Tatueringar har historiskt sett väckt fördomar hos människor i form av att tatuerade individer uppfattas besitta negativa egenskaper. Denna studie undersökte hur tatueringar på en förskollärare var relaterade till utomståendes uppfattning om dennes lämplighet att ta hand om barn. Vidare undersöktes även om likhetseffekten var en faktor i tatuerade och icke-tatuerade deltagares bedömning av yrkesutövaren. Genom en kvantitativ vinjettstudie fick 151 universitetsstudenter bedöma en förskollärares lämplighet utifrån 14 yrkesrelaterade egenskaper. Cirka hälften av deltagarna bedömde en icke-tatuerad förskollärare och den andra hälften bedömde en tatuerad förskollärare. Av deltagarna var 65 själva tatuerade och 86 icke-tatuerade. Resultatet presenterade inga signifikanta skillnader i bedömningen mellan den tatuerade förskollärarens och den icke-tatuerade förskollärarens lämplighet. Det fanns heller ingen skillnad i bedömningen utifrån om deltagaren själv hade tatueringar eller inte. Studiens resultat skiljer sig delvis från tidigare forskning och kan därav ligga till grund för vidare fördjupning i fördomar kring tatueringar inom olika yrken.

From Mother of Society to a Teacher Qualified for Post-graduate Studies – Continuity and Change in a Local Pre-school Education. The aim of this thesis is to throw light upon the basic values and representations of knowledge within a local female teacher education tradition and identify what kind of expectations are held of a pre-school teacher over time. The main question concerns central values and notions in a local pre-school teacher education regarding what is expected of a recognised pre-school teacher between the beginning of the 20th century and the first decade of the 21st century. A key interest is how these underlying values and notions are maintained and how they are transformed over time. Another interest is how these values and notions are maintained and transformed when they meet other teacher education traditions and when they are confronted with traditional academic values. The preschool teacher education is deeply rooted in a female tradition and the study presented here also focuses on the role that gender plays in the formation, changes and continuity of the central values in pre-school teacher education. The empirical sources include in-depth-interviews with 22 lecturers and supervisors from a local pre-school education in addition to document studies of selected materials from the archives of the Department of Education at Örebro University and at the Örebro University Library. The historical context and the dimension of time have been analysed using James Wertsch’s (2002) conception of voices of collective remembering in addition to the concepts of knowledge cultures (Englund & Linné 2005, Nerland 2008) and communities of practice (Lave and Wenger 2003). The results presented in this dissertation indicate that major shifts have occurred in the collective memory of the local pre-school teacher education during the 20th century and the first years of the 21st century. I have distinguished seven historical periodic themes in the analysis. These are: Mother of society – formation of a new female activity system (ca 1902–1942), All-round kindergarten leader (ca 1942–1963), Personality development and child observation (ca 1963–1972), Developmental psychology and dialogue pedagogy (ca 1972–1977), Education in a university setting and a citizen of society (ca 1977–1983), Reflective child pedagogue (ca 1982 1993) and Teacher of younger children – qualified for a research tradition (ca 2001– 2007).

Abstract This study analyzes an attempt at integration of a pre-school class, a leisure-time center and an elementary school in Sweden. The integration was organized in the form of Vertical Track which implies a successive development of groups comprising children between six and twelve years old, pre-school teachers, recreation pedagogues, and schoolteachers. The integration was prompted by state governed reforms such as the 1992 law allowing six-year olds to start compulsory school. The study is based on cultural-historical activity theory and was carried out as participant observation and action research. The study addresses the question of the potentials and alternative goals for change and development of the present school pedagogy and classroom practice that integration implies. Special attention has been paid to what tools might potentially mediate in processes of integration. A research and educational program, the 5thD, was jointly created between researchers and teachers and located in a Vertical Track. The capacity of this complex tool as a mediator in the multicultural Vertical Track structure was explored. It is argued that the Vertical Track as an instantiation of the integration reform represents an arena for potential expansive transformation. However, in order for integration to have an impact on the pedagogical practice in schools, teacher interactions need to be mediated by communicative and conceptual tools. It is suggested that the 5thD program is an example of such tools. Keywords: Integration, pre-school teacher, recreation pedagogue, schoolteacher, contradiction, expansive learning, mediation, and tool. / <p>Framlagd vid Helsingfors universitet, pedagogiska institutionen.</p>

