The aim of this study is to investigate how children express spatial autonomy in their preschool. Observations were made of one-to-three-year old children in free play in the preschool and in a nearby forest setting. The study is framed by Corsaro’s theory of peer culture and interpretive reproduction. It is a childhood sociological perspective that stresses the importance of children’s agency, children’s own contribution to their development. The results show three main strategies that children use to show spatial autonomy. The first is that children create places together, spatial autonomy evolve in interaction with peers. The second strategy is that they use high places to get a new perspective and gain a feeling of being on top of the world. The third strategy is how children make use of small spaces to withdraw. The expression of spatial autonomy is also a way for the children to gain control.

Purpose: The present thesis aims to gain insight into parents’ perceptions of their children’s agentic role while raising them in Greek-bilingual families. The study was conducted within the field of family language policy and family bilingualism. Methods: A small-scale, qualitative study was designed, which included semi-structured interviews with parents of bilingual preschoolers, residing in Patras, Greece. Six participants were interviewed and audio-recorded. Then, the transcriptions were translated into English and finally analysed using thematic analysis. Parents were interviewed regarding their children’s use of languages concerning to the possibility to influence changes in their everyday lives as bilingual families. Results: According to the findings of this study, parents within Greek-bilingual families argue that their children negotiate their own language acquisition and the language use of the adults around them. Specifically, parents think that their children a) influence parents’ confidence in the chosen language policy, b) resist to inconsistent language use, and c) influence the parents’ language use. Conclusions: The present thesis highlights what parents within Greek-bilingual families think about their children’s agentic role regarding influencing changes in the family language policy and the socialization of members of the family. The small-scaled study entails that the results give the readers an insightful account, instead of absolute truth. Results of the study motivate further research on the agentic role of children in Greek families and its implementation on how childhood is experienced.

The purpose of this dissertation research is to study the experience of adjustment of Colombian immigrant children to living in the U.S. In order to understand the changes they have experienced as immigrants, the research focuses on the ways in which they talk about the food they eat hereand on the foods they ate in Colombia. Because of the symbolic importance of food in the construction of ethnic and personal identities, a study of how the children talk about food illuminates the process of blending elements from the immigrant culture with those of the U.S. Based on the symbolic interactionism approach to culture, this study assumes that participants' representations of foods are shaped by their own experiences through interactions with others. Representations of food result from the interactions between participants and the researcher in the research settings. With a participatory approach, data were collected through semi-structured interviews conducted with twelve girls and eight boys, and three group sessions with three girls and eight boys. Participants were reached at the Taller Intercultural Hispano Americano and through their parents at the Center for Family Health. Data were analyzed qualitatively following first a process of data reduction and then transforming the interviews and the group sessions into narratives. Analysis of the data shows that participants' changes and adjustment are characterized by an emerging process of creolization, a concept proposed by Foner (1997) to explain patterns of acculturation of immigrant families. Creolization is the central idea articulating and providing meaning to participants' representations of food changes. Colombian immigrant children living in the U.S. are agents actively blending elements from their immigrant culture with elements they encounter in the U.S. context from which new food patterns reflecting their changing circumstances are emerging. Likewise, Tampa in particular and Florida in general provide a context that facilitates and promotes such blending of meanings both in private spaces such as home and in public ones such as restaurants, due to the presence of long-established Spanish-speaking communities of varying degrees of acculturation.

