The purpose of this thesis has been to; based on interviews with four teachers in Stockholm city, get at picture of preschool teacher’s viewpoint on children’s influence in preschool. Research questions: How is the children`s influence looked upon by the teachers in preschool?, In what ways do children’s influence affect their learning, In what ways are the interviewed preschool teachers working with democracy in preschool? To carry out this thesis, I used the qualitative method. In the qualitative method, use is made of the interview method to collect empirical data with interviews. I interviewed four preschool teachers from three different preschools. This thesis is built upon John Dewey’s philosophical thinking as a theoretical base. The result of this thesis shows that all preschool teachers felt that the application of children’s influence in the daily activities, although complicated, is essential in their work. At the same time the opinion of the teachers varied a lot concerning to what extent the children shall take responsibility on deciding upon their activities. One teacher claimed that it is not possible to plan activities based on 19 children’s wishes and the other that she had to limit the influence of the children because it is the teacher’s obligation to lead the children to discover new activities, not just to continue with the old ones. By using children’s influence, considered another preschool teacher, the children expand their frames of reference which allow the kids to discover new areas to work with. All the teacher´s also agreed about the importance of letting the activities being built upon the children`s different interests.  Preschool teachers use children’s councils, planning with children or voting on what activities they should have in the pursuit of the children to take part of what democracy means.

The aim of the study was to explore the democratic mission of the preschool as expressed in the preschool teachers’ talk and practical work and also through the children’s actions. The goal was to acquire new knowledge about how the democratic mission is carried out in preschool practice and what democratic subjects are supported and developed by the preschool teachers. Field studies were carried out between 2008 and 2010, with a concentration in spring 2009. The study included 5 preschool teachers and 20 children aged 3-6. Observations were made during the teachers’ planning meetings, when they worked with the children and when the children were playing or acting on their own. Two focus group interviews with the preschool teachers were also carried out, and local documents, for example work plans and evaluations, were analyzed. The results indicate that there has been a shift in view from group orientation in the preschool to greater focus on the individual child. In the analysis of the democratic subjects it was clear that much of what happens in the preschool is focused on individual children rather than the children as a group. In summary, preschool teachers speak of the democratic mandate as important but difficult to implement in their daily work. Children’s influence and participation are set up as goals in the work plan, but the preschool teachers do not feel they come to fruition in the pedagogical practice. Still, they define and condition children’s influence and they do work at the task, seemingly unconsciously, in practice. For their part, the children often seize opportunities when they arise but they also create their own. They take initiative and present ideas about what they want to do in preschool. It even turned out they had influence far beyond the preschool walls. / Förskolans demokratiuppdrag beskrivs som centralt och viktigt men hur omsätts det i praktiken? Hur ser förskollärarna på det de förväntas göra, hur arbetar de med detta i förskolans vardag och hur går det att förstå ur ett barnperspektiv? Observationer har genomförts på en förskoleavdelning med barn i åldern 3-5 år. Förskollärarna har intervjuats och förskolans olika dokument har analyserats. Syftet var att undersöka förskolans demokratiuppdrag så som det kommer till uttryck genom förskollärares tal och handlingar och genom barns agerande i förskolans verksamhet. Resultaten visar att förskollärarna framförallt förstår demokratiuppdrag i förskolan som en fråga om barns möjligheter till inflytande- ett villkorat inflytande. Barnen tar, inom ramen för de villkor som ställs upp, vara på de möjligheter till inflytande som ges. Bland annat genom att ta egna initiativ, göra motstånd under planerade aktiviteter och utmana de regler som finns på förskolan. Analysen visar också att förskollärarna har en komplex syn på det demokratiska subjekt som eftersträvas. Det ses som individualistiskt ur vissa aspekter, barnen ska kunna stå för sina egna åsikter, det ses som socialt, barnen ska lära sig att lyssna på andra, och det ses också som politiskt, barnen ska kunna vara med och påverka verksamheten genom att själva handla. Som ett didaktiskt bidrag presenteras en ny analysmodell; Institutionella demokratihändelser.

