Denna studie skrevs i syftet att öka kunskapen om högläsningens funktion i förskoleverksamheten. Detta har undersökts genom en kvalitativ jämförande studie med semistrukturerade intervjuer med fyra förskollärare och sociokulturell teori användes för att analysera empiri. Studiens resultat redovisas i tematiska avdelningar; avslappningsläsning, högläsning som kunskapsutveckling, högläsning som performativ konstart och högläsning som intro till lek. Undersökningen visar att förskollärare dagligen använder högläsning i olika syften men framför allt för att skapa en stund för närhet med barnen, att främja det individuella barnets språkutveckling eller som introduktion till lek. / The studie was written with the purpose to increase the knowledge of what the function of reading aloud is within the pre-school. This has been investigated through an qualitative comparative analysis with semi structured interviews with four pre-school teathers and analysis was made with a sociocultural theory. The study results are reported in thematic departments; relaxations reading, reading aloud as developing knowledges, reading aloud as a performative art form and reading aloud as introduction to play. The survey shows that reading aloud are used daily by pre-school teachers for several purposes. In general it is used to create a moment of closeness with the children to encourage the language of the individual child or as an introduction to play.

As preocupações com o corpo e movimento não são recentes na Educação Infantil. Recomendações sobre a educação corporal são reconhecidas desde as primeiras sistematizações pedagógicas, especialmente a partir da Idade Moderna. No Brasil, tais preocupações aparecem especialmente a partir do século XIX. Nos últimos quinze anos, pesquisas sobre Educação Infantil no Brasil apresentaram avanços em relação à temática. Entretanto, no cotidiano das instituições é perceptível que professores possuem dificuldades consideráveis em pensar o movimento em sua totalidade. Nessa perspectiva, o objetivo dessa pesquisa foi investigar qual a concepção de corpo e movimento que norteia as práticas pedagógicas dos professores de Educação Infantil, bem como a relação estabelecida entre tais práticas e suas vivências/experiências corporais anteriores. A metodologia, de abordagem qualitativa, privilegiou o trabalho campo por meio de entrevistas semi-estruturadas, realizadas com professores de Educação Infantil nas cidades de São Paulo/SP e Jundiaí/SP. A análise dos dados, referenciado na perspectiva teórico-metodológica da Rede de Significações, foi realizada a partir das categorias: concepção de corpo e movimento dos professores, concepção de práticas cotidianas de movimento na Educação Infantil, os espaços físicos e seus usos. Os dados analisados indicam que, os professores atuantes nas instituições de Educação Infantil investigadas, em sua maioria, reconhecem a importância do movimento e em certa medida, procuram desenvolver práticas pedagógicas que o contemplem, apesar de certas dificuldades, como: falta de um entendimento mais amplo sobre o movimento e a reprodução de práticas corporais relacionadas aos saberes oriundos da dimensão pessoal, a partir de suas próprias experiências corporais na infância. Essa constatação aponta para a necessidade de uma formação profissional que garanta subsídios para que os professores possam de fato refletir e construir suas práticas cotidianas fundamentadas em um olhar crítico sobre a criança e sua corporeidade, na perspectiva da totalidade. / Concerns about body awareness and movement are not new to Pre-school Education. Recommendations about body awareness education have been acknowledged since the first pedagogical systems were put into place, predominantly from the start of the Modern Age. In Brazil, such concerns started to become apparent particularly from the start of the XIX century, and in the past fifteen years research on Pre-school Education has presented advances in this area. However, in day-to-day school life, the considerable difficulties that teachers have in thinking about movement in its entirety can be recognized. From this perspective, the objective of this research was to investigate which idea of body awareness and movement guides the pedagogical practices of Pre-school Education teachers, as well as the relationship established between these practices and the previous body awareness experiences of such professors. The methodology, from a qualitative approach, used field work that was carried out through semi-structured interviews by Pre-school teachers in the cities of São Paulo/SP and Jundaí/SP. The data analysis, from a theoretical-methodological perspective, on the Net of Meanings, was carried out taking into consideration the following categories: teacher´s perceptions of body awareness, perceptions of everyday movement activities in Pre-school Education, physical spaces and their uses. The data analyzed indicates that the majority of teachers currently teaching pre-school education - that were investigated - recognize the importance of movement, and to a certain degree, attempt to consider this concept in the development of pedagogical practices despite coming up against certain difficulties, such as: the lack of a broader understanding of the movement and reproduction of body actions from a personal viewpoint related to their own childhood experiences of such actions. This discovery underlines the necessity of professional education that guarantees support for teachers, enabling them to reflect on and construct their daily activities based on one critical look at the child and his/her body as a whole.

