Syftet med studien är att bidra med kunskap om hur pedagogerna synliggör matematiken genom lek i sandlådan tillsammans med barnen. Två metoder har valts för att kunna undersöka detta vilka är ostrukturerade observationer och semistrukturerade intervjuer. Dessa metoder valdes för att kunna komplettera varandra för att få fram ett så tydligt resultat som möjligt. I resultatet framgår det att pedagogernas medvetenhet om vilken matematik som sker i sandlådan har stor betydelse. Pedagogerna bör vara delaktiga i barnens sandlådelek för att vara med och benämna olika matematiska begrepp som förekommer i leken. Genom att pedagogerna benämner matematiken så synliggörs den för barnen. Artefakter som finns i sandlådan såsom hinkar, spadar och former är till god hjälp för barnens matematiska lärande. / The purpose of the study is to provide knowledge about how teachers visualize mathematics by playing in the sandbox with the children. Two approaches have been adopted in order to investigate this which are unstructured observations and semi-structured interviews. These methods were chosen to complement each other to produce the clearest results possible. The results show that teachers' awareness of the mathematics that occur in the sandbox is of great importance. The teachers should be involved in the children´s sandbox play to participate and designate various mathematical concepts that appear. By teachers terms mathematics is made visible on the children. Artefacts found in the sandbox, such as buckets, shovels and forms are helpful to children's mathematical learning.

Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka om pedagogerna medvetet stödjer förskolebarns språkutveckling genom att aktivera barnens koncentrationsförmåga med hjälp av instrumentalmusik. För att ta reda på detta genomfördes en enkätundersökning via internet bland pedagoger inom förskolan.  Resultatet från undersökningen visar att instrumentalmusik enligt pedagogerna kan användas för att stärka barns koncentrationsförmåga, samt att de anser att koncentrationsförmågan i sin tur har positiv inverkan på barns språkutveckling. Dock tyder resultatet på att inte alla respondenter gör den kopplingen hela vägen. De flesta ser sambandet mellan instrumentalmusik och koncentration respektive mellan koncentration och språkutveckling, men de kopplar inte ihop alla tre komponenterna. Resultatet tyder därför på att pedagogerna inte medvetet utnyttjar detta samband för att stödja barnens språkutveckling. / The aim of this study is to inquire whether preschool teachers consciously support children´s language development by activating their ability to concentrate using instrumental music. In order to analyze this, a questionnaire survey among preschool teachers was accomplished. The result of the research reveals that instrumental music according to the preschool teachers can be used in order to foster children´s ability to focus and that they also mean that the ability to focus in turn has positive influence on children´s language development. However, the result indicates that not all the respondents make this connection. The majority of the preschool teachers get the connection between instrumental music and ability to focus, respectively the connection between ability to focus and language development. Yet they don´t connect all these three components. This indicates that preschool teachers don´t consciously make use of this connection to support children´s language development.

Syftet med studien är att ta reda på hur förskollärarna ser på barnens inflytande och delaktighet i förskolan. I studien har fokus lagts på två frågeställningar: • Hur ser förskollärarna på inflytande och delaktighet?  • I vilka situationer tycker förskollärarna att barnen ges bäst möjligheter till inflytande och delaktighet? Den metod som valts i studien är semistrukturerade intervjuer för att ta reda på förskollärarnas tankar och deras erfarenheter om arbete med inflytande och delaktighet i förskolan.  I studien gjordes valet att intervjua fem förskollärare på två olika förskole-områden i samma kommun i mellan Sverige för att kunna se skillnader och likheter mellan olika områden i samma kommun. Resultatet visar att förskollärarna ser på inflytande och delaktighet som en vardaglig sak, alla förskollärare har samma tankar kring inflytande och delaktighet samt med arbetet med både inflytande och delaktighet. Skillnaden mellan hur mycket inflytande förskollärarna gav barnen var beroende av behovet i barngruppen man hade för tillfället, vad den barngruppen behövde. / The purpose of the study is to find out how the preschool teachers look at the children´s influence and participation in preschool. Two questions are chosen to focus on in this study:• What are the preschool teachers´ views of influence and participation? • In what situations do the preschool teachers think that they give children the best opportunity to influence and participation? The method chosen in this study is semi-structured interviews in purpose to find out the preschool teachers´ thoughts and experiences about their work with influence and participation in preschool. Five preschool teachers in two different areas in the same municipality in central Sweden was chosen to be interviewed in the study in purpose to see the differences and similarities between different areas in the same municipality. The results show that preschool teachers’ see the influence and participation as an everyday thing; all preschool teachers’ have the same thoughts about the influence and participation and how they work with influence and participation. What differed between preschool teachers’ about how much influence and participation they gave the children was due to the need in the group of children they have at the moment. What need has the group for the moment.

