Introduktion: Leken är en grundläggande mänsklig rättighet för alla barn men trots det brister lekplatserna ofta i tillgängligheten för barn med funktionsnedsättning. Barn som exkluderas från lekplatser kan uppleva isolering, svårt att få vänner och blir mer beroende av vuxna i sin omgivning. Inkluderande lekplatser främjar delaktighet hos barn. Intervjupersonerna i studien arbetar inom kommunen och är ansvariga i arbetet med planering av tillgängliga lekplatser.  Syfte: Att beskriva möjligheter och hinder för kommuner i arbetet med tillgängliga lekplatser. Metod: En empirisk studie med kvalitativ inriktning genomfördes och data samlades in via semistrukturerade intervjuer. Ett strategiskt urval bestående av tio personer gjordes, som alla var ansvariga för lekplatser i respektive kommun och en kvalitativ innehållsanalys utfördes. Resultat: Resultatet av intervjuerna utmynnade i fyra kategorier. Den första kategorin är natur lekmiljöer är både ett hinder och en möjlighet. Kategorin handlar om att kommuner gör om mindre lekplatser till naturlekmiljöer vilket försvårar arbetet med tillgänglighet för barn med motoriska svårigheter men ger ett större lekvärde för andra barn. Den andra kategorin är: För liten budget är ett hinder men kan även vara en möjlighet att tänka utanför boxen och handlar om kommunernas svårigheter med att få pengarna att räcka till i arbetet med lekplatser och tillgängligheten på lekplatserna. Den tredje kategorin är: Det finns både bra och dåliga material som beskriver kommunernas svårigheter att få olika material och miljö att fungera ihop. Den tar upp kommunernas syn på hur branschen är utformad när det gäller tillgängliga material, men också hur kommunerna själva arbetar med att hitta nya lösningar. Den fjärde kategorin är: Samarbeten med många aktörer både hindrar och möjliggör arbetet med lekplatser. Kategorin handlar om samarbeten mellan kommuner och olika grupper vid planering av tillgängliga lekplatser. Den tar också upp svårigheter att få med olika funktionsnedsättningar när inte representanter finns med i grupperna.  Slutsats: Resultatet visade att kommunerna i studien har ungefär samma hinder i sitt arbete men attityden till möjligheter skiljer sig åt. Budgeten var ett stort hinder för samtliga kommuner medan forskning visar att tillgänglighetsanpassning inte behöver innebära extra kostnader. Resultatet visade att ingen kommun använde arbetsterapeuter som profession i arbetet med tillgängliga lekplatser. Enligt forskning besitter arbetsterapeuten en utmärkt position när det gäller barns rätt till lek då de har kunskap om funktionsnedsättningar, miljö och aktiviteten lek. / Introduction: Play is a fundamental human right for all children, but despite this, playgrounds are often lacking in accessibility for children with disabilities. Children who are excluded from playgrounds can experience isolation, struggle to make friends and become more dependent on adults in their environment. Inclusive playgrounds promote participation of children. The interviews in the study work in the municipality and are responsible for planning accessible playgrounds.  Purpose: To describe the opportunities and obstacles for municipalities in the work with accessible playgrounds.  Method: An empirical study with a qualitative approach was conducted and data was collected via semi - structured interviews. A strategically selection of ten people was selected, all of whom were responsible for playgrounds in their municipality. A qualitative content analysis was carried out.  Results: The results of the interviews resulted in four categories. The first category is: playing in natural environments is both an obstacle and an opportunity. The category is about municipalities converting smaller playgrounds into playgrounds in natural environments, which impedes the work on accessibility for children with motor difficulties but provides a greater play area for other children. The second category is: Too small a budget is an obstacle but can also be an opportunity to think outside the box. It's about the municipality's difficulties in getting enough money to work with playgrounds and the accessibility of playgrounds. The third category is: There are good and bad materials that describe the municipality's difficulties in getting different materials and the environment to work together. It addresses the municipalities view of how the industry is designed in terms of available materials, but also how the municipalities themselves work to find new solutions. The fourth category is: Collaborations with many actors include both obstacles and enable the work with playgrounds. The category is about collaborations between municipalities and different groups when planning accessible playgrounds. It also addresses difficulties in including various disabilities when representatives are not included in the groups. Conclusion: The results showed that the municipalities in study have roughly the same obstacle in their work, but the attitude to opportunities differs. The budget was a major obstacle for all municipalities, while research shows that accessibility adaptation does not have to involve extra costs. The result showed that no municipality used occupational therapists as a profession in the work with accessible playgrounds. According to research, occupational therapists are in an excellent position when it comes to children´s right to play as they have knowledge of disabilities, the environment and the activity play.

