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A focus on early literacy that became heightened in the early 21st century has had the unintended consequence of restricting our ideas about what children should be doing in classrooms, creating a preoccupation not only with literacy in general but also with a specific subset of early literacy skills that often reflect Eurocentric cultural norms and values. This can result in a proliferation of assessments, prescriptive curricula, and skills-based activities that allow little flexibility for teachers. A narrowing of curriculum and expectations, of behaviors that “count” as literacy, limits the potential for teachers to create literacy experiences that build upon the rich funds of knowledge that all children possess. Our understanding of how teachers have been impacted by this and the ways in which contextual variables mitigate expectations and requirements has not been sufficiently developed. In the face of such concerns, this study sought to include preschool teachers’ own descriptions of their literacy practices and their beliefs about early literacy development. Using a mixed-methods approach that included in-depth interviews as well as a questionnaire, narrative portraits were developed for eight pre-k teachers in Texas who worked in various program settings: Head Start, public prekindergarten, “braided” programs, as well as privately funded. A comparative analysis was also conducted, including the application of Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Theory to disentangle the influence of different contextual factors. Teachers navigated a host of different influences on their early literacy practice from local stakeholders and colleagues to policies, cultural values and expectations, as well as shifting expectations for the early literacy skills pre-k children should have in order to be ready for kindergarten. Regardless of their settings or beliefs about teaching, teachers experienced barriers that at times impeded their ability to teach the ways they wanted to. They described a variety of activities and approaches to supporting emerging literacy skills, and they balanced requirements and expectations with a desire to tailor their instruction and learning opportunities in individually appropriate ways. Survey responses mirrored those of previous studies that utilized the same questionnaires in order to develop an understanding of preschool teachers’ literacy beliefs and practices. What emerged was a picture of eight different teachers who believe in the potential of all children and are committed to providing a strong education foundation for the children in their classes. The field of early childhood is notoriously fragmented due to an incoherent system of governance, funding streams, and settings, resulting in a host of complications including expectations that might contradict one another and a redundancy within requirements that means teachers’ time is frequently consumed with paperwork, competing curricula, and duplicate assessments. Future studies should continue to explore how teachers are impacted by the social and political contexts that surround education and literacy, and including teachers’ perspectives is a critical aspect toward the continual improvement of early childhood education.

The purpose of this study is to investigate whether large groups of preschool children means lower quality of child development and learning. From six preschool teachers perspective we also wanted to find out the large groups of children positive and negative sides. The reason behind our choice of purposes is both our own experiences of mostly negative opinions of large groups of children among preschool teachers, as well as the news reports about the negative consequences that large groups of preschoolers may cause. The study draws on a approach of the term constructionism in the understanding of the teachers’ perceptions of larger groups of preschoolers. We applied a qualitative method based on interviews with six preschool teachers working on two different preschools. The result of our study shows that the interviewed preschool teachers sees mostly advantages rather than disadvantages with large groups of preschoolers. The preschool teachers describe that to be able to work with large groups of preschoolers there has to be a good structure and organization guaranteeing that the pedagogues have the right competence and that the preschools environment is well designed. The conclusion we have been able to draw is that the preschool teachers in our study is not sharing the same negative view that previous research and media reports have shown. Instead the preschool teachers in our study sees more positive than negative aspects of large groups of preschoolers, as long as there is a good structure and organization.