This research investigates parental choice in an active preschool education market in Taiwan. Most research into parental choice of school has been conducted in quasi-markets; markets that are highly regulated by government policy. The Taiwanese preschool market could be said to be a true market, operating through supply and demand and regulated by price. How parents operate in such markets and how their choice influences what is offered, is less explored. The research consisted of following eighteen parents through the choice process. Data collection methods involved diaries completed before the child started preschool and two in-depth interviews; one at the beginning of the school year and one nine months later. The parents who supplied the information came from different educational backgrounds, social status and family structures. For most it was their first experience of choosing an educational setting for their children. Using a rational choice theoretical framework the thesis argues that there was certain rationality in the parents’ process of choice but balancing the benefits and costs of preschool education was embedded in a wider family context. In addition, the findings show that whilst the parents were initially concerned about the more structural aspects of quality, their on-going engagement with the preschool provision enabled them to have a deeper understanding of process issues. However, there were other criteria that the parents used which would suggest that they were defining quality in a way that may be more influenced by Taiwanese life and culture. One implication is that the quality of preschool provision is not likely to improve if it is purely dependent on preschools wishing to meet the parents’expectations. However, neither will it improve if the contextual conditions are ignored. The implications for Taiwanese government preschool policy are discussed.

Thesis (M.Ed.) -- University of the North, 1978 / Refer to the document

Language development of pre-school children was studied as it is related to a musical tutoring experience. Nine musical tutoring sessions, in addition to those of the regular curriculum, were given to the experimental group while the control group received no such tutoring experiences. The experimental group, at the conclusion of the musical tutoring sessions, scored significantly higher than the control group when tested on the specific language concepts stressed in the tutoring sessions. Because the findings were significant the hypothesis stated as, " ... there will be a significant difference between the experimental group, which will have the supplemental music tutoring experience, and the control group which will not have that experience," was held tenable.

Previous studies of the ontogeny of the mucosal immune system have shown a significant increase in salivary Immunoglobulin A levels occurring at about five years of age. This study has monitored a group of 3 and 4 year old children during one year of attendance at Pre-School to examine whether such an increase could be linked to increased antigenic exposure associated with moving into a school like environment. Saliva samples were collected at regular intervals and analysed for immunoglobulin and total protein levels. Daily health records were maintained for each child, and a detailed social and medical history was collected for each child at the beginning of the study. The elevated mucosal immune response observed in previous studies involving children in day care centres and attending school was not seen in this study. No significant difference was observed between children who had previously attended Pre-School or child care centres and those who were attending for the first time. However, a marked seasonal increase in mean salivary IgA during the winter months was observed and this increase correlated with an increase in respiratory infections. Hence, in studies of developmental aspects of mucosal immune response it is essential that modifiers such as season and infection be recorded.

<p>This report describes a comparative study of the current pre-school curricula in Sweden and Poland and their practical application on a pre-school situated in each of the respective countries. The objective is to analyze and compare the curricular content in terms of knowledge development and to investigate how each curriculum is made visible in a practical context with the intention of uncovering differences between the pre-schools. The theoretical base of this study is rooted in the framework factor theory and the epistemological foundations of Vygotskij and Piaget.</p><p>The investigation is qualitative and the main research methods are participant observations and conversation interviews.</p><p>The frame factors that were considered in the investigation of the scopes of practice are planning, division of work, density of personnel, group structures, preferred way to work and judgment.</p><p>The conclusion is that these factors also proved to be very diverse in the two pre-schools.   The curriculums and pre-scholar scopes of practice were clearly based on different epistemological traditions. Although the conclusion is not entirely univocal, the investigation indicates that the Polish pre-school is strongly influenced by Piaget, while its Swedish counterpart is influenced by Vygotskij. </p>

