The purpose of this examination is to study and have a deeper understanding about the different perceptions preschool teacher have regarding to the importance of the pedagogical environment, in relation to strengthening multilingual work and children's mother tongue. We also want to study preschool teachers' perceptions about the structure and organization of the indoor environment and how it can promote children's multilingualism.  The study used phenomenography as a methodological approach and the theory of variation as the theoretical starting point, based on semi-structured qualitative interviews. We have interviewed ten preschool teachers from three different municipal preschools and one special educator that works in one of the communes.  The results of our study show that there are different perceptions about the pedagogical environment in relation to multilingual work. The result high lighted a greater awareness from preschool teachers’ perceptions about the work with the pedagogical environment compared to the multilingual work. Experiences and knowledge about the pedagogical environment were also experienced more than the multilingual work, which the preschool teachers perceived as problematic as they have the majority of children who are multilingual in preschool.

The aim of this study is to examine the way preschool teachers relate to, and apply the concept of teaching in various aspects. Furthermore, this study has the purpose of portraying the constructions of the concept of teaching, that give meaning and a course of action in their goal-directed work. The following questions are the starting point for the study: How do preschool teachers interpret the concept of teaching in the preschools practice? How do preschool teachers construct the concept of teaching in their team of co-workers? In what ways is the concept of teaching expressed in projects on the preschools educational documentation (processvägg)? To conduct our study a qualitative research method is applied. We interviewed eight preschool teachers from six different preschools in Stockholm county with sound recording. Further we accumulated photos and notes of each preschools educational documentation. The theoretical framework includes an social constructivistic perspective along with the concepts of the impact of language as well as discourses power. The aim and questions of the study is answered through the appliance of the theoretical framework which is presented in the study’s result and analysis part. The main results of the study are presented in three main categories that present the conclusion that preschool teachers do not perceive the concept of teaching as unclear. However there are different interpretations and discourses that, in collaboration, can cause a difference in how teaching is constructed, practiced and expressed. The preschool teacher's responsibility and leadership is shown to have an impact on how the concept of teaching is constructed. The impact of construction is shown through the use of language and discourses power in their team of co-workers, from planning to expression in practice and in educational documentation.

The new changes in the Swedish curriculum for the educational system demand more digitalization in the kindergartens. However previous studies have shown that the current level of handling technology amongst preschool teachers in Swedish kindergarten is low and may create difficulties in their work. This thesis investigates a kindergarten that wants to implement a mobile app for more transparent and effective communication between preschool teachers and parents. The aims are to highlight the common perceptions and expectations from a parental point of view concerning a mobile app for communication while establishing if the preschool teachers experience technostress at their work. The data were gathered from conducting interviews and one online survey. The main finding of this study was that preschool teachers and parents should be more involved in the process of finding a suitable mobile app so they would be motivated to contribute to better daily communication. This study suggests that the most important strategies for implementing a mobile app for communication are to inform, educate and involve all the concerned parties.

Despite being mandated reporters by law, preschool teachers often fail to report suspicion of child abuse or neglect. Although research has been conducted regarding reasons why teachers do not report, no study has yet examined preschool teachers' thinking as decisions are being made. Therefore, the purpose of the study was to examine the in-the-moment decision-making process of preschool teachers to report or not report cases of suspected child abuse or neglect. Three research questions guided this exploration of teachers' responses to cases of possible child abuse or neglect, the reasons teachers give for their responses, and their confidence in the correctness of their decisions to report or not to report child abuse or neglect. The conceptual framework for this study was the ethical decision-making model of Meneghetti and Seel. The research was a phenomenological study using the think aloud protocol of van Someren, Barnard, and Sandberg. Three scenarios of possible child abuse cases were used as the basis for the face-to-face interviews in which 6 lead preschool teachers described their thought processes. The purposeful sample comprised 6 lead teachers in a major city in the United States with children aged 2 through 5. A thematic analysis method and coding strategy were used to answer the research questions. The findings in this study were consistent with the literature in that most of the teachers did not elect to report their suspicion of child abuse or neglect, but were inhibited by lack of clear understanding of what constitutes abuse and neglect, and by a desire for more information. This study contributes to positive social change by indicating a need for more training of preschool teachers in their mandated reporter role, which can result in more confident decision making and greater success in protecting young children.

