A constant in all planning activities is interaction among stakeholders. Despite the involvement of many stakeholder groups, one faction is consistently overlooked in planning decisions: children. In the push to make decisions and consider the numerous viewpoints of the adult population, children are habitually left by the wayside. Planners all too often fail to acknowledge that local children may have insightful and creative ideas to address issues. This is particularly true when these issues affect local children, as is often the case with environmental planning decisions. How can planners incorporate children in the practice of environmental planning? Environmental education provides a unique approach through which planners can integrate childrenâ s ideas. This approach can be directed toward youth-initiated venues for bringing environmental planning into the classroom. By blending environmental education with the structure of a classroom setting, we can create a mutually beneficial setting where childrenâ s unique perspectives can be nurtured. By using environmental education to create a basis of knowledge about local issues and to provide a forum for childrenâ s participation, their ideas can be incorporated into planning. The following chapters discuss the importance of including children in environmental planning as well as how to use environmental education as an approach toward this end. Three case studies illustrate how programs in the United States are challenging youth to become active stewards of their local environments. Although environmental education can be utilized for children of all ages as well as adults, this paper focuses on grades four through nine. The unique perspective and dynamic that children possess is often undermined and overlooked. The benefits of involving children are numerous. They can provide creative insight, learn decision-making skills, and become stewards of their local environment. There are also challenges to involving children. Forefront among these challenges is that utilizing a child-initiated forum often requires more time from planners. By providing background education and a familiar forum for children, educators and planners could overcome traditional barriers to incorporating child-initiated planning. / Master of Urban and Regional Planning

Den rådande föreställningen om naturvetenskap i förskolan handlar oftast om att pedagoger ska ta tag i, möta och lyfta fram barns frågor, för att naturvetenskap på så vis ska bli en naturlig del av vardagen i verksamheten. Syftet med min undersökning är att belysa de didaktiska möjligheter som finns i den oplanerade uteverksamheten i förskolan, och att öka förståelsen för hur interaktionsprocesser mellan pedagoger och barn kan påverka lärande och kunskap inom området naturvetenskap. Med hjälp av observationer av pedagoger har jag jämfört om det är någon skillnad mellan utedagar i skogen eller på förskolegården under oplanerade verksamhetstiden. För att få svar på hur pedagogerna kan använda sig av de spontana händelser och upptäckter barn gör till ett lärande kring natur har jag även utfört intervjuer. Resultatet visar att pedagogerna tar till stor del vara på de tillfällen som uppstår i den oplanerade tiden till ett lärande och kunskap om naturen. Än tydligare är resultatet i skogen då hela miljön är en inspirationskälla och inga lekredskap pockar på barnens uppmärksamhet med sin närvaro. / The prevailing notion about natural-science in preschool often involves that a teacher should show, lift and highlight children’s questions for thereby become a natural part in the everyday activity. The intention with this study was to illustrate the didactic opportunities which are available in the unplanned time outdoors in preschool, and to increase understanding of how the processes of interaction between teachers and children can affect learning and knowledge in the subject of natural science. By using observations of teachers in preschool, I have compared whether there is any difference between days out in the woods or in the preschool yard during unplanned activity time. I also conducted interviews to find out how teachers can use the spontaneous experience and discoveries children make to learn about natural science. The results show that teachers in preschool take the opportunities that occur in the unplanned time to learning and to give knowledge of nature. Even clearer is the result at activities in the forest where the whole environment become a source of inspiration and when no play equipment attracts the children's attention with their presence.

Child initiated play appears as a means for children to express their inner world and personality and works as a milestone promoting their overall development. Internalized emotional disturbances constrain children’s functioning and have an impact on their general behavior, hindering their development. Most of the times, it appears challenging for teachers to identify a child with internalizing problems in the preschool classroom and most interventions are targeting children with externalized problems. Since play is a way for children to express, observations of children’s behavior while playing, provide information about their inner thoughts and concerns. The aim of the present study was to identify play behaviors and tendencies in types of play that children with typical and atypical internalized emotional disturbances show in free play situations in preschool. A systematic literature review was conducted in order to reach this goal. Six articles were included in which five internalized emotional disturbances were mentioned -one typical and four atypical. Findings revealed eight overt play behaviors, with prevalent these of non-play, solitary-passive behavior, unconscious play activity and desire for peer play but no attempt for it. Regarding engagement in play types, children exhibiting internalized problems were more prone to constructive and creative play and less engaged in symbolic play, which can be possible indicator of developmental delays. This study works as a tool for professionals in order to identify play behaviors of children with internalized emotional disturbances in preschool child initiated play. Subsequently, the findings assist interventionists on providing adequate support and clinicians on shedding light on the dubious field of emotional and behavioral disorders in early childhood.

