Licentiatuppsatser / Institutionen för pedagogik, kommunikation och lärande

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Kontextuella förståelser och sociala konstruktioner i förskollärares tal om undervisning i förskolan
(2022) Henriksson, Jenny; Göteborgs universitet, institutionen för pedagogik, kommunikation och lärande
Undervisning är ett begrepp som historiskt och kulturellt inte använts i förskolan men som genom ändringar i förskolans styrdokument nu beskriver delar av förskolans uppdrag. Hur detta ska omsättas i förskolans praktik diskuteras ute på förskolorna och bland forskare. Föreliggande studie är ett bidrag till den diskussionen. Studiens övergripande syfte är att synliggöra förskollärares förståelser av begreppet undervisning samt de bakomliggande sociala konstruktioner som förståelserna grundas i. Med stöd i socialkonstruktionistisk teoribildning och en tematisk livsberättelseansats har intervjukonversationer genomförts med nio förskollärare. I studien undersöks på vilka sätt förskollärarna begreppsliggör undervisning i förskolan genom att analysera på vilka sätt de talar om begreppet undervisning. Vidare studeras talet om begreppets rekontextualisering och rekonstruktion i sociala processer och kontexter samt på vilka sätt förskollärarna gestaltar undervisning i talet om sin praktik. Den teoridrivna, empiriska analysen visade att de gestaltar undervisning på flera olika sätt. Denna insikt ledde till att olikheter och variation i deras förståelser blev framträdande och i fortsatt analys kunde tretton sociala konstruktioner av vad undervisning är beskrivas. Studiens huvudsakliga bidrag är synliggörandet av dessa tretton som samtidiga, motstridiga och sammanflätade konstruktioner av vad undervisning är. Detta riktar fokus mot komplexiteten där den tradition förskollärare burit med sig formar deras nuvarande syn på undervisning. Genom att synliggöra sociala konstruktioner identifieras vilka konstruktioner som framträder som underliggande och påverkar handlingsmönster på ett omedvetet sätt. Det barn- och ungdomsvetenskapliga forskningsfältet har med denna studie även fått ett forskningsbidrag som pekar på behovet av att teoretiskt resonera kring undervisningsbegreppet för förskolan utan att hamna i hur undervisning rent praktiskt bör eller ska göras.
Teknikundervisning i förskolan
(2022) Eliasson, Sara; Denna forskning är en del av den nationella forskarskolan i samtida utmaningar för barnpedagogiska institutioner (ReCEC), finansierad av Vetenskapsrådet (dnr. 2017-06035).
Licentiatavhandlingen tar avstamp i ett intresse av teknikundervisning för de yngre barnen i förskolan. Även om teknik som pedagogiskt ämne har förstärkts och förtydligats under de senaste två decennierna i läroplanstexter både nationellt och internationellt, är teknik som ämnesområde ofta generellt beskrivet, både till innehåll och form. Inom forskning är teknikundervisning för de yngre barnen ett framväxande fält, där tidigare studier ofta fokuserat på förskollärares uppfattningar om ämnet, med resultat som visar stor variation av deras förståelse, och även pekar på förskolepersonals ofta vaga och osäkra föreställningar om teknik och teknikundervisning. Här synliggörs ett behov av fortsatt forskning; om förskollärares kunskap om olika aspekter av teknik i förskolans undervisning, om hur teknik definieras, förstås och konceptualiseras, liksom empiriska studier om hur teknik som ämnesinnehåll iscensätts och därmed vad som blir möjligt för barn att lära om teknik. Licentiatuppsatsens syfte är tvådelat; dels att (i) bidra med en litteraturöversikt av teknikundervisning för att analysera vad de aggregerade resultaten säger om det framväxande forskningsfältet inom ECE och hur teknik karaktäriseras inom fältet utifrån DiGironimos (2011) fem dimensioner av teknikens natur, samt dels att (ii) empiriskt undersöka teknikaktiviteter i förskolan utifrån hur teknik framträder i deltagarnas interaktion och vilken kunskap om de fem dimensionerna av teknikens natur som möjliggörs när intersubjektivitet etableras i interaktionen mellan deltagarna. Uppsatsens resultat utgörs av två delstudier. Delstudie I är en systematisk litteraturöversikt över empiriska studier om teknikundervisning i early childhood education (ECE), för att studera hur teknikens natur förstås i empirisk forskning från 2013 till 2020. Delstudie II utgörs av en empirisk studie, vilken tar utgångspunkt i sociokulturella teorier om lärande som ett tillägnande av kulturella redskap i social interaktion, och där tre tillfällen av teknikundervisning med en förskollärare och fem barn (2-3 år) i en svensk förskolegrupp studerats med hjälp av videoobservationer. Interaktionsanalys har använts för analyser av deltagarnas icke-verbala och verbala interaktion, för att undersöka om, och i så fall hur, intersubjektivitet, det vill säga tillfällig, tillräcklig gemensam förståelse, av teknik etablerats i interaktionen mellan deltagarna. DiGironimos (2011) ramverk av olika dimensioner av teknikens natur har därefter använts, för att urskilja vilka dimensioner av teknik som framträder när intersubjektivitet om teknik upprättas och förhandlas. Licentiatuppsatsens huvudsakliga resultat visar utifrån delstudie I, dels att teknikundervisning iscensätts och organiseras på ett stort antal olika sätt och att fyra av fem dimensioner av teknikens natur framträder som möjliga för barn i förskolan att läras sig om, vilket dels kan förstås som en stor variation och bredd men också som ett splittrat fält som saknar en gemensam bas. Av delstudie II framgår att deltagarnas olika kommunikativa handlingar bidrar med olika aspekter av samma fyra av fem dimensioner av teknikens natur när intersubjektivitet om teknik etableras och förhandlas. I diskussionen förs en didaktisk diskussion om hur teknikundervisning i förskolan kan organiseras och ramas in. Signifikanta resultat omfattar aspekter som vikten av ämneskunskap, didaktisk kompetens och respons när förskollärare organiserar för teknikundervisning i förskolan, för att möjliggöra interaktion runt olika dimensioner av teknikens natur, och också för att möjliggöra för alla deltagarnas initiativ för alteritetsprocesser i etablering och förhandling av intersubjektivitet om teknik. När det gäller de fem dimensionerna av teknikens natur (DiGironimo, 2011) visar resultatet av båda studierna att dimensionerna av teknik som artefakter, som kreativa processer och som mänsklig praktik samt teknikens roll i dagens samhälle återfinns både i litteraturöversiktens studier och den empiriska studien. Däremot saknas dimensionen rörande teknikens historia i både tidigare forskningsstudier om teknikundervisning i förskolan, och i delstudie II. Mot bakgrund av att teknikanvändning sträcker sig genom mänsklighetens hela historia, och för att teknikundervisning i förskolan skall vila på en gemensam bas, diskuteras avslutningsvis vikten av att inkludera dimensioner som innefattar teknikens historia i förskolans teknikaktiviteter.
