This thesis takes as one point of departure the concept of the expanded curriculum where curricula encompass both the formal steering documents, as well as that which goes on within the framework of preschool education and through the actors in preschools. The overarching purpose is therefore to generate knowledge about what conditions for learning the work of teachers make possible when curricula are created in preschool settings for children aged between 1 and 3. The purpose is also to contribute with knowledge about what these created curricula would mean for children’s agency, and the importance they can have for children’s opportunities for learning and development. The three empirical studies consist of digitally recorded interviews with teachers and video observations with a focus on teachers’ communication with children in preschool. The discussion in the overarching text is constructed around three aspects that emerge in the overall results of the studies. First, the studies reveal how teachers’ work can be likened to a limiting curriculum which, on the one hand, is entirely child-centered, with the children as seen actors, but, on the other, can be interpreted as entirely teacher-centered. Secondly, there is the discussion about the affirmative curriculum, where children are presented as affirmed actors. In other words, content becomes those things that children are interested in, and their modes of expression are seen, affirmed and often repeated. Finally there is the discussion about the possibilities and dilemmas related to an expanding curriculum where children are regarded and treated as real actors in the sense that their intentions and expressions are taken seriously as relevant challenges. The current curriculum text for Swedish preschool can, in this sense, be seen as an obstacle in that its formulations are extremely broad-based, as discussed related to the results of this thesis.

The purpose of this scientific study is to investigate how educators interpret their democratic mission to work with the children's influence on activities they do at the preschool. The study also aims to contribute to an increased knowledge about how educators can work with children's influence at preschool. The study asks two questions: What does influence mean according to teachers? and How does the teacher create opportunities for pupils to have an influence in the activities they do at pre-school? A qualitative research method is used with a phenomenological research effort. The theoretical framework for the essay is based on five concepts: influence, child perspective, listening and communication proximal development. The results show that, according to educators, influence means for educators that the children have the opportunity to do what they want and what they are interested in. The results also shows that educators create opportunities for children to have influence by responding to them as individuals whose opinions and thoughts are taken seriously. The children may speak, be listened to and regarded as competent individuals. The children themselves can choose activities in the classroom and they take their own initiative. Teachers talks with the children and gives them space to express their thoughts and opinions.

This article uses a discursive lens to illuminate how writing and the writing child is constructed in different texts since the nineteenth century. The concept ‘image’ is used as an analytical tool to gain perspective on dominant ideas about children as writers and their educational writing practices. These images are produced in educational practices, theories of writing, societal conceptions and didactic models, which together are referred to as a formation. The article ends by reflecting upon what consequences may be seen if taking a critical child perspective. The article provides an analysis against which writing teachers, teacher educators and researchers can gain a perspective on dominant ideas about young writers and their educational writing practices.

With the increasing number of adoptees in Sweden, so has the amount of literature regarding different aspects of adoption. The aim of this study is to explore the construction of adoptees in children's literature. It takes on a social constructionism view, by regarding language as a narrative tool in which human beings construct versions of different phenomenon. By exploring the different discourses in the data within the context adoption, we can identify different versions of "the adopted child" and their needs as it is constructed in the literature. Also, by putting them in a bigger context, we are allowed to see the social structures and the discursive conditions that allow a certain child perspective of "the adopted child" to take place. Therefore, this study also explores aspects and discourses within the context adoption such as ethnicity, race and adoptees relations to the past.