The aim of our graduate work is to study the importance of image and shape’s in children's development and learning and also the preschool teacher’s views on image and shapes. Our research aims to explore the value of image and shapes creation and how it is expressed among children and in classroom activities. We are also interested in finding out how it differs from adults' views and what materials teachers use to promote the image and shapes creation in the curriculum. In our own experience, image and shapes activities are often structured differently in different curriculum activities. We therefore want to study how certain preschools work with image and form creation with children in preschool. We have performed the study through five qualitative interviews with preschool teachers and four observations on three different preschools in Stockholm. The main theory of the extension of our work is about Vygotsky's sociocultural perspective. We will find out about how according to the sociocultural perspective children can develop learning. The conclusion we have reached is that the preschool teachers interviewed seem to agree greatly with each other about how image and shapes creation affects for children's development and learning. Although there were some minor differences, for example, if the children learned by imitating each other in creative work. But in this part it was just one preschool teacher who differed from the others' vague.

Genom att applicera ett genusperspektiv på förskolans verksamhet kan pedagoger inhämta kunskap om de normer och traditionella könsmönster som omedvetet kan förekomma i verksamheten. Genom innehållet i sånger och ramsor representeras dåtida och nutida normer. Det är sedan upp till pedagogerna att avgöra vilka normer som framtidens urval av sånger och ramsor representerar. Studiens syfte var att ur ett genusperspektiv undersöka förskollärares val av sånger och ramsor som förekommer i förskolans samlingssituationer. Genom syftet uppstod frågeställningarna om vilka motiv som förskollärarna uttrycker till valet av sånger och ramsor i förskolans samlingssituation, och hur förskollärarna resonerar kring urvalet av sånger och ramsor ur ett genusperspektiv. För att besvara frågeställningarna genomfördes kvalitativa semi-strukturerade intervjuer med verksamma förskollärare. Svaren analyserades genom meningskoncentrering och resultaten tolkades utifrån begreppen: Genus, genusperspektiv, genusordning, genuskontrakt, isärhållande, hierarki och heteronormativitet. Förskollärarna i studien visar ett intresse och reflekterar och resonerar kring urvalet av sånger och ramsor ur ett genusperspektiv. Det uttrycks både svårigheter och möjligheter i hur urvalet kan ske. Det är nämligen inte möjligt för en pedagog att avgöra urvalet av sånger och ramsor, eftersom förskolan är en verksamhet där pedagoger, barn och föräldrar ska ha inflytande och samspela med varandra. / By applying a gender perspective in the preschool environment, the preschool teachers can obtain knowledge about the values and traditional gender patterns that unconsciously can occur in the preschool environment. The content of the songs and chants are representing, the past and present values. It is now up to the preschool teachers to determine the values which the future selection of songs and chants represent. The purpose of the study was to explore preschool teacher’s selections of songs and chants that occur in preschool circle-time situations, from a gender perspective. The purpose aroused questions about the motives that the preschool teachers express in their selections of songs and chants in preschool circle-time situations and how preschool teachers reason about the selection of songs and chants from a gender perspective. In order to answer the questions, qualitative semi-structured interviews, with operative preschool teachers, was performed. The answers were analyzed by sentence concentrator and the results was interpreted based on the concepts: gender, gender perspectives, gender order, gender contract, apart relation, hierarchy and heteronormativity. All of the preschool teachers in the study show an interest and reflects and reason about the selection of songs and chants from a gender perspective. It is expressed both difficulties and opportunities in how the selection can be made. And it is not possible for one preschool teacher alone to determine the selection of songs and chants, because all preschool teachers, parents and children shall cooperate and have influence on the preschool environment.

This study investigates four pre-school teachers point of view on loud-reading. The study aims to illuminate the pre-school teachers motive of reading loudly. The case study has been done with a socio-cultural perspective on teaching as a basic. I have chosen to use the qualitative interview technique in order to examine how teachers include loud-reading in their lessons. Informants claimed that reading-loudly nearly always is done in group, but how large the group is could vary of course. All of the teachers stated there were a lot of reasons for loud-reading. In spite of the informants claim that there are a lot of reasons to do so, the overall motive was to calm down the pupils. As for that the consensus was complete, whilst the reason for reading loudly spontaneously or plannedly did differ.