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

Svenska myndigheter och kommuner arbetar utifrån miljökvalitetsmålet Giftfri miljö med att minska användning och exponering för hälso- och miljöskadliga ämnen (Miljömål, 2016). På delegation från regeringen har Kemikalieinspektionen upprättat en handlingsplan för att nå miljömålet. Handlingsplanens fokus riktas till stor del mot kemikalier i barns vardag. Gävle kommun är i uppstartsfasen av arbetet inom förskolor, för att fortsätta arbetet strukturerat och med god prioritering så bör ett utgångsläge med riskområden inom förskolan identifieras. I det här examens arbetet inom miljöteknik genomförs en inventering av Kemikaliesmart förskola där 19 kommunala förskolor i Gävle kommun, med målet att identifiera riskområden och barns utsatthet för kemikalier i förskolan. Ett samarbete med Utbildning Gävles miljöstrateg har givit kontaktnät och ekonomisk möjlighet för personal vid de enskilda förskolorna att medverka under inventeringen. Den färdiga rapporten lämnas till verksamheten att använda som underlag vid prioriteringar i arbetet med kemikaliesmart förskola. Genomförandet sker med en befintlig mall från Naturskyddsföreningen som grund (Naturskyddsföreningen, 2013). Inventeringen görs i två etapper, en intervju inför inventeringen och inventering av lösöre och till viss del byggnadstekniska detaljer som golv- och väggytor. Inventeringen av lösöre består av cirka 100 frågor som ställs och undersöks vid varje förskola, de sammanfattas i tabellformat med beskrivande text. Därifrån lyfts eventuella riskområden, som stödjs genom underlag från Svenska myndigheter eller forskning. Diskussionen påvisar svårigheter som uppstår vid val av produkter då innehållsförteckningar är svåra att tyda eller obefintliga. Men också hur rutiner kring städ, tvätt och vädring kan påverka inom de identifierade riskområden. Riskområden som enligt mål och slutsats identifierats är skildrade genom typ av skadligt ämne eller negativ hälsopåverkan. Identifieringen gav sex olika områden: Flamskydds-, vatten- och fläckavvisande medel, Kemikalier från plast, Allergiframkallande ämnen, Polycykliska aromatiska kolväten, Bly och Kvicksilver. För dessa områden redogörs vilka typer av produkterkategorier som är berörda och vilken typ av hälsorisk de innebär. / Swedish authorities and municipalities are working on the basis of the environmental quality objective non-toxic environment by reducing the use and exposure to health and environmental pollutants (Miljömål, 2016). The Swedish Chemicals Agency, on commission by the government, has drawn up an action plan to achieve the environmental objective. The Action Plan's focus is mainly on achieving a non-toxic everyday environment for children. Thru identication of riskareas, the preschools in Gävle will be able to get a good structure for the work to be done. In this diploma work in Environmental technology an inventory of Chemical Smart preschools is conducted. Nineteen municipal kindergartens in the city of Gävle are examined, with the goal of identifying areas of risk and vulnerability of children to chemicals in the preschool environment. A collaboration with the department of Education Gävle ́s environmental strategist has provided contacts and economic opportunity for the staff at the individual preschools to participate during the inventory. The final report is submitted to the department and its preschools to use as the basis of the priorities in the work of chemical smart preschool. The implementation is done with an existing template from the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation (Naturskyddsföreningen, 2013). The inventory is made in two stages, an interview before the inventory and inventory of chattels and some architectural details such as floor and wall surfaces. The inventory of chattels consists of approximately 100 questions asked and examined at each nursery, they are summarized in table format with descriptive text. Areas of risk are identified based on supported data from Swedish authorities or research in the subjected area. The discussion demonstrates the difficulties that arise in the choice of products when the contents are difficult to decipher or inaccessible. But also how the routines for cleaning, washing and airing can influence the identified risk areas. Risk areas according to the objectives and conclusions identified are depicted by type of substance or negative health effects. The identification gave six different areas: Flameproof, water and stain repellents, Chemicals from plastics, allergens, Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, lead and mercury. These areas outline the types of product categories that are of concern and what kind of health risk they entail.

Syftet med studien var att bidra med kunskap om hur den möblerade miljön i ateljén i en förskola kan inverka på barns kommunikation, rörelse och agerande. Studiens frågeställningar fokuserade på hur barnen kommunicerar i ateljémiljön, hur barnen rör sig i ateljémiljön och hur barnen kommunicerar i relation till hur de rör sig eller beter sig och ateljémiljöns inverkan på barns agerande. För att få svar på dessa frågor har kvalitativa observationsstudier på två barn i åldern 2-4 år genomförts i ateljén på en kommunal förskola i södra Sverige. Studiens resultat visar att ateljémiljön bidrog till barnens kreativitet då det ursprungliga arbetet med collage övergick till fri lek i rummet. En annan aspekt som iakktogs i studien var att miljön var anpassad efter barnens längd, vilket gjorde att miljön inverkade positivt på barnens kommunikation, rörelse och agerande då barnen nådde materialet på hyllorna.