Miljön på förskolan och dess utformning är en grundläggande faktor för barns möjlighet till trygghet, lek och utveckling. Syftet med studien är därför att undersöka hur barn uppfattar sin omgivande inomhusmiljö samt hur förskollärare resonerar kring och motiverar sina val i utformningen av den. För att nå fram till dessa erfarenheter och uppfattningar används en kvalitativ ansats med barnsamtal och semistrukturerade intervjuer med förskollärare. Respondenternas svar analyseras med begrepp från en modell som grundar sig i arkitekturperspektivet. Studiens resultat visar att förskollärarna utgår från flera företeelser i utformningen av miljön och att olika saker möjliggör och begränsar. En slutsats som kan dras av resultatet är betydelsen av material, yta och möbler i miljön för barns möjlighet till lek. / The preschool environment and its design is a fundamental factor for children's opportunities for security, play and development. The purpose of the study is therefore to investigate how children perceive their surrounding indoor environment and how preschool teachers reason about and motivate their choices in the design of it. To reach these experiences and perceptions, a qualitative approach is used with child interviews and semi-structured interviews with preschool teachers. The respondents answers are analyzed with concepts from a model that is based on the architectural perspective. The results of the study show that preschool teachers base their choices on several facts in the design of the environment and that different things enable and limit. One conclusion that can be drawn from the result is the importance of materials, surface and furniture in the environment for children's opportunity for play.

This study aims to examine why and how preschool teachers work with digital teaching in Sweden. To understand the purpose of digital teaching in preschool we have studied policy texts with the WPR approach, as well as making a survey consisting of 24 preschool teachers from different parts of the country. The survey was analyzed from the perspective of sociocultural theory to understand preschool teachers’ view on digital teaching and the  practical use of digital tools in preschool. Our survey along with previous research shows reluctance to using digital tools in teaching due to lack of digital competence. By comparing the results of the survey with the WPR-analysis we were able to see how policies control educational content in preschool in the context of digitalization and reveal the necessity of studying risks of negative effects on children's health. The result of our study along with previous research shows lack of studies and knowledge regarding the use of digital tools in early childhood. Despite a lack of research, the Swedish government  implemented policies to apply digital teaching in preschool.