Syftet med den här studien är att undersöka hur pedagoger resonerar kring organiseringen av inomhusmiljön i förhållande till barns inflytande. Detta har jag undersökt genom att ta reda på vilka handlingserbjudanden som pedagoger vill att deras inomhusmiljö ska förmedla samt vilket inflytande barn ges utifrån dessa handlingserbjudanden. Studien är genomförd via en gruppintervju med ett arbetslag på en svensk förskola i Mellansverige. Resultatet visar att det är lugna handlingserbjudanden som pedagogerna vill förmedla genom sitt sätt att organisera miljön. Detta visas dels genom vilka aktiviteter som pedagogerna erbjuder barnen och dels genom att de medvetet försöker möblera så barnen inte ska inbjudas till spring, hopp och rörelse. Resultatet visar vidare att barnen har inflytande inom de ramar som pedagogerna har satt upp. Eftersom pedagogerna vill att det är lugna aktiviteter som ska förekomma på avdelningen har barnen inflytande att påverka så länge det rör sig om just lugna aktiviteter. Barnen har alltså ett indirekt inflytande som dessutom varierar beroende på om det gäller möblering och tomma ytor, material, klimat eller aktiviteter och material som ska kopplas till nuvarande mål. Även barnens ålder spelar in på vilket inflytande de ges, framförallt gällande material. / The purpose of this study is to contribute with knowledge regarding teachers’ belief about the organization of the indoor setting in relation to children’s influence. I have examined this by observing what affordances teachers wish their indoor stetting to convey and what influence children are given based on these affordances. The study was conducted through a group interview with a team in a Swedish preschool in central Sweden. The result show that the affordances teachers wish to convey through their way of organizing the indoor setting are calm activities. This is shown partly through what activates teachers present to the children and partly through the way that teachers consciously furnish to avoid children from running and jumping. Further result show that children are able to practice influence within rules stipulated by the teachers. Since teachers convey affordances of a calm nature children may practice influence as long as activates are of a calm nature. This show that children have an implied influence witch also varies depending on if it relays to furnishing and empty spaces, material, climate or activities and material connected to present objects. Children’s age is also a factor which affects what influence they are given, especially regarding materials.

Background Children are influencing the family’s decision making process regarding food products. The children’s spending power is increasing and they become consumers in an early age. By influencing the parents, the children make them buy products that they had not planned to buy or make the parents avoid products that they usually would have bought. Online food shopping is increasing in Sweden and the home delivery grocery bag is the category of online food that has increased the most from 2010 to 2011. Familyfood Optima AB is one of the home delivery grocery bags companies that deliver grocery bags in the south of Sweden. Purpose The purpose of this thesis is to find how children affect their parents’ behavior of purchasing home delivery grocery bags. Method To understand how children affect their parents in the decision of home delivery grocery bags a qualitative approach was used where twelve semi-structured interviews were held. Seven of the interviews were held with customers to Familyfood Optima AB. Four interviews were held with non-customers that had been customers to Familyfood Optima AB and one interview was held with a respondent that never had been a customer of a home delivery grocery bag company. Conclusion Children are influencing their parents in the decision to purchase home delivery grocery bags. They also influence the parents in the decision of whether or not to continue purchasing the home delivery grocery bag. The decision of purchasing a home delivery grocery bag depends on the children’s influence and the extent of the parent’s yielding. To influence their parents, the child use both direct and indirect influence techniques and three of the five bases of power. The children’s influence is also dependent on the child’s age and the influence from peers.

The purpose of this study is to investigate how preschool teachers’ views from both the Philippines and Sweden differ based on their own experiences and approaches in relation to the children’s involvement in their everyday life at the preschool. This research sheds light on what strategies and pedagogical approaches the preschool teachers have to involve the children to participate. Moreover, this research will look at and compare what the preschool teachers see as challenges or hindrances in giving children the chance to influence. Qualitative video and personal interviews with five preschool teachers have been conducted from five different preschools in total, two in Sweden and three in the Philippines. The results show that all teachers want to involve the children and give them influence. However, the Swedish preschool teachers put more emphasis on this. It is obvious from the results that the Swedish children are given more influence than the Filipino children. In my analysis I investigate the reasons for this; that might not only be because of a different mindset of the preschool teachers but also structural differences such as a different curriculum, different daily routines, the number of pedagogues per child and the impact of group size.

