Systematic quality work in preschool – How preschool teachers thinking and working with systematic quality work   The purpose of this study was to investigate how Swedish preschool teachers thinking and working with systematic quality work. All Swedish preschools are required to work systematically with quality. This involves several steps that follow each other in a specific order. It includes following up, documenting and evaluating preschool activities. The study is based on the theory of quality by Donabedian and Sheridan’s adaption of it for preschool. The sample consists of 6 preschools teachers’ interviews in a small town in the middle of Sweden. Individual and semi-structured interviews were used. The meaning given to systematic quality work in preschool is presented under three themes: system quality, process quality and result quality. The results reveal the positive thinking of Swedish preschool teachers’ about systematic quality work and the need for education in this area.

Förskolechefer i en svensk kommun skriver årligen kvalitetsrapporter som bl.a. utgör under­lag för återkoppling till överliggande nivå om det gångna årets lokala skolutveck­ling. I beskrivningarna av arbetet med pedagogisk dokumentation har variationer av be­skriv­ningarna pekat på angelägenheten av att analysera beskrivningarna med hjälp av några teoretiska utgångspunkter som pedagogisk dokumentation vilar på. Studiens syfte är att undersöka olika diskurser om lärande som framträder när förskole­chefer i kvalitetsrapporter beskriver arbetet med pedagogisk dokumentation. Frågeställ­ningarna är: Vilka diskurser om barns lärande framträder? Vilka diskurser om pedagogers lärande framträder? Vilka perspektiv på kvalitet synliggörs i de identifierade diskurserna? Vilka maktdimensioner kan urskiljas i de identifierade diskurserna? Kritisk diskursteori har använts som teoretisk utgångspunkt. I analysen har också diskursen om menings­skapande, diskursen om ett förutbestämt lärandeobjekt, perspektiv på demokrati och makt samt docu­men­tality använts som teoretiska utgångspunkter. De perspektiv på kvalitet som har använts är det relativa, det intersubjektiva och det marknadsanpassade. Fem förskolors kvalitets­rapporter har analyserats med Faircloughs kritiska diskursanalys (CDA) som metod. Resultatet visar att de beskrivningar av barns lärande som finns i kvalitetsrapporterna håller sig inom diskursen om meningsskapande, dock olika starkt. Beskrivningarna av de vuxnas lärande rör sig däremot både inom diskursen om meningsskapande och diskursen om det förutbestämda lärandeobjektet. Diskursen om meningsskapande kan kopplas till det relativa eller det intersubjektiva perspektivet om kvalitet. Diskursen om det förutbestämda lärandeobjektet är kopplat till det marknadsanpassade perspektivet av kvalitet. I diskursen om meningsskapande synliggörs barnens makt över de vuxna och verksamheten, de vuxnas makt över dokumentet och politiken samt pedagogernas makt över pedagogisk dokumentation som verktyg. I diskursen om det förutbestämda lärandeobjektet synliggörs dokumentets och politikens makt över professionen. / Each year the principals of preschools in an unnamed Swedish municipality write quality reports about the past year´s local school development. The documents are read and analysed by different levels of the educational administration. In the descriptions of how the preschools work with pedagogical documentation, variations have been identified, which indicate the necessity of analysing the descriptions using some of the theoretical aspects of pedagogical documentation. The purpose of this thesis is to examine different discourses of learning that appear in the quality reports. Four research questions have been used: Which discourses of children´s learning can be identified? Which discourses of adults´ learning can be identified? Which perspectives of quality are visible in the identified discourses? What aspects of power can be distinguished in the identified discourses? Critical discourse theory has been used as theoretical framework, along with the discourse of meaning making, the discourse of predetermined learning, perspectives on democracy and power as well as documentality. The perspectives of quality that have been used are the relative, the intersubjective and the market-adapted perspectives. Five preschool quality reports have been analysed using Fairclough´s critical discourse analysis (CDA). The results show that the descriptions of children´s learning are within the discourse of meaning making, although more or less strongly. The descriptions of the adults´ learning are however both within the discourse of meaning making and the discourse of predetermined learning. The discourse of meaning making can be connected with the relative or intersubjective perspective of quality while the discourse of predetermined learning can be connected with the market-adapted perspective of quality. The following aspects of power are visible in the discourse of meaning making: children´s power over adults and the institution, the adults´ power over the document and the level of policy and finally, the teachers´ power over pedagogical documentation as a tool for school development. The power, which the document and the level of policy have over the teachers, is visible within the discourse of predetermined learning.

