In a society where adults set the conditions for children?s play and generate modern and at times technically advanced products, fundamental characteristics like simplicity, opportunities for motor skills training and learning tend to be neglected. Owing to this, the Linköping-based company Time In wants to introduce a new multifunctional product, which differs from other products in shape and function and lives up to the often overlooked, basic characteristics in a toy.With Time In as the assigner, the purpose of this master thesis has been to use simple means to produce a "learning by playing" concept. Since Time In sells toys and products suitable for children in nurseries and Preschools, the development of the products has therefore included a study of nursery and preschool environments.The thesis has been carried out within the Product Design subject area at the Department of Management and Engineering at Linköping University. Concept development has been done in three phases: the Preparation phase, the Design phase and the Presentation phase.

The purpose of this study has been to examine reading habits and the use of the library by pre­school teachers in a mainly multicultural community, and also explore to what extent activities in the local library are aimed at preschoolers.The study used a sociocultural approach based on Vygotsky?s theories of learning and development and Söderbergh?s theory of early childhood language development, and was carried out during the summer 2009. The methodology used was both quantitative and qualitative, with a combination of questionnaires and interviews. Questionnaires were sent out to each section of the municipal pre­schools within the catchments area of the local public library in a multicultural suburb of Uppsala. Three short interviews were carried out with staff at the local and main library branches, as well as library staff at the County Council.The results show that, although preschool teachers find reading important in their work, many teachers read spontaneously and/or sporadically.

Media brings attention to the concept of Preschools being in large need of more male teachers. In order to implement an increase of male teachers, various methods have been employed, most of which are based on the concepts of gender and equality. In question however, are the views of present teachers on the need for male teachers, and their expectations of those men! Or in other terms: What particular type of men are requested? And how does this correspond with the gender patterns induced by male teachers in their daily practical work? The purpose of this survey is to analyze expectations of male teachers and their role in the preschool context, through a gender perspective. I want to shed light on this purpose based on two questions: What ?kind? of men are requested by the present teachers? and Which gender patterns will the men induce to their daily work chores, and to their interaction with the children? The survey was conducted by means of interviews, polls, and observations, and the results were obtained from two Preschools of which one in particular has extended focus on gender issues.

In the context of world globalization, Sweden has today become a multicultural society, where many different cultures, religions, values and approaches are trying to co-exist. When the Swedish government's integration policy was put into effect, one sought to open the way for a more peaceful coexistence between majority and minority people. The intention was that everyone, through mutual interaction, would learn to come together and learn to respect each other's differences. It was suggested that an intercultural approach should permeate all education, including preschool activity. There are particular guidelines for a culture and tradition promotion work within the preschool in the new revised curriculum (Lpfö 98, rev.

Today's planning strategy, densification of cities, makes it difficult for municipal authorities to find spaces to build Preschools and daycare centers on. The Planning and Building Act , Chapter 8, § 9 states that " if the site should be developed with buildings that contain one or more dwellings or premises for after-school , preschool, school or other activities, it should be on the property or near it, enough free space which is suitable for play and being outdoors. " Each municipality has to define the expression enough free space and a number of municipalities have established guidelines for preschool and daycare centers concerning dimensions. The guidelines measure the number of square meters of free space per child with the aim of contributing to a qualitative environment. But the size is just one quality and the issue is how other non-quantifiable qualities are taken into account in the planning process. The paper compares three municipalities, Gothenburg, Malmö and Lund.

Background: Sweden has become a society with a multicultural population. Many children start Preschools with different backgrounds and experiences. Teachers today face the task of meet those children in the best way. Södertörn University has a special profile on their teacher education, the intercultural profile.Aims: My report focuses on teachers who have been working in Preschools for about one to two years after graduating from the intercultural education at Södertörn University. The report aims at finding out more about their experiences and thoughts about the intercultural approach after having worked in the Swedish preschool with a special focus on the intersectional perspective on cultural phenomena class, gender and ethnicity.

Syftet med studien är att få en djupare förståelse för hur lunchmåltiden ser ut på förskolor med olika pedagogiska inriktningar. Detta får vi genom att undersöka om man kan se spår av dessa under måltidssituationen. I studien tar vi även reda på vilka spår av Lpfö 98 som framkom under lunchsituationen. Inriktningarna som ingår i arbetet är Montessori, Reggio Emilia och ?I ur och skur?.

The aim of the study is to investigate how pedagogues working with gesticulation and facial expressions to communicate with children aged 3-5 years. The methods used are observations as well as interviews of educators. My empricial evidence was collected on two different Preschools in Värmland County. The pedagogues are dealing with body language in a conscious way by collections as they sing and they reinforce feelings of characters support. In my conclusion I have come come to the conclusion that there is no difference on how male and female educators use gesticulation and facial expressions without its personality traits and body language often are unconsciously in conversations with children..

The aim of the study is to investigate how pedagogues working with gesticulation and facial expressions to communicate with children aged 3-5 years. The methods used are observations as well as interviews of educators. My empricial evidence was collected on two different Preschools in Värmland County. The pedagogues are dealing with body language in a conscious way by collections as they sing and they reinforce feelings of characters support. In my conclusion I have come come to the conclusion that there is no difference on how male and female educators use gesticulation and facial expressions without its personality traits and body language often are unconsciously in conversations with children..

Bakgrund: Folkhälsan i Sverige beror till viss del på befolkningens matvanor. Matvanor grundläggs i de tidiga åren vilket ger den offentliga miljön, exempelvis förskolor, stora möjligheter att skapa goda förutsättningar för barnens matvanor. På såväl global som nationell nivå finns flera styrdokument som berör barns matvanor och hälsa. Det debatteras ofta vilka risker befolkningens matvanor innebär. Vi ville öka förståelsen för matens möjligheter genom ett salutogent perspektiv.

Vårt syfte med studien var att undersöka om och i så fall hur lärare arbetar medvetet med genus i litteraturen. Vi ville undersöka vilka böcker barn i två förskolor och elever i år 2 i två skolor väljer att läsa och vilka genusstrukturer dessa böcker visar upp. För att få våra frågeställningar besvarade har vi använt oss av halvstrukturerade intervjuer med fyra lärare, gjort boklistor på böcