and teacher influence speciffic knowledge of musical development of preschool age in their respect. Furthermore, as the criteria were examined and the classroom teacher created the conditions that enable compliance with specific musical development of preschool children.

The thesis is divided into two main parts, theoretical and practical. It deals with the solution to assess the level of physical skills combined with preschool children, as a higher level of organized skiing helps training organized by kindergarten and what effect this can have skiing skills training on cognitive abilities and social side of the child's personality. The first section contains theoretical information drawn from the bibliographic sources of pedagogy, psychology, antropomotoriky, physical education and sport. Proceeds from the general content of the first chapter of her kindergarten educational concepts of the system, organizational forms of physical education and movement preschool child. It is followed by the second chapter a more specific topic for skiing children. Based on the development of motor skills through learning to its evaluation of motor skills on skis. Linkages between individual chapters see you in finding criteria for assessing the level of motor skills, cognitive skills and socialization in FEP PE curriculum. The practical part describes the action research group involved in preschool children with processed results of a detailed assessment of the level of motor skills on skis. At each level of subchapters is compared to skiing skills between age and sex of children,...

Previous research studies have shown that in their address and behaviour towards girls and boys, pre-school staff apply stereotyped gender concepts, thus reinforcing rather than challenging stereotypes. The present thesis therefore focuses on which of children’s positions that are accepted or that face resistance from the staff. In this way, children’s gender-based "identity-formation" can be critically analyzed based on different possible descriptions of how it is to be a girl or a boy, and what unaware assumptions about gender representations that in this way may be made in different ways by both children and adults. The theoretical point of departure is feminist poststructuralism; and the analysis focuses on variations found between the groups of girls and boys, as well as within these groups, and within individuals. The empirical data consists of video-taped sessions from two teams working with children aged 3-5, and focus groups interviews with the adult. Then different "readings" of the empirical material have been conducted based on different assumptions (discourses); i.e. assuming that girls and boys "really" are different or equal, different behaviours will appear as more or less obvious and natural. By showing that several different discourses are present at the same time, gender-based "identity-formation" is described as a very complex process. The analyzed situations show that girls and boys in pre-school are defined and treated in stereotyped ways, however, there is a large hidden variation of how different girls and different boys positions themselves in different contexts. Pre-school teachers thus work actively to distinguish between girls and boys based on how they are being perceived as either girls or boys. Teachers’ expectations then become decisive of how different children are addressed and treated in different situations. To conclude, the pedagogical consequences of this are discussed with regard to gender equality work in which also alternative discourses are formulated. / Studier har visat att förskolans personal bemöter flickor och pojkar utifrån stereotypa föreställningar om kön och snarare förstärker än utmanar dessa. Därför är fokus i denna avhandling att se vilka positioner hos flickor och pojkar som accepteras och vilka som möter motstånd i förskolan. På så sätt analyseras barns könsmässiga "identitetsskapande" kritiskt utifrån på vilka olika sätt det är möjligt att vara flicka och pojke och vilka omedvetna antaganden om kön och genus som görs av barn och vuxna. Den teoretiska utgångspunkten är feministisk poststrukturalism och i analysen är variationen mellan grupperna flickor och pojkar, variationen inom grupperna samt variationen inom individer i fokus. Utifrån empirin, som består av videoinspelade sekvenser från två arbetslag med barn i åldrarna 3-5 år och fokusgruppssamtal med de vuxna, görs olika "läsningar" utifrån olika antaganden (diskurser): Beroende på om antagandet är att flickor och pojkar "egentligen" är olika eller lika, kommer olika bemötanden att framstå som mer eller mindre självklara. Genom att visa att flera olika diskurser är verksamma samtidigt beskrivs det könsmässiga "identitetsskapandet" som mycket komplext. De analyserade situationerna visar att flickor och pojkar i förskolan definieras och bemöts stereotypt men att detta döljer en stor variation av hur olika flickor och olika pojkar positionerar sig i olika sammanhang. Förskollärarna arbetar på detta sätt aktivt med att skilja på flickor och pojkar utifrån att de betraktas som antingen flickor eller pojkar. Förväntningarna blir sedan avgörande för hur olika barn bemöts i olika situationer. En diskussion förs avslutningsvis kring vad detta kan ge för pedagogiska konsekvenser för ett jämställdhetsarbete, där även alternativa diskurser och handlingsmönster skrivs fram.

