This paper describes a qualitative study of preschool teachers' beliefs about heteronormativity and its role in preschool. The purpose of this study was to examine preschool teachers' ideas and beliefs about heteronormativity and the ways in which it manifests itself in preschool, and to investigate how they perceive the possibility and the need to work on issues related to heteronormativity in preschool. The study is qualitative and is conducted through interviews with preschool teachers, and analysis of information letters from preschools sent to parents. The analysis of the letters was intended to critically examine how words and language could be linked to the heteronormative and also to determine which subjects was conveyed in these everyday texts. The study is based on queer theory and social constructivism.

The objective of the present study was to highlight preschool children?s encounters with children?s literature, in a heterogeneous language context.  The idea was to identify significant features in the linkages between the reading of children?s literature, didactic activities and children?s learning, language development and emergent literacy activities.  Our interest was directed towards the activities connected with read-alouds, as well as the preschool teacher?s perceptions of those activities.  The empiric material was collected by use of participant observations of four read-aloud sessions. After the observations the preschool teacher in charge of the observed read-aloud was in-depth interviewed. In addition, the physical print environment in the actual preschool was observed. The results indicate that the physical and social reading environment interact with each other.  Furthermore, the preschool  teachers? approaches and ways of working with literature does not always optimize the language, literacy and content area  learning opportunities for the children.

The aim of this study is to examine what preschool teachers within Reggio Emilia inspired early childhood education express as important regarding the physical indoor environment in preschools. The study is implemented with a qualitative method and is based on four interviews with preschool teachers that have been involved in a course on Reggio Emilia. The interviews were complemented with four observations on the departments where the preschool teachers work. A second aim of this study is to examine how the relationship between the teachers statements correlate with the environment they have created at their preschool. The collected material was gathered and then categorized.

The main purpose of this study is to, in the educator?s point of view, try to find out how pre-schools approach science and technology along with Information and Communication Technology (ICT). The survey was conducted based on qualitative interviews where two preschools participated, a total of seven teachers were interviewed. One of the preschools only has access to a computer, and the other preschool is able to use both computer and tablets in their preschool activities. The results of this show that the teacher?s thoughts about ICT are positive and that they consider it as an important part of their work and have many areas where it is useful.

The purpose of this study is to examine how four teachers in preschool describe their view of conflicts between children from gender perspective. The theories associated with the study conclude that sex can be considered as being either biologically or socially engineered. The study consists of empirical material by the means of qualitative research based on interviews. The results of the study show different views on whether children's gender plays a role in a conflict. Furthermore, I have chosen to find out whether gender plays a role in conflict management as well as in the children's play at preschool, this to come to as qualitative conclusions as possible..

My essay is concerned with intercultural leadership and practical knowledge. The essay is about ethical dilemmas and the diversity of issues we face constantly at the preschool. In my story I examine the different views of knowledge and the opportunities to lead people in an intercultural way, and how they relate to each other. I start by looking at the ethical ideas that form the basis for our actions and our view of knowledge. Then, I examine how the practical wisdom guides the ethical dilemmas that arise at the preschool.

The purpose of this study is to examine how pre-school teachers think about the importance of circle time in regard to the child's language and social development from a sociocultural perspective. Furthermore the study will include what role the educators? have during the circle time.To answer our purpose we have chosen the following question:What is the role of the teachers in the circle time?What are the teacher?s thoughts about the circle time?s importance to children's social development?What are the teacher?s thoughts about the circle time?s importance to children's language development?The study is constructed on qualitative methods, where we conducted structured interviews with six preschool teachers and observed their circle time to collect our empirical material. The study is also based on Vygotsky's sociocultural perspective which says that all learning takes place through relations and interaction with other people in the cultural context you are in. The results have shown that pre-school teachers are aware of the circle time?s importance to children?s development, and purposely plan the circle time to give children the opportunity to develop both socially and linguistically skills..

AbstractThe purpose of this paper was to examine preschool teacher?s thoughts about using Manual Signs as Alternative and Augmentative Communication as an aid for children in/with communication disabilities. The method I?ve used in the survey is qualitative interview.The three interviewed preschool teachers use Manual Signs foremost for those children who have a poorly developed spoken language. Manual Signs are used as a complement to the spoken language and the preschool teachers use it to increase the children?s power of concentration.

AbstractThis study was meant to cast a light on the use of music-instruments that exists in preschool environments today. Furthermore the purpose was to find out if instruments first and foremost, actually did exist, and what thoughts had been put behind that decision. The focus was directed towards the preschool teachers and their attitudes towards music instruments among preschool children, at the ages 3 to 5 years. The purpose of the study was to understand how preschool teachers thought of activities where music instruments where used. The study was made from interviews with six different preschool teachers from different preschools.