Dans de nombreuses sociétés industrialisées, une grande valeur est attribuée au jeu des enfants, principalement parce que le jeu est considéré comme étant une composante essentielle de leur développement et qu’il contribue à leur bonheur et à leur bien-être. Toutefois, des inquiétudes ont récemment été exprimées au regard des transformations qui s’opèrent dans le jeu des enfants, notamment en ce qui a trait à la réduction du temps de jeu en plein air. Ces transformations ont été attribuées, en grande partie, à une perception de risques accrus associés au jeu en plein air et à des changements sociaux qui favorisent des activités de loisirs plus structurées et organisées. L’inquiétude concernant la diminution de l’espace-temps accordé au jeu des enfants est d’ailleurs clairement exprimée dans le discours de la santé publique qui, de plus, témoigne d’un redoublement de préoccupations vis-à-vis du mode de vie sédentaire des enfants et d’une volonté affirmée de prévention de l'obésité infantile. Ainsi, les organisations de santé publique sont désormais engagées dans la promotion du jeu actif pour accroître l'activité physique des enfants. Nous assistons à l’émergence d’un discours de santé publique portant sur le jeu des enfants. À travers quatre articles, cette thèse explore le discours émergeant en santé publique sur le jeu des enfants et analyse certains de ses effets potentiels. L'article 1 présente une prise de position sur le sujet du jeu en santé publique. J’y définis le cadre d'analyse de cette thèse en présentant l'argument central de la recherche, les positions que les organisations de santé publique adoptent vis-à-vis le jeu des enfants et les répercussions potentielles que ces positions peuvent avoir sur les enfants et leurs jeux. La thèse permet ensuite d’examiner comment la notion de jeu est abordée par le discours de santé publique. L'article 2 présente ainsi une analyse de discours de santé publique à travers 150 documents portant sur la santé, l'activité physique, l'obésité, les loisirs et le jeu des enfants. Cette étude considère les valeurs et les postulats qui sous-tendent la promotion du jeu comme moyen d’améliorer la santé physique des enfants et permet de discerner comment le jeu est façonné, discipliné et normalisé dans le discours de santé publique. Notre propos révèle que le discours de santé publique représente le jeu des enfants comme une activité pouvant améliorer leur santé; que le plaisir sert de véhicule à la promotion de l’activité physique ; et que les enfants seraient encouragés à organiser leur temps libre de manière à optimiser leur santé. Étant donné l’influence potentielle du discours de santé publique sur la signification et l’expérience vécue du jeu parmi les enfants, cette thèse présente ensuite une analyse des représentations qu’ont 25 enfants âgés de 7 à 11 ans au regard du jeu. L’article 3 suggère que le jeu est une fin en soi pour les enfants de cette étude; qu'il revêt une importance au niveau émotionnel; et qu'il s’avère intrinsèquement motivé, sans but particulier. De plus, l’amusement que procure le jeu relève autant d’activités engagées que d’activités sédentaires. Enfin, certains enfants expriment un sentiment d'ambivalence concernant les jeux organisés; tandis que d’autres considèrent parfois le risque comme une composante particulièrement agréable du jeu. De tels résultats signalent une dissonance entre les formes de jeux promues en santé publique et le sens attribué au jeu par les enfants. Prenant appui sur le concept de « biopédagogies » inspiré des écrits de Michel Foucault, le quatrième article de cette thèse propose un croisement des deux volets de cette étude, soit le discours de santé publique sur le jeu et les constructions du jeu par les enfants. Bien que le discours de la santé publique exhortant au «jeu actif» soit reproduit par certains enfants, d'autres soulignent que le jeu sédentaire est important pour leur bien-être social et affectif. D’autre part, tandis que le « jeu actif » apparait, dans le discours de santé publique, comme une solution permettant de limiter le risque d'obésité, il comporte néanmoins des contradictions concernant la notion de risque, dans la mesure où les enfants ont à négocier avec les risques inhérents à l’activité accrue. À terme, cet article suggère que le discours de santé publique met de l’avant certaines représentations du jeu (actifs) tandis qu’il en néglige d’autres (sédentaires). Cette situation pourrait donner lieu à des conséquences inattendues, dans la mesure où les enfants pourraient éventuellement reconfigurer leurs pratiques de jeu et les significations qu’ils y accordent. Cette thèse n'a pas pour but de fournir des recommandations particulières pour la santé publique au regard du jeu des enfants. Prenant appui sur la perspective théorique de Michel Foucault, nous présentons plutôt une analyse d’un discours émergeant en