Sammanfattning Studien syftade till att undersöka hur pedagoger i förskolan bemöter och förhåller sig till ämnet mänsklig fortplantning. Totalt tre olika förskolor och tio pedagoger var med och deltog i studien. För att kunna ta del av pedagogers förhållningssätt och hur de arbetade så användes kvalitativa semistruktuerade intervjuer som metod och för att jämföra pedagogernas svar med vad som står skrivet i barnböcker, så användes även textanalys som metod. Undersökningen tar upp vilka förklaringsmodeller och begrepp som pedagogerna använder samt vilka material som de använder sig utav för att ge barnen en förståelse om mänsklig fortplantning. Det visade sig att pedagoger inte upplever att mänsklig reproduktion är ett obekvämt eller genant ämne att samtala med barnen om, dock visade resultatet att det fanns olika hinder med att jobba med den mänskliga fortplantningen i förskolan. Pedagogerna menade att det kan finnas olika svårigheter med att ta upp detta ämne med barnen då det kan finnas föräldrar som kan ha starka åsikter huruvida deras barn ska få denna kunskap eller inte. Andra svårigheter som pedagogerna nämnde var om det eventuellt fanns barn med samkönade föräldrar eller om det fanns barn från annan kultur som försvårar arbetet med detta ämne. I resultatet framkommer det också att pedagogerna tycker att det finns bra böcker som behandlar ämnet och som blir en hjälp och ett verktyg att förklara för barnen hur fortplantning går till. / Abstract The aim of the study was to investigate how preschool teachers deal with and relate to the topic of human reproduction. In total, there was three different preschools and ten preschool teachers who participated in this study. To be able to take part of the preschool teachers approach and how they are working, semi-structured interviews was used as a method. To compare the preschool teachers answers with what was written in children’s book, a text analysis was also used as a method. The survey addresses the explanatory models and concepts that the preschool teachers use and what materials they use to give the children an understanding of human reproduction. It turned out that preschool teachers do not perceive that human reproduction is an inconvenient or embarrassing subject to talk with the children about. However, the result showed that they experienced various obstacles to working with human reproduction in preschool. The preschool teachers stated that there may be different difficulties in addressing this topic with the children as there may be parents who can have strong opinions about whether or not their children should have this knowledge. Other difficulties mentioned by the pedagogues were if there were any children with same-sex parents or if there were children from another culture that complicates the work on this subject. In the result, it also appears that the pedagogues think that there are good books that deal with the subject, which will be a help and a tool to explain to the children how reproduction works.

The purpose of this study was to investigate how the music as a discipline has been given a certain role in the preschool setting both from the curriculum, but also when it comes to how the preschool teachers, with different musical background, reflects upon and practice their knowledge or non-knowledge of popular music in preschool. Through case study with observations and interviews, four themes have been explored from Foucault’s theory of discourse, discipline, knowledge and non-knowledge, 1. The curriculum’s contribution of shaping music as a discipline. 2. The instrumental use of music and it’s unspecific place 3. Music as knowledge and non-knowledge, and 4. Inadequacy and free interpretation of the curriculum. The result of this study showed that the curriculum contributes to make music as a discipline ambiguous through how the music is portrayed in relation to other subjects as mathematics. The pedagogue’s different practices and reflections about the music shows on widely different pictures of what working with music involves and all of this makes the music's status unclear and therefore takes many different shapes and definitions with the work of music where the perception of musical work can change a lot from pre-school to pre-school.