The aim of this study is to explore discourses that emerge in texts in pre-school quality reports from 2011-2015 and how pre-school practitioners talk about quality in pre-school. Because of the complexity of the concept of "quality" the study is limited to focus on and explore discourses about quality in preschool that emerge in texts where preschools make a comprehensive analysis and assessment of their educational activity and quality. Five texts from different pre-schools and three transcribed interviews/conversations with pre-schoolteachers (one of these teachers has previous experience of being a preschool director) and one preschool director/teacher are analyzed. Three of the texts originate from communal pre-school units in a larger city in Sweden and the other two are from smaller community pre-schools throughout the country. The texts and the statements in the interviews are analyzed from a social constructional perspective and with discourse analytical tools inspired by Norman Fairclough (2010). Two different dimensions are analysed; the texts and the discursive practice but mainly the focus is on the analysis of the texts. The result of the analysis of the texts and the statements from the interviews, shows two emerging discourses of quality; “measurability” and “meaning making”. These two perspectives about quality in pre-school stand side by side in the texts and dialogs which results in a “field of tension” between the discourses. The first discourse, measurability, can be related to a political agenda of management, financial interests and controllability where pre-school quality is connected to accomplishments and results. In this perspective, knowledge and learning connect to an idea that all children develop and learn in a predetermined and predictable manner and therefore becomes measurable. The second discourse, meaning making, has its roots in a social constructional perspective were learning and knowledge are socially constructed by language when people interact, and therefore knowledge and understanding are undergoing constant transformations by reflection and negotiation.

Att möta elever i svårigheter blir allt vanligare i dagens skola. För att möta denna utveckling framgångsrikt, framhåller flera forskare en vinst med ett specialpedagogiskt förhållningssätt som genomsyrar verksamheten.Det råder dock delade meningar om huruvida problem med beteende och inlärning ska tillskrivas funktionsnedsättningar hos eleverna eller brister i den pedagogiska verksamheten. Ahlefeld Nisser (2009) menar i sin avhandling att de elever som är i behov av särskilt stöd är relativt få, men att ungefär 20% av samtliga elever befinner sig i en gråzon. Dessa elever skulle ha större möjlighet att nå kunskapskraven om skolans undervisning genomsyrades av ett specialpedagogiskt förhållningssätt. Syftet med den aktuella studien är att undersöka i vilken utsträckning den undersökta koncernen systematiska kvalitetsarbete utgår från ett specialpedagogiskt perspektiv. Studien har en kvantitativ ansats och datainsamlingen har genomförts med hjälp av en enkät. Enkäten tillverkades i enkätprogrammet Survey & Report för att sedan exporteras till analysprogrammet SPSS. Resultatet visar att medelvärdet på upprättat index indikerar att flertalet respondenter instämmer mellan "låg" och "hög grad" i påståendena angående uppfattningen om ett specialpedagogiskt perspektiv på det systematiska kvalitetsarbetet. Resultatet visar också att de undersökta grupperna, rektor, biträdande rektor och specialpedagog inte skiljer sig signifikant i uppfattningen om ett specialpedagogiskt perspektiv på det systematiska kvalitetsarbetet.

