This study intends to investigate Greek preschool teachers' perspectives about play in the schoolyard. Ten preschool teachers were interviewed using a semi-structured interview approach to gather data. Results were coded and analyzed using thematic analysis. The themes that were brought up revealed that Greek preschool teachers value play in the schoolyard. This study found that the teachers think there is a relation between play in the schoolyard and learning since they believe playing outside is a type of experiential learning. Moreover, they think that this relation can be more potent if teachers get involved more by organizing activities, and if the sense of place is increased to students. Furthermore, the Greek preschool teachers agree that play in the schoolyard has only positive effects on children's wellbeing. The barriers to facilitate outdoor play appear to be the schoolyard since they describe it as unsafe, empty, without any green elements, and missing pedagogical corners. Considering the Greek educational context that predominantly focus on the traditional inside the classroom teaching, the possitve attitudes that the preschool teachers showed for outdoor play are remarkable. These attitudes are a little step for further implementation of outdoor play in preschool education.

Intercultural education in Sweden is needed more than ever, because preschools are increasingly characterized by groups of children with diverse backgrounds. Guided play is an ideal educational tool for preschool teachers to promote intercultural values, since it combines the joy of play with cultural learning, so I wanted to investigate whether this tool is being utilized or not. This study explores how preschool teachers define intercultural education; the ways preschool teachers use guided play to promote intercultural values; and which (if any) differences there are in teachers’ practices to promote intercultural values depending on the extent of cultural and linguistic diversity present in the group of children they work with. The study also considers preschool teachers’ ideas about what educational policymakers could do to facilitate the endeavor of promoting intercultural values at preschool. The study is based on six semi-structured, individual interviews with preschool teachers who currently work in Swedish preschools. The research results show that there are a number of definitions for intercultural education in use by Swedish preschool teachers, rather than a single, universal definition, and that guided play is used a lot in both direct and indirect ways to promote intercultural values by preschool teachers. This study contributes to a deeper understanding of four key findings: 1) the definition of intercultural education is interpreted in different ways by preschool teachers; 2) preschool teachers use guided play in a variety of ways to promote intercultural values; 3) the way the preschool teachers work with intercultural values depends on whether children have reached verbal ability or whether the majority of the group speak the Swedish language; 4) preschool teachers believe that educational policymakers can contribute to their endeavor in promoting intercultural values in preschool education by a variety of ways.

Early childhood education and care (ECEC) perspective changes across countries due to different political goals, culture, organizational factors and educational theories. Those differences are expressed in curriculum orientations that generate different curriculums, practices and interactions in the different preschool contexts. This study aims not only to analyse how the preschool math curricular orientations in two European countries are organized, but mostly intends to demonstrate in what extent is preschool teachers understanding about teaching and pedagogical awareness interfere with their perspectives about national curricular orientations. Portugal and Sweden are the countries represented in this study. Both preschool math curricular orientations were compared as well as other relevant background variables. Preschool teachers from each country were interviewed via zoom for data production. Results show that even though there are different perspectives about the math curricular orientations that generate different approaches and practices, both countries understand the importance of the child as an active constructor of their mathematical knowledge.

Genom hela förskollärarutbildningen har lekens betydelse för barns lärande varit tydlig och att vi som förskollärare har ett ansvar att se till att leken ligger till grund för allt som vi gör i förskolan. Syftet med denna studie är att belysa förskollärares förhållningssätt till barns lek i planeringen av verksamheten och på så sätt bidra med kunskap kring hur leken kan ta form i förskolans verksamhet. Genom intervjuer, som analyserats med fenomenografi som metodansats, har de två deltagande förskollärarna visat en uppfattning där de tar barnens lek på allvar. Resultatet visar att förskollärarna har ett förhållningssätt som genomsyras av en barnsyn där barn ses som medmänniskor. Förskollärarna planerar verksamheten på ett sådant sätt att leken får ta en stor plats där också barnen får inflytande. Förskollärares förhållningssätt är ett intressant fenomen som jag efter att ha genomför denna studie menar får konsekvenser för barns lärande och utveckling i förskolan. / Throughout the preschool teacher education, the importance of play for children´s learning has been clear. We as preschool teachers have a responsibility to ensure that play is the foundation of everything we do in preschool. The purpose of this study is to shed light on preschool teachers´ approach to children’s play in the planning of the activity and in that way contribute with knowledge about how play can take shape in the preschool activity. Through interviews, analyzed with phenomenography as a method approach, the two participating preschool teachers have shown a perception where they take children’s play seriously. The results show that preschool teachers have an approach that is permeated by a view of children where children are seen as fellow human beings. The preschool teachers plan activities in such a way that the play can take a large place where the children also have an influence. Preschool teachers´ approach are an interesting phenomenon that after completing this study I mean will have consequences for children´s learning and development in preschool.

