Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka hur pedagoger arbetar med barns delaktighet och inflytande i förskolan på små- och storbarnsavdelningar. För att precisera studiens syfte har följande frågeställningar valts: Hur arbetar pedagogerna med barns delaktighet och inflytande? Skiljer sig arbetet på små- och storbarnsavdelningar? och Vilka eventuella faktorer upplever pedagogerna påverkar arbetet med barns delaktighet och inflytande? Intentionen med studien är således att synliggöra olika arbetssätt som pedagoger på små- och storbarnsavdelningar använder sig av när det kommer till barns delaktighet och inflytande, samt om det finns eventuella likheter och skillnader i arbetet. Intentionen är även att uppmärksamma de påverkansfaktorer som pedagogerna upplever i arbetet. Den valda undersökningsmetoden till denna studie är enkäter, som mestadels består av öppna frågor, detta med anledningen att det är pedagogernas egna beskrivningar som skall stå som grund för resultatet. Resultatet visar att arbetet med barns delaktighet och inflytande skiljer sig till viss del på små- respektive storbarnsavdelningar. De yngre barnen ges främst möjlighet till delaktighet och inflytande genom att göra små val, medan de äldre barnen får delta i större beslutsfattanden så som planering av verksamheten, demokratiska processer samt i utformningen av miljön. Det som också skiljer de olika arbetssätten åt, är att pedagogerna på småbarnsavdelningarna använder sig av Alternativ Kompletterande Kommunikation (AKK) i sitt arbete för att främja barns delaktighet och inflytande. Resultatet visar också att de huvudsakliga påverkansfaktorerna som pedagogerna på både små- och storbarnsavdelningarna upplever finnas i arbetet med barns delaktighet och inflytande är: Barngruppens storlek, personaltätheten och tiden. Utifrån pedagogernas beskrivningar kan ett samband synliggöras mellan dessa faktorer. Stora barngrupper i relation till en låg personaltäthet resulterar i brist på tid till arbetet med barns delaktighet och inflytande. Studien påvisar att trots de påverkansfaktorer som finns, är det i slutänden upp till pedagogen att skapa goda förutsättningar för barns möjlighet till delaktighet och inflytande. Pedagogens didaktiska förhållningssätt blir således ytterst viktigt i arbetet med detta.

The use of video games for teaching children different subjects is commonly believed to be a good  approach. In  general  has  learning  theme  for  these  games  focused  on  traditionally subject, such as math or biology. Important as they can be for education, other softer aspects can also be considered important for the children and education. One such aspect is emotions and the role it has on a social level. However, it is not much research showing how to use emotions  in  a  learning  game. In  this  thesis, I  examine  how  children  perceive  and  use emotions as they play a game specially designed for teaching emotions. The game utilises emotions  in  a  new  design  that  let  the  player  interact  with  cartoon  animals  in  different scenarios. I report findings based on a sample of thirty-three (33) preschool children, and six (6) parents who took part in the study. Data was collected using a qualitative method in a two step procedure with observation of play and follow up interviews in the first step, followed by video recordings of play and demonstrations using cuddly pets in the second step. Using an ecological framework for analysis and theory from the field of emotional intelligence, I show that children playing this game can perceive emotions expressed in the game. I also show that it is possible to play this particular game without the need to involve emotions. Children do not learn emotions from playing the game. These results carries important implication for the design of learning games as it illuminates that learning can come from possible sources other than the gameplay. / Det finns en spridd uppfattning att videospel kan fungera som lärandespel för barn. Generelltsätt har denna uppfattning stöd i skolan och det finns därför även en önskan att producera spel som kan användas till att undervisa traditionella kärnämnen, exempelvis matematik eller biologi.  Dessa ämnen är betydelsefulla att bemästra, dock finns även andra mer mjuka aspekter som kan ha en avgörande betydelse för barnets lärande. En sådan aspekt gäller den viktiga betydelse som känslor har i ett socialt sammanhang. I denna uppsats undersöker jag hur barn uppfattar och använder känslor då barnen spelar ett spel som är designat enkom för detta syfte. Spelet utnyttjar en design som låter spelaren interagera med tecknade djur i skilda scenarion. Jag redovisar resultat som baseras på ett urval av trettiotre (33) förskolebarn och sex (6) föräldrar. De material som samlades in bygger på en kvalitativ datainsamlingsmetod som är uppbyggd i två steg. I steg ett samlades data in genom observationer samt uppföljande intervjuer. I steg två genomfördes sedan observationer följt av demonstrationer då barnen använde gosedjur. Jag visar, genom att applicera ett ekologiskt ramverk samt teori kring emotionell intelligens, att barnen kan uppfatta känslor som manifesteras i ett videospel. Jag visar också att spe- let kan spelas genom en slumpmässig interaktion där barnen inte behöver använda känslor för att föra spelet framåt, och jag konkluderar därför att det är möjligt att barnen inte lär sig känslor som en följd av själva spelandet.