Jag har alla åldrar i mig!
(2020-02-04) Davet, Natalie; Göteborgs universitet, Utbildningsvetenskapliga fakulteten, Institutionen för pedagogik, kommunikation och lärande
This study investigates the production of age in three state-funded intergenerational projects, intended to increase age integration between young and old citizens. The main aim of the study is to contribute to the production of knowledge about age as a social category and power system. The study is a small scale one year project which focuses on municipal intergenerational culture activities in one of Sweden’s larger cities. Three intergenerational projects within the fine arts (theater, literature and photography), were selected for the present study. The research questions are: How is age conditioned by the organization of the activity? How is age constructed through interactions within the participant group, and are there any circumstances in which age loses significance through the participants' interactions?, Which age norms become prominent through the activity? The study takes a social constructionist approach due to Vivien Burr. The theoretical framework is based on the theories of Michel Foucault, but also Judith Butler’s ideas about position to analyze how age is constructed. The theoretical discussion relates to the emerging research field of critical age studies, connecting childhood and youth studies with the research field of social gerontology. The results show that age is made significant in different ways. The organized encounters and everyday interactions between young and old participants are regulated through the idea of age difference between young and old. The study shows that the participants are given different conditions and obligations based on both gender and age-related norms concerning freedom, control, technical knowledge, vulnerability, care needs, responsibility, agility and adaptability. The intergenerational activities appear to be organized in a tradition where adulthood becomes the dominant age norm that seems to lack any need for integration. The activities therefore put adulthood in a vague but at the same time superior position in relation to other age groups. On an age-related level, it is apparent that the ages of children, adolescents and the elderly are marked in relation to adulthood.
Planering och genomförande av undervisning i förskolan – exemplen teknik och bildskapande
(2019-12) Melker, Kristina; Göteborgs universitet, Utbildningsvetenskapliga fakulteten, Institutionen för pedagogik, kommunikation och lärande
Since 2010, teaching has been one of the preschool teacher’s tasks in Sweden. Preschool teaching is often discussed and has been addressed from different perspectives (Eidevald & Engdahl, 2018; Sheridan & Williams, 2018; Thulin & Jonsson, 2018). The concept of teaching in preschool was already advanced in the referral opinion prior to the adoption of curriculum for the Preschool Lpfö98, when the committee decided that ‘teaching can be defined as a conscious pedagogical act towards a goal’ (1997/98:93, 28). The preschool steering document has been continuously revised since it became part of the educational system. Since 2010, preschools have had clearer educational goals, and legitimate preschool teachers are to teach rather than merely supervise children (Korpi, 2015). The revised preschool curriculum, Lpfö18 (Skolverket, 2018), clarifies that preschool is expected to contribute to children’s learning, and preschool has become more focused on knowledge. These two discourses—activity-based and academically-focused preschools (Bennett, 2005)—sometimes appear as contradictions. However, several preschool researchers point out that teaching should grow out of children’s experiences and that the teacher can purposefully integrate play and learning into an educational approach that encompasses aspects of both discourses (Bennett, 2005; Bodrova & Leong, 2007; Elkind, 2003; Pramling Samuelsson & Asplund Carlsson, 2003/2014). The purpose of this licentiate thesis is to promote a better understanding of teaching in preschool. The overall aim of the present studies is to empirically illuminate the preschool teaching processes with children aged four to six years. The present study rests on a socio-cultural perspective on learning. Central to this is Rommetveit’s (1974, 1979) theoretical work on conversation and communication, in the study used to elucidate the work of the preschool teacher and the teacher team. This work takes place before teaching and in the conversations between participants during the activity with children. This study is qualitative, and the research questions and purpose serve as a starting point to examine teaching in small groups (Edwards, 2010). Both studies are observational; they were conducted in two participating preschools. The results indicate that the preschool teachers are confident that the children can take on the suggested activities; however, initially, the teacher gave no direct feedback in relation to how the children understood the task. In these studies, the children did not have the opportunity to dialogue with each other about the preschool teachers’ assertions, and the children’s understanding of the purpose and content of the teaching were not addressed. The preschool teacher used subject-related (scientific) concepts in teaching without explaining these concepts or checking whether the children understood them. A didactic starting point that connects the two studies is that the children were expected to gain experience that they could apply to other contexts, but this was not clearly explained. Play is central to preschool activities, and while the studies used materials that signal play (Legos in study I and a toy lion and paper and pens in study II), play was not explicitly included in the teaching.