Much of the everyday work of teachers in pre-schools, schools and youth centers is based on experience. This study is a qualitative interview study intended to make visible the experiences of pre-school teachers in situations when children are considered to be in need of special support. I have looked at pre-school teachers’ descriptions of the kinds of situations in which a child is estimated to be in need of special support, what teachers look for in a child to identify it as a child in need of special support in a specific situation, and how the teachers define special support.   Both this study and previous research show that children’s estimated need of support depends on the situation and context the child is in. The pre-school teachers in this study identify common situations where children are estimated to be in need of special support, namely: in interaction with others, in structured situations, during changes of activities and during free play. The study found that the pre-school teachers saw all children as requiring more or less support during certain periods of time. They didn’t identify a particular, generalizable group of “special needs” children that requires special support more frequently. The pre-school teachers in this study struggled to define special support, stating that the definition depends on the individual that is in need of support and the situation in which support is seen to be necessary. Two of three informants in this study said that if special support needs a definition, they consider it to be support from outside the pre-school, such as provision of competencies the pre-school teachers do not possess, or reorganization. / Många delar av lärarnas dagliga arbete och agerande på förskola, skola och fritidshem grundar sig i erfarenhet. Denna studie är en kvalitativ intervjustudie med syfte att göra förskollärares erfarenheter av situationer där barn bedöms vara i behov av särskilt stöd mer synliga. Jag har studerat förskollärares erfarenheter av vilka situationer barn bedöms vara i behov av särskilt stöd, vilka barn som är i behov av särskilt stöd i en specifik situation och på vilket sätt definierar förskollärarna vad som är särskilt stöd.   Både denna studie och tidigare forskning visar att barns bedömda behov av stöd beror på situationen och sammanhanget barnet är i. Förskollärarna i denna studie menar att vanliga situationer där barn bedöms vara i behov av någon form av stöd är i samspelet med andra, i strukturerade situationer, i skiftet mellan aktiviteter och i den fria leken. I studien framkommer att förskollärarna anser att barn kan vara i mer eller mindre behov av någon form av stöd under en längre eller kortare tid och de kan inte säga att det är någon generaliserbar grupp barn som oftare bedöms vara i behov av särskilt stöd. Det var svårt för förskollärarna i denna studie att definiera särskilt stöd, de menar att det beror på vilken individ som är i behov av stödet och i vilken situation stödet bedöms behövas. Två av tre informanter i denna studie uttrycker att om det särskilda stödet måste definieras handlar det om stöd utifrån i form av kompetens förskollärarna inte har, omorganisation eller liknande.

In the essay, the balance between being an educator and a mother of a child with autism is explored in respect to how the roles might influence the actions of a pre-school teacher. Writing is used as a method of reflection, it gives the teacher a chance to take a step back and view her practical experiences from a novel perspective; conclusions are recounted throughout the teachers narrative. The essay is based on the following questions; which problems might arise in the meeting with parents such as Adams where there is a suspicion of autism for the child? Which advantages/disadvantages might the teacher’s personal experience of autism have for the role as educator? How would the dual roles as educator and mother of an autistic child best be balanced in the future? The essay highlights special educational and parent perspectives on the matter of autism. Professor of pedagogy Claes Nilholm, specializes in special needs education. Nilholm discusses the existence of compensatory and critical perspectives on autism in the classroom, which are presented in the essay as a problematic dichotomy which the teacher must navigate. Based on the work performed by psychologist Lennart Lindqvist the teacher presents her own experiences of being a mother of a child with autism and how it affects her role as educator. From the reflective process the teacher concluded that personal experience from children with autism might be of advantage in the educational environment but has distinct disadvantages when communicating with parents. Aristoteles three forms of knowledge episteme, techne and fronesis were used to further highlight the difficulties when dealing with parents of children with suspected autism. Especially the concept of fronesis was discussed in relation to the teacher’s narrative as an influencing factor. Fronesis, the wisdom to act correctly in a given situation, was concluded be of advantage in the role as educator. When meeting parents of children with suspected autism the teachers unprocessed feeling on the matter may become a disadvantage. The aim of the essay was to deepen the knowledge of the teachers own experiences in order to better utilize them in the role as an educator.

