Abstract In this essay we investigate how attachment between the children and the educators is experienced in preschool. We look at attachment in as a phenomena and use a phenomenological theoretical perspective. Our own experience of many years of working in preschools in Sweden is that there seems to be an unequal perception on the importance of attachment. The purpose of our study is to investigate the picture of how the interviewed educators say that they experience attachment, as a phenomena, in preschool. 15 educators in preschool were interviewed with a qualitative method and analysed with a content analysis. The result shows that all the interviewed educators see attachment as something important. They seem to equate the phenomena with security. They experience attachment differently depending on their own earlier experiences, views on children and their understanding and knowledge. We can see that there is a gap of knowledge, among educators, when it comes to how to understand the children's attachment behaviour which can be a great loss for the children who don't have a safe attachment pattern.

This diploma thesis aims to compare the results in the field of cognitive functions obtained by static and dynamic assessment of children with attachment disorder at preschool age. The ACFS-cz assessment battery was used for the dynamic assessment, specifically four subtests: Categorisation, Short-term auditory memory (Story Retelling), Short-term visual memory, Sequential Pattern Completion. The method of static assessment was Woodcock- Johnson IV COG, specifically four subtests: Visualization, Verbal Attention, Picture Recognition, Analysis-Synthesis. The research sample consisted of 16 preschool children (3 to 6 respectively 8 years) placed in institutional care. The results showed that there were no differences between the of the ACFS-cz pretest scores and the Woodcock-Johnson IV COG scores. While the comparison of the results of the ACFS-cz posttest with Woodcock- Johnson IV COG showed significant differences in the three examined areas (Categorisation, Short-term auditory memory, Short-term visual memory). The outcomes of the dynamic assessment lead to suitable interventions for the cognitive development of children in institutional care. Keywords ACFS, Woodcock-Johnson IV COG, cognitive functions, attachment disorder, preschool age.