A consistent finding in the literature is that children who demonstrate lower levels of social functioning (i.e., exhibit high levels of externalising and internalising problems and low levels of socially competent behaviour) have problems interpreting social cues and enacting appropriate behavioural responses in social situations (that is, they have poor social information processing (SIP) skills). Another consistent finding is that children who demonstrate lower levels of social functioning have problems regulating behaviour and/or emotions (that is, they have poor self-regulation skills). The research questions in this study explore two related issues: whether these associations can explain sex differences in social functioning (with girls consistently exhibiting higher levels of social competence and lower levels of externalising problems than boys) and whether an intervention targeting SIP and self-regulation skills can lead to improvements in social functioning. The study forms one component of a larger developmental prevention project (the Pathways to Prevention Project) which involves the provision of an integrated set of intervention strategies to children attending preschools in a highly disadvantaged Brisbane suburb. It also involves programs with their families, their schools and relevant ethnic communities. This study relates to a sub-sample of 308 children who participated solely in the social skills program. Children from two preschools received the program (N=174) and were compared with children from two other preschools who did not receive the program (N=134). The research questions were addressed using a repeated measures design, with data being collected from all intervention and comparison children pre- and post-intervention (that is, at the beginning and end of the school year) and at a one year follow-up at the end of Grade 1. The study is unique as it involves Australian children from a diverse range of cultural backgrounds, many of whom who are non-English speaking. Few studies have involved such diverse samples and none have been implemented in an Australian context. The first two research questions seek to confirm findings from prior studies, examining whether females exhibit higher levels of social functioning than males and whether there is a significant relationship between social functioning and SIP and self-regulation skills. The third research question significantly extends prior findings by examining whether there are sex differences in SIP and self-regulation skills and whether these can account for sex differences in social functioning. This issue has been largely overlooked in the literature. The fourth research question examines whether a social skills intervention designed to improve preschool children's SIP and self-regulatory skills can lead to improvements in these skills and increase levels of social functioning. The fifth research question examines the relative effect of the intervention for boys and girls. Using pre-intervention data, the study confirmed prior research, finding significant sex differences in social functioning with girls exhibiting higher levels of social competence and lower levels of externalising problems. A significant relationship was also found between measures of SIP, self-regulation skills and social functioning. A significant sex difference was found in SIP and self-regulation skills, with girls performing better than boys on these measures. After adjusting for children's scores on the SIP measure, sex differences in social competence were no longer significant. Sex differences in externalising problems remained significant but were markedly reduced. A similar pattern of findings was observed when adjusting for self-regulation skills. These findings represent a major contribution to the understanding of sex differences in social functioning. In comparison to non-participants, participants in the social skills program demonstrated significant improvements in SIP, self-regulation skills and social competence which were sustained 12 months after the completion of the intervention. In general, program participation was not found to be associated with changes in children's levels of externalising and internalising behaviour problems, although there were strong and significant reductions in externalising behaviour problems for disruptive children who were consistently engaged with the program. Program effects were greatest where it was consistently reinforced by teachers. No significant sex differences in program effects were found. Implications for future policy are that child-focused programs designed to increase school readiness and levels of social competence should include SIP and self-regulation components. More intensive programs may be required for long term improvements in behaviour problems. In terms of future practice, it is concluded that the implementation and evaluation of programs for young disadvantaged children from a range of multi-cultural backgrounds must limit English language requirements to increase program engagement, and encourage parental involvement using strategies such as parent training groups that do not demand high levels of parental literacy. Teacher involvement also needs to be maximised either through the provision of teacher training or through intensive mentoring.