Tidigare forskning belyser att digitala verktyg fått en allt större plats i förskolan vilket innebär både för-och nackdelar med införandet (Forsling, 2020; Kervin, 2016; Marklund och Dunkels, 2016). Studiens syfte är att bidra med kunskap om barns möjligheter till skrivutveckling med hjälp av digitala verktyg utifrån ett förskollärarperspektiv. Olika aspekter av skrivutveckling digitalt eller analogt presenteras i samband med förskollärarnas viktiga roll kring reflektion och närvaro. Det teoretiska perspektiv som genomsyrar detta arbete är det pragmatiska perspektivet och den metodologiska teorin är positivismen. Som datainsamlingsmetod valdes en webbaserad enkät. Resultatet presenteras utifrån de två forskningsfrågorna som studien utgår från för att stödja studien att svara till syftet. Resultatet presenterar olika påverkande faktorer som påverkar barns tillgång till skrivutveckling genom digitala verktyg. Det främst framträdande faktorer är förskollärarnas ämneskunskaper, tillgängligheten av digitala verktyg och förskollärares inställning till digitala verktyg. Barns erfarenheter som grund till utbildningen framställs som en betydande faktor för förskollärarna i resultatet. Utmaningar med skrivutvecklingen genom digitala verktyg är tillgängligheten. Om tillgängligheten inte finns är det svårt att arbeta med. Studiens resultat och diskussion bidrar med kunskap om barns möjligheter till skrivutveckling med hjälp av digitala verktyg utifrån ett förskollärarperspektiv och ger avslutningsvis förslag på vidare forskning.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the state of outdoor education in preschool classrooms in Northeast Tennessee, with a specific focus on preschool teachers’ attitudes toward outdoor education. This comparative, mixed-methods study focused in part on teachers’ current beliefs about outdoor education, how they use the outdoor environment, and whether their attitudes influence their lesson planning for outdoor education. Participants were preschool teachers in public, private, church-affiliated, and Head Start preschools in 4 counties in northeast Tennessee. The study sample consisted of 81 participants (80 female; 1 male). Ages ranged from 20-65 years (M = 40.76). The survey consisted of 42 questions, including demographics, outdoor education experiences, and attitudes toward outdoor education. Teachers were compared on several factors: attitudes toward outdoor education, their early experiences in the outdoors, and how they use the outdoor environment. Thirty-three outdoor environments in the aforementioned preschools were assessed using the Preschool Outdoor Environment Measurement Scale (POEMS) (DeBord, Hestenes, Moore, Cosco, & McGinnis, 2005). Eight preschool teachers from the pool of 81 participants were selected at random based on their school’s playground/outdoor environment assessment (high vs. low quality) and their own attitudes (positive vs. negative) toward outdoor education. Interviews were conducted to give a more complete picture of preschool outdoor education. Results showed that preschool teachers had relatively high attitudes on outdoor education (M = 75.86, SD = 7.99) on a scaled score where 100 was the highest possible. Teachers who reported planning lessons for outdoor learning had slightly higher attitudes (M = 76.9, SD = 7.6) toward outdoor education than those who do not plan (M = 74.1, SD = 9.0), although differences were not significant F(1, 76) = 1.134, p = 0.29. Most teachers referred to the outdoor area as a playground (84%) and used it used it most frequently for supervised play (99%). These findings, along with others reported, indicate that although preschool teachers see the benefits of outdoor learning, there are still barriers to outdoor education.

The purpose of this study was to examine gender depiction in picture books in preschools. Our experience is that many picture books contain old-fashioned gender stereotypes. During the analysing process, we used the following theories: Yvonne Hirdman’s theory about the stereotypic gender contract and Lev Vygotskij’s theory about experiences increasing our ability to fantasize. We read through 154 picture books in two preschools and categorized them into two categories: normative and non-normative books. Later we chose ten of these books for further analysis. Furthermore, we interviewed five preschool teachers about their views and experiences in the subject, gender in children’s picture books. We used a qualitative method when analysing both the picture books and the interviews. Noticeably, none of the ten books we analysed thoroughly were completely normative or completely non-normative; they all contained more or less content from each category. Despite this, most of the 154 books were more normative than not. Also, all of the preschool teachers said in the interviews that they thought it important in what way gender is depicted in the book collection they have in the preschool. However, most of them also said that they don’t think that the books have much influence over children’s apprehension of gender. The preschool teachers also described different ways in which they made compensations for the normativity in the books.

The purpose of the study is to investigate how educational documentations in systematic quality work are used in pre-school practice. What are the possibilities and limitations of the use of pedagogical documentation as an instrument in systematic quality work in pre-school practices? Referring to previous research, theory and empirical data collection, I was able to conduct this study. In the theoretical part, I made use of the constructionist learning perspective. In the empirical part, I used a qualitative research method with interviews and observation in order to gain understanding of the way pre-school teachers use pedagogical documentation in a learning perspective.The study shows that pedagogical documentation used in systematic quality work is associated with opportunities and difficulties. Participants described that pedagogical documentation provides opportunities for children to achieve their potential, and that it focuses on the individual needs of development. In other words, the benefit of using pedagogical documentation of systematic quality work became a tool for the educational quality in the operation. The teachers constantly have the ability to monitor, document and reflect on their work to ensure children's learning and development. This also creates opportunities for children to become active participants in the educational activities. Some of the difficulties are lack of time, children's group size and staff nonattendance. The study's participants also highlight that there is a need for increased staff competence in the use of technical educational tools.