Förskollärares konstruktion av ett fysikaliskt fenomen som objekt för lärande i förskola – en komplex och föränderlig process
(2019) Hellberg, Lina; Göteborgs universitet, Högskolan Kristianstad
Det naturvetenskapliga innehållet blev tydligare identifierat och framskrivet genom den reviderade läroplanen(Utbildningsdepartementet, 2010). Samtidigt beskrivs en osäkerhet hos verksamma i förskola kring vad och hur det naturvetenskapliga innehållet kan ta sig uttryck i verksamheten (Skolinspektionen, 2018). Föreliggande studie riktar fokus mot vad som sker under ett arbetslags planering av undervisning av ett naturvetenskapligt innehåll. Syftet med studien är att utveckla kunskap om hur ett fysikaliskt innehåll konstrueras som lärandeobjekt för undervisning i förskolan utifrån följande forskningsfrågor 1) Hur konstrueras ett fysikaliskt innehåll som lärandeobjekt i samtal under ett arbetslags planering av undervisning? och 2) På vilka kvalitativt olika sätt förändras förskollärarnas uttalanden kopplade till fysikinnehållet under fyra arbetslagsplaneringar? Förskollärares osäkerhet i relation till det naturvetenskapliga innehållet (Skolinspektionen, 2018) riktar uppmärksamhet mot vilken kompetens som behövs för det uppdrag förskolans läroplan identifierar. Tidigare forskning betonar att det handlar om ett kunnande om barns lärande och kunnande inom det ämnesinnehåll som ska undervisas (jfr. Fleer, 2009; Thulin, 2011; Redfors, 2016). Vilket innebär att det inte ensidigt handlar om att fylla på förskollärares kompetens i naturvetenskap. Det handlar istället om att utveckla ett samtidigt kunnande kring innehåll och barns lärande. I föreliggande studie är det arbetslagets samtal under planering av undervisning som står i fokus. Enligt Urban (2008) är det värdefullt att uppmuntra och skapa förutsättningar för förskollärare att föra dialoger där kritiska frågor är i fokus och där mängden och mångfalden av uttalanden kan ge förutsättningar till nya insikter och förståelse. Att se förskolan som en lärande organisation innebär att förskollärarna inte bara konsumerar utan även genererar ny kunskap (Rönnerman, 2000). Arbetslagets samarbete är av betydelse för hur det pedagogiska arbetet organiseras (Granbom, 2011). Studien har en fenomenografisk forskningsansats och fokuserar på det intentionella lärandeobjektet kopplat till de aktuella förskollärarnas erfarenheter från det genomförda lärandeobjektet (Marton, Runesson & Tsui, 2004; Lo, 2014) av ett fysikaliskt innehåll. En fenomenografisk analys har genomförts med fokus på variationer av samtalsteman som rör intentionellt lärandeobjekt. Resultatet i delstudie I visar att barns utforskande, förskollärares utveckling av kunnande i naturvetenskap och naturvetenskapens didaktik, arbetslagets planeringsmatris och redskap i förskolans miljö bidrar till att konstruera lärandeobjektet. Resultatet i delstudie II pekar på tidsaspektens betydelse för hur förskollärare i studien utvecklar dels språket kopplat till det naturvetenskapliga innehållet och dels var de ser möjligheter till att göra fysik till objekt för lärande i förskola. Föreliggande studie bidrar med kunskap om att det är en komplex och rörlig process som behöver få tid och påverkas av de deltagare och den kontext som studerats. Vid introducering av nytt innehåll i förskolans verksamhet finns det ett värde i att rikta uppmärksamheten mot de aspekter av lärandeobjektets konstruktion som resultaten från denna studie synliggör. Det är arbetslag och förskollärare som i handling bedriver fysikundervisning men som även är bärare av normer eller föreställningar kring hur det ska gå till. Konstruktionen av lärandeobjektet är avhängigt av de förskollärare, barn, redskap och miljö där fysiken ska göras till objekt för lärande. Implikationer för verksamheten är att fundera kring hur kompetensutveckling genomförs i relation till nya innehåll i förskola. Även frågor kring de redskap som finns tillgängliga och dess syfte i relation till läroplanens alla innehållsområden samt hur redskap för planering antingen gynnar eller begränsar didaktiska frågor som påverkar undervisning är värdefulla att sätta på agendan.