Studiens syfte är att bidra till ökad medvetenhet för verksamma inom förskolans område kring frågor som rör pedagogers förhållningssätt kring relationen mellan bildskapande och genus, men även hur dessa förhållningssätt kan påverka barnens möjligheter i deras bildskapande. En viktig fråga som burits med från starten av arbetet och som lyser igenom i resultatdelen har varit: Vilka möjligheter att förhålla sig till bildskapande och genus kan uppstå om ett kritiskt sätt att tänka kring könsstereotypa mönster tas tillvara inom bildskapande? Metoden har utgått från en intervjustudie vilket inneburit intervjuer av sju pedagoger som arbetar inom förskolan. Halvstrukturerade intervjuer har varit av stort värde för mig som intervjuare för frågeformuleringens skull under intervjuerna, men även för informanterna för att kunna formulera sitt förhållningssätt till relationen mellan bildskapande och genus. Resultat som framkommit har visat på olika och ambivalenta förhållningssätt till bildskapande i relation till genus. Analys av resultaten visar på vikten av ett medvetet förhållningssätt i bildskapande sett till barnens möjligheter i bildskapande. / The purpose of the study is to contribute to increased awareness for those active in pre-school setting regarding the pre-school teachers’ approach to the relationship between art and creation and gender, but also how these attitudes can affect children's art and creation possibilities. An important issue right from the very beginning of this study, which is prevalent in the discussion of the results, has been: What kind of attitudes regarding art and creation and gender can occur if a critical way of thinking about gender and stereotypes is used in art and creation? The method was based on an interview study, which involved interviews of seven educators working in a pre-school environment. Semi-structured interviews have been of great value personally as an interviewer asking questions, but also for the sake of the interviewees abilities to express their attitudes concerning the relation between art and creation and gender. Emerged results have shown different and ambivalent approaches to the relation between art and creation and gender. Analysis of the results shows the importance of the use of a conscious approach in art and creation as seen in the children’s approach to art and creation.