santé publique ainsi que des pistes pour la poursuite de recherches sur le jeu dans le domaine de l’enfance. Enfin, compte tenu des effets potentiels du discours de la santé publique sur le jeu des enfants, et les perspectives contemporaines sur le jeu et les enfants, la conclusion offre des pistes de réflexion critique. / In many industrialised societies a high value is attributed to children’s play, mainly because it is deemed an essential component of childhood development and due to the conviction that play contributes to children’s happiness and well-being. However, concerns have arisen about the changing patterns of, and declines in, children’s play, especially outdoors. These have largely been attributed to increasing perceptions of risk in outdoor play and to societal changes popularising more structured and organised activities. Recently, the concerns about declining play, the mounting preoccupation with children’s sedentary ‘lifestyles’, and the focus on childhood obesity prevention have converged in public health discourses, and public health organisations have begun to promote active play as a way to increase children’s physical activity. What appears to be emerging is a public health discourse on children’s play. Through four articles, this thesis explores the emerging public health discourse on play and examines some of its potential effects. Article 1 is a position paper and provides a frame for the thesis findings. It presents the central argument of the research, outlines the emerging positions that public health organisations are taking on play and also discusses how these positions may be problematic for children’s play. The thesis then discursively examines how the notion of play is being taken up by public health. Article 2 addresses this uptake through a discursive analysis of 150 public health documents addressing children’s health, physical activity, obesity, leisure and play. This article examines what values and assumptions underlie the promotion of play for children’s physical health and analyses how play is being shaped, disciplined and normalised in the public health discourse. It shows that within the public health context, play is viewed as a productive health activity for children, and that pleasure is drawn on to promote physical activity. Furthermore, children also appear to be encouraged to self-govern their leisure time for it to be health promoting. Concerned with how the public health discourse may be shaping the way children engage and construct their own meanings and experiences of play, this thesis also examined the photographic and narrative constructions of play among 25 children 7 to 11 years old. Children’s photographs and narratives about play were analysed in Article 3. Children in this study suggested that importantly, play for them was an end in itself; that it was primarily emotionally important, intrinsically motivated and purposeless. This runs through all of the findings of the article, which suggest that enjoyable play is both active and inactive, that some children have a sense of ambivalence regarding scheduled forms of play, and that risk is sometimes considered an especially pleasurable component of play. These findings point to a dissonance between the forms of play promoted in public health and the meanings attributed to play by children. Drawing on the Foucault-inspired analytical concept of biopedagogies, the fourth article in this thesis places the two components of this study in dialogue (i.e., Canadian public health discourse on play and children’s constructions of play). The findings suggest that while the public health discourse around ‘active play’ is taken up and reproduced by some children, other children highlight sedentary play as important for social and emotional well-being. Indeed, while ‘active play’ is deemed a solution to the risk of obesity within the public health discourses, it also embodies contradictions regarding risk in play for children, which children appear to have to negotiate. This article suggests that the public health discourse appears to enable some representations of play (i.e., active) and obscure others (i.e., sedentary), and that this may be having the unintended consequence of reshaping and narrowing the meanings that children attribute to their own play. This thesis does not aim to provide directions for how play ought to be better addressed in public health. Rather, drawing on the critical work of Michel Foucault, this thesis presents an analysis of the emerging public health discourse on play. This work underscores relevant areas upon which public health ought to further critically reflect, particularly with respect to research concerning children. Importantly, considering the possible effects of this discourse on children’s play, this thesis concludes by emphasising the contingency of the current perspectives on play.