Måltiden i förskolan - barns utrymme i kommunikation och handling
(2019) Ryberg, Lena
In Sweden, approximately 84% of children are enrolled in preschool, which constitutes the first step of the educational system and which embraces children from ages 1–5 years. Most children eat breakfast, lunch and snacks at preschool. In previous research, (Pramling & Ødegaard Eriksen, 2011; Sheridan, Pramling Samuelsson & Johansson, 2009) preschool teachers have described the meal as an activity in which children are given the opportunity to communicate and interact with adults and other children. Despite this approach, research has shown that the meal activities often foster values, for example, eating with cutlery, eating the food served, and sitting right at the tables and peace and peace and quiet can play a prominent role at the table when the children are going to eat (Emilson, 2008; Johansson & Pramling Samuelsson, 2000; Norman, 2003). This study is expected to increase our knowledge regarding children’s perspectives during mealtimes at preschool. The aim of this study is to contribute with knowledge about children's space to act during meals at preschool. The questions at issue are as follows: How are children positioned and how do they position themselves in meal situations? What becomes visible in these situations? The study is theoretically based on a sociocultural perspective, theories from Vygotsky (1978, 1995 and 2010) and Goffman (1983b) and the interaction order. The method of selection was based on the aim of the study—to contribute to the knowledge of children’s space as actors during meals. Data were generated qualitatively through video observations in two Swedish preschool departments. One main finding in the study was that children’s space to become actors during meals was limited and linked to structural conditions, which framed the meal. The structural conditions limited children’s participation and influence. In addition, in conversations, the children positioned themselves in both challenging and playful ways, and these positions were determined based on how the meal was framed. Sometimes, children used either their age, their positions or a pronounced resistance to be heard. This reflects the importance of adults understanding and taking responsibility for how they assign children responsibility and the importance it can then have for the group. In this study, the children tried to create space by breaking rules or by acting in a non-normative manner, such as by either moving a chair, pouring water or not taking food in the way that was expected by the adults. Because a meal is part of a preschool’s practice, where there are no pre-determined discussion topics, the subjects that the children choose to talk about often reflect their own experiences. Children want to own their conversations and thus try to position themselves to do so.
Tillträde, förhandling och deltagande i förskolebarns egenorganiserade gemensamma aktiviteter
(2018) Jivegård, Ulla
The overarching aim of this thesis is to explore preschool children’s participation in and creation of self-organized joint activities (henceforth activities) in a Swedish preschool with a focus on how children’s everyday activities (initiated by children) are produced sequentially in time. The theoretical framework of the study is taken from childhood sociology (Corsaro, 2011), ethnomethodology (Garfinkel, 1967) and conversation analysis (Schegloff, 2007) and targets the production of children’s activities from beginning to end. The thesis is based on recorded video observations, which are analysed sequentially (Schegloff, 2007), emphasizing the contextualization of children’s physical and verbal actions within participation frameworks (Goffman, 1961). The children’s activities are categorized into episodes, segments of one to several sequences (Schegloff, 1987), in which their interactions take on a new or distinguished course. The episodes are categorized as follows: established, maintained, transformed, finished and negotiated. Children’s performance is studied as a semiotic resource whereby structurally different sign systems (Goodwin, 2000) are carried out in interactions with peers. The analysed episodes are played out in The imaginary activity in the play hall where children pretended to be a Minecraft figure and in The swing activity at the preschool yard in negotiations about taking turns. The result shows that there is a large breadth and depth of work involved in children’s participation in activities with peers, scrutinizing their inclusion, participation and exclusion as stepwise processes. The thesis illuminates how children foresee physical routines when the participator role and participator status are changed which leads to transformed episodes, defined as transition spaces (Jacknick, 2011). Their changed performance, for example visibly (Heath, 2011) ignoring peers, leads to transition spaces and to the production of a new kind of episode, an intra-activity-shift (Jacknick, 2011). The study thereby highlights children’s treatment of concurring participation frameworks, one concerning physical interaction and the other concerning social interaction (swing activity). Children use humour, seen as a semiotic resource (Goodwin, 2000) which orders interactions (Sidnell, 2010), to accomplish diverse actions in a variety of episodes. The pedagogical implications of this study concern teachers’ ability to observe and provide support to children who appear to have difficulties participating in activities with peers. Whether the structural resources, details that participators in the analysis are seen oriented to in the coordinating of actions (Mondada, 2006), were of intellectual means (e.g. a narrative) or material objects (e.g. a swing), was crucial in children’s ability to create different kinds of episodes. The former was invisible and fleeting, which was actualized in negotiations constituting a break in the activity. The present thesis contributes to ethnographic studies within childhood sociology; knowledge concerning the production of episodes and the use of structural resources is crucial for preschool teachers to be able to support children’s participation in the creation of activities with peers.
Med ljus på boksamtal om skugga
(2018) Backman, Anna
Den här är en variationsteoretisk studie som riktar fokus mot boksamtal om skugga i förskola. I förskola brukar inte läromedel och läroböcker användas, däremot förespråkas ofta barnböcker och berättelser för undervisning inom olika områden, bland annat för lärande om naturvetenskap. Studiens syfte är att beskriva hur fem barn tillsammans med en förskollärare samtalar om skugga med utgångspunkt i fyra barnböcker. I analys av boksamtalen besvaras (1.) hur barn erfar skugga i samtal om barnböckers innehåll. Resultatet visar att barnen i studiens boksamtal erfar skugga som påverkbar av någon eller något, som synbar med ljus och projiceringsyta, som hanterbar likt föremål, samt som självagerande med fiktiva förmågor. Analysen besvarade även (2.) vad som blir möjligt för barn att urskilja av skugga som ett ljusfenomen i boksamtalen. I resultatet synliggjordes vilka dimensioner av variation som öppnats, öppnas eller kan öppnas i boksamtalen, vilket förklarar varför synbarhet framträder som en aspekt för barnen att urskilja och varför längd och placering är aspekter av ljusfenomenet skugga som inte blir möjliga att urskilja för barnen. Utifrån studien blir det tydligt att vardagliga samtal om skugga utifrån barnböcker, inte är tillräckligt för att barnen ska erfara något nytt om skugga, vare sig det handlar om skugga som ett naturvetenskapligt, konstnärligt eller fiktivt fenomen. En slutsats som kan dras utifrån studiens resultat är att förståelsen för vad ett boksamtal innebär i förskola behöver omvärderas och kompletteras. Med utgångspunkt i att barnen på egen hand tar initiativ till att konkret undersöka sådant som de inte förstår utifrån barnböckerna i studien, föreslås undersökande boksamtal, det vill säga boksamtal där samtal och undersökningar integreras i målstyrda processer som syftar till utveckling och lärande. I undersökande boksamtal används undervisning för att vidga och fördjupa barns upplevelser och erfarenheter utifrån bilderböcker inom både fiktions- och faktagenren.