Syftet var att undersöka hur fyra förskollärare uppfattade sitt arbete med matematik i förskolan med fokus på hinder och möjligheter. Syftet var också att undersöka om förskollärarnas syn och arbetssätt skiljde sig åt beroende på i vilken åldergrupp förskolläraren arbetade. Jag valde att intervjua förskollärare eftersom jag tycker att de har en viktig roll i barns tidiga matematiska utveckling. Resultatet visar att förskollärarna anser att matematik är en viktig del i förskolan och att det är viktigt att barn tidigt kommer i kontakt med matematiken samt att matematik är mer än bara plus och minus men även att matematik inte behöver planeras utan finns ofta i alla förekommande moment i förskolans verksamhet. Skillnaderna jag upptäckte bland intervjuerna var att några antydde att det var brist på planeringstid, medan andra tyckte att de gjorde vad de kunde, eftersom matematiken inte så ofta behöver planeras utan finns naturligt i alla förskolans moment. / The aim of this study was to examine how four pre-school teachers apprehended their mathematics work in pre-school with focus on obstacles and possibilities. The aim also was to examine if the pre-school teachers approach and operation methods differed depending on the age-group in which the pre-school teachers worked. I chose to interview pre-school teachers because I believe that they have a significant role in childrens’ early mathematical development. The result shows that pre-school teachers find mathematics to be an important part in pre-school and that mathematics is necessary for children in an early age. The result also shows that mathematics includes so much more than just plus and minus, and that mathematics doesn’t mean extensive planning, instead it can be found in many of the situations that occur in the pre-school area. Disparities that I noticed among the interviews were indications of insufficient planning-time, but some of the interviewed stated that this was not really an issue because mathematics doesn’t mean planning as mentioned before.

Upptäckten av autism hos barn i tidig ålder kan ha stor betydelse för barnens framtid. Förskolan och förskollärarna är därför av stor betydelse i det stöd som barnen kan komma att behöva. För att förskolelärarna ska kunna ge det rätta stödet måste personalen ha kunskap om hur man arbetar och bemöter barn med autism. Studiens syfte är att undersöka hur förskolelärare arbetar med barn med autism som är i behov av särskilt stöd. Frågeställningen tar upp vilka kunskaper förskolelärarna anser behövs kring autism och vilka metoder som används i arbetet med barn med autism. Förskolelärarnas bemötande och arbetssätt är av stor vikt för barnens trygghet samt utveckling. För att besvara studiens syfte och frågeställning har den kvalitativa forskningsmetoden semistrukturerad intervju använts. För att analysera empirin, har Vygotskijs sociokulturella perspektiv använts samt Antonovskys känsla av sammanhang (KASAM). Resultatet visar att största vikten i förskolelärarnas arbete med barn med autism ligger i tydlighet, struktur, lyhördhet och att se till varje barns behov. Det arbetas med att hitta de metoder och verktyg som kan komma att behövas för att göra barnens vardag begriplig, hanterbar och meningsfull. Stöttning, handledning, fortbildning och samverkan lyfts som det som det måste arbetas vidare med i det fortsatta arbetet med barn med autism. Studien belyser även förskolelärarnas uppfattning av sin egen roll i arbetet med barn med autism. / To discover autism at a child's early age can be of great importance for the child's future development. Pre-schools and pre-school teachers are therefore of great importance in the support that the child may need through the coming years. For pre-school teachers to be able to provide the correct support, the staff must have the correct knowledge in how to work and meet the needs of children with autism. The aim of this study is to investigate the way that pre-school teachers work with children with autism. Issues that are brought up in the study involve to see what pre-school teachers consider necessary knowledge concerning children with autism and what methods are used in their daily routines. Pre-school teachers' behaviour and working methods are of great importance for the children's feeling of wellbeing and development. To answer the aim and the issues of the study, the qualitative research method used is semi structured interviews. To analyse the empiricism, Vygotsky's socio-cultural perspective has been used, as well as Antonovsky's sense of coherence (SOC). The results show that pre-school teachers most important work with children with autism are clarity, structure, responsiveness and to cater for each child's individual needs. Work is done to find the methods and tools that may be needed to make the children’s daily life understandable, manageable and meaningful. Support, tutoring, continued education and collaboration are raised as things that must be further worked on in the continued work with children with autism. The study also highlights the pre-school teachers own perception of their role in the work with children with autism.

Siffror och tal är något som finns runt om oss i samhället. Barn stöter på siffror och tal i hemmet och förskolan på olika sätt, medvetet eller omedvetet. I förskolan är matematik ett ämne som cirkulerar aktivt i dagens verksamheter. Vår studie syftar till att undersöka fem förskollärares synsätt på hur siffror och tal kan uttryckas i verksamhetens miljö och förskollärarnas uppfattningar om arbetssätt gentemot de matematiska läroplansmålen. Med hjälp av semistrukturerade intervjuer och deltagande observationer har vi samlat en empiri som är mångsidig och bred för att belysa ett relativt outforskat forskningsområde. Få studier har forskat om hur konkreta, siffror och tal kan uttryckas i förskolan utifrån ett läroplansteoretiskt samt sociokulturell teori. Våran studie innefattar dessa teorier som utgångspunkt kopplat till forskningsfrågorna i de två olika delstudierna. Studiens diskussion och resultat visade att siffror och tal är en kategori inom matematiken som synliggörs i olika uppfattningar och arbetssätt på de olika förskolorna. Förskollärarna hade en liknande uppfattning av siffror och tal och att dessa behöver implementeras redan i tidig ålder i barnens undervisning. Resultatet visade även att förskollärarnas roll var av vikt för att främja barns utveckling för att vidare kunna bygga upp en förståelse för konkreta siffror och tal.