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Playing and socializing is of great importance for children's fellowship, participation and inclusion in preschool. Research show that children in need of special education are at risk of exclusion from playing and socializing with other children for various reasons. This study takes a qualitative approach aimed at describing and analyzing the Play Time/Social Time (PT/ST) program and its utility in the inclusive milieu of the Swedish preschools.  The PT/ST program strives to give each and every child the opportunity to develop the skills needed for social interplay in order to create a positive experience that can contribute to increased participation and inclusion for all. Data was collected from five semistructured interviews with a preschool teacher as well as observations from two lessons and two activities from the program PT/ST, all of which were supervised by the same teacher and involved four children. The analysis takes its inspiration from phenomenology, which seeks to find the units of purpose and meaning within the studied phenomenon. We explore the meeting between, and utility of, the PT/ST program with regards to the Swedish preschool system. The interrogated preschool teacher holds the learning of social interplay and social competence to be the most significant lesson the preschool can impart on young children, and that PT/ST could be useful towards this end. It could also create a unified approach towards giving all children equal opportunity for participation. The conclusion we draw is that the intentions of the preschool teacher will matter greatly for how they assess and work with the interplay and socializing between children. The PT/ST program will not alone guarantee any increased social competence, but could create the conditions and opportunities for each and every child to gain the experience and knowledge of social interplay through playtime in an inclusive preschool setting. / Lek och samspel har en mycket stor betydelse för barns gemenskap, delaktighet och inkludering i förskolan. Forskning visar att barn i behov av särskilt stöd av olika anledningar kan riskera att inte bli delaktiga i lek och samspel med andra barn. Denna studie har en kvalitativ forskningsansats där syftet med studien har varit att beskriva och analysera programmet PlayTime/Social Time (PT/ST) och dess användbarhet i den svenska inkluderande förskolemiljön. Programmet PT/ST syftar till att ge alla barn och varje barn möjlighet att utveckla samspelsfärdigheter. Detta för att ge positiva erfarenheter av gemensam lek och social samvaro för alla barn och varje barn, vilket därmed kan bidra till ökad delaktighet och inkludering för barn i förskolan. Empirin samlades in genom fem semistrukturerade intervjuer med en förskollärare, samt observationer där förskolläraren genomförde två samlingar och två arrangerade lekstunder ur programmet PT/ST. Vid observationerna deltog fyra barn. Analysarbetet har inspirerats av fenomenologin, vilken syftar till att finna de studerade fenomenens meningsbärande enheter. Studiens resultat belyser programmet PT/STs möte med och användbarhet i svensk förskola. Resultatet visade att förskolläraren anser att arbetet med barns sociala samspel och att utveckla barns sociala kompetens är förskolans viktigaste uppgift, och i detta arbete skulle PT/ST kunna vara användbart för att ge barn erfarenheter och kunnande av samspelsfärdigheter. Resultatet visar även att programmet PT/ST skulle kunna vara användbart i syfte att skapa ett gemensamt förhållningssätt i barngruppen om alla barn får möjlighet att delta. Studiens slutsats är att förskollärares intentioner har stor betydelse för hur de värderar och arbetar med barns lek och samspel. Att förskolor arbetar utifrån programmet PT/ST, är ingen garanti för att barnen blir mer socialt kompetenta, men det kan skapa förutsättningar och ge möjligheter för alla barn och varje barn att få erfarenheter och kunnande i samspelsfärdigheter och gemensam lek i inkluderande förskolemiljöer. / Lek och samspel för alla barn i inkluderande förskolemiljöer