Litteracitetsaktiviteter i skärningspunkten mellan lek och undervisning i förskola och förskoleklass
(2018) Botö, Kerstin; Denna forskning är en del av den nationella forskarskolan i kommunikation och relationer som grundläggande för förskolebarns lärande (FoRFa), finansierad av Vetenskapsrådet (nr. 729-2013-6848).
This licentiate thesis aims to contribute to the field of early childhood literacy by focusing on the in situ communication and interaction in literacy activities in preschools and preschool classes. The studied activities were designed by preschool teachers by means of using the educational television programme Life in Letterland (Livet i Bokstavslandet in Swedish) as a point of departure. While the current understanding of children’s early literacy development in the Swedish context largely involves a broad perspective, including children’s own cultures and experiences, curricula changes also imply that formal teaching methods will challenge the play characteristics of preschool activities. This thesis adopts a sociocultural perspective on learning and development by implying that learning is understood as situated in activities through interaction with others. The thesis consists of an extended summary and two empirical studies: study I is situated in a preschool, and study II within the context of a preschool class setting. The empirical material for both studies was generated by video documentation, and the analyses focused on the interactions between children and their teachers, and on how the activities were made meaningful for the children. A dilemma between play and instruction was evident in both studies. Study I showed that the teacher’s orchestration of preschool literacy activities was important for making them meaningful and accessible to the children. Study II showed that, although play was introduced, it transformed into an interaction that was akin to schoolwork. The teachers solved the dilemma between play and work by framing the activity in a playful way (inspired by the television programme), while the children’s work developed into accomplishing a task. In summary, even though the teachers based activities on the playful television programme this premise in itself did not make the activities meaningful. Instead, meaning was dependent on how the teachers designed and orchestrated the activities, encouraged and guided the children and involved the children’s previous literacy experiences.
Narrating in early childhood education as a responsive, re-creative, and remembering practice
(2018) Pihl, Agneta
The interest of the present thesis concerns how children orally retell stories they have been told. This research is carried out in dialogue with two classic research traditions in developmental psychology: one regarding whether children understand, and take into account when communicating, that others have different experience and understanding than themselves, and one regarding remembering conceptualized as a creative and sense-making practice. The thesis consists of two empirical studies conducted in a preschool setting with children 4 to 5 years old. The analytical focus of study I is on whether, and if so how, the children consider the understanding of the listener(s) when retelling stories. The analytical focus of study II is on how the children remember, and perhaps reshape, stories in retelling activities. The theoretical framework informing these studies is a sociocultural perspective, conceptualizing learning and remembering as contingent on cultural tools and practices. The empirical data consist of 19 video recordings of storytelling activities. Analytical work was guided by the principles of Interaction Analysis. Analyzing the meta-markers children use in their storytelling reveals that the children do take into account the understanding of their listener(s) when retelling stories, if not consistently so (Study I). Analyzing how one focus child retells the same story in different constellations show how she remembers details from the story told by the teacher and the very manner of how the story was told, as well as transforms the story to what more readily makes sense (Study II). The thesis has significance for our understanding of children, their storytelling and remembering. More specifically, the findings contribute to a more general reconceptualization of children’s capacities to understand. An important implication for early childhood education is that when supporting children’s storytelling and remembering, teachers also support children’s sense making and vice versa.
Läraragens i mötet mellan lärares professionalism och styrning av skolan
(2018) Frey, Louise; Institutionen för pedagogik, kommunikation och lärande, Göteborgs universitet
Teachers’ significant role as professionals is being discussed increasingly in the Swedish debate about schools and education, and is emphasised in the Swedish National School Commission’s report of 2017. This study was aimed at exploring teachers’ talk when they discussed a policy document and to relate this to teachers’ professionalism. The theoretical point of departure of this research was the concept of teacher agency, based on an ecological perspective (Priestley et al., 2015a). Agency is characterised primarily by intentionality. This means that the acting is governed by a purpose and that there is a capacity to formulate possible options for action in this direction. Agency is also influenced by contextual factors, such as culture, as well as social and material structures. Therefore, in order to fully understand agency, the interaction between individual capacity and contextual factors must be taken into account (Priestley et al., 2015a). The method of the study was individual interviews and focus group conversations. The individual interviews were used to gain knowledge of teachers’ experiences and understandings of texts like the series of General Advice published by the Swedish National Agency for Education. The focus group conversations made it possible to capture not only individual statements but also the process within the group, as the conversation involved discussions on, and interpretations of, various steering documents that are part of the teaching profession. The results were categorised and the following themes were identified: initiation of reading and discussing texts, the function of texts such as these, availability, time and responsibility. Although many of the teachers expressed a strong responsibility and concern for pupils’ achievement, they problematised their responsibilities when it comes to reading texts such as these. Some argued that it is the responsibility of the school management to initiate, implement and provide space for these kinds of readings. Several teachers also pointed out that they rarely find colleagues with whom to discuss texts such as these. However, the results also show that when teachers interact and discuss policy texts, such as the General Advice, different types of teacher agency are expressed. The findings are in line with those discussed by Priestley et al. (2015a) and their ecological conceptualisation of teacher agency. Different influences and factors allow or restrict teacher agency. The examples in this study show that teacher agency is not one form of action based on one kind of knowledge; for each situation, there are different possibilities for action.