Studiens syfte är att kartlägga attityder och mönster i uppfattningar om begreppen kvalitet, mätning och systematiskt kvalitetsarbete. Studien svarar på frågan vilka uppfattningar det finns hos nyckelpersoner i skolans utvecklingsarbetes runt begreppen kvalitet och mätning i förhållande till skolutveckling. Studien svarar också på om uppfattningarna kan leda till svårigheter eller problem utvecklingsarbetet att förbättra skolans kvalitet. Undersökningen är kvantitativ och har genomförts genom en webbenkät som riktades mot förstelärare och skolledare i grundskola och gymnasium. Studiens resultat visar mönster som har gemensamma drag med den utvecklingsform som benämns effektiva-skolor-modellen. Där ses mätvärden som viktiga och med dem som utgångspunkt söker man en ”best practice” som är generaliserbar för skolan. Studien visar också mönster som överensstämmer med skolutvecklingsmodellen där bedömningar av utbildningens kvalitet har fler utgångpunkter än mätvärden. I samma mönster finns upp-fattningar som värdesätter kollegiets betydelse för utveckling och överensstämmer med en verksamhetsinriktad skola.    Studien pekar på problem med att skolor drivs av mätfokus och lägger stor del av sin tid och energi på processer som tar resurser från kärnverksamheten. Andra problem är upplevda svårigheter i att bedöma utbildningens kvalitet samt upplevda svårigheter att få analysen att generera förbättringar av utbildningens kvalitet. Samma mönster visar och att mätning väger tyngst och är viktigast i utvärderingsarbetet. Resultaten kan användas för långsiktiga strategier runt kompetensutveckling samt för att hantera svårigheter i det systematiska kvalitetsarbetet. / The study aims to identify attitudes and patterns of perceptions concerning the concepts of quality and measurement. The study investigates the question of what the perceptions are of key functions in the school's development process, relating to concepts of quality and measurement in relation to school improvement. The study also answers about perceptions that can lead to difficulties or problems in the work of improving school quality. The study is quantitative and has been implemented through a web survey sent to teachers in career program and school-leaders in primary and secondary education. The study results show patterns that have features in common with the development of the form called effective-schools-model. Based on grades as the most dignified values, researchers and schools strive to find a "best practice" that is generalizable. The study also shows patterns consistent with models on development in schools, in which assessments of the quality of education have a better variety of information than the grade ratings. The same patterns are also perceptions that values ​​college collaboration to the development. The study indicates that the problem of the schools driven by focuses on measurement and puts much time and energy on documentation processes that take resources from the core of teaching. The study also demonstrates the problem through perceived difficulties in assessing the quality of education and to get the analysis to lead to improvements in the quality of education. At the same time the study shows that measuring grade ratings is the most important factor in the evaluation work. The results can be used for long-term strategies around skills development and to address difficulties in the systematic quality work.

The importance of preschool quality in Sweden is a subject of concern for preschool workers, researchers, parents and other stakeholders internationally. After the revision of the national preschool curriculum in 2010, the examination of the role of heads in outlining and maintaining quality has become a topic of concern, in particular regarding systematic quality work and the responsibilities of the heads in relation to this work. The purpose of this literature review is therefore to examine the extant research on how preschool heads in Sweden understand and work with the issue of quality in Early Childhood Education and Care. The research questions are: What is preschool quality, and how can it be assessed in the eyes of the head preschool teachers in Sweden? And, how do the heads fulfil their responsibilities inrelation to quality work in preschool? Four studies were reviewed and analyzed based on three criteria of measuring quality: structural,result,and processual. The results showed that the preschool heads had broad areas of measuring quality work, covering all three areas of quality. However, their practical quality work only covered some of these areas. Collaboration with staff, parents and other preschools wasmost commonly mentioned by the heads, as they are also problematised on their daily tasks in practice. Generally, there was an emphasis on structural quality more than processual and result quality matters. The findings and implications are discussed also in terms of the three areas of measuring quality: structural,result,and processual. Overall, heads might need more support and guidance from experts in order to achieve quality work in relation to processual areas of quality matters in preschool. Future research ought to examine quality of care in preschool (rather than quality of education) from the perspective of preschool heads.