Abstract In this study I examine how the parents describe the child's starting school as an ecological transition from pre-school to school growth environments. This concept is based on Bronfenbrenner's ecological theory. In terms of time-frames starting school is understood as a transition process which begins in the pre-school year, continues during the first school year and includes changes in the child's growth environment as well as in the child's role. The data derives from interviews with 21 parents of children from diverse educational contexts and the journals and interviews of parents from an additional three families. In this study, a child's growth environment changed during the transition process from a child-centred, play- and learning environment to a goal-oriented learning and teaching environment directed by the teacher; from a social growth environment to a more individual working environment; and from a preparatory working culture (directed towards school-attendance) to an educative working culture aimed at citizenship. The child's role changed in the process from that of a pre-schooler to a school beginner, to a school child. This study brings in the school beginner's role. The transition process was most flexible for pre-schoolers from the combined class, secure and multi-phased for pre-schoolers from the pre-school and school co-operation unit. For the Montessori child the transition was natural and quick, for pre-schoolers from the day-care unit, it was longest and most problematic. In conclusion, my research suggests that, although our school system aims to be equal for all, this is not the reality during the pre-school and school starting phases. However, by the end of the first school year all the children in this study had adjusted to the school context. They had fulfilled the criteria and expectations set for the role of the school child: such as becoming an academic learner; a performer of tasks, an object of evaluation; a responsible, concerned and well-behaved pupil, and a school companion. In summary, the school working-culture had a powerful homogenizing effect, adjusting the child to the school and to the role of school child. / Tiivistelmä Tutkimuksessa lähestyn lapsen koulunaloittamista ekologisena siirtymänä esiopetuksen kasvuympäristöstä perusopetuksen kasvuympäristöön ja tarkastelen millaiseksi vanhemmat kuvaavat tämän siirtymän. Koulunaloittaminen ekologisena siirtymänä perustuu Bronfenbrennerin ekologiseen teoriaan. Ajallisesti koulunaloittaminen ymmärretään siirtymäprosessina, joka alkaa esiopetusvuotena ja jatkuu ensimmäisen kouluvuoden aikana. Siirtymäprosessi sisältää lapsen kasvuympäristön ja lapsen roolin muutoksen. Erityisesti tarkastelen millaiseksi 21 oululaista vanhempaa kuvaavat kasvuympäristön kulttuurisen muutoksen esikoulun toimintakulttuurista koulun toimintakulttuuriksi ja lapsen roolin muutoksen esikoululaisesta koululaiseksi. Tutkimus on lähestymistavaltaan ekologinen, ja tarkastelun kohteena ovat arkielämän kontekstissa tapahtuvat yksilön ja kasvuympäristön vastavuoroiset vuorovaikutus- ja muutosprosessit. Koulunaloittaminen siirtymäprosessina on lapsen ja kasvuympäristön keskinäinen muutos- ja sopeutumisprosessi. Kasvuympäristön kulttuurisen muutoksen tarkastelu muodostaa tutkimukseni taustan ja lähtökohdan. Roolimuutosta tutkin kunnallisen päiväkodin, esi- ja alkuopetuksen yhteistoimintayksikön, montessoripainotteisen päiväkodin ja esi- ja alkuopetuksen yhdysluokan esiopetuskontekstissa sekä koulukontekstissa. Tutkimusaineisto koostuu 13 perheen vanhempien haastatteluista ja kolmen perheen vanhempien kirjoittamista päiväkirjadokumenteista ja heidän haastatteluistaan. Vanhempien mukaan lapsen kasvuympäristö muuttui esikoulusta kouluun siirryttäessä lapsikeskeisestä, leikki- ja oppimisympäristöstä opettajajohtoiseksi, tavoitteelliseksi oppimis- ja opetusympäristöksi, sosiaalisesta kasvuympäristöstä enemmän yksin työskentely -ympäristöksi ja kouluun valmentavasta toimintakulttuurista kansalaiskasvatuksen toimintakulttuuriksi. Tämän muutoksen rinnalla vastaavasti lapsen rooli muuttui prosessinluonteisesti esikoululaisesta koulunaloittajaksi ja koululaiseksi. Koulunaloittajan roolin löytyminen oli yksi tutkimukseni päätulos. Roolimuutos kaikkinensa oli vähäisin esi- ja alkuopetuksen yhdysluokan esikoululaisilla, jotka olivat harjoitelleet koululaisen roolia koulukontekstissa jo esiopetusvuoden aikana. Suurin ja jyrkin roolimuutos oli kunnallisesta päiväkodista sekä montessoripainotteisesta päiväkodista siirtyneillä esikoululaisilla, joille koulukonteksti ja koululaisen rooli olivat etukäteen vieraita. Yksilöllinen ja vaihteleva roolimuutos oli esi- ja alkuopetuksen yhteistoimintayksiköstä siirtyneillä esikoululaisilla, jotka olivat etukäteen tutustuneet koulun sosiaaliseen ja akateemiseen ympäristöön. Kouluun siirtyminen lapsen ja kasvuympäristön keskinäisenä muutos- ja sopeutumisprosessina oli joustavin, helpoin ja yksilöllisin esi- ja alkuopetuksen yhdysluokan esikoululaisilla, turvallinen ja monivaiheinen esi- ja alkuopetuksen yhteistoimintayksikön esikoululaisilla, luonteva ja nopea montessorilapsella ja pitkäkestoisin ja ongelmallisin päiväkodin esikoululaisilla. Tulosten johtopäätöksenä voidaan todeta, että vaikka koulutusjärjestelmämme pyrkii olemaan kaikille yhdenvertainen, se ei ole sitä esiopetus- ja koulunaloitusvaiheessa. Kuitenkin ensimmäisen kouluvuoden päättyessä kaikki tutkimuksen lapset olivat sopeutuneet koulukontekstiin ja täyttivät koululaisen roolille asetetut kriteerit ja odotukset akateemisena oppijana, tehtävien suorittajana, arvioitavana, vastuullisena, huolehtivana ja hyvin käyttäytyvänä koulunkävijänä ja koulukaverina. Koulun toimintakulttuurilla oli vahva sopeuttava ja yhdenmukaistava merkitys lapsen kouluun sopeutumisessa ja koululaiseksi kasvussa.

The thesis deals with a topical and at the same time controversial isssue in the pre- shool education - the very early foreign language learning. The aim of the thesis is to outline the conditions of English language learning in pre-school facilities in the Czech Republic (more precisely in Prague) and analyse and compare selected methods used for teaching English. The thesis consists of the theoretical and the practical part. The theoretical part focuses on early language learning in the Czech and European context, on curriculum conditions and teachers' qualification in the Czech Republic and on the individual particularities of a pre-school child in relation to the early language acquisition. The summary will offer various opinions and results of researches in the field of early foreing language learning in the pre-school age. The aim of the practical part is to compare two methods for teaching English and survey the present conditions of English learning in selected pre-school facilities in Prague. The research will focus on the methods and their evaluation, on the pre-school facilities' experience with teaching English and on the contributions and disputable questions rising from the early English language learning from the point of view of the directors, parents and and speacialist in the...