This study carried out in one children’s home in Finland. This study aims to understand how the caregivers collectively perceive their work to secure and construct the childhood of the children living in the children’s home. Furthermore, the study mainly includes caregiver’s perceptions and practices of upbringing of children in the children’s home, which have been thoroughly analysed in the study. The study follows carefully designed two qualitative research methods: focus group interview and text for data collection. The data comprise one focus group interview of seven child care workers that includes five discussion questions about children’s home, listening to the children, importance of rules, regulations and daily routines, children’s future and difficulties in the work. References have been given to the ‘text’, i.e. institution’s policy documents- rules and regulations and the Finnish Child Welfare Act for the analysis of the data. However, the study does not include the analysis of the ‘text’ itself. Moreover, thematic analysis is used for data analysis. The study highlights that understanding childhood comprise the process of trust building between children and care workers- allowing children’s voice, agency, independence and protection respecting the child rights, personal integrity with the provision of safe home, trustable adults and permanent routines and individual child care plan. In addition, the same body ‘caregiver’ who, at the same time, allows child autonomy, agency and independence, also regulates the children’s everyday life, controls children and creates limitation, bridge trust and protect them from developing deviancy and asocial behaviours. Such process gives special consideration to the children’s psychological as well as physical incompetency such as age, immaturity and the vulnerable past in the children’s home that partly creates dilemmas/conflicts in delivering full agency to the children as mentioned in the legal frame work. The study reveals that building trust takes place through interaction between children and care workers and is a long-term process that backs up bringing corrective experiences in children. Listening to the children means helping and teaching them to recognise own feelings, emotions and stand independent and strong for oneself in the future. Likewise, respect to the child rights and organising everyday life delivers protection and safety net to the children. The study reveals, despites various difficulties at work, such as changing welfare act, complicated bureaucracy, unlimited parental rights and surprising legal interference, the child workers have the professional as well as moral obligations to protect children and provide them a safe and intact growing environment. Finally, the study reveals that future of the children is based on the personal choices they make in future and only a few of them will have relatively better life than others. However, all of the children are always under potential risk of post-traumatic collapses.   Keywords: childhood, child perspective, agency, children’s voice, building trust.

This master's thesis is about how the primary school handles the Corona pandemic in school situations in Sweden, viewed from a children's perspective and child perspective. The empirical data is composed of observations and fifteen semi-structured interviews, with eight students and seven educators. Concepts that form the basis of the study are: being and becoming, children's perspective and the child perspective, children's participation, trust, risk and danger. Previous research shows that children have the right to participate in decisions that affect them. Some researchers advocate for children's right to participate in decision making, while others are critical of the claim. Whether children can participate in decision-making or not, is decisive for which perspectives are practiced, the children's perspective or the child perspective. The results show that children can participate in decision-making on smaller issues, such as when changing hand soap. Moreover, in larger issues, it is adults who make decisions based on what they consider to be children's best interests.

Syftet med denna studie är att belysa pedagogers samarbete i affektsituationer samt hur de ser på detta samarbete, affektsituationer och sin uppgift i dessa och vad som krävs för att denna uppgift ska kunna genomföras. Studien är en kvalitativ sådan och för att besvara dess frågeställningar har fyra pedagoger intervjuats. Intervjuerna har genomförts på två skolor i en kommun i Stockholm varpå de sedan transkriberats och analyserats systematiskt. Resultaten visar att pedagogernas samarbete kring affektsituationer strävar mot en lösning för barnets bästa. Barns behov och barns perspektiv är i pedagogernas samarbete en viktig del för att finna en lösning på affektsituationer. För att nå detta mål delas ansvaret på ett sådant vis att pedagoger som inte är direkt involverade i situationen bidrar i andra aspekter av arbetet som att ta hand om övriga barn. Detta för att skapa förutsättningar för eleven i affekt samt för kollegor för att situationen ska lösas på ett bra vis. / The purpose of this study is to highlight pedagogues cooperation regarding affective situations and how they view this cooperation, affective situations as such, their task in them and what is required for this task to be carried out. The study is a qualitative study and to answer its questions four pedagogeus have been interviewed. The interviews were conducted at two schools in a municipality in Stockholm, after which they were transcribed and analyzed systematically. The results show that pedagogues cooperation regarding affective situations strives towards a solution that is best for the child. Children's needs and child perspective are in the pedagogues cooperation an important part of finding a solution to affective situations. To reach this goal the responsibility is divided in such a way that pedagogues who are not directly involved in the situation contributes to other aspects, such as taking care of other children. This is to create desired conditions for children in an affective state, and for colleagues, so that the situation may be resolved in a good way.