Syftet med studien är att undersöka pedagogers och  barns  uppfattningar om delaktighet och inflytande i förskolan. Datainsamlingen gjordes genom kvalitativa semistrukturerade intervjuer med fyra förskollärare samt fyra barn från två olika förskolor. Studiens resultat visar att barns inflytande påverkas av förskollärarnas förhållningssätt till barns inflytande. Förskollärarna tolkar inflytande som när barn ges möjlighet att påverka sin vardag samt att barns intressen ska var utgångspunkten när man planerar aktiviteter i förskolan. Det är viktigt att närma sig barns perspektiv och låta barn vara med och fatta olika beslut. Förskollärarna eftersträvar alltid inflytande men de menar att det finns vissa begränsningar för att arbeta med barns inflytande fullt ut. Exempelvis gruppstorlek, barns ålder och förskolans resurser. Resultatet visar också att barn tycker att de får vara delaktiga men att de får välja mellan färdiga alternativ som förskollärarna bestämt. Barnen uttrycker att det är bra att de är delaktiga men att de samtidigt önskar att de kan få vara mer delaktiga genom hela processen och ges mer inflytande. / The aim of this study is to examine children’s and pre-school teachers view of children’s influence. The data was gathered through semi-structured interviews with four pre-school teachers and four children from two different pre-schools. The result of this study shows that the influence of children depends on the teacher’s approach and attitude. Pre-school teachers view influence as when children are given influence of the school day and let them be part of the decision making. It is also important to listen children and also view it from a child’s perspective. At the same time, they believe that there are certain limitations when it comes to the influence of children. For example, large groups, the age of the children and resources at the preschool. The result also shows that the children believe and express that they have influence but the teacher give them alternatives that are decided beforehand. At the same time, the children express a wish that they would have more opportunities to be more involved throughout the process.

Denna studies syfte är att undersöka institutionella demokratihändelser i förskolan utifrån följande frågeställningar.   Vilka möjligheter ger förskolan som institution barn till individualistiska demokratihändelser?   Hur kan förskollärare möjliggöra individualistiska demokratihändelser för barnen i förskolan?   Hur kan förskollärare synliggöra individualistiska demokratihändelser i förskolan?   För att möjliggöra ett undersökande av institutionella demokratihändelser i förskolan och för att kunna besvara studiens frågeställningar på bästa sätt har semistrukturerade intervjuer använts som metod. Fyra förskollärare från en förskola i en mellanstor svensk kommun har deltagit i intervjuerna.   Resultatet visar att förskolan som institution ger barn goda möjligheter till individualistiska demokratihändelser under vissa förutsättningar. Vidare visar resultatet att förskollärare kan möjliggöra individualistiska demokratihändelser i förskolan genom att aktivt arbeta för en tillgänglig och tillåtande miljö med trygga barn. Resultatet för studiens sista frågeställning visar att ett synliggörande av individualistiska demokratihändelser i förskolan kan ske genom förskolans utvärderingar och dokumentationsarbete. / The aim of this study is to examine institutional democracy events in preschool based on the following questions.   Which possibilities does the preschool as an institution afford children when it comes to individualistic democracy events?    How can preschool teachers facilitate individualistic democracy events for children in preschool?   How can preschool teachers make visible individualistic democracy events in preschool?   Semi structured interviews have been used as a method to enable a study of institutional democracy events in preschool and to be able to answer the study’s questions in the best way. Four preschool teachers from a preschool in a medium sized Swedish municipality have taken part in the interviews.   The result shows that preschool as an institution gives children good possibilities to individualistic democracy events under certain conditions. Furthermore, the result shows that preschool teachers can enable individualistic democracy events in preschool by actively working towards an accessible and acceptant environment with confident children. The result of the study’s last question shows that making individualistic democracy events visible in preschool can take place through the preschool’s evaluations and documentation work.