Vi kan inte bara utgå från barnens intresse. Pedagogers guidning av barns intresse i förhållande till förskolans målstyrning
(2016-11-04) Thörner, Agneta; Göteborgs universitet, Institutionen för pedagogik, kommunikation och lärande
Swedish preschool is based both on the idea of being optional and children's autonomy while preschool is part of the education system. This study intends to examine how preschool staff talk and stimulate children's learning outcomes correlated to children's interest given the curriculum and other kind of policy documents. How does preschools staff take advantage of children's interest in order to support their advancement of knowledge in various area? How does preschools staff handle challenges concerning respect for the children's interest in governance, in the light of the aims for knowledge in the preschool curriculum. The thesis is based on the pre-school as a sociocultural practice and builds on Rogoffs analysis on three planes. This means that guided participation and learning processes must be seen from different perspectives as inseparable, community/institutional, interpersonal, and personal. During the field studies two preschools were visited. Everyday activities in which children and preschool staff participated were observed and were complemented with interviews and field notes. The results of the study shows that educators in preschool stimulate and discuss children's learning in two different ways, but that guidance can be overlapped in the practical vocational everyday life. The result shows that educators are compliant and captures children's interest in a subsequent guidance and continues with that the child has by its own turned its attention towards. Educators also attract children towards knowledge they are considered needing based on the conception of an interest the child has, and modifies the interest and adapt it to educational activities by enticing modification. Children's interests may coincide or interact with educational activities, but may also be absent. Educators deal with various challenges to create a meeting between children and educational goals in different ways; by overcoming culturally entrenched structural barriers, forming serious but joyful learning environments, guide using fiction and to unite and separate different kinds of knowledge.
Pimpa Texten. En etnografisk studie av gymnasieelevers meningsskapande i dramatext
(2015) Göthberg, Martin; Institutionen för pedagogik, kommunikation och lärande
This ethnographic study is located in the field of literary didactics, covering an intersection of the subjects of Swedish and theatre. It investigates construction of text understanding while its participants work with staging Molière’s The affected ladies (Les précieuses ridicules, 1659). Studies of classroom interaction connected to reading drama text are rare in the Swedish field of literary didactics. The main research interest is the participants’ use of interwoven semiotic resources, including spoken language, body, voice and various artifacts. Based on a general need to understand how Swedish students develop reading skills (related to decreasing results internationally) and a growing research interest in the field for embodied knowledge connected to literacy competencies the study sets out to answer the following questions: How do the participants construct text understanding using semiotic resources with a focus on: a) matching of repertoires b) in-role representation c) negotiations. The first aspect draws on theories used in literary didactics including McCormick’s (1994) literary and general repertoires and Langer’s (1995) envisioning literature. The second aspect draws on aesthetic learning and embodied knowledge (Molander, 1996; Saar, 2005) and theatre semiotics (Heed, 2002). The third aspect draws on sociocultural theory (Vygotskij, 1978; Säljö, 2014) and sociocultural theory applied in the field of drama and theatre (Davis, Clemson & Ferholt, 2015). Seven upper secondary school students, a teacher of Swedish and a teacher of theatre were observed over a period of seven months, starting with the students’ first encounter with the drama text, lasting to the final performance of a one-hour theatre production. The researcher occasionally became participant in the creative process. Analyzed data include field notes, video and sound recordings. Major findings are that: a) Students continuously match their own repertoires with the repertoires of the drama text by references to popular culture, language and body expressions, thereby gradually constructing new understanding. b) By becoming co-creators of a fictional text in a process of aesthetic learning the students developed several perspectives on the literary text, which is one of the main goals in studies of literature in the subject of Swedish. c) The participants’ negotiations involving a number of semiotic resources showed a development of text understanding on an advanced level. It also showed knowing as something emerging out of social interaction where teachers play an essential role by providing aesthetic as well as traditional scaffolding. A central conclusion is that exploring ways of learning where various semiotic recourses are given focus in the process of shaping a final product, e.g. a theatre show, host potential for students’ development of text understanding. The potential for learning seems to relate to producing knowledge rather than reproducing. Verbal and physical expressions of text understanding form new understanding in an on-going spiral. A contribution of the study to the field is showing the potential of embodied knowledge in literary didactics without a master-servant relationship between school subjects. It is suggested that increased focus on embodied knowledge and aesthetic learning might help students to develop reading skills.
Förskollärares beskrivningar av barngruppsstorlekar i förskolan
(2014) Rosenqvist, Annika; Institutionen för pedagogik, kommunikation och lärande
Preschool teachers’ descriptions of group size in preschool Language: Swedish Keywords: Preschool, group size, preschool teachers, working conditions, learning conditions. The aim of the study is to gain knowledge about preschool teachers’ perspectives of the impact of group size on working conditions as well as conditions created for children´s well-being, play and learning in preschool. Questions at issue are: In which contexts do preschool teachers write that the group becomes too big or too small? In what ways do preschool teachers express that group size can become an opportunity or an obstacle in relation to children's activities, positions and relationships? The theoretical framework consists of Urie Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory, which includes micro-, meso-, exo-, macro-, and the cronosystems that interact and are interrelated with each other. The study is part of a projects’ larger national web survey answered by 698 preschool teachers. Two open-ended questions regarding group size were analysed qualitatively by using content analysis. The staff ratio compared to the number of children, and the group’s composition, the physical area of preschool, the number of rooms and how they are arranged and organized are factors that influence preschool teachers’ experience of when a child group becomes to big. They also influence their working conditions, choice of pedagogy, learning orientation and ways to work with the children and the curriculum. Important is the preschool teachers’ collective competences and how their competence can be used in the work with large child groups. A group which seems to be too small with few children has an impact both on the group dynamics and children's opportunities for activities, play and relationships with other children and for preschool teachers' working conditions. Possibilities described in relation to a small group size are that it improves preschool teachers’ working conditions, which are important in order to plan and work with the preschool’s curriculum.