Abstract   The Swedish government has commissioned to develop pre-school science activities. This study investigates how different pedagogs work with the science goals from the curriculum. The purpose is also to see how the pedagogs education and attitude towards science affect the activities at the pre-school. Three pre-schools took part in the study, two which has science orientation and one which does not have a specific orientation. Eight pedagogs has participated and six of them has a science education and two does not. The methods used in the study are interviews and observations. The result shows that the pre-schools with science orientation more often work with ecology, technology and experiments than the pre-school with no specific orientation. They also offer more science activities and work thematical and in project form in reaching the goals in the curriculum. A less emergent result in the study is that pedagogs with science education has a little bit stronger confidence when working with children and science than their colleagues with no science education. These pedagogs with no science education also mention that they need further education to be able to work with science for children in a satisfying way. Even so, the pedagogs without science education also works with this. / Sammanfattning   Sveriges regering har gett i uppdrag till förskolan att utveckla sin naturvetenskapliga verksamhet. Den här studien syftar därför till att undersöka hur olika pedagoger arbetar med läroplanens strävansmål för förskolans naturvetenskap. Syftet är också att se hur pedagogers utbildning och attityd inför naturvetenskap relaterar till den naturvetenskapliga verksamhet som bedrivs. Tre förskolor ingår i undersökningen, två med naturvetenskaplig inriktning och en utan sådan inriktning. Åtta pedagoger har deltagit och av dessa har sex stycken naturvetenskaplig utbildning. Som metod har både intervjuer av pedagoger och observationer av en naturvetenskaplig aktivitet använts. Resultatet visar att förskolorna med naturinriktning arbetar mer med ekologi, teknik och experiment. Dessa bedriver naturvetenskaplig verksamhet fler gånger i veckan och använder teman och projekt i arbetet mot läroplansmålen vilket inte förskolan utan särskild inriktning gör. Ett något mindre framträdande resultat i studien är att pedagoger med särskild naturvetenskaplig utbildning har något bättre självförtroende inför aktiviteter med naturvetenskapligt innehåll för barn samt att pedagoger utan särskild utbildning i ämnet själva säger sig behöva fortbildning för att kunna arbeta med det på ett tillfredsställande sätt. Trots det arbetar även pedagoger utan naturvetenskaplig utbildning med ämnet.

Piano teachers agree that acquiring piano technique knowledge and skills is beneficial for musical interpretation as lacking a good technique may impact on the musicality of a performance and poor technique may lead to muscular pain or injury. Many piano teachers use a series of piano method books as major teaching materials in the lesson. It is essential for teachers to understand the technical elements included in the piano method books and to investigate whether any piano technical element is missing so that they may consider using supplementary technique teaching materials. Besides, to understand how the technical elements are presented and how soon each technique element is introduced would help teachers to teach more efficiently. The purpose of this study was to review how expert pedagogues teach piano technique to establish a framework of technique elements that should be taught to young piano beginners. Based on this framework, we undertook an analysis of the technical elements found in thirteen series of piano method lesson books together with their accompanying technical books. A calculation of the proportion of each piano technique element in each series, an evaluation of the pace at which new technique elements are introduced and an analysis of how each one is presented forms the objective of this study. The results will provide piano teachers with thorough information on the technique elements found in different method books and will help piano teachers to select the most appropriate method books for their students.

The purpose of this study is to produce knowledge about when and in what way preschool teachers give children physical contact in the preschools’ daily routine and how the children react to physical contact. Physical touch in preschool is regarded as an important part of the children's human contact, sense of security and learning.  We chose to do a qualitative study which was based on observations and interviews as a method. The empirical study was guided by three research questions: How do preschool staff describe and use physical touch in teaching the children? In which ways do preschool staff affect children physically and do they pay attention to childrens integrity? In which situations do the preschool staff give children physical touch during a work day?  The pedagogues who were interviewed described in their answers about what physical touch means for them and how they use physical touch in the preschool activities. By looking at the observation materials we found a difference between how they gave the boys respectively the girls physical contact in some of the daily routines. The results that came out of the analysis showed that all pedagogues believe that physical contact is extremely important in preschool.

Our purpose with this study is to examine free play from a gender perspective. We explore in which ways free play is free, as well as how pedagogues view their own role in free play alongside, their views on gender and how these impact upon their actions. The study seeks, to contribute to a greater understanding of free play and what factors influence it, so that pedagogues may gain a greater understanding and use free play in the best way possible for children. The study is based on the following questions: ·      Free play, how free is it? ·      How is gender expressed in free play when it comes to social interaction and children’s interaction with materials? ·      In what way do pedagogues assumptions about gender reveal themselves when supervising free play? For this study we used qualitative methods combining six interviews with preschool teachers and several observations at two different preschools. The theories used in this study is a combination of sociocultural and poststructuralist perspectives. Our results shows that generally the pedagogues had the same understanding on free play and that they are aware of the opportunities free play may provide for the children. Secondly this study shows how children use the materials provided at the preschool differently. While the boys and girls in this study use the materials to communicate and interact, the boys often did this in a more active way while the girls were more calm. Lastly, all pedagogues interviewed expressed their concerted efforts to strive towards gender equality in preschools.