Demokrati och barns inflytande är en central del av Läroplan för förskolan, Lpfö 98 (Skolverket, 2016). Trots att detta är relevant visar tidigare forskning att styrdokumentet saknar utförlig beskrivning för hur demokratiuppdraget ska genomföras i praktiken. Det framhålls i tidigare forskning att det råder en förväntan på att förskollärare ska kunna omvandla demokratiuppdraget från teori till praktik, vilket har visat sig vara komplicerat. Förskollärares beskrivningar av sitt arbete för att möjliggöra barns inflytande i planerade aktiviteter har därför undersökts i denna studie. Kvalitativa intervjuer med fyra utbildade och verksamma förskollärare har genomförts för att samla in data. Resultatet analyserades sedan med inspiration från Laclau och Mouffes diskursteori. I resultatet framkom fem olika moment. Momenten visar att pedagogerna använder sig av en mängd olika arbetsformer för att möjliggöra barns inflytande, vidare att uppdraget är komplext och svårdefinierat samt att förskollärarens förhållningssätt till barnen är den viktigaste faktorn för att möjliggöra eller begränsa barns inflytande. / The Curriculum for preschool, Läroplan för förskolan, Lpfö 98 (Skolverket, 2016), states that one of the central objectives in this curriculum is democracy along with children’s right. The curriculum does not provide the practitioners any detailed description of how these objectives achieves. Previous research shows that it is complicated for preschool teachers to meet the expectations of transforming democracy from theory to practice. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to present preschool teachers' telling from how they enable to manage the influence of children in planned activities. Qualitative interviews were conducted with active professional preschool teachers. The result was then analyzed with inspiration from Laclau and Mouffe's discourse theory. The result shows that the teachers used multiple methods to enable this. Still the democratic goal is defined as complex and difficult. The moments that express the variety of methods are connected to how the preschool teacher approach the children, the differences in approach enabled or limited the children´s actual influence.

Syftet med denna studie är att bidra med kunskap om hur förskollärare hanterar demokratiuppdraget i förskolan. Demokratiuppdraget i förskolan ses som något komplext med många delar. För att undersöka hur förskollärare hanterar demokratiuppdraget har jag använt mig av semistrukturerade intervjuer. I intervjuerna har jag fokuserat på hur förskollärare arbetar med demokrati och barns inflytande i utbildningen. Informanterna fick beskriva olika situationer där det upplevdes lättare eller svårare att implementera ett demokratiskt arbetssätt i förskolan. Resultatet visar att förskollärarna ser på begreppet demokrati som det viktigaste de har att arbeta med i förskolan och att det är många delar som utgör det arbetet. Förutsättningar, så som mindre barngrupper, närvarande och samspelta pedagoger och väl utformade lokaler är av värde i ett demokratiskt arbetssätt enligt informanterna i studien. Utmaningarna som medföljer i utbildningen är många, men i utmaningarna finns det möjlighet för barnen att utöva sitt inflytande över sin egen utbildning. I diskussionen diskuteras resultat utifrån egna tankar samt litteratur och forskning. / The purpose of this study is to contribute knowledge about how preschool teachers handle the democratic mission in preschool. The democracy mission in preschool is seen as something complex with many different parts. To examine how preschool teachers handle democracy assignments, I have used semi-structured interviews. In the interviews, I have focused on how preschool teachers work with democracy and children’s influence in education. The informants were asked to describe different situations where it was perceived as easier or harder to implement a democratic way of working in the education. The results show that preschool teachers see the concept of democracy as the most important thing they have to work with in preschool and that there are many parts that contribute to that work. Conditions, such as smaller groups of children, present educators and well-designed premises are of value in a democratic way of working according to the informants in the study. The challenges that come with the education are many, but in the challenges there is the opportunity for the children to exercise their influence over their own education. In the discussion I discuss the results linked to my own thoughts together with previous literature and research.

In professional practice as a preschool teacher there can be a difficult balance between giving the children “real influence” in their everyday life and education and at the same time raise and educate them based on the norms, laws and governing documents that must be followed within the practice. This study aims to find out the teachers own view and perception of the interpretable concept “real influence” and how this is practiced in their daily interaction with the children combined with planned and goal-oriented teaching activities. In order to get results that would contribute to the discussion of this subject we collected empirical data from interviewing preschool teachers and observing their interaction with the children during planned, goal-oriented teaching activities. The empirical data were analyzed with a phenomenographic approach. We analyzed and reflected on the material from several different points of view to try to deepen our understanding and be able to draw well-founded conclusions. We sought support and knowledge using Foucault's power theory and Mead's intersubjectivity theory, which we then linked to the data we collected. The results of this discussion suggest that there is always a balance between real influence and control in the education and interaction with children. It is up to the teachers to define and judge where the line is drawn. Based on their knowledge, experience and governing documents they must determine what is in the best interest for the children both in the present time and in the future.