Barns aktiviteter med datorplattor i förskolan
(2014-09-05) Nilsen, Malin; Institutionen för pedagogik, kommunikation och lärande
Children’s activities with tablet computers in Swedish preschool settings This thesis contributes, on the basis of original empirical research, to an on going discussion about the use of tablet computers in Swedish preschools. The aim of the study is to examine what kind of activities evolve, how the children and teachers participate in these activities, and what kind of learning is made possible with the use of tablet computers. Because of the fact that this is a fairly new digital tool that recently has begun to be used widely in the Swedish educational system, there is a pressing need to provide knowledge of what the digital tool is used for in a Swedish preschool context. Generally, discussions regarding new technologies concern their alleged effect on children’s learning (Selwyn, 2009, 2012). The point of departure for this study is to investigate empirically how the technology is used, and critically discuss what conditions for learning are created. The theoretical framework is based on sociocultural theory. Founded on the work of Russian developmental psychologist Lev Vygotsky, and later theorists, such as Alexander Luria, James Wertsch and Roger Säljö, tablet computers are understood as a cultural tool used for making meaning in a specific cultural context. The concept of mediation is used to create an understanding of what kind of activities evolve when children use tablets in institutional environments. Video observations have been made of 33 children (aged 1 to 5 years) from two separate classrooms, in one preschool. The study is conducted in accordance with the ethical guidelines of the Swedish Research Council, which includes all participation being voluntary and all participants having signed an informed consent to be part of the study. Interaction analysis (Jordan & Henderson, 1995) was used to analyse the empirical material. The main conclusions drawn from the analysis are that many different types of activities evolved when the children used the tablets. Some of these were child initiated and allowed for possibilities for agency and exploration for the children. Others were planned by the teachers in advance with a clear learning objective and more strictly organized. An important finding with an interest in learning was that the children and teachers often were uncoordinated in perspective in both types of activities. While the teachers regarded the tablets and apps as didactical tools for learning, the children mainly engaged with technology as a tool for gaming. However, the teachers play an important role in scaffolding the children and in using different strategies to facilitate the children’s appropriation of both technology and important cultural concepts and distinctions. It is also evident that the, so-called, educational apps to a large extent fail to live up to their name. The study has significance for an informed discussion about the use of tablets in early childhood settings – including the role of the teacher in technology-mediated activities. KEYWORDS: tablet computers, preschool, digital tools, sociocultural theory, educational apps
Children's story making with digital technologies: Tool-mediated activities in a preschool class
(2014) Skantz Åberg, Ewa; Department of Education, Communication and Learning
Narrating has a long tradition within early childhood education and serves, among many things, as a means of engaging children in literacy activities. With the advent of digital technologies, different contexts are created that provide opportunities for multimodal ways of narrating. The overall purpose of this licentiate thesis is to investigate what kind of activities emerge when six-year olds are instructed to narrate with digital technologies, and how the teacher, the technologies and cultural tools, such as language, symbols and other physical artefacts, mediate the story-making activities. The present thesis consists of an extended summary and two empirical studies on instructional activities performed within the context of a preschool class setting. The first study explores what kind of activities emerge when the children in collaboration write stories using word processor and speech-synthesized feedback computer software applications. In the second study the software provides illustrating images designed especially for story making. A particular interest in this study is to analyse how the in situ activities evolve, and to clarify how the children’s final products come to vary. The empirical material was generated with the use of video observations and the analysis was informed by sociocultural theory. The mutual findings in the two studies show that the art of narrating forms the background of the teacher’s introduction and her scaffolding, and as a consequence, two agendas can be discerned in terms of the children orienting themselves foremost to making a story and handling the technologies, whilst the teacher foregrounds writing. The inherent possibilities provided by the different digital technologies, for example, support in transforming print into audible sound or thematically organised images constitute an incentive for the children’s story making, but also a constraint due to the children having difficulties handling the software and devices.
Mathematics textbooks for teaching
(2011-06) Sönnerhed, Wang Wei; Institutionen för pedagogik, kommunikation och lärande
An analysis of content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge concerning algebra in mathematics textbooks in Swedish upper secondary education How to solve quadratic equations is a common teaching topic in upper secondary school algebra. This study has the interest in analyzing algebra content knowledge related to quadratic equations and factorization in mathematics textbooks at upper secondary level. Mathematics textbooks as educational resources and artefacts are widely used in classroom teaching and learning. What is presented in a textbook is often taught by teachers in the classroom. On the other hand, what is missing from the textbook may not be presented by the teacher. Textbooks contain both subject knowledge and pedagogical knowledge. This thesis is about analyzing the algebra content related to factorization and quadratic equations from a teaching perspective, as presented in mathematics textbooks at Swedish upper secondary schools. The analysis focuses on algebra content related to factorization and quadratic equations as subject matter content knowledge (CK) and the embedded pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) in the textbooks. The main aim is to explore what pedagogical content knowledge regarding quadratic equations–is embedded in mathematics textbooks. The secondary aim is to analyze the algebra content from the perspective of mathematics as a discipline in relation to algebra history. It is about what one can find in the textbook rather than how the textbook is used in the classroom. The empirical material used in this study includes twelve mathematics textbooks in the mathematics B course at Swedish upper secondary schools. The analysis contains four rounds of analyses. The results of the first three rounds of analyses have set up a basis for the deep analysis of one selected textbook. The results show that there is an accumulative relationship among all the algebra content with a final goal of presenting how to solve quadratic equations by quadratic formula; the presentation of the algebra content related to quadratic equations in the selected textbook is organized by four geometrical models traced back to algebra history. These four geometrical models are applied for illustrating algebra rules and construct five embedded hypothetical teaching trajectories and an overall teaching trajectory. The historically related pedagogy and application of mathematics in both real world and pure mathematics contexts are the embedded pedagogical content knowledge related to quadratic equations.
