Utbredelse av konsepter i norske barnehager

NO resuméI løpet av kort tid har konsepter, i form av standardiserte programmer og metoder tatt plass i det pedagogiske arbeidet i barnehagen. Det gir et behov for mer forskningsbasert kunnskap om fenomenet. Denne artikkelen har som hovedformål å undersøke utbredelse av konsepter i et utvalg norske kommuner. Utgangspunktet for artikkelen er en spørreundersøkelse besvart av 206 pedagogiske ledere og styrere. I analysen brukes beskrivende statistikk, bivariat analyse og kvalitativ innholdsanalyse. Undersøkelsen viser et stort omfang av konsepter i barnehagene, både i antall og i variasjonen av konsepter. Den viser også at det er regionale forskjeller i antall og hvilken type konsepter som brukes. Barnehagenes begrunnelser for valg av konsepter blir beskrevet gjennom åtte kategorier. Artikkelen bidrar med økt kunnskap om utbredelsen av konsepter i norske barnehager. Abstract – UKSpread of concepts in Norwegian kindergartensConcepts in the form of standardized programmes and methods are gaining ground in Norwegian kindergartens. More knowledge is needed to better understand the impact of these concepts. In this article, we explore the spread of concepts. The data is based on survey responses from 206 kindergartens. In the analysis, we use descriptive statistics, bivariate analysis and qualitative content analysis. The results indicate that concepts are widespread and take many forms. Some kindergartens do not use concepts, others use several, and how many concepts that are used, seem to depend on municipality affiliation. Reasons given for the use of concepts, are described through eight categories. The article contributes with increased knowledge of the spread of concepts in Norwegian kindergartens

Developing child-friendly cities: Young children’s participation in urban planning

This article is based on a collaborative project between a municipality and a research team, aiming to investigate participatory methods that promote young children’s interest and participation in, and access to express their views in connection with, urban planning processes. The research question was: What characterizes a child-friendly city for young children and their families? The article is framed within the perspective of children’s rights, affordance and child-friendly outdoor environments. The project has employed multiple research methods. The participants were children (aged 3-6) and parents from three early childhood education and care institutions. The children (n=16) participated in guided tours, field conversations, drawing and constructive play using Lego. The parents (n=14) participated by identifying the locations that they preferred to frequent with their children, and a structured survey was used to identify what the parents liked and disliked about the places they identified. Our findings indicate that there are four important features that characterise a child-friendly city: 1) The availability of ‘green lungs’, 2) Creative and challenging play opportunities, 3) Places for the whole family, and 4) Safe playgrounds and walking routes. We discuss how better knowledge of what characterizes a child-friendly city can contribute to planning processes

Å gi rom for nye begynnelser: Demokratisering og dekolonisering gjennom arbeid med estetiske læringsprosesser og samiske perspektiver i høyere utdanning

I denne artikkelen utforsker vi hvordan estetiske læringsprosesser kan bidra til endring i kunnskaps- og læringssyn i høyere utdanning. Det empiriske grunnlaget for artikkelen er kollektive autoetnografiske refleksjoner gjort i forbindelse med arbeid med samiske perspektiver i barnehagelærerutdanninga ved et norsk universitet. De autoetnografiske vignettene løfter fram erfaringene og læringsprosessene våre som undervisere, og setter dem i sammenheng med strukturelle, kulturelle og politiske faktorer. Analysene viser at estetiske læringsprosesser, gjennom å åpne for det uforutsette og gi rom for nye begynnelser, er særlig velegna for å stimulere demokratisering og dekolonisering. Dette kom til uttrykk i arbeidet gjennom emosjonelt engasjement, nedbrytning av asymmetriske maktrelasjoner, økt sjølrefleksjon og kunnskaps- og perspektivutvidelse. Samtidig belyser artikkelen hindre i arbeidet med å fremme slike prosesser i et akademia prega av nyliberalistiske føringer og målbarhetsidealer.  ENGLISH ABSTRACT Providing Space for Emergences: Democratization and Decolonization through working with Aesthetic Learning Processes and Sámi Perspectives in Higher Education In this article, we explore how aesthetic learning processes may contribute towards enabling change in the outlook on knowledge and learning in higher education. The empirical point of departure is collaborative, auto-ethnographic reflections that were made in relation to a development project on Sámi perspectives in early childhood teacher education at a Norwegian university. The auto-ethnographic vignettes highlight our experiences and learning processes as teachers, and connect these to structural, cultural, and political factors. The analyses imply that aesthetic learning processes, through giving space for the unforeseen and enabling new beginnings, are particularly well-suited to stimulate democratization and decolonization. This potential of enabling change was expressed through the work with emotional engagement, deconstruction of asymmetric power relations, increased self-reflexivity and expansion of the understandings of knowledge and learning. At the same time, the article shed light to obstacles encountered when striving to promote such processes in an academic system entrenched in neoliberalist logics and ideals.