<p>The purpose of this study has been to explore the expectations of the primary school on the activities of the pre-school. In order to limit the study I have chosen to compare the expectations found in two different schools. In the first case, the pre-school is integrated with the after-school centre and grade one to three (primary school), into the same building. In the other case, the pre-school share localities with the after-school centre in a separate building, with its own yard, within the primary school area. Since the purpose is rather comprehensive, it has been divided into sub-themes with separate set of questions. The sub-themes chosen are in themselves factors, which I believe to be of importance for the main purpose. I have used a qualitative method, why the answer may not be generalised, but give us a deeper understanding of the main question in my research, I have interviewed teachers and pre-school teachers as well as used curriculums and existing research, in order to shed light on the main question from different scientific perspectives. The result of this study shows, that the integration of the pre-school within the primary school, may be of great importance for cooperation and communication. The primary school’s expectations, however, seems to be more the result of the teacher’s and preschool teacher’s interpretations of the curriculums.</p>

<p>The purpose of this study was to investigate teachers in pre-school and school, how they use aesthetic methods in their activity / school teaching and their experiences of this kind of work method. The study also contains the teacher’s experience of possibilities and difficulties in this kind of work method.</p><p> </p><p>The study is based on qualitative interviews with three teachers in pre-school and school. And the results of this investigation turned out to be three different ways to look at aesthetic as; <em>joyful activity</em>, <em>as a subject - to attract attention of interest</em> and a <em>pleasant working environment</em>.</p><p> </p><p>It also turned out to be how the differences can look between pre-school and school and between younger and older children when using aesthetic activities. Every teacher had different purpose of using the aesthetic methods in their activity / school teaching and that it also was shown different much and in different ways.</p><p> </p><p>In pre-school appears aesthetic activities and children’s play the most and  in pre-school are the aesthetic activities and children’s play the methods that forms the children as it brings joyful activities, curiosity and learning.</p><p> </p><p>In junior school, the younger children, are the children’s play and the aesthetic activities still important. But it doesn’t appear that much like it does in pre-school. Here does the teacher use the aesthetic activities to bring interest of school subjects.</p><p> </p><p>In middle school, the older children, seems the aesthetic activities get another importance. The aesthetic activities are being used to create a relaxing moment from the theoretical subjects and it also being used to create a joyful and pleasant environment.</p><p> </p><p>Everybody also thinks that aesthetic is something positive and that it strengthens the children’s and the students’ developments and learning’s. It also turned out to be that aesthetic helps all students who have any kind of difficulties in school or pre-school. They also think that aesthetic should be included in all pedagogy activities.</p><p> </p><p>When it concern the difficulties of using the aesthetic in school or pre-school, no pedagogy had any experience to share, except that the time of planning for more aesthetic activities seems to be a problem in pre-school.</p><p> </p><p>At school the pedagogy felt that the children became too restless, and the bigger students thought it became foolish. It also emerge that the pedagogy had a worried feeling that the children’s parents thought that aesthetic teaching should be fuzzy, that the children should do something else, more useful.</p><p> </p><p>At school for the older students the teacher gave her opinion more like an advice to us, that if you are going to use aesthetic in your school teaching, you have to think twice, so you don’t force students to participate in activities they don’t feel comfortable with.</p>

Syftet med det här arbetet är att få en insyn i vad förskolebarn har för tankar om de frågor som berör döden. Frågeställningen som besvaras är: ”Vad har förskolebarn för tankar om döden?” Kvalitativa intervjuer har skett med tio förskolebarn i åldrarna fyra till sex år vilka ligger till grund för undersökningen i arbetet. Även teckningar av barnen som förtydligar deras tankar ingår i undersökningen. Förskolebarnen tillhör samma förskola i Värmland. Det som sägs i intervjuerna kan inte generaliseras att gälla alla förskolebarn, utan gäller enbart för de förskolebarn som intervjuerna är utförda med. Undersökningsresultatet påvisar att förskolebarn har en öppen syn på döden. Barnen har haft tankar om det mesta som berör ämnet. Deras teckningar visade också en bred variation av tolkningar av döden. / The purpose of this thesis is to gain an insight into pre-school pupils’ thoughts concerning death. The question at issue is: “What thoughts do pre-school pupils have concerning death”? Qualitative interviews have been done with ten pre-school pupils of four to six years of age which are the foundation of this work. Drawings by the children that clarify their thoughts are also included in the thesis. The pupils all go to the same pre-school in Värmland. Everything that is said in the interviews is only applicable to the pre-school pupils that have been interviewed and can not be generalized to apply to other pre-school children. This thesis proves that pre-school pupils have an open mind regarding death. The children have had a wide range of thoughts on the subject. Their drawings also showed a wide range of interpretations regarding death.