Ett intersubjektivt perspektiv på pedagogisk kvalitet relaterat till centrala kvalitetsfaktorer i förskolan

Syftet med artikeln är att diskutera vikten av en övergripande teoretisk ram för att urskilja, utvärdera och utveckla pedagogisk kvalitet och inom ramen för denna lyfta fram centrala faktorer för kvalitet i förskolan. Den teoretiska ramen utgår från ett intersubjektivt perspektiv på pedagogisk kvalitet som konstitueras av fyra interagerande dimensioner. I artikeln används dimensionerna som analytiska verktyg för att diskutera centrala kvalitetsfaktorer i förskolan. Beroende på hur dimensionerna och faktorerna interagerar med varandra skapas olika nivåer av kvalitet i förskolan, vilket ger barn ojämlika villkor för välmående, lärande och utveckling

Ett intersubjektivt perspektiv på pedagogisk kvalitet relaterat tillcentrala kvalitetsfaktorer i förskolan

Syftet med artikeln är att diskutera vikten av en övergripande teoretisk ram för att urskilja, utvärdera och utveckla pedagogisk kvalitet och inom ramen för denna lyfta fram centrala faktorer för kvalitet i förskolan. Den teoretiska ramen utgår från ett intersubjektivt perspektiv på pedagogisk kvalitet som konstitueras av fyra interagerande dimensioner. I artikeln används dimensionerna som analytiska verktyg för att diskutera centrala kvalitetsfaktorer i förskolan. Beroende på hur dimensionerna och faktorerna interagerar med varandra skapas olika nivåer av kvalitet i förskolan, vilket ger barn ojämlika villkor för välmående, lärande och utveckling

Förskollärarkompetens – Skärningspunkt i undervisningens kvalitet

Syftet är att analysera undervisning i förskolan. Analyserna utgår från kvalitetsbedömningar med Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale-3 (ECERS-3) (Harms, Clifford och Cryer 2014). Hög kvalitet i förskolan främjar barns lärande inom läroplanens målområden. Artikelns teoretiska ram utgörs av interaktionistiska och ekologiska teorier som innebär att individer och miljö konstruerar varandra i ett dynamiskt och ömsesidigt samspel (Bronfenbrenner 1979, 1986; Bruner 1996; Vygotsky 1986). Undervisning i förskolan definieras i texten som kommunikativ, interaktiv och relationell och behöver förstås i en samhällelig kontext.  Kvalitetsbedömningar har genomförts i 153 svenska förskolor med ECERS-3. Resultaten visar att förskolans kvalitet varierar. Låg kvalitet bedöms på aktiviteter som kräver vuxnas engagemang, interaktion och kommunikation med barnen i form av undervisning. Det indikerar att förskollärares kompetens bildar en skärningspunkt för undervisningens kvalitet. Ytterligare forskning behövs för att utveckla förskolans undervisning och didaktik, vilket gynnar såväl barngruppen som enskilda barn och bidrar till en kompetenshöjning hos förskollärarna

Does group size matter in preschool teacher’s work? The skills teachers emphasise for children in preschool groups of different size

In recent years there has been a debate in the Nordic countries about group size in preschool and how it affects preschool teachers’ work and children’s wellbeing and learning. The aim of this article is to analyse and discuss how preschool teachers’ working with child groups of different sizes view the conditions for children’s learning and development related to different abilities and skills. The survey data consists of preschool teachers’ (N=698) responses to a questionnaire. The results indicated no statistically significant differences between preschool teachers’ views and emphases in groups of different sizes as regards the type of abilities in children’s learning. In all group categories, preschool teachers seem to emphasise a similar set of characteristics and social skills in children’s personal development; to be collaborative, to have respect, to have empathy and a good self-esteem or understanding of oneself

Likvärdighet och kvalitet

Swedish preschool teacher profession has changed. In the preschool teacher education, students must develop professional identities and know how to independently take responsibility for pedagogical activities, teaching and providing for children’s right to care, play, development and learning. The aim of this study is twofold: to investigate how students articulate their conditions for learning and professional development in their teaching practice, and to study how their education may be affected by being carried out in preschools of varying quality. The study is based on quality evaluations with the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale (ECERS) at 153 Swedish preschools. The quality evaluations were related to a survey that 125 students answered in a preschool teacher education focusing on equivalence, the relationship between theory and practice and the quality in their teaching practice. The research questions we posed were: What characterizes the quality of preschools? Which aspects contribute to equality in teaching practice? How do the students describe the quality of the preschool? Bronfenbrenner’s ecological system theory frames the study. The analysis was informed by an interaction between empirical data and theory and thus was an abductive analytical process. The results show that the quality of preschools varies, creating unequal conditions for student learning. The students report inconsistent conditions for their learning in preschool.  The political investment has enhanced the collaboration between preschool teacher education and preschool and visualized critical aspects, forming a point of intersection for the preschool teacher profession's quality