The aim of this study is to examine if early preventive work, focusing on sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), can promote a decreasing need for future social work. Furthermore, the purpose is to examine preschool as a context for this kind of work, and whether students becoming preschool teachers experience that they have received adequate knowledge about SRHR. More importantly this also includes their perceived ability to pass the knowledge on to the preschool children. The study has a qualitative approach and is based on semi structured interviews with four students from two different university studying to preschool teachers. Earlier studies and the empirical result both display a lack of knowledge and interventions concerning SRHR from a broad perspective. Reasons for this includes the belief that the subject is taboo or not age appropriate. This eventuates in teachers not having the right tools how to handle situation concerning this area. Earlier research in this area is sparse, but it exist a demand from preschool teachers on how to provide an age adequate, curricula-based, comprehensive sexuality education. However, both this study and earlier research also show a positive potential of SRHR starting to become a prioritized topic in earlier ages. After all, the knowledge about SRHR is a human right for all the kids.

Sustainable development is a broad and difficult concept. The concept has been clarified and given more space in the steering document - the curriculum for preschool 2018 - with its own heading together with health and well-being. Sustainable development can be divided into three different dimensions, the ecological, social and economic dimension. In this study, sustainable development is discussed overall, but, however, delves into the ecological dimension. The ecological dimension is referred to as sustainable development (climate and natural environment) with the support of a qualitative study and individual interviews in preschools as a method. A total of five preschool teachers at two different preschools are interviewed. The purpose of the study is to elucidate some different perceptions that preschool teachers have about sustainable development in preschool. What emerges from the analysis is that all interviewed preschool teacher’s value sustainable development (climate and natural environment) highly within preschool, and that this is a relevant area to work with. The result shows that all preschool teachers consider that they have an important role in supporting children's learning in sustainable development and that it is the preschool teachers who have the main responsibility and should be teaching. What emerges most clearly from the interviews with preschool teachers is to awaken children's interest in digital tools and to talk with children about sustainable development. Prerequisites to work on sustainable development in preschool always exist, according to the interviewed preschool teachers, but some of them emphasize that it is up to each individual to address it if one wants to work with it in preschool. It is more spontaneous teaching than planned teaching in sustainable development, say the interviewed preschool teachers. They further believe that one works with sustainable development on a daily basis without consciously knowing about and thinking about it

The purpose of our study is to examine preschool teachers’ and child minders’ perceptions about the education of preschool children and if the profession plays a factor when teaching at a preschool. We have made qualitative interviews and the phenomenographic analysis concludes that both child minders and preschool teachers consider themselves to be qualified to teach and have the responsibility to educate, but that the preschool teachers have the ultimate responsibility to plan the lessons and make the follow ups if needed. In the Swedish preschools, all educators work in teams and our study shows that all educators find the team way of working valuable. Active educators express the importance of collaboration with words like “work together” and “...only one preschool teacher can’t do all the work”. These are the issues we address in this study: Are there differences and similarities in the perceptions of the concept of teaching in the respondents? How do the two professions interpret the text about teaching in the regulatory documents?  Whose mission it is to teach, are there differences and similarities in respondents' perceptions?