Barns sociala liv på fritidshemmet En studie om praktikgemenskaper och alliansbildning i egenstyrda aktiviteter
(2011-05) Dahl, Marianne; Institutionen för pedagogik, kommunikation och lärande
Föreliggande studie har som avsikt att vinna kunskap om barns sociala liv på fritidshemmet. Fokus riktas dels mot praktikgemenskaper som social konstruktion, dels mot barns alliansskapande inom och mellan de praktikgemenskaper som framträder. Därutöver studeras genusaspekter som kommuniceras och blir synliga i dessa praktikgemenskaper. Studien har en etnografisk ansats. Fältarbete har bedrivits på ett fritidshem under 7 månader. Data består av fältanteckningar från deltagande observationer och informella samtal med barn. Via teoretiska begrepp som praktikgemenskaper, allianser och genusaspekter tolkas barns sociala liv i en institutionell verksamhet. Ett ytterligare fokus i studien är barns perspektiv på sina samspel med kamrater. Analysen har genererat fyra skilda praktikgemenskaper som verkar vara varaktiga över tid. Dessa praktikgemenskaper skiftar till karaktär, från vad som kan betraktas som en öppen till en mer sluten karaktär. Därigenom ger de skilda praktikgemenskaperna olika möjligheter till tillträde för barnen. Vidare bärs de olika praktikgemenskaperna upp av skilda kulturer som benämns vid relations-, samarbets-, våga- och bemästrakultur. Resultatet visar också hur allianser förekommer inom samtliga praktikgemenskaper. Ett antagande i denna studie är att allianser uppstår kring en gemensam fråga eller aktivitet som grundar sig i ett gemensamt intresse. Allianser framträder på olika sätt och skiljer sig åt till karaktär vilket förefaller hänga samman med i vilken praktikgemenskap alliansen äger rum. Allianser framträder dels som temporära och dels som varaktiga över tid. Barnen förhandlar runt alliansen genom olika strategier i syfte att ge tillträde till den eller att värna om dess interaktionsutrymme. Beroende på den position som olika barn intar eller ges i alliansen blir exkludering mer eller mindre möjlig. I studien synliggörs även hur det i praktikgemenskapens delade repertoar sker ett pågående genusarbete att positionera sig i relation till vad som betraktas som ”flickigt eller pojkigt”. Genusarbetet verkar på den symboliska, strukturella respektive individuella nivån. Det sker både gränsuppehållande och gränsöverskridanden i barnens positioner i lekar och aktiviteter. Framförallt är det flickor som gör det som oftast beskrivs som ”pojkigt”. I något enstaka fall finns i denna studie exempel på pojkar som närmar sig det som betraktas som en kvinnlig domän.
Nuets didaktik. Förskolans lärare talar om läroplan för de yngsta
(Agneta Jonsson, 2011) Jonsson, Agneta; Institutionen för pedagogik, kommunikation och lärande
Studien som ligger till grund för detta licentiatarbete syftar till att utveckla kunskap om hur den läroplan för de yngsta ser ut så som den beskrivs av förskolans lärare. Fokus läggs på den beskrivna läroplanens innehåll och arbetsformer och på vad som karakteriserar verksamheten för de yngsta barnen i förskolan. De teoretiska utgångspunkter som används är läroplansteori för yngre barn samt i viss mån även barndomsperspektiv med koppling till barndomspsykologi, barndomssociologi och barndomspedagogik. Det är en kvalitativ studie vars empiri består av data från 15 transkriberade och analyserade samtalsintervjuer med lärare som arbetar med förskolans yngsta barn i åldrarna 1-3 år. Metodansatsen är fenomenografisk vilket i analysen gett verktyg att urskilja kvalitativt skilda beskrivningskategorier av innehåll, arbetsformer och karakteristiska drag för förskolans verksamhet. Resultaten visar att läraruppdraget framstår som unikt på det sättet att arbetet med barns lärande och utveckling huvudsakligen tycks ske här och nu och i mindre utsträckning utifrån en planerad verksamhet. Det har resulterat i begreppet nuets didaktik. Begreppet grundar sig i lärares beskrivningar av innehåll och arbetsformer i vilka gemensamma drag är konkretion, tidsaspekten samt ett tydligt barnperspektiv kopplat till didaktikens utgångspunkter vad, hur, varför, vem, var och när. Vidare visar resultaten att för dessa lärare är personlighetsutveckling och social anpassning det ojämförbart väsentligaste syftet med de yngsta barnens lärande och utveckling samt att lek har samma dignitet som specifika kunskapsinnehåll så som naturvetenskap och matematik. Ett starkt barnperspektiv reser frågor kring barns och lärares ansvar i lärandeprocessen såväl som utveckling respektive bevarande av förskolans verksamhet. I studien diskuteras även det karakteristiska i verksamheten för de yngsta relaterat till kontinuitet i utbildningssystemet.
Att organisera för kvalitet - en studie om kvalitetsarbete i kommunen och förskolan
(Karin Lager, 2010-11) Lager, Karin; Institutionen för pedagogik,kommunikation och lärande

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