Pedagogical quality in preschool : an issue of perspectives

The main aims of this thesis on the pedagogical quality in preschool are: to define and describe a pedagogical concept of quality; to explore how quality is experienced and valued from different perspectives; to find out what characterises a pedagogical environment of high quality; and to discuss how those characteristics can be used to improve the quality of preschool. The thesis comprises four studies, a meta-perspective of the results of these and a theoretical framework. Two studies were part of a project, which aimed to improve the pedagogical quality in 20 preschools. The use of both external and self-evaluations of quality with ECERS gave an opportunity to compare these evaluations with one another as well as using the results to plan the content of a targeted development programme. In the third study, three preschools evaluated to be of low quality and three of good quality were selected for in-depth studies. Thirty-nine five-year-old children were interviewed about their conceptions of decision-making and how they experienced their possibilities for exercising influence in their own preschool. In a comparative study between Germany and Sweden, researchers made parallel and independent evaluations of the quality with ECERS in 20 preschools, 10 in each country. The underlying perceptual process was documented and reconstructed and presented in the form of five different themes. From a meta-perspective of the results, the concept of pedagogical quality is defined and described on a primary level, which can be seen as one step in the development of a theory of pedagogical quality. The results confirm that high quality in preschool is related to the competence of the teacher and show that activities in the participating preschools are rarely learning-orientated. This indicates that there is a difference between the children’s experience of exercising influence and the level of quality and shows that it is vital for the children to be involved in decision-making. The results clearly show that external and selfevaluations of quality differ, and that there is a tendency for teachers in low-quality preschools to overrate their own quality, while teachers in high-quality preschools seem to evaluate their quality lower than the external evaluator. The results confirm that structural aspects are no guarantee for high quality and show that low-quality preschools are more vulnerable to decreases in resources. Further, the results show that the quality in preschool can be enhanced through competence development even while organisational changes and financial cutbacks are taking place. To allow these conditions to exist and develop, at least four perspectives must be focused on during research on quality and in the development work, that is: the quality of interactions, the perspective of the teacher, the perspective of the child, and the perspective of society. The study suggests that a theory of pedagogical quality needs to be developed, to define the concept further, and that the complexity of pedagogical quality requires broad research approaches and an inclusion of different perspectives

Barns tidiga lärande : en tvärsnittsstudie om förskolan som miljö för barns lärande

The main aim of preschool is to promote children’s learning, implying that its quality is an important aspect to study. However, despite a long preschool tradition and a preschool system that is nearing completion, we have limited knowledge of the effect of preschool on children’s learning and knowledge formation. The overall aim of the study, Children’s early learning, is to gain knowledge of the characteristics of preschool as a learning environment by studying various preschool environments and the impact they have on children’s knowledge formation/experiences of different aspects of communication, mathematics and interplay. Questions at issue are: How does children’s knowledge formation emerge in relation to specific content areas in different preschool contexts? What quality aspects emerge as important for children’s learning in different preschool contexts according to the teachers and parents? How are these different quality aspects constituted and related to one another? A case study of bilingual children has also been conducted within the project. It is based on the question: What communicative patterns emerge in interplay among young children who have Swedish as their second language? The complexity of preschool, as a learning context, can only be grasped by adopting several research approaches, and examining it from diverse perspectives and dimensions. Therefore, the study is based on two theoretical perspectives: interactionistic theory (Ball, 2006; Bronfenbrenner, 1979, 1986; Bruner, 1996) and variation theory (Marton & Booth, 2000). The study is also based on a pedagogical perspective of quality (Sheridan, 2001, 2009). The study was conducted in Gothenburg. A stratified sample of eight districts was chosen in order to represent diverse geographical areas and living conditions as well as ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds. Within these districts a random sample of 38 preschools was selected. All the children aged 1 and 2 years (230) in these preschools, plus their parents and teachers (120) participated. The study has a cross-sectional design and is divided into eight different parts and content areas. The data production is both quantitative and qualitative. Given the theoretical framework of the study, there are few methods available to observe young children’s learning and development. Therefore, the development of methods to observe children’s knowledge related to mathematics, communication and interplay may be seen as important results of this study. The results highlight a variation in preschool quality and in the ways the teachers communicate with and approach the children. Three different learning environments of low, good and high quality emerged, showing that children do not have equal opportunities for learning in preschool. The learning environments are: Separating and limiting environments, Child-centred negotiating environments and Challenging learning environments. Teachers and parents see preschool mainly as a democratic and social arena, even though learning of mathematics and literacy are becoming important contents in preschool education. The individual child’s learning and development are primary concerns. Play is emphasised and learning is accepted as long as it is based on the initiative of the child and/or is a by-product of play. According to the teacher’s observations, the children seem to be involved in creative and reciprocal interactions, characterised by joy and interest. The preschool context seems to offer children various positions, which may be described as interactive observational, adaptive and driving. The results indicate that a significant change in knowing/learning occurs between the age of 1 and 3 years with regard to children’s ability to approach and handle different tasks related to mathematics and communication. The results show that this is an important time in children’s learning, and that much depends on the quality of the preschool. These findings should benefit research on early childhood education on both a national and international level.Swedish with a summary in English. Med bidrag av: Docent Sonja Sheridan, professor Ingrid Pramling Samuelsson, professor Eva Johansson, doktorand Elisabet Doverborg, FD. Karin Gustafsson, FD. Elisabeth Mellgren och doktorand Anne Kultti samtliga verksamma vid Göteborgs universitet, Institutionen för pedagogik och didaktik. Eva Johansson är även professor i universitetet i Stavanger