Sammanfattning Syftet med detta examensarbete var att undersöka hur samt vilka språkstrategier barnen använder i sina sociala interaktioner med andra barn och hur dessa språkstrategier påverkar deras kamratrelationer. För att möjliggöra uppnåendet av syftet studerades barnens interaktioner utifrån tre frågeställningar som fokuserade på barnens språkstrategier för att inbjuda, utesluta eller förhandla med kamrater i lek. Undersökningen bedrevs utifrån det sociokulturella perspektivet, då det verbala språket och interaktion med andra barn ses som nödvändigt för barns lärande och utveckling inom detta perspektiv. Denna studie genomfördes med deltagande observation som metod då barnens handlingar och interaktioner behövde studeras i deras dagliga miljö, som är förskolan. Jag valde deltagande observation som metod eftersom jag ville delta och befinna mig nära barnen i förskolan för att undersöka och skapa mig en bild av barnens verklighet. Dessa observationer genomfördes med fältanteckningar där jag kontinuerligt skrev ner barnens handlingar och uttalande i löpande text. Resultatet visade att barnen har en oerhörd kontroll och medvetenhet kring språk och vilka språkstrategier som ska användas när och hur. På denna förskola och i denna barngrupp upptäcktes åtta språkstrategier som barnen använde för att inbjuda, utesluta eller förhandla med kamrater under lek. Dessa språkstrategier synliggjorde även hur barnens kamratrelationer påverkades på olika sätt, beroende på om språkstrategin uteslöt, inbjöd eller rörde sig om förhandling i interaktionerna. / Abstract The aim of this thesis was to investigate how and which language strategies children used in their social interactions with other children and how these language strategies affected their peer relationships. In order to enable achievement of the aim of this thesis was the study on children’s interactions based on three questions that focused on children´s language strategies to invite, exclude or negotiate with peers during play. The study was based on the socio- cultural perspective, because verbal language and interaction with other children is seen as essential for children´s learning and development in this perspective. This study was implemented with participant observation as method because the children´s actions and interactions needed to be studied in their daily environment, which is the preschool. The choice of participant observation as method was made because I wanted to participate in the children´s interactions and be near the children in the preschool, to investigate my aim and create a picture of the children´s reality. These observations were carried out with field notes where I constantly wrote down the children´s actions and statements in running text. The results of the study showed that the children have a tremendous control and awareness about language and which language strategies to use when and how. In this preschool and in this group of children eight language strategies was discovered that the children used to invite, exclude or negotiate with peers during play. These language strategies made visible even how children´s peer relationships were affected in different ways, depending on whether the language strategy excluded, invited or was about negotiation during the interactions.

This dissertation deals with the language skills of the preschool children in comparison with the expected competences. The main aim of this dissertation is to discover the level of the preschool children language skills and to compare them with the expected competences. The additional aim is to ascertain the activities used by the pedagogues to evolve the language skills of the preschool children. The methods of the language skills development, the support of the communication and language skills in the nursery school and the factors influencing language skills are described on the base of the professional literature in the theoretic parts of this dissertation. The proposal of the solution for the pedagogue's work efficiency improvement and preschool children language skills quality improvement is composed on the base of the testing and the survey.

Pre-school as a Meeting Place – Children’s Access-strategies and Exclusions in Play and Conversation The research reported in this thesis attempts to understand what happens when children interact with each other in the context of activities in a pre-school setting (here called Daggkåpan) when adults are not involved. By using ethnographically inspired methodology, in combination with conversation-analysis, this project has been analysing everyday interaction between children who are three to five years old. The aim of the project was to understand how children at Daggkåpan create relationships and how they defend and protect their interactional spaces. I have studied how children shape, maintain and interrupt relationships and interactions with one another. I have studied and analysed what kinds of access-strategies the children utilize and create and also how these children exclude one another in play activities and everyday conversations. Sociocultural and interactionistic perspectives have been used. Findings suggest that it is very important for these children to maintain interactions with peers and gain access to play groups. The children of Daggkåpan create and use several different strategies for gaining access. The results also indicate that gaining access to play groups is particularly difficult in preschool settings since young children tend to protect shared spaces and ongoing play activities from children outside the realms of these spaces and activities. Children also co-construct a number of strategies for excluding peers from their interactional spaces. Steering clear from the dominating perspective that categorizes children and focuses on the individual child, I have in contrast focused children during their interaction with one another in peer group activities. In other words I have discussed peer-relations, peer-socialization and peer-perspectives from an interactional view. Studying peer-interactions through microanalysis allows for understanding what is meaningful for children in their peer-culture in preschool.