Utbredelse av konsepter i norske barnehager

I løpet av kort tid har konsepter, i form av standardiserte programmer og metoder tatt plass i det pedagogiske arbeidet i barnehagen. Det gir et behov for mer forskningsbasert kunnskap om fenomenet. Denne artikkelen har som hovedformål å undersøke utbredelse av konsepter i et utvalg norske kommuner. Utgangspunktet for artikkelen er en spørreundersøkelse besvart av 206 pedagogiske ledere og styrere. I analysen brukes beskrivende statistikk, bivariat analyse og kvalitativ innholdsanalyse. Undersøkelsen viser et stort omfang av konsepter i barnehagene, både i antall og i variasjonen av konsepter. Den viser også at det er regionale forskjeller i antall og hvilken type konsepter som brukes. Barnehagenes begrunnelser for valg av konsepter blir beskrevet gjennom åtte kategorier. Artikkelen bidrar med økt kunnskap om utbredelsen av konsepter i norske barnehager.publishedVersio

Inclusion of children with disabilities in physical education: Current knowledge base and the experiences of children with disabilities and their parents

Background: Children with disabilities are at risk of social and pedagogical marginalisation and exclusion in physical education (PE). Despite increased international research initiatives, our knowledge of what supports inclusion in PE is still limited. In the Norwegian context, few studies have explored inclusion of children with disabilities in PE. Aim: Framed within a socioecological perspective, the overall aims of this dissertation were: a) to identify the gaps in the extant knowledge base on inclusion of children with disabilities in PE and b) to explore inclusion in PE as experienced by children with disabilities and parents in Norway. The project distinguishes between physical, social and pedagogical dimensions of inclusion in PE. Method: The research project employed a parallel multimethod design, in which three methodologically distinct studies resulted in five articles (Article I-V). Study I was a systematic literature review aimed at compiling, organising, and analysing the body of literature on inclusion of children with disabilities in PE from 2009 to 2015. Based on preselected criteria and PRISMA guidelines for systematic literature reviews, the search yielded 535 articles of which 112 articles were finally included (Article I). Study II was a hermeneutic phenomenological interview study aimed at exploring the lived experience of inclusion in PE among children with disabilities and their parents. Based on interviews with 15 children with disabilities and 26 parents, Article II explored how the children with disabilities and their parents experienced social and pedagogical inclusion in various PE settings. The data in Article III was limited to the parental accounts and explored how the parents experienced the PE-related home-school collaboration. In both articles, thematic analysis was employed to capture the essence and the nuances of the participants’ experiences with inclusion in PE. Study III was a cross sectional survey study aimed at exploring the associations between the experiences of physical, social and pedagogical inclusion and intrapersonal, interpersonal, and contextual factors among children with disabilities (Article IV) and their parents (Article V). To better understand the mechanisms that support inclusion in PE, Article IV explored the associations between children’s experiences of social and pedagogical inclusion, perceived motivational climate, physical inclusion and their motivational attributes. The article employed tenets from achievement goal theory and self-determination theory. The participants were 64 children with disabilities attending Norwegian general elementary schools. The analytical approach used was fuzzy qualitative comparative analysis. Article V explored the association between intrapersonal, interpersonal and contextual factors and satisfaction with social and pedagogical inclusion among parents of children with disabilities (N=72). The main analytical modelling approaches used were ordinary least square regression (OLS) and quantile regression (QR). Results and discussion: With the use of multiple methodological approaches, this dissertation provided insight into the complexity of physical, social and pedagogical inclusion in PE as experienced by children with disabilities and their parents. The review of literature in Study I indicated that despite increased research contributions on inclusion of children with disabilities in PE, the knowledge of how to promote inclusion in PE is still limited. Previous research has largely concentrated on the PE educators’ perspectives and attitudes towards inclusion in PE among teachers. Limited research exists on the experiences of children with disabilities and their parents. Based on the gaps in knowledge identified in the Study I, the focus of Study II and III was narrowed down to inclusion in PE as experienced by children with disabilities and their parents. Study II illuminated the complexity and nuances in the experiences of inclusion in PE among children with disabilities and their parents. The analysis in Article II generated four themes: (a) physical inclusion in PE; (b) pedagogical inclusion and exclusion in PE; (c) social inclusion and exclusion in PE and beyond; and (d) forced exclusion. The themes indicated the situational complexity of and fluctuation in inclusion as experienced by children and parents, as well as how the children navigated exclusive situations in PE. Children with disabilities are still at risk of marginalisation in PE and several children do not receive the PE provision they deserve. The inquiry into the PE-related home-school collaboration as experienced by parents generated five themes (Article III): a) the lack of PE-related information in the home-school collaboration; b) the parents’ experiences of how contradictory expectations between themselves and the school personnel inhibited collaboration: c) the importance of perceived competence and continuous systematic communication; d) the parents’ involvement in school-based activity; and e) the parents’ strategies of navigating the system to secure the necessary educational adaptations. The findings show how lack of school routines that ensure systematic PE-related collaboration limits parents’ ability to make informed decisions-making in terms of their child’s education. The findings also provide insight into the parental labour involved in securing quality education in PE for their children with disabilities. Study III further illuminated the associations between the experiences of physical, social and pedagogical inclusion and intrapersonal, interpersonal, and contextual factors among children with disabilities and their parents. In Article IV, the analyses of contextual conditions yielded two sufficient inclusion-supportive climates, namely a physically inclusive and mastery oriented climate or a physical inclusive, autonomy supportive and low performance-oriented climate. Thus, physical inclusion in general PE was not sufficient to secure social and pedagogical inclusion and a mastery climate seems to be a particular robust inclusion-supportive climate for children with different motivational profiles and abilities. The configurations of motivational attributes within the inclusion-supportive contexts indicated four sufficient pathways to social and pedagogical inclusion. The different paths indicated that children with different levels of satisfaction of the needs for competence and autonomy could feel both socially and pedagogically included as long as they were task oriented, low on amotivation and experienced satisfaction of the need for relatedness. The results from Article V indicated that the parents' satisfaction with social inclusion in PE was associated with their attitudes towards inclusion in PE, perceived PE-related information sharing and children’s type of disability and degree of physical inclusion. Parents' satisfaction with pedagogical inclusion in PE was associated with their attitudes towards inclusion in PE, PE-related information sharing, and children's degree of disability and physical inclusion. Furthermore, the QR estimates indicated that the explanatory strength of parental attitudes and children’s type of disability varied with the degree of parents’ satisfaction