Syftet med denna undersökning är att tar reda på hur de yngsta barnens, 1-2 åringarnas inflytande i förskolan ser ut och detta sett utifrån ett förskollärarperspektiv. I undersökningen kommer barnen att kallas toddlare. För att få mer kunskap om toddlarnas inflytande i förskolan så intervjuades förskollärare som arbetar med toddlare ute i verksamheten. Metoden som användes till undersökningen var semistrukturerade intervjuer. Frågeställningarna som besvarades i undersökningen var vilka hinder och möjligheter ser förskollärare för toddlarnas inflytande i förskolan samt vilka erfarenheter har förskollärarna av att arbeta med toddlarnas inflytande i verksamheten. Resultatet i undersökningen visar att det är förskollärarnas förhållningssätt och deras syn på barn som påverkar toddlarnas möjligheter till inflytande. Som förskollärare krävs det att man läser av toddlarna mer genom kroppsspråket och att miljön ska vara utformad med möbler och material i toddlarnas nivå, det här kan annars bli hinder för toddlarnas inflytande. / The aim with this study is to find out what the youngest children’s, 1-2 years influence at the preschool looks like from a preschool teacher’s perspective. In this study the children will be referred to as toddlers. To get more knowledge on the toddlers influence at preschool, pre- school teachers were interviewed out in their natural environment. The method used for this study was semi-structured interviews. The questions asked in this study were to do with what obstacles and opportunities the preschool teachers can se for the toddlers influence at pre- school as well as the preschool teacher’s experiences when it comes to work with toddlers influence at preschool. Results from this study shows that it is the preschool teachers’ attitude and their view of children that affect the toddlers opportunities for influence. As a preschool teacher one is required to read the toddlers body language and to make sure the environment is designed with furniture and material at toddlers level, as this otherwise can cause obstacles for the toddlers influence.

The purpose of this study was to increase knowledge how preschool children act to explore and managing scientific phenomena. The phenomenon´s that was chosen for this study is magnetism and friction, the study was conducted through qualiative semi-structured interviews in group. By interviewing the children while the experiments were carried out their thoughts and reflections about the chosen phenomena made visible. To deepen the children´s learning in a pleasurable and inspiring way Information and Communication Technology (ICT) was intergraded, with help of a computer where the children got to watch the education program Tiggy test. By the children's act during the experiments you can see that the children follow a certain pattern when they explore and manage scientific phenomena. The children exploratory go through three different phases the "experience phase", the "study phase" and the "reflection phase". The phases build on each other and for the children to reach the final "reflection phase" they need support from the teacher (Fischer and Leicht Madsen, 2004). Furthermore the result indicates that children have ability to reflect, discuss and develop hypotheses in science. / Syftet med min studie är att få ökad kunskap om hur förskolebarn agerar för att utforska och hantera naturvetenskapliga fenomen. I studien valdes de fysikaliska fenomenen magnetism och friktion att utforskas, metoden som användes var semistrukturerade gruppintervjuer. Genom att intervjua barnen samtidigt som barnen genomförde experiment synliggjordes barnens tankar och reflektioner om de utvalda fenomenen. För att fördjupa barnens lärande på ett lustfyllt och inspirerande sätt integrerades informations-och kommunikationsteknik (IKT), med hjälp av en dator fick barnen titta på utbildningsprogrammet Tiggy testar. Genom barnens agerande under experimenten kan man se att barnen följer ett visst mönster när de utforskar och hanterar naturvetenskapliga fenomen. Barnens utforskande genomgår olika faser, upplevelse-upptäckarfasen, undersökningsfasen och reflektionsfasen, faserna bygger på varandra och för att barnen ska nå den slutliga reflektionsfasen behövs stöd från pedagogen (Fischer & Leicht Madsen, 2004). Vidare visar resultatet att barnen har en förmåga att reflektera, resonera och utveckla hypoteser inom naturvetenskapliga ämnen.