Swedish schools are required by law to conduct systematic quality work and it has a central position in the Swedish educational system. The work each school conduct is scrutinized by the Swedish Schools Inspectorate. The purpose of this study is to examine teachers´ experiences of systematic quality work at the upper secondary school and the advantages and disadvantages they identified when engaging in systematic quality work. The study used a qualitative method based on semi-structured interviews. The analytical framework used was hermeneutics. The main theories used as a foundation were organizational theory and learning organization-perspective. A total of five teachers from two different upper secondary schools partook in the study. Their statements were categorized in accordance to the study´s three questions. The analysis of the results showed that the structuring of development teams among teachers had an impact on the effectiveness of systematic quality work. The teachers also expressed a lack of time dedicated to quality work and a desire for a variated time when engaging with systematic quality work. The teachers perceived their role as a teacher essential when engaged in systematic quality work.

Sammanfattning Studiens syfte var att undersöka förskolans dokumentation utifrån relationen till barnet, verksamheten och det systematiska kvalitetsarbetet, samt hur detta relateras till utvärderingsarbetet. Syftet preciserade med följande frågeställningar: I vilken grad används olika underlag i förskolans systematiska kvalitetsarbete för att dokumentera? I vilken grad uppfattar förskolans lärare att det systematiska kvalitetsarbetet i dokumentation, utvärdering och analys utförs? Finns det några samband av förskolans lärares syn mellan utvärderingens analys till det konkreta utvecklingsarbetet?   Enkätundersökningen genomfördes genom att 14 förskolor besöktes och totalt 100 enkäter delades personligen ut till förskolans lärare, varav 78 besvarades. Enkäten bestod av olika påståenden utifrån syfte och frågeställningar, som förskolans lärare skulle ta ställning till. De statistiska analyser som används var univariat deskriptiv analys, ANOVA, multivariat variationsanalys faktoranalys. Studien utgår från ett postmodernt synsätt, där det förstås att det inte finns någon absolut kunskap i pedagogiska sammanhang, och där vår värld och kunskap kan ses som en socialt konstruerad process, där alla aktivt deltar. Resultatet visade att det underlag som förskolans lärare använder för dokumentation är verktyget ”foto” och att pedagogisk dokumentation ses som ett arbetsredskap, som synliggör förskolans verksamhet, och kunskapsområden. I resultatet framkommer även att utvärdering ger redskap för vad som behöver utvecklas för att höja kvaliteten. Dessutom visar studien att  det finns samband mellan analys och framtida utvecklingsområde, genom att mönster framträder, faktorer som påverkar förskolans arbete identifieras, vilket leder till att arbetsformer i förskolans verksamhet utvecklas. Vikten av att arbetet med pedagogisk dokumentation, utvärdering och analys genomförs framträder tydligt, genom att barnets utveckling och lärande framträder, men även verksamhetens framtida utvecklingsområde och förskolans lärares arbetssätt. / Abstract The study's purpose was to investigate the preschool documentation based on the relationship to the child, the business and the systematic quality work, and how this is related to the evaluation work. The purpose specified with the following questions:To what extent different basis in preschool systematic quality work to document? The degree to perceive the preschool teachers to the systematic quality work in the documentation, evaluation and analys is performed? Is there any relation of preschool teachers' views of evaluation analys is to the concrete development The survey was conducted by 14 pre-schools were visited and a total of 100 questionnaires were awarded personally distributed to pre-school teachers, of which 78 were answered. The questionnaire consisted of various claims on the basis of objective and issues that preschool teachers would take a stand. The statistic alanalyzes used were univariate descriptive analysis, ANOVA, multivariate analysis of variance factor analysis. The study is based on a postmodern approach, where it is understood that there is no absolute knowledge in the educational context, and where our world and knowledge can be seen as a socially constructed process, in which all participate actively. The results showed that the basis preschool teachers use the documentation tool is"photo" and educational documentation is seen as a work tool, which exposes preschool, and areas of knowledge. The result also suggests that the evaluation provides tools for what needs to be developed to raise the quality. In addition, the study shows that there is a connection between analysis and future development area, by pattern emerges, factors affecting preschool work identified, leading to the work of preschool development. The importance of the work on educational documentation, evaluation and analysis is carried out are clearly visible by the child's development and learning emerge, but also future business development area and the preschool teachers working.