Diplomová práce se zabývá současnou komunikační strategií Lipky, školského zařízení pro environmentální vzdělávání, a možnostech zlepšení této strategie zvláště s ohledem na oblast zahradního vzdělávání. Teoretická část se zaměřuje na vysvětlení základních konceptů v rámci dané problematiky. Následující část pak představuje výsledky interních a externích analýz komunikační strategie Lipky. Tato část též poukazuje na možné nedostatky a navrhuje alternativní řešení pro vylepšení efektivity komunikace. Práce se zaměřuje na pedagogy z jihomoravského kraje a jejich přehled o aktivitách Lipky a také jejich zájem o nabízené kurzy.

This study is about language development in multilingual children. The purpose of this qualitative study is to highlight how the pedagogues in the preschool describe how they support and challenge the children in their language development. The method used is semi-structured interviews. Two special education teachers and five preschool teachers were interviewed to find out how they work with language development in multilingual children. The results show that the educators work with different approaches and methods to strengthen children's language development and give them a rich vocabulary.The pedagogues work closely with the guardians to benefit the children's language development. The educators asked about important concepts and sentences in the children's mother tongue, which were then posted on the walls next to the Swedish word. In order for a safe and reliable relationship to be established, an interpreter was offered for example, development interviews. Picture support and signs as support, was a common approach to support and stimulate the children in their language development. This was mainly used in transitions.The conclusion that emerged was that a conscious approach and a respect for all languages ​​is crucial for the children's development in preschool. Through inclusive learning environments, where the pedagogues encourage language use in several languages, the children's language development is stimulated. A mutual respect for all languages ​​creates equality and that no child is left out. The children are given the opportunity to develop both Swedish and their mother tongue. / Denna studie handlar om språkutveckling hos flerspråkiga barn. Syftet med denna kvalitativa studie är att belysa hur pedagogerna inom förskolan beskriver hur de stödjer och utmanar barnen i deras språkutveckling. Metoden som använts är semistrukturerade intervjuer, två specialpedagoger och fem förskollärare intervjuades för att ta reda på hur de arbetar med språkutveckling hos flerspråkiga barn. Resultatet visar att pedagogerna arbetar med olika tillvägagångssätt och metoder för att stärka barns språkutveckling och ge demett rikt ordförråd. Pedagogerna har en nära samverkan med vårdnadshavarna, för att gynna barnens språkutveckling. Pedagogerna frågade om viktiga begrepp och meningar på barnens modersmål, som sedan sattes upp på väggarna bredvid det svenska ordet. För att en trygg och pålitlig relation skulle etableras, erbjöds tolk vid exempel, utvecklingssamtal. Bildstöd och tecken som stöd, var ett vanligt tillvägagångsätt för att stödja och stimulera barnen i deras språkutveckling. Detta användes främst i övergångar. Den slutsats som kom fram var att ett medvetet förhållningssätt och en respekt för alla språk är avgörande för barnens utveckling i förskolan. Genom inkluderande lärmiljöer, där pedagogerna uppmuntrar till språkanvändning på flera språk, stimuleras barnens språkutveckling. En ömsesidig respekt för alla språk, skapar en jämställdhet och att inget barn blir åsidosatt. Barnen ges möjlighet att utveckla både svenskan och sitt modersmål.

