Background The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, CRC, claims that children should be heard in decisions about themselves. Children also have the right to play. This need to be applied in healthcare environment. Swedish laws and guidelines for children's healthcare confirm this. What do children themselves propose as important support to participate? Aim The aim of this study was to describe children and young people's experience in healthcare environment. Method A literature-based study of nine qualitative academic articles was conducted. 556 children altogether were asked about their experience from healthcare environment. Results The result is presented by five themes: To be afraid and sad To feel comfort and safety To understand To be included in decisions To know the nurse Conclusion Children and young people in healthcare environment feel discomfort and insecurity. They need help with symptoms and fear. If the nurse is perceived as a "bad nurse", the child is exposed to feel helpless. A child need a certain amount of comfort, playing and contact with peers to be motivated to participate. When invited to ask questions and express their worries, they want to be involved. Children want to participate in decisions about themselves. The nurse has a key role to involve the child. Confidence is built through technical skills in achieving procedures, good communication and personal attributes, such as being helping, kind, friendly and humorous.

Sociologists of childhood have stressed the importance of children’s experience in the present and children as agents who actively construct their own lives and influence relationships with family and friends. Current thinking in the field of child well-being emphasises the need to consult children as experts in their own lives. Findings from research with children have led to important insights about what contributes to well-being. Relationships with family and friends have been found to be central to well-being whilst bullying by peers deeply impacts on their well-being. Shared activities appear to be the context for children to not only master competences but also learn about and negotiate relationships. The Growing Up in Ireland interviews with 9 year old children were re-analysed with a view to exploring these crucial domains and how they impact on the children’s well-being. The children were found to have a wide circle of family connections and were particularly close to their mothers although also close to their fathers. Grandparents played a significant role in their lives and their relationships with siblings were often positive but did fluctuate. Reasons for closeness centred around trust. Lack of availability due to work was a key contributor to children feeling less close to a family member. The children were involved in a wide range of structured activities after school and at the weekend, This was usually balanced with free time although some ‘hurried’ children had frenetic lifestyles. Involvement in unstructured activities such as free play was particularly associated with time with friends and choice. Friendship was characterised by sharing and trust. On the other hand, bullying by peers had been experienced by many of the children and almost all were conscious of the danger of becoming bullied. The wider issues of work-family balance and its impact on children, the predominance of bullying and children’s right to be heard are reflected upon.

The overall aim of this research is to describe and analyse the educational pathways from preschool to school of a group of children with and without special educational needs. The aim is also to describe and analyse children’s views and experiences of early years education, and how these can be obtained. The research comprises six studies that are presented in four articles and two conference papers. Longitudinal and multiple-case study designs, and mixed method approaches are adopted in the empirical studies, and the data is collected via observations, a questionnaire, documents, conversations and interviews with staff, children’s drawings and interviews with children. The results from the empirical studies show a variation of pathways to compulsory education; changes in activities and relationships in the transitions; a variation in preschool quality; a broad conceptualising of special educational needs; an application of comprehensive or specialised typologies in the educational settings; an undecided and cautious attitude toward inclusive education; an allocation of generous resources to specialised and segregated programmes; and a diversity of support provisions. The children report more positive than negative experiences of their early school years and pinpoint the importance of having a sense of belonging among peers; opportunities for creative play and thinking; experiences of speed, excitement and physical challenges; elements of cosiness, withdrawals and comfort for recreation; experiences of growth in knowledge and understanding of the world; feeling safe; feeling free and autonomous; and preventing homesickness in order to thrive. The results of the literature review are that the researchers may obtain data from children with and without special educational needs by means of traditional and innovative data collection methods. For broadening participation and sharing of views, the researchers may offer relational and material support. The thesis has relevance for researchers in the field of special education, inclusive education and early childhood education and care. It has also relevance for teacher training, policy makers and stakeholders, school heads, teachers and families. / <p>At the time of the doctoral defense, the following paper was unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 6: Submitted.</p>