Studien syftar till att studera samverkan på Barnahus och om det någon gång kan krocka mellan de olika professionerna. Om så är fallet, vill vi författare se ifall det kan uppstå några konsekvenser för barnet. Empirin har samlats in genom fem kvalitativa intervjuer med professionella på det utvalda Barnahuset. Av informanterna var tre socialsekreterare, en polis och en åklagare. Materialet har transkriberats för att sedan analyseras utifrån en tematisk analys. Detta resulterade i fyra teman: Barnets bästa i fokus, Samverkan på Barnahus, Svårigheter på Barnahus och Påfrestningar för barnet. Resultatet har sedan tolkats, analyserats och diskuterats utifrån den valda teoretiska utgångspunkten nyinstitutionell teori. Studien visar att de professionella upplever samverkan som väl fungerande men att de ibland kan krocka i arbetet då de har olika arbetsuppgifter. Vissa av dessa krockar kan leda till påfrestningar för barnet, en av dessa påfrestningar är att barnet skuldbeläggs. / This bachelor thesis in social work aims to study the interaction between the different professionals and organisations in the swedish version of Childrens Advocacy Centers, Barnahus, and if it ever can clash between the different professions. If so, we authors would like to see if there could be any consequenses for the child. The empirical data were collected through five qualitative interviews with different professionals at the chosen Children Advocacy Center. Three of our informants were social workers, one worked as a police officer and the fifth informant worked as a prosecutor. We transcribed the material we recieved to analyze it based on a thematic analysis. We created four different themes based on the result we got: Focus on the childs best, interaction on Childrens Advocacy Center, Difficulties on Childrens Advocacy Center and Strain of the child. The result was later on interpreted and analyzed and discussed from a chosen theoretical point of view; institutional theory. This study shows that the professionals experience interaction as well functioning, but sometimes they collide at work when they have different tasks. Some of these crashes can cause problems for the child, one of these strains is that the child is blamed.

I samband med tillströmningen av flyktingar till Sverige har det uppmärksammats att mottagningssystemet av ensamkommande barn och unga präglas av olika brister. Syftet med denna studie är att ur ett personalperspektiv undersöka hur socialtjänstens mottagande fungerar samt vilka förbättringar som önskas. Detta har studerats med hjälp av barnperspektivet som har utgångspunkt i barndomssociologin. Utifrån fyra intervjuer med socialarbetare framkommer att mottagningssystemet upplevts bristfälligt men att förbättringar på olika nivåer upplevs som genomförbara. Resultatet visar på en önskan om bättre samverkan mellan myndigheter och en förbättrad organisatorisk ledning. Vidare betonas ett behov av mer tid och resurser för att kunna utföra noggrannare utredningar som grundas på barnets bästa och där barnets rättigheter tillvaratas. En mer anpassad metod och tydligare riktlinjer efterfrågas där barnen ges likvärdiga möjligheter samtidigt som dess individuella behov beaktas. Inför framtiden önskas bättre beredskap och bredare kunskap för att möjliggöra ett kvalitetssäkert mottagande oberoende av yttre omständigheter. / In association with the influx of refugees into Sweden, it has been noticed that the reception system of unaccompanied children is characterized by various deficiencies. The purpose of this study is to examine, from a staff perspective, how the reception system within the Swedish social services works, and what improvements are requested. This has been studied and analysed through utilising a child-perspective theory that embodies a part of childhood sociology. Four interviews with social workers show perceptions of the reception system as generally underperforming, although improvements at various levels are perceived achievable. The result also highlights requests for a better interaction among authorities, alongside an enhanced top-management commitment. Moreover, the staff expressed the need of more time and resources in order to carry out thorough investigations based on the child's best interests, in which the child's rights are safeguarded. Besides, a more customised method and clearer guidelines were demanded, where the children are given equal opportunities while taking their individual needs into account. For the future, a request for a better preparation and broaden knowledge was highlighted, which would enable a higher quality of reception’s performance in spite of external circumstances.

Studiens syfte är att få en fördjupad kunskap om hur socialtjänsten i Dalarna informerar barn och unga om sina verksamheter via webben. En kombination av kvalitativ och kvantitativ metod har använts och data har samlats in med hjälp av en innehållsanalys av samtliga dalakommuners webbaserade information. Data som samlats in har analyserats med hjälp av barnperspektivet samt teorier kring strategisk kommunikation. Av resultatet har framkommit att det utifrån ett barnperspektiv råder stora brister i kommunernas webbaserade information samt att kommunerna inte tycks ha några strategier för hur kommunikationen med barn och ungdomar bör ske. Av resultaten framkommer även att rådande lagstiftning samt FNs konvention om barnets rättigheter inte tas hänsyn till. / The purpose of this study is to reach an understanding about how the social services in Dalarna are informing children and youths about their functions and services through the Internet. A combination of qualitative and quantitative methods has been used and data has been collected through content analysis of all web sites of Dalarnas counties. The data that has been collected has been analyzed from a child perspective and through theories of strategic communication. The results have disclosed that there from a child perspective are many faults in the web based information provided by the counties and it seems like they do not have any strategies for how communication with children and youths should be handled. The result also reveals that current law and the UN conventions on the rights of the child are not taken into consideration.