In the previous curriculum for the preschool Lpfö 98, the educational responsibility was documented belonging to all the team members. On the 1st of July 2011 a new curriculum was introduced to the preschool, Lpfö 98/10, where it is documented that the educational responsibility now belongs to the preschool teachers. According to curriculum experts at the Swedish school board this educational responsibility is not new, just a clarification of the preschool teacher’s educational responsibility. This study is a qualitative study and the purpose was to interview the preschool teachers about their thoughts concerning their educational responsibility. The purpose was also to examine if their educational responsibility has affected their role in the team at the preschool and if they believe that this has any significance for their profession. My result of the study shows that the educational responsibility of the preschool teachers now has been clarified and that they should take a leading role in the team towards the goals that are set for the preschool. This leading role that the preschool teachers now must take has been compared to a leadership which in my study has been exercised in many different perspectives. In my study it has also emerged that the clarification of the educational responsibility gives hope to the preschool teachers of a higher status for the preschool teacher profession.

April 28th 2010 the Swedish parliament decided that the combined teacher exam will be divided into four parts. This means that the education for preschool teachers and primary school teachers will have to be separated and future teachers will have to decide before their studies what ages they want to work with. To investigate if this could affect the quality of the choice I have interviewed 5 new teachers from the combined teachers program about what ages they wanted to teach before they began to study and what ages they wanted to teach after completed studies. I did this to see whether the choice was influenced by the educations or not. It turned out that all 5 had an idea of what ages they wanted to teach in before they began the educations and only one of my interviewees changed her mind during the studies. The others felt that their choice was confirmed during the educations. It was mainly during the practical training that they received an idea of what it was like to work as a teacher. Four of them received a positive image of what it was like to work in preschool, while several of them said they got negative experiences from primary school. This could be one of the reasons why four of the five interviewees work in preschool today. The person who changed her mind changed from wanting to work in primary to wanting to work in preschool after the practical training. The interviewees chose the profession that they perceived filled their need of affection, appreciation and acknowledgement. They also thought that the profession they opted out seemed more difficult than the profession they have today. They identified themselves no more or less with any career before they began the studies and feel today that they can only identify with the profession they want, which in all except one case, is the profession they’ve got. The idea of what teachers are like changed during the studies and became more positive and reality based. All interviewees got more knowledge about teachers and their work during the studies and had a better understanding to base their decision on after completed studies.

In this essay I reflect on what makes a good preschool teacher today. I discuss the importance of education, the importance of experience and practical knowledge, but also the importance of capacity for self-reflection and listening. I bring up examples from my workplace, where some think more about their limitations than on what and how much they actually can. Others are more satisfied by what they can and see less of their limits. Some are also lack of the will to see differently and to do changes. We also have different perceptions of the norms and values enshrined in our childhood. What we're from, our various social, cultural and an ethnic background also plays a role in the understanding and the interpretations we make in various situations. I discuss the teacher as a profession and the importance of education, that it is not enough only with experience, it needs to be supplemented with educational and theoretical knowledge to assess, identify, weigh and deliberate well to act as needed in the present moment. Teacher is about to be. Being a good teacher in practice, have practical knowledge. I also discuss the importance of self-reflection. Without the mirror it is only a mirror image without a reflective approach. The good teacher, the more I think, the more I realize that there is no simple answer.

The aim of this study was to investigate whether teachers are involved in children´s play, what their perspectives are on the importance of play and what conditions teachers have to stimulate children in their playing. In this study, I’ve been able to verify that play has a great value for children’s learning development. My method have been interviewing four teachers at a kindergarten in order to examine educators’ perspective on the importance of play. The results of my investigation showed that teachers believe that play and role- play have a major impact on children's learning. The teachers especially wanted to point out the importance of children’s´ indulgence in the game. Playing should not just be a moment for kids to learn, but it should also be a time where the kids have fun while they’re learning. Teachers use different methods in order to make playing more enjoyable at the same time the kids are learning. The methods they use are important for children to increase the motivation and desire to learn new things and see the reality. According to the educators it’s important that teachers can participate in the play and thereby be role- models and facilitate of play development. Last but not least, the four educators considered that play is an important way to learning.