This study presents some teachers' views on whether today's school is a school for everybody or not. It has also looked into what special resources that are put in for children in special needs. The purpose of this study is to find out some teachers' views and thoughts on the concept of "an Education for everybody" and how these teachers said they worked with children in special needs. After taking part of and processed recent research results and literature, I chose to examine this through qualitative interviews. I interviewed three teachers, one primary school teacher, one special education teacher and one preschool teacher.The conclusions were that the concept of education could be understood in different ways.

The Swedish early childhood system is considered among the best in the world, however, in spite of this, we feel that there exists a conflict between educators? and parents? expectations of ?a good preschool?. During our teacher education training we have observed many different preschools and almost in all of them we have listened to anecdotes about one or more conflicts arising between educators and parents and which we have been able to pinpoint toward differing expectations. After talking with a preschool director, who also perceives that expectations of the preschool aims sometimes differ, our idea brought us to conduct this investigation.In this study, we have investigated parents? expectations of preschool and compared them with educators? expectations.

In this essay I have chosen to explore how computers are used in preschools. The study was done as a survey. How does preschool seize the children´s culture? In today´s society ICT and computers are a big part of children´s everyday life and reflects on their upbringing.Since I am using computers as a pedagogical tool in teaching the children at my preschool, I find this topic interesting to explore.Are the teacher´s using computers for an educational purpose with the children at preschools or are they using it in other ways?Do the teachers think they have the required knowledge to computers usage in teaching the children in a pedagogical way?What is the teacher´s attitude towards computers in preschool?The essay starts with a introductorial background section where I talk about my own experiences of using computers with the children in my preschool, and then referring to the society then and now, school law, curriculum, teachers' computer skills, media situation amongst children and young people, computer use in preschools/schools and health effects. I have composed a survey based on the answers of 50 teachers in 30 different preschools and in nine different municipalities.The result of the survey is reported and concludes with a part of discussion, where the results are put up against the introductorial background section.

This study deals with teachers ideas about the physical environment of a mobile preschool and how it affects children?s learning. The essay describes how the preschool bus is decorated and how a normal day works in the mobile bus. The survey was based on the following questions:Are there disadvantages and advantages in terms of physical environment in the mobile preschool from an educator based perspective?What are the teacher?s thoughts about the impact on children?s learning in terms of the physical environment on the bus?Summary: To answer my questions I have participated in activities during the day and I have used the interviews to find out the teachers thoughts.

I begin my essay with a story that illustrates how a preschool activity organized on a modular work can be perceived. I describe how the environment has been rebuilt and modified to accommodate one large group of children instead of two smaller groups as before. Management´s justification for the change is that it is carried out to give the children better conditions for their learning, but my understanding is that it also hampers preschool-teachers´ abilities to implement their assignment.I try to understand what benefits module work by examining what well-known researchers believe is important for children´s learning in environmental and preschool teacher´s importance. When I use what I have learned to analyze my story, my opinion is that the change of the preschool activity not have just a positive impact but also entails that preschool teachers find it difficult to be present and in interaction with the children as several well-known researchers notes is important for children´s learning. I discuss how a large and rich environment at the same time can be perceived as incalculable for teachers, which can result in not all of the children being paid attention to in the preschool activity.

The purpose of this thesis is to study how preschool teachers can reach the goal of the swedish educational plan to prevent traditional gender roles for children ages 3-6 through drama in education.This is answered by four hypothesis based on Judith Butler's queer theory, George Herbert Mead's social psychological theory and Gavin Bolton and Dotothy Heathcotes drama pedagogical theories. The hypotheses are tested against four teachers' examples of their work.The hypotheses areHypothesis 1: By using the expert's mantle and active observation in teacher-in-role indrama educational exercises, we can see how the children internalize the heterosexualmatrix and the outline of the internalized other.Hypothesis 2: By using the "mistakes" that occur when children repeat performativeacts that do not fit with the heterosexual matrix, these other possible behaviors can bestrengthenedHypothesis 3: Through drama exercises that are not normative teachers can widen theheterosexual matrixHypothesis 4: Through drama pedagogical methods like teacher-in-role teachers canprovide possibilities of other performative acts and the creation of a more tolerantinternalized other.The analysis show that the respondents work within all these hypotheses in different ways and thathypotheses 2 is the one with the weakest support in the interwievs. The examples are also weakregarding the use of Boltons drama pedagogical methods, but that there are a number of othermethods in use.Some of the conclusions are that more theoretical knowledge in the preschool drama pedagogics tocounteract traditional gender roles and patterns, as well as the drama of educational theory need tobe linked to queer and social psychology research. There is also no monitoring of the long term effects of the work..