The subject of this thesis "Possibilities of a visual perception test within dynamic diagnos- tics" is to find out how is it possible to work with preschool children by dynamically ori- ented approach with Visual perception test. The thesis contains theoretical and practical part. The theoretical part is focused on explaining the foundations of dynamic diagnostics, development of children's visual perception and the possibilities of its diagnosis in the pre- school age. In the empirical part of the work are through case studies presented individual cases of children with whom research investigation was realised. The conclusion summa- ries the recommendations for the intervention phase of dynamic diagnostics using Visual perception test. Data were collected using participant observation, interviews with the chil- dren, product analysis and by standardised test.

M.A. (Psychology) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which faith-based preschools promote spiritual development in preschoolers. The participants in the study were faith-based early childhood teachers and administrators from seven states. Early childhood professionals representing 11 Christian faith traditions completed written surveys or online surveys. A total of 201 faith-based educators completed the survey; 20 respondents participated in semi-structured interviews. The concurrent triangulation mixed-method design provided data on 8 program dimensions which support children's spiritual development: prayer, Bible literacy, worship, building character, service opportunities, assessment, parental involvement and context. I analyzed quantitative data using descriptive and inferential statistics. All items were examined using mean, standard deviation, frequency, and percentages. Qualitative data gathered from semi-structured interviews were coded and analyzed using NVivo8® qualitative analysis software (QSR International, Inc., Cambridge, MA, http://www.qsrinternational.com). From this data I identified the extent to which faith-based preschool programs support children's spiritual development through the practices of prayer, Bible literacy, worship, building character, service opportunities, assessment, parental involvement and context. Data analyses revealed statistically significant differences in faith-based teachers' hours of training in children's spiritual development across all program practice dimensions. A key finding of the study was that training in children's spiritual development is important regardless of the education level of the early childhood professional. Qualitative data indicated no standardized spiritual development training in faith-based preschools represented in this study. The mixed-method analysis revealed that the 8 program practice dimensions were not always connected in a framework that supported children's spiritual development. Recommendations for professional practice include a program framework to support children's spiritual development in faith-based preschool programs; training for faith-based early childhood professionals in children's spiritual development; and formulating a definition of children's spiritual development.

This study explores distinct levels of meaning from images of picture books perceived by 3- to 5-year-old children and investigates how the certain visual perception factors influence children's meaning making and if these factors are correlated. The literature review supports associations among visual perception, information, picture books, meaning, and children. Visual perception serves as the first channel that filters and interprets visual information, and picture books provide visual and verbal experience for children, who constantly search for meaning. Children age 3 to 5 years are potential users of picture books because pictorial information is considered useful to children's learning tasks. Previous research reveals that various factors influence visual perception, and meaning has been mostly associated with its semantic significance in information retrieval. In information science, little research has focused on young children's own way of categorizing information, especially visual information. In order to investigate the distinct levels of meaning perceived by children, the investigation employed both qualitative and quantitative methods including unobtrusive and participant observation, factor analysis, content analysis, and case study. The result of this study contributes to understanding the cognitive process of children related to visual literacy and their interpreting visual information in a digital environment.

The purpose of this study is to gain knowledge about how employees in Swedish preschools work to ensure that children with native languages other thanSwedish are given the opportunity to develop in both the Swedish language and in their native language. The study also looked at the opportunities andchallenges educators saw in this work. The study applied the sociocultural perspective of learning and language. The method for this study was to intervieweight preschool educators. According to the results, the preschool educators inthis study played a significant role in language development for children who have a native language other than Swedish. Pedagogical support and a positiveattitude towards multilingualism were key words in the interviews and were considered by the educators to be in important in this work. The physical toolsthat the interviewed educators used were mainly TAKK, support with pictures,words /songs in the mother tongue and digital tools. The challenges that thepreschool educators experienced at work were a lack of time as well as difficulties in their dealings with legal guardians. / Syftet i den aktuella studien är att få kunskap om hur man i förskoleverksamheten arbetar för att barn som talar ett annat modersmål än svenska ges möjligheter att utvecklas inom både svenska språket och sitt modersmål. Samt attsynliggöra möjligheter och utmaningar som verksamma förskolepedagoger seri detta arbetet. Den teoretiska utgångspunkten i studien är det sociokulturellaperspektivet på lärande och språk. För att besvara ovanstående syfte genomfördes intervjuer av åtta stycken svenska förskolepedagoger. Studiens resultatvisar att de deltagande pedagogerna i studien spelade en betydande roll i språkutvecklingen för barn som har ett annat modersmål än svenska. Pedagogiskstöttning och positiv attityd till flerspråkighet var ledord i intervjuerna och som ansågs vara viktigt i arbetet. När det kommer till pedagogiska verktyg som pedagogerna arbetade med så var de främst TAKK, bildstöd, ord/sånger på modersmålen och digitala verktyg som pedagogerna arbetade med. De utmaningarsom de intervjuade pedagogerna upplevde i arbetet var bristen på tid och samarbetet med vårdnadshavarna.