År 2013 kom reformen om karriäruppdrag för lärare, den innefattar både lektorer och förstelärare. Den här studien är riktad mot förstelärare i grundskolans tidiga år. Då karriärtjänsterna berör hela Sveriges lärarkår på ett eller annat sätt är det nödvändigt att förklara utvecklingen som sker kring förstelärarens uppdrag. Studiens syfte är att undersöka hur förstelärare, med tjänst i grundskolans tidiga år, uppfattar att de arbetar med skolans kvalitetsarbete. Studien har genomförts med en kvalitativ ansats och empirin har samlats in genom 11 stycken semistrukturerade intervjuer. Det transkriberade materialet har analyserats med hjälp av fenomenografins sju analyssteg för att finna kategorierna som skapar studiens utfallsrum. Tjänsten som förstelärare har främst sökts på grund av rekommendation från rektor. Förstelärarnas uppfattning är att de saknar tid till att utföra sina uppdrag. Förstelärarna arbetar aktivt efter styrdokument och bedömningar för att ständigt utveckla undervisningen. Samarbete med andra förstelärare inom samma arbetsområde, och kollegialt lärande upplevs som en betydelsefull aspekt till kvalitetssäkringen av undervisningen. Dock saknas i dagsläget samarbete mellan förstelärare inom samma arbetsområde. / In 2013, the reform of a career mission for teachers appeared, which includes both senior lecturer and First-teachers. This study is directed to First- teachers in the earlier stages of primary school. Since these career missions includes all of Sweden, it is necessary to explain the development that takes place around the First-Teachers mission. The purpose of this study is to investigate how First-teachers, in the early stages of primary school, experience that they promote the quality work of their schools. The study is made by a qualitative approach and the empiricism has been collected by 11 semi-structured interviews. The transcribed material has been analysed with the help of the seven analysing steps of the phenomenography, which creates the “outcome room” of the study. The main reason for why teachers have applied for the post First-teacher is due to recommendations from the head teacher. First-teachers are experiencing the lack of time to prefill their missions. First-teachers are actively working with regulatory documents and judgement reports to persistently develop their teaching situation. Collegial teaching is, according to the First-teachers, a necessity to make sure that they quality proof their teaching. However, today there is no interaction between First-teachers in the same interest groups.

Thesis in Healt Care Administration, C-level. Author: Madelaine Kjellström. Supervisor: Alf Sundin. Autumn semester 2017. Title: Management system as a Planning Instrument in Health Care Services -        A Study of Management System for Systematic Quality Work in three swedish municipalities in Värmland; Karlstad, Sunne and Storfors – In the year 2011 the Swedish authority Socialstyrelsen published a prescription (SOSFS 2011:9) and also a recommendation who where adressed to the municipalities, who are responsible for  the public servises in Sweden, to implement a Management System for Quality Work within Health and Social Care Services. The aim of this study is to examine how municiapilities in Sweden is planning for implementation and evaluation of the Management system for Quality Work within Health and Social Care Services. The question for approaching the thesis choice of subject are: Is the Management System for Quality Work Work within Health and Social Care Services more likely to succed in the municipality of Karlstad which is a bigger municipality comparing to Sunne and Storfors municipalities, which is smaller municipalities comparing to the size of budget and population? Is there any similarities and/or differences between the different municipalities capacity to planning for implementation and evaluation of the Management System for Quality Work within Health ans Social Care Services? As mentioned above there are three municipalities that has been selected as cases in this comparative case-study. All three municipalities is located in the region of Värmland, Sweden. The main findings and the result of this comparative case-study is that; all of the three municipalities independent of their respective sixe have capacities to fullfill the prescription and recommendation according to the authority Socialstyrelsen intentions concerning the planning of implementation and evaluation of the Management System.                                            Keywords: Planning, implementation, evaluation, Mangagement system, quality work, health and social care service.