Preschool teachers in Sweden are expected to document children's learning and assess their learning outcomes, for the purpose of long-term evaluation and to develop the educational preschool practice. Previous research shows that the tools for documenting individual learning are particularly focusing on children's cognitive knowledge, while the tools for evaluating the preschool practice are developed for standardized assessment and teachers' self-reflection. The purpose of this study is to present and illustrate an action-based tool that (i) facilitates documentation and assessment of children's multifaceted learning and (ii) combine and interweave individual learning with situated teaching approaches and evaluation of the preschool practice at institutional level. The action-based methodological framework takes a starting point in John Dewey's pragmatism, transactions and functions of education including qualification, socialization and person-formation. Two analytical approaches; Practical Epistemology Analysis (PEA) and Epistemological Move Analysis (EMA) are used to clarify and illustrate individual, social and institutional dimensions of learning from four sequences of one preschool activity including four children and one teacher talking about a fairy tale. We argue that this tool for assessment and evaluation facilitates action-based reflection and discussion about relations between children's individual learning and institutional norms and values.

The aim is to illustrate a didactical reflection tool that facilitates teachers’ critical discussions about teaching for children’s person-formation in preschool. Person-formation, as an aim described to education, takes form as identification and as subjectification (Håkansson et al. 2018). Previous Early Childhood Education research shows the importance of teaching approaches that strive toward children’s identification; autonomy, solidarity and socialization (Correja et al. 2017; see also Klaar and Öhman 2014). However, approaches aiming at subjectification is less emphasized. A reflection tool that highlights teaching for identification has previously been developed and used (see Klaar et al. 2020). Adding subjectification as a second concept connects theoretically to Biesta’s (2019) argument for subjectification and uniqueness in education (see also Van Poeck and Östman 2019). Previously conducted qualitative interviews with teachers and children (Klaar et al. 2020) are re-analyzed by using subjectification as an additional analyzing concept. This provides extended opportunities to analyze teachers’ and children’s utterances about play in a more multi-dimensional way. The teachers and the parents agreed to participation and recording of the interviews, by giving written consent. The children were also asked orally before the interview started. The initial result shows children’s confidence, strength and ability to make unique playmate choices and to refrain to take part. However, the teachers mainly talk about children’s ability and possibility to play. This reflection tool will give teachers the opportunity to discuss the interplay between expectations about being autonomous and social, and the possibility for the child to be unique and develop subjectivity.

The aim is to illustrate practical analysing tools that facilitate investigations and critical reflections of situated teaching and learning. Early Childhood Education needs to open up for pluralistic pedagogy and move away from transmissive pedagogy (Formosinho & Formosinho 2016). Early childhood research seldom concerns teaching and learning activities in practice (Ryan and Goffin, 2008) and we argue for the need to open up the “black box” showing what teacher do when they teach, and what children learn in the teaching process (Lave 1993). In this work we turn to John Dewey’spragmatism, his view on meaning making (Dewey 1938/2015; Dewey 1958/2009) and functional coordination of actions(Garrison 2001). Data were collected using video-recordings of an activity in preschool practice. The tools used in the qualitative analyses were Practical Epistemology Analysis (Wickman & Östman, 2002) and Epistemological Move Analysis(Lidar, Lundqvist & Östman 2006). The study follows the Swedish Research Council's (2017) ethical rules and guidelines for good research practice. Informed consent was given by parents. The children were asked verbally and also informed that they could say ‘no’, at any time. The results show teaching and meaning making processes as multifaceted and dynamic, including teaching toward practical and intellectual learning as well as socialization and individual development. This way of document and assess teaching and learning can be used when evaluating and developing preschool education. By using these analysing methods the teachers can reflect over their own teaching approaches as well as over children’s learning processes and learning content. 

The aim is to understand more about inclusive learning environments in preschool. This is done by investigating how different aspects of democracy become visible in teacher's talk about inclusive learning environments, and by discussing possible consequences for children's meaning making. UNESCO (2009:10) states that inclusive "education for all" has to be linked to learners' needs and be relevant for their diverse lives. In similar ways there is a large emphasis on democracy and equality in the curriculum for Swedish preschools (Pramling Samuelsson, Sheridan and Williams 2006:26). However, this inclusive approach on education highlights a complex dilemma between education as compensatory and education as participatory (Nilholm 2006:30). The use of democracy is based on three characteristic aspects of democracy in Swedish preschool education; i) support autonomy, ii) develop solidarity, iii) socialise to institutional norms (Klaar and Öhman 2014). The methodology is based on pragmatic curriculum theory and selective traditions (Öhman 2006, Svennbeck 2004). Walk-and-talk interviews (Klerfelt 2016) have been conducted with four different preschool teachers in four different preschools, and their utterances have been qualitatively analysed. Ethical approval was sought from the preschool teachers and the interviews were conducted when no children were present. The analysing process is still in progress but one preliminary result shows a tension between supporting autonomy and developing solidarity that differ depending on preschool location and current group of children. With a large focus on the autonomy aspect of democracy there is a possibility that the solidary aspect of democracy is left in the background

The aim is to contribute to the field of pedagogical documentation in preschool by developing a theory-based didactical tool for practice-oriented reflections on teaching and possibilities to learn. The Swedish preschool curriculum (Lpfö98/2016)highlights preschool teachers' responsibility to observe and analyse children's development and learning in order to develop the preschool practice. Despite this, former research shows that preschool teachers often observe and estimate children individual maturity and development, and do not include a critical review, or a focus on the development of practice (VallbergRoth 2012, Eidevald 2013, Formosinho & Formosinho 2015). As a result of this criticism, there is a demand for ways to observe, document, and reflect that highlight possibilities for learning from a practice-oriented perspective (Eidevald 2013). The theoretical starting point is John Dewey's transactional perspective (Dewey & Bentley 1949/1991), where learning can be described as undertaking actions and experiencing their consequences, changing actions and experiencing potentially new consequences. We will work together with teachers from two different preschools using a method based on ParticipationAction Research (Herr & Anderson 2005, McIntyre 2008, and Reason & Bradbury 2009). Ethical approval has been sought from the preschool teachers, and will be sought from the parents. The research project is in progress but results will be discussed as e.g. differences between preschools, and questions about diversity and multiculturalism in documenting processes. The ambition is, from a practice-oriented perspective, to deepen critical reflections about children's learning and the learning possibilities offered by preschools.

The aim is to analyse research articles connected to Early Childhood Science Education (ECSE) with a specific focus on “why it is important to teach and learn science in preschool practices”.

To teach and learn about science in preschool practices can be understood as e.g. learn to care for nature or to create knowledge about natural phenomena and processes. With a specific focus on Early Childhood Education, Hedefalk et.al (2015) and Somerville and Williams (2015) present surveys connected to Education for Sustainable Development, and Zohar and Barzilai (2013) present a review on research in Science Education in the field of metacognition.

This present study will use curriculum theory to analyse and critically discuss teaching traditions and learning content (see Svennbeck 2003, Öhman 2006).  

Words used in the ERIC database search was: early childhood, natural science,  science education.

Approximately 90 articles from Early Childhood Journals and Science Education Journals will be scrutinized regarding arguments for ECSE, using a coding scheme based on introductions and purposes of the studies.

Initial results from this ongoing review of articles show arguments that focus on ECSE as: i) laying the foundation for knowledge and interest in science, preparing for school, ii) making children able to engage in environmental issues, iii) offering children to explore everyday-science as lived experiences.  

Only peer-reviewed articles were chosen, and the same words were used during the complete search.

The result can be used in critical reflections on arguments for teaching and learning science in preschool, to create multifaceted teaching and learning environments.