Syftet med denna studie är att synliggöra pedagogernas uppfattningar om bilderböckernas betydelse för matematikundervisningen. Studien riktar sitt fokus på hur verksamma pedagoger beskriver sina uppfattningar om bilderböckers betydelse för matematikundervisning och hur bilderböcker kan användas som verktyg för att främja barns matematiska lärande. Det empiriska resultatet föregås av en forskningsbakgrund som omfattar barns matematiska lärande, bilderbokens betydelse för barns lärande i matematik samt läsningens och kommunikationens betydelse för matematiklärande. Studien bygger på fenomenografisk ansats som fokuserar på individen och dess relation till fenomen och har syftet att beskriva individens uppfattning utan att värdera den. Studiens metod för datainsamling är kvalitativ i form av semistrukturerade intervjuer som genomfördes med åtta pedagoger som arbetar på fem olika förskolor i två kommuner. I resultatet presenteras vad pedagogerna har berättat om bilderbokens roll och användning på respektive förskola samt hur de använder bilderböcker för att främja barns matematiska lärande. I urvalet gjordes medvetna val av utbildade barnskötare och legitimerade förskollärare som har kunskap om studiens fenomen. I studiens resultat framkommer att bilderböcker har en given plats i förskolans verksamhet och kan användas till att främja barns utveckling och lärande. Det framkommer även att pedagogerna i förskolan använder bilderböcker med olika ändamål i både planerade och spontana undervisningssituationer och bilderböcker har kraft att stödja barns matematiska lärande. Det framkommer även att pedagogernas positiva inställning till bilderböcker som verktyg i matematikundervisning och medvetande förhållningssätt möjliggör synliggörande av matematik i bilderböcker och främjar barns matematiska tänkande. / The purpose of this study is to make visible pedagogues' perceptions of the importance of picture books for mathematics teaching. This study explores how experienced pedagogues describe the importance of picture books for teaching mathematics and how picture books can be used as a tool to promote children's mathematical learning. The empirical findings are preceded by a research background that includes children's mathematical learning, describing the importance of picture books, reading and communication for children’s mathematical learning.  This study is based on a phenomenographic approach that focuses on the individual and his or her relationship to the phenomena, the purpose is to describe the individual's perception without evaluating it. The study's method of data collection is qualitative in the form of semi-structured interviews conducted with eight pedagogues working in five different preschools in two municipalities. The results describes the pedagogues views regarding the role and use of picture books in each preschool and how they use picture books to promote children's mathematical learning. Intentionally trained child minder and licensed preschool teachers familiar with the phenomenon of the study were selected for the sample.  The results of this study show that picture books have an established place in preschool work and can be used to promote children's development and learning. It is also shown that preschool pedagogues use picture books for various purposes in both planned and spontaneous teaching situations and that picture books have the ability to support children's mathematical learning. It also shows that pedagogues’ positive attitude towards picture books as a tool for teaching mathematics and their deliberate approach enables the visibility of mathematics in picture books and promotes children's mathematical thinking.

Tyrimo tikslas – įvertinti neformaliojo ugdymo pedagogų profesinių kompetencijų raišką procese. Darbe iškeltas tikslas konkretizuojamas su šiais uždaviniais: atskleistos ir apibūdintos neformaliojo ugdymo institucijų pedagogų kompetencijų raiškos teorinės prielaidos, įvardintos ir išanalizuotos devynios neformaliojo ugdymo pedagogų kompetencijos:pedagoginis išprusimas, veiklos prognozavimas ir planavimas, ugdymo proceso organizavimas, pedagoginis bendravimas ir bendradarbiavimas, kūrybinė, asmeninė, edukacinė, socialinė ir profesinė. Remiantis Vyriausybės nutarimais, aptartos visos svarbiausios su nagrinėjama tema susijusios sąvokos, vadovaujantis švietimo sistemos lygių galimybių, kontekstualumo, veiksmingumo, tęstinumo principais, švietimo tikslais ir uždaviniais. Pagal iš anksto susidarytą tyrimų programą buvo atliktas diagnostinis tyrimas, įgyvendinti iškelti tyrimo programoje tikslas ir uždaviniai, sudaryti klausimynas, aprašai. Apklausti šimtas dvylika Vilniaus vaikų ir jaunimo klubų ir moksleivių namų pedagogų ir dvylika vadovų. Diagnostinio tyrimo duomenys atskleidė, kad daugelis neformaliojo ugdymo įstaigų pedagogų didelį dėmesį skiria kompetencijų plėtotei ir tobulinimui. Tyrimo rezultatai rodo, kad siekiant švietimo kokybės geresnių rezultatų, tobulinant veiklos planavimo, ugdymo proceso organizavimo, pedagoginio bendravimo ir bendradarbiavimo kompetencijas, pedagogams derėtų dažniau derinti savo veiklą su tėvais, kolegomis, ugdymo institucija, mokėti ir gebėti... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / In the Thesis, the set object is concretized through the following tasks: the theoretical preconditions for the expression of competences of pedagogues of informal education institutions are disclosed and defined, nine competences of informal education pedagogues, such as pedagogical sophistication, prognostication and planning of the activities, organizing of the educational process, pedagogical communication and cooperation, creative, educational, social and professional competence, were identified and analyzed. On the base of decisions of the Government, all key concepts related to the subject under discussion were discussed upon, following the principles of equal opportunities, contextualises, efficiency and succession of the system of education as well as the objects and tasks of education. According to the previously developed programme of the investigation, the diagnostic investigation was carried out, the object and the tasks set in the programme were implemented, a questionnaire and descriptions were developed. One hundred and twelve pedagogues and twelve heads of Vilnius children and youth clubs and schoolchildren centers were interviewed. The data of the diagnostic investigation disclosed that a majority of pedagogues of informal education institutions pays a great attention to extension and improvement of their competences. The results of the investigation show that pedagogues should more frequently coordinate their activities with parents of the children as well... [to full text]