Raising the qualification level for preschool staff is often seen by policymakers as a means of improving the quality of preschool. However, research examining the relation between qualifications of preschool staff and preschool quality has given inconsistent results. This suggests that one’s competence as a teacher is not necessarily reflected by one’s level of teacher qualification. The aim of this study was to contribute to knowledge about preschool teacher competence and its relation to education and practice. This was accomplished through documenting and examining perspectives on preschool teacher competence from currently enrolled Swedish preschool teacher students and recently graduated Swedish preschool teachers, who have prior work experience in early childhood education. In particular, this study focused on gaining a deeper understanding of which competences preschool teacher students and preschool teachers attribute to their education. Interviews were conducted with one preschool teacher education student and two recently graduated preschool teachers. The findings showed three competences reported as important by the participants: critical (self-)reflection, the competence to listen to the children, and the competence to care. Moreover, the participants believed that being confident in one’s profession, knowing why they are doing what they are doing, and the competence to reflect are competences gained in preschool teacher education. Lastly, the participants described a connection between theory and practice, which suggest that students with prior work experience do not experience a ‘reality gap’ between their education and the practical field. The research conducted in this study contributes to what is known about teacher competence and, more specifically, it gives more insight into the development of competence in preschool teacher education.

The purpose of this study is to invetigate preschool teachers' perceptions of opportunities and difficulties in work with aesthetic forms of expression in the preschool's learning environment. According to the preschool curriculum (Skolverktet, 2018), preschool education must give children the opportunity to experience, shape and communicate through aestethic forms of expression such as image, form, drama, movement, song, music  and dance. It is also the preschool teachers' responsibility to develop pedagogical content and environments in the teaching that inspire development and learning (Skolverket, 2018). To investigate preschool teachers' own perceptions of opportunities and difficulties at work, a phenomenographic methodological approach and qualitative semi-structured interviews were used, which were also recorded and enabled in-depth answers. The results and the analysis shed light on preschool teachers' perceptions of the opportunities and difficulties that exist in the work of creating conditions for children to experience, shape and communicate in the learning enviroinment through aesthetic forms of expression. What preschool teachers preceive can create opportunities and difficulties are the educator, the physical environment and time, above all in the form of the preschool's daily routines. What dose not emerge are preschool teaschers' perceptions of how aesthetic subject knowledge is a possible contributing factor to the possibilities or difficulties that are experienced. Since previous research by Lindqvist (2019) showed that preschool teacher students preceive their aesthetic subject knowledge as insufficient, it would be interesting to possibly further investigate how active preschool teachers perceive that their subject knowledge in the aesthetic subjects affects preschool education. This can be seen as important in order to contribute to a further understanding of preschool teachers' perceptions of the aesthetic subject and the possibilities and difficulties of forms of expression. / Denna studies syfte är att undersöka förskollärares uppfattningar av möjligheter och svårigheter i arbetet med estetiska uttrycksformer i förskolans lärmiljö. Enligt förskolans läroplan (Skolverket, 2018) ska förskolans utbildning ge barn möjlighet att uppleva, gestalta och kommunicera genom estetiska uttrycksformer som bild, form, drama, rörelse, sång, musik och dans. Det är också förskollärarnas ansvar att i undervisningen utveckla pedagogiskt innehåll och miljöer som inspirerar till utveckling och lärande (Skolverket, 2018).För att undersöka förskollärares egna uppfattningar om möjligheter och svårigheter i arbetet användes en fenomenografisk metodansats och kvalitativa semistrukturerade intervjuer, vilka också spelades in och möjliggjorde fördjupade svar. Resultatet och analysen belyser förskollärares uppfattningar om vilka möjligheter och svårigheter som finns i arbetet med att skapa förutsättningar för barn att i lärmiljön uppleva, gestalta och kommunicera genom estetiska uttrycksformer. Det förskollärarna uppfattar kan skapa möjligheter och svårigheter är pedagogen, den fysiska miljön och tiden, framför allt i form av förskolans dagliga rutiner. Det som inte framkommer är förskollärares uppfattningar kring hur estetiska ämneskunskaper är en eventuell bidragande faktor till de möjligheter eller svårigheter som upplevs. Eftersom tidigare forskning av Lindqvist (2019) visade att förskollärarstudenter upplever sina estetiska ämneskunskaper som otillräckliga vore det intressant att eventuellt vidare undersöka hur verksammaförskollärare uppfattar att sina ämneskunskaper inom de estetiska ämnena påverkar förskolans utbildning. Detta kan ses som viktig för att bidra till ytterligare förståelse för förskollärares uppfattningar om de estetiska ämnena och uttrycksformernas möjligheter och svårigheter