In different municipalities, some children may attend pre-school five hours a day, three days a week while other children are there full time, from seven o'clock in the morning to five o'clock in the afternoon. This means for the children different conditions of learning if the pre-school does not work in a way where learning permeates throughout the school day. This is why we wanted to do a study on how pre-school teachers encourage learning in pre-school routine activities. Our aim of the study is to generate knowledge about routine activities that can contribute to create an equivalent pre-school for all children. This will be done by highlighting and analysing how educators have worked and planned for the routine situations in pre-school and problematizing the pre-school teachers´ perspectives on learning in different routine situations.The study is based on a socio-cultural perspective on learning with a method of interviewing three pre-school teachers at various pre-schools and conducting participant observations. The result of the study has shown us examples of how pre-school teachers work in different routine situations and we have seen different perspectives on learning. The concept of communication is something highly valuable for the learning process. We have also come to an understanding that routine situations can be adapted to the children in order to increase their feeling of safety.

<p>SAMMANFATTNING</p><p>Anette Eriksson</p><p>Barns delaktighet i förskolan – är den villkorad av de vuxna?</p><p>- Förskollärares uppfattningar om barns delaktighet i förskolans vardag.</p><p>Vårterminen 2007 Antal sidor 59</p><p>Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka, analysera och beskriva hur förskollärare uppfattar delaktighet i förskolans vardag. En litteratursökning visade att det fanns få studier avseende förskollärares uppfattningar om barns delaktighet i förskolan. Studien är kvalitativ med en innehållsanalys och har en metodtriangulerad design. Studien inleds med en undersökning av en öppen forskningsfråga, vidare har 20 intervjuer genomförts med förskollärare. Resultaten i den öppna frågan visade att förskolepersonal har två perspektiv på barns delaktighet, ett barnperspektiv och ett verksamhetsperspektiv. Resultaten i intervjuerna på visade att förskollärare definierar delaktighet som beslutsprocesser och att vara med att välja och bestämma. Resultaten visar vidare att en djup medvetenhet om vad som främjar barns delaktighet i förskolan finns hos förskollärare, ytterligare visar resultaten att denna medvetenhet inte alltid leder till att delaktigheten för barnen ökas. Resultaten visar att förskollärare även har en kunskap om vad det är som hindrar en ökning av barns delaktighet i förskolan. Dessa hinder består av förskolans struktur och informella strukturer som förskollärarna anser sig styrda av i arbetet i barngrupp och arbetslaget.</p><p>Nyckelord: Delaktighet, förskola, förskollärare, förskolebarn, bestämma.</p> / <p>Abstract</p><p>Anette Eriksson</p><p>Children’s participation in the pre-school –on conditions of the adults?</p><p>- Pre-school teachers concepts of children’s participation in pre-schools everyday life.</p><p>2007 Pages 22</p><p>The purpose of this study was to investigate, analyze and describe pre-school teachers concepts of children’s participation in pre-schools every day life. A literature study showed that there were few studies, in the exiting literature, concerning pre-school teachers conceptions of children’s participation in the pre-school daily life. The study is a qualitative inquiry containing a content analysis and has a methods triangulation design. The initial step of the inquiry was an open research question, furthermore has 20 interviews been conducted with pre-school teachers. The results of the open research question showed that pre-school teachers has two perspectives of how they view children’s participation, one child-perspective and one pre-school activities-perspective. Results from the interviews shows that pre-school teachers define participation as decision-making processes and to have the opportunity to choose as well as a prospect of taking decisions.</p><p>The results further shows that pre-school teachers has a deep awareness of what supports participation in pre-schools, further more the results show that this awareness does not always lead to increased participation on the children’s behalf. The results additionally show that pre-school teachers also have an understanding of what prevents participation in the pre-school. The obstacles consist of the pre-school structure and informal structures. Pre-schools teachers consider themselves as being ruled by these obstacles both in the work with the children and in the teacher team.</p><p>Keywords: Partcipation, Pre-school, Pre-school teacher, Pre-school children, Decision-making.</p>