Syftet med denna studie var att ta reda på hur mycket biologi man kan få in i verksamheten genom att uppmärksamma när ämnet naturligt visar sig hos barnen under utomhusvistelse, i deras egna lekar, upptäckter och utforskande. Bakgrunden till min undersökning är att den svenska förskolan sägs befinna sig i en brytningstid, med större fokus på ämneskunskaper och att läroplanen samtidigt poängterar vikten av att ta tillvara barns perspektiv, frågor och idéer. För att få svar har jag gjort observationer på två olika förskolor/avdelningar. Även enkäter har skickats till de medverkande pedagogerna. Resultatet av mina observationer visar att barnen ofta uppmärksammar olika djur och växter och andra områden inom ämnet biologi när de vistas ute i naturen. Att vistas i naturmiljö tycks alltså skapa bra förutsättningar för ett lärande inom ämnet biologi som är barninitierat. Att även pedagogerna från de två deltagande förskolorna anser det, framgår av deras svar på enkätfrågorna. / The intention with this study was to investigate how much biology you can implement into the pre-school activities by recognizing when the subject naturally appears when the children are outdoors, through their own games, discoveries and explorations. The background to my investigation is that the Swedish pre-school is said to be in a transition state with more focus on subject knowledge at the same time as the curriculum points out the importance of taking care of the children's perspective, questions and ideas. To get answers I have done observations at two different pre-schools/departments. Also, questionnaires have been sent out to the teachers who participated in the study. The results of my observations show that the children often pay attention to various kinds of animals, plants and other parts of biology when they are out in the nature. Being outside in the nature seems to create a good basis for education within the subject, which is initiated by the children themselves. That even the teachers from the two participated pre-schools think. So was made clear through their answers on the questionnaires.

Syftet med studien är att undersöka barnens inflytande i den barninitierade leken utifrån deras perspektiv för att uppmärksamma barnens inflytande i förskolans verksamhet. Frågeställningarna är; Vad uppfattar barn som barninitierad lek i förskolan? och Hur uppfattar barn sitt inflytande över den barninitierade leken? Den barninitierade leken innefattar att barnen fritt får styra sin egen lek utan pedagogers medverkan. Studien tar sitt avstamp i en fenomenografisk ansats, vilket innebär att ta del av individers uppfattningar om fenomen. Studien använder sig av semistrukturerade intervjuer med åtta verksamma förskolebarn i åldrarna tre till fem år. Resultatet och analysen är indelat i ett kategorisystem som presenterar barns uppfattningar om deras inflytande i den barninitierade leken utifrån åtta olika kategorier. Slutsatsen i studien visar att det finns olika betydelsefulla aspekter för den barninitierade leken. Däremot får barnen inte tillräckligt med inflytande för att kunna påverka leken eftersom det finns regler och rutiner, vilket barnen uttryckte att de vill få mer inflytande kring. / The purpose of the study is to investigate the children's influence in the child-initiated play from their perspective in order to draw attention to the children's influence in the preschool's activities. The questions are; What do children perceive as child-initiated play in preschool? and How do children perceive their influence over child-initiated play? The child-initiated play includes that the children can freely control their own play without the involvement of educators. The study is based on a phenomenographic approach, which means taking part in individuals' perceptions of phenomena. The study uses semi-structured interviews with eight active preschool children aged three to five years. The results and analysis are divided into a category system that presents children's perceptions of their influence in child-initiated play based on eight different categories. The conclusion of the study shows that there are various important aspects for child-initiated play. However, the children do not get enough influence to be able to influence the game because there are rules and routines, which the children expressed that they want to have more influence around.

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Observations of young children are conducted in an educational setting by practitioners to plan and assess activities based on the individual development and needs of the child. Challenges include: recording, how to be an observer rather than a participant, and connecting developmental theory to observable behaviour.Several projects have simulated children in their learning environments, aimed mainly at pre-service teachers, but these have neither been for young children where the activity is play-based nor where the adult is supportive of the child's interests. Some simulations have used 3D graphics to represent a child via a role-playing adult but there have been few attempts to use autonomous characters.A novel real-time interactive 3D graphical simulation—Observation—was developed, providing a physical sandbox for users to: add autonomous characters (representing children), add objects, and customise the play-based environment. The definitions of the characters were informed by the findings from early childhood research. The simulation was evaluated using two complementary serious game frameworks and its utility was evaluated by professionals within the field of early childhood education comprising university students and educators, and local education authority advisors. An explorative, mixed methods approach was taken, triangulating across: a pilot study and a main study; different research instruments (simulation activity plus questionnaire, focus groups, interviews); and a range of participants. The simulation has utility because: it is an interesting way to explore the behaviours of young children, the theoretical understanding behind children's play can be deepened, and observational skills can be developed. The simulation has wide appeal because the perceived utility of the simulation is not influenced by: professional experience, number of real-life observations of young children, or time spent playing video games. Age is considered to be the most important omission from the abstract character in the simulation.