Physical activity in the everyday life of children: Exploring how intergenerational transfer of habitus frame boys and girls opporunity to generate and negotiate physical activity within their everyday life

Several indicators of social background and gender expectations are found to have an important impact on children’s physical activity patterns, yet few studies have explored intergenerational transfer of habitus through the use of triangulation of methods. The aim of this study is to explore how intergenerational transfer of habitus frames children’s opportunit to generate and negotiate physical activity in their everyday life. This is done by examining the relationship between children’s physical activity pattern’s and: parental capital, parental perception of gender appropriate sport, gender expectations, children’s housing, and children’s own experience with sports and physical activity in their everyday life. The empirical material is drawn from a one-year fieldwork conducted at a public elementary school located in Metro Manila, the Philippines, where I worked as a voluntary physical education teacher. A triangulation of methods has been utilized. Methods introduced consist of participatory observation of 385 pupils in grade 4 at the particular school, questionnaires given out to parents and children taking part in the study and in-depth interviews with 18 children

Parent-practitioner Collaboration in Norwegian Day-care Institutions: Perspectives from parents with and without children "with special needs"

Through qualitative analysis with basis in a theoretical framework constructed by perspectives from sociology of childhood and Foucault’s understanding of discursive power relations, this thesis contributes to in depth knowledge and critical analysis of parental perspectives and experiences with collaboration and communication with Norwegian day-care institutions. Building on concepts introduced in the field of sociology of childhood, childhood is in this thesis understood as a social construction produced and determined through historical and cultural processes. Drawing on a semi-structured focus group interview and seven semi-structured individual interviews with parents this thesis problematizes the relationship between professional and parental communication and their knowledge and understanding of concepts such as normal/abnormal and ‘children with special need’. The aim of these dialogues is to explore parents with and without children categorized as ‘with special needs’ experiences with parentpractitioner collaboration and how parents with children categorized as ‘with special needs’ are able to contribute and participate in the process of early identification and intervention of their children. This master thesis is written in connection with the project Children with (dis)ability. Practices and values in (Norwegian) day-care institutions (“Barn med ‘nedsatt’ funksjonsevne’. Praksiser og verdier i barnehagen”), financed by the Research Council of Norway. The project leader is Professor Randi Dyblie Nilsen at the Norwegian Centre for Child Research (NOSEB)