Play can be seen as a very important component in the learning programme of pre-school children. The question arises whether the Gr R teacher has adequate play incorporated into the daily schedule? The research question was answered as follows. Although it was revealed in the study that the teachers who had pre-primary and Bed qualifications, possessed more (play) knowledge of all the teachers, the rest of the Gr R teachers indicated that they did have a need to gather more knowledge in childrens’ play, as well as implementing it into the day programme. The third part of the research question was also answered namely; that too much formal education were taking place in the Gr R classes in primary schools. The answer to the question; whether there is enough play in the Gr R class in a primary school is; “no”, 10 and whether there is enough play in the Gr R class in the pre-primary school is; “yes”. It was concluded that the Gr R education methods in the primary school is far more formal than that of the pre-primary school. The research question is thus fully answered and the study was completed successfully. / Spel kan gesien word as ’n baie belangrike komponent van die leerprogram vir voorskoolse kinders. Die vraag ontstaan of Gr R onderwyseresse genoegsame spel in die dagprogram implementeer? Die navorsingsvraag is as volg beantwoord. Alhoewel dit in die studie na vore gekom het, dat die onderwyseresse wat preprimêr en BEd gekwalifiseer is oor die meeste speelkennis beskik, het die meeste Gr R onderwyseresse aangedui dat hul wel ’n behoefte het om meer kennis rakende kinderspel en die implementering daarvan in die dagprogram te bekom. Die laaste vraag voortvloeiend uit die navorsing of daar genoegsame spel in die Gr R klasse plaasvind was die gevolgtrekking “nee” by primêre skole en “ja” by preprimêre skole. Daar is tot die gevolgtrekking gekom dat Gr R onderwys by primêre skole se onderrigmetodes baie meer formeel is as Gr R by preprimêre skole. Die navorsings-vraag is dus in geheel beantwoord en die studie is suksesvol voltooi. / Psychology of Education / M. Ed. (Sielkundige Opvoedkunde)

Play can be seen as a very important component in the learning programme of pre-school children. The question arises whether the Gr R teacher has adequate play incorporated into the daily schedule? The research question was answered as follows. Although it was revealed in the study that the teachers who had pre-primary and Bed qualifications, possessed more (play) knowledge of all the teachers, the rest of the Gr R teachers indicated that they did have a need to gather more knowledge in childrens’ play, as well as implementing it into the day programme. The third part of the research question was also answered namely; that too much formal education were taking place in the Gr R classes in primary schools. The answer to the question; whether there is enough play in the Gr R class in a primary school is; “no”, 10 and whether there is enough play in the Gr R class in the pre-primary school is; “yes”. It was concluded that the Gr R education methods in the primary school is far more formal than that of the pre-primary school. The research question is thus fully answered and the study was completed successfully. / Spel kan gesien word as ’n baie belangrike komponent van die leerprogram vir voorskoolse kinders. Die vraag ontstaan of Gr R onderwyseresse genoegsame spel in die dagprogram implementeer? Die navorsingsvraag is as volg beantwoord. Alhoewel dit in die studie na vore gekom het, dat die onderwyseresse wat preprimêr en BEd gekwalifiseer is oor die meeste speelkennis beskik, het die meeste Gr R onderwyseresse aangedui dat hul wel ’n behoefte het om meer kennis rakende kinderspel en die implementering daarvan in die dagprogram te bekom. Die laaste vraag voortvloeiend uit die navorsing of daar genoegsame spel in die Gr R klasse plaasvind was die gevolgtrekking “nee” by primêre skole en “ja” by preprimêre skole. Daar is tot die gevolgtrekking gekom dat Gr R onderwys by primêre skole se onderrigmetodes baie meer formeel is as Gr R by preprimêre skole. Die navorsings-vraag is dus in geheel beantwoord en die studie is suksesvol voltooi. / Psychology of Education / M. Ed. (Sielkundige Opvoedkunde)