År 2020 blev FN:s barnkonvention svensk lag och därmed behöver svenska myndigheter beaktabarnets rättigheter vid myndighetsutövning. Det inkluderar Sveriges regioner och deras arbete medatt tillhandahålla kollektivtrafik. En samhällelig betoning på barnets rättigheter tillsammans medönskan om en hållbar utveckling har ökat uppmärksamheten på barns behov i samhällsutvecklingen. Med utgångspunkt i barnkonventionen som svensk lag och kollektivtrafikens argumenteradebetydelse för social hållbarhet syftar denna studie till att undersöka den omfattning ett barnperspektivinkluderas i den regionala planeringen av kollektivtrafik i Stockholmsregionen. Utifrån det undersöksäven hur barnperspektivet inom kollektivtrafikplaneringen påverkar barnens tillgänglighet att resakollektivt i regionen. Studien består av en fallstudie över Stockholmsregionen inom vilket RegionStockholms planeringsdokument undersöks och regionala planerare intervjuas. Syftet uppnås genomen tematisk analys utefter teoretiska koncept om synsätt på barn som aktör samt tillgänglighet. I studien observeras att barnen anses vara en viktig målgrupp att inkludera, höra och ta hänsyn till iplaneringen av kollektivtrafik i Stockholmsregionen, synsättet att barn är medmänniskor framträder.Dock framkommer att barnperspektivet inom kollektivtrafikplaneringen är starkt beroende av devuxnas analys, tolkning och förståelse för barn, vilket påvisar ett synsätt att de vuxna vet bättre.Dessutom påträffas ett ifrågasättande för barns kapacitet att bidra till planeringen av kollektivtrafikhos vissa planerare, barnen ses som irrationella. Slutsatsen från studien är att synsättet på barn inomplaneringen av regionens kollektivtrafik varierar, även om det råder en stark samsyn att barnen ärviktiga resenärer i kollektivtrafiken. Barns aktörskap och möjlighet till påverkan och inflytelse i samhällsutvecklingen är beroende av attvuxenvärlden skapar utrymme för barnen att delta. I studien observeras ett brett stödmaterial ochflertal arbetssätt för att inkludera både barnperspektivet och barns egna perspektiv inom RegionStockholms kollektivtrafikplanering. Därmed framträder barns påverkan på planeringen av regionenskollektivtrafik som stor. Vilket inflytande barnen sedan får är mindre tydligt. Denna aspekt av arbetetmed barnperspektivet förklarar regionen bör förbättras och utökas. Riktlinjer förklarar att barnen skaaktivt inkluderas och ges hänsyn i planeringsprocesser men det praktiska arbetet med detta beskriverplanerarna som svårt, även om barnperspektivet anses vara betydelsefullt. Planerarna menar atttydliga arbetssätt och kunskap kring barnperspektivet saknas inom regionens kollektivtrafikplanering.Detta motsäger den beskrivning av ett integrerat och systematiskt arbete med barnperspektivet samtär anmärkningsvärt då utbildning inom barnperspektivet är obligatoriskt inom regionen. En slutsatsinom studien är att en brist på kunskap och metoder begränsa både barns möjlighet till påverkan ochinflytande samt planerarnas möjlighet till hänsynstagande för barnperspektivet. Resenärernas olika behov och förutsättningar är utgångspunkten för kollektivtrafikplaneringen iStockholmsregionen. Med andra förutsättningar har barn som resenärer andra behov för attåstadkomma tillgänglighet till och med kollektivtrafiken. För tillgänglighet till systemet framförregionen att användbarhet och trygghet är särskilt viktiga aspekter inom barnperspektivet. Därför skakollektivtrafikens miljöer anpassas efter barns förutsättningar. Ur ett rumsligt perspektiv ärkollektivtrafiken viktig för många barn för att kunna ta sig till skola och aktiviteter. Dock ärkollektivtrafiksystemet planerat efter arbetsresor vilket gör att barns tillgänglighet medkollektivtrafiken kan missgynnas av att systemet inte är anpassat till att försörja deras resebehov. Istudien observeras att barns särskilda behov är en central del inom barnperspektivet i regionenskollektivtrafikplanering där fokus är på barns användbarhet av systemet. Med målsättning om en inkluderande och tillgänglig kollektivtrafik för alla i regionen blirbarnperspektivet en viktig aspekt. Med ambitionen att utöka arbetet med barnperspektivet inomkollektivtrafikplaneringen i Stockholmsregionen är en förståelse för dagens arbete och utmaningarmeningsfull. Utökade möjligheter inom regionen i form av kunskap för barnperspektivet samtvärdeskapande metoder för att inkludera barnperspektivet och barns egna perspektiv konstateras istudien som viktiga utvecklingsaspekter inom regionens kollektivtrafikplanering. Barnen presenterassom en viktig målgrupp för att öka det kollektiva resandet i regionen, både i dag och i framtiden. Attplanera kollektivtrafiken med barnen som resenärer i centrum bör därför vara högst relevant. / In 2020, the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child became Swedish law. Thus, Swedishauthorities need to consider the children’s rights in exercise of authority. This includes the Swedishregions and their responsibility to provide public transportation. This study is based on the Convention on the Rights of the Child as Swedish law and the arguedsignificance of public transport for social sustainability. The study aims to investigate to what extentchildren are considered in the regional planning of public transportation in the Stockholm region.Based on this, it is further examined how the planning of public transportation affects the children’saccessibility to travel publicly in the region. A case study of the Stockholm region is performed, inwhich the region’s planning documents are examined and regional planners are interviewed. The aimof the study is achieved through a thematic analysis based on theoretical concepts regarding views onchildren as actors and accessibility. The study observes that children are considered an important group to include and hear whenplanning for public transportation in the Stockholm region; children are presented as fellowinhabitants. However, it appears that the consideration of children within the public transportationplanning is strongly dependent on the adults’ analysis and interpretation of children. This showcasesthe perspective that adults know better. Additionally, the children’s capacity to contribute to theplanning of the public transportation is questioned by some planners, children are seen as irrational.It is concluded that the view of children in the planning of the region’s public transportation varies,although there is a strong consensus about children being important travellers of publictransportation. Children’s opportunity to impact and influence societal development depends on adults creating spacefor child participation. The study encounters many opportunities for the children to impact publictransportation planning, with a wide support material and several methods to include both the childperspective and children’s own perspectives within the regional public transportation planning. Therelative influence of children is less clear. Guidelines explain that children should actively be includedand given influence in the planning processes, but the planners explain the practical work to bedifficult. The planners are experiencing a lack of clear working methods and knowledge regardingchildren. This challenges the description of an integrated and systematic work to consider children inthe regional planning and is noteworthy as education about children in public transportation ismandatory for the planners. A conclusion is that a lack of knowledge and methods limit both thechildren’s opportunities to impact and influence, as well as the opportunities for the planners toconsider the children in the planning of public transportation in Region Stockholm. The needs and preconditions of the travellers form the basis for the planning of public transportationin Region Stockholm. Children as travellers have other needs to accommodate to achieve accessibilitywithin and by public transportation. For accessibility within the system, usability together with safetyand security are presented as particularly important aspects for children. The public transportationenvironment must therefore be adapted to the abilities of children. In a spatial perspective, publicmodes provide many children accessibility to school and activities. However, since the system hasbeen designed for work travel, children’s accessibility with public transportation is disadvantaged by alack of adaptation to their travel needs. The individual needs of children are concluded a centralaspect of the child perspective within the planning of Region Stockholm’s public transportation. With the goal of inclusive and accessible public transportation for everyone in the region, aconsideration of children becomes an important aspect. With the ambition to widen the considerationfor children in the public transportation planning, an understanding of the current work andchallenges are meaningful. To fulfil this ambition, this study found that increased opportunities withinthe region in the form of knowledge regarding children and value-creating methods for including thechild perspective and the children’s own perspective are important aspects to further develop in theregion’s planning of the public transportation. The children are presented as important for increasingpublic travelling in the region, both today and in the future. Planning public transportation with thechildren at the centre should therefore be highly valuable.