Background: The shortage of teachers in Sweden is an ongoing problem and is expected to continue. The preschool profession seems to be more unattractive which in turn might be a cause of low work motivation, but why? This made it interesting to investigate the work motivation amongst preschool teachers to see what factors that might cause the low work motivation. Purpose: The purpose of the study is to examine the intrinsic factors of work motivation for preschool teachers and how a manager might impact their work motivation. This thesis will be examined and connected to the Self Determination Theory. Method: This is a qualitative study with an inductive approach. Data were collected qualitatively through semi-structured interviews with seven respondents, two managers, and five preschool teachers from different schools. Using Gioia's coding method the information from the interviews was analyzed. The Self-determination theory was found to be the foremost applicable theory to use, as a result, intrinsic motivation became the first focus of this thesis. Conclusion: The main factors that affect the work motivation for preschool teachers are three aggregate dimensions, feeling of efficiency, opportunity to influence, and a sense of belonging which were conducted with help from the SDT and Gioia methodology. It was also recognized that managers had a big impact on how all these three aggregate dimensions were fulfilled.

This study examines preschool teachers` experiences of working with multilingualism. Through the study I want to find out about what experiences preschool teachers have about working with multilingualism and what has changed during their working life. The study also examines which methods are used most to support the children`s native language and how educators experience work with multilingualism. The data gathering has been carried out using a qualitative method that is semi structured interviews. Six licensed preschool teachers were interviewed. Data has been analyzed using phenomenography. The results show that the work with multilingualism places demands on the educators but is seen with a positive attitude. The result also shows that the educators´ view of working with multilingualism is of importance for the children and their educational development. If the educator lacks will and commitment to work with multilingualism it will affect the education for the children. The children will then not receive the support they need to improve and develop. It is also important that the principals emphasize that multilingualism is included in the preschool`s activities. It also appears in the results that educators` knowledge plays a role in the work with multilingualism and that educators need to know about the child`s background to be able to support the children in their language development. The results show that the most used method support in the work with multilingualism are digital tools and specific learning app Polyglutt. / Denna studie undersöker förskollärares erfarenheter av arbete med flerspråkighet. Genom studien vill jag ta reda på vilka erfarenheter förskollärarna har kring arbetet med flerspråkighet och vad som har förändrats under deras arbetsliv. Studien undersöker även vilka metoder som används mest för att stödja barnens modersmål och hur pedagoger upplever arbetet med flerspråkighet. Datainsamlingen har genomförts med kvalitativ metod som är semistrukturerade intervjuer. Det intervjuades sex legitimerade förskollärare. Data har analyserats med hjälp av fenomenografi. Resultatet visar att arbetet med flerspråkighet ställer krav på pedagogerna men ses med en positiv inställning. Resultatet visar även att pedagogernas syn på att arbeta med flerspråkighet har stor betydelse för barnen och deras pedagogiska utveckling. Om pedagogerna saknar vilja och engagemang till att arbeta med flerspråkighet kommer det att påverka barnens utbildning. Barnen får då inte de stöd de behöver för att förbättra sig och utvecklas. Det är även viktigt att rektorerna lägger vikt på att flerspråkighet inkluderas i förskolans verksamhet. Det framkommer även i resultatet att pedagogers kunskaper spelar roll i arbetet med flerspråkighet och att pedagoger behöver veta om barnets bakgrund för att kunna stödja barnen i deras språkutveckling. Resultatet visar att den mest använda metoden som stöd i arbetet med flerspråkighet är digitala verktyg och specifikt lärandeappen Polyglutt.

In an overview of research within preschool, there appears a certain ambiguity where the fields “preschool teachers’ attitudes and methods” and “children’s gender identity process” are perceived as separate. The aim of this study is to combine and discuss the relationship between these two separate fields in order to identify patterns that can be applied in preschool practice. The main theoretical framework is Connell’s (2009) gender theory, combined with a didactic perspective that clarifies the pedagogical relationship in children's gender identity process. This study consists of a research overview that includes 24 studies that specifically deal with gender, identity and preschool teachers' didactic methods in preschool. The results of the studies are interpreted and compared both nationally and internationally. Five main patterns are visible regarding preschool teachers' attitudes and methods in children’s gender identity process: Gender stereotypical pattern, Gender equality pattern, Presumed gender neutral pattern, Biological pattern and Compensatory pattern. The central findings in these patterns are discussed, related to previous research, and linked to the pedagogical practice. The results of the study are also discussed in relation to the surrounding society, and suggestions for further research about children’s gender identity are given.