Implementering av Profesjon, progresjon og praksis i barnehagelærerutdanningen : Følgeforskning 1. studieår BLU, Universitetet i Sørøst-Norge : Delrapport 1

Universitetet i Sørøst-Norge (USN) er resultatet av en fusjon mellom tidligere Høgskolen i Vestfold og Buskerud og Høgskolen i Telemark. En viktig del av det faglige utviklingsarbeidet for den nye institusjonen var å samordne parallelle studieprogram og utvikle felles studieplaner. I barnehagelærerutdanningen (BLU) resulterte utviklingsprosjektet Fornye, bevare, kombinere – en samordnet barnehagelærerutdanning ved USN i en ny studieplan gjeldende fra høsten 2018. Den nye studieplanen inkluderer strukturen Profesjon, Progresjon og Praksis (PPP) som har som intensjon å sikre helhet, integrasjon og sammenheng i utdanningen. PPP formulerer en rekke tiltak for å sikre profesjonsprogresjon både i undervisning og i praksis som overordnede føringer for implementering av BLU på hver campus. Følgeforskerprosjektet «Profesjon, Progresjon og Praksis i barnehagelærerutdanningen ved Universitet i Sørøst-Norge» er et forskningsinitiativ gjennomført på oppdrag fra Visedekan for BLU ved USN. USN profesjon har bevilget midler til prosjektet, og Senter for barnehageforskning, utvikling og innovasjon (SEBUTI) var ansvarlig for gjennomføring av oppdraget. Følgende dokumenter utgjør utgangspunktet for følgeforskningsprosjektet: • Profesjon, Progresjon, Praksis ved Barnehagelærerutdanningen ved USN, versjon 2018 • Retningslinjer for praksis i barnehagelærerutdanningen Del 1 (felles) • Retningslinjer for praksis i barnehagelærerutdanningen Del 2 (lokale) • Partnerbarnehageavtale (USN, u.å.) • USN profesjo

Physical education-related home–school collaboration: The experiences of parents of children with disabilities

In this hermeneutic phenomenological study, we describe the physical education (PE)-related home–school collaboration as experienced by parents of children with disabilities. We further explore which conditions parents experienced as either promoting or inhibiting the collaborative relationship and how they became involved in school activities to secure quality education in PE. The data consisted of 25 semi-structured interviews with parents of children with disabilities. Inductive thematic analysis generated five themes: (1) lack of PE-related information; (2) contradictory expectations; (3) competence and continuous systematic communication; (4) involvement in school-based activity; and (5) navigating the system. PE was often absent in the formal collaboration between home and school. The conditions emphasised as inhibiting collaboration were lack of information, contradictory expectations, conflict over resources and short-sighted planning. The promoting conditions were continuous systematic communication, trust in the competencies of the school personnel, and joint problem solving and collaboration among professionals. The study illuminates the ways in which parents informally involved themselves in their children’s education and their use of various strategies to promote participation and quality in PE

Ethics in categorizing ethnicity and disability in research with children

The use of categories is a contested subject in social sciences. The use of social categories allows researchers to explore similarities, differences, and inequalities between groups of people. However, by using social categories, researchers run the risk of essentializing differences. The aim of this article is to problematize the procedural and relational ethics of using categories in research with children. Based on two research projects studying inclusion and exclusion in physical education, we examine the ongoing ethical dilemmas of categorizing children in terms of disability and ethnic background. The reflections are grounded in intersectional and relational ethical perspectives with a focus on how power is manifested in practices and structures throughout the research process. The data consist of field notes, transcripts of interviews with children and their parents, and the authors’ reflective accounts. The results are organized into three main themes: (1) How categories frame the research in its initial phases (informed consent and voluntary participation), (2) power relationships in context (navigating meanings of categories in the interviews and the relational ethics of generational ordering in combined interviews with children and their parents), and (3) (re)constructing stories and ensuring anonymity. In the discussion, we reflect on how singling out groups of children framed the research, how categories and power relations were negotiated and navigated in interviews and fieldwork, and how, in the reporting of the results, understandings of the children and their experiences were constructed. We argue that by not reflecting on the ethics of categorizing children in research, researchers are in danger of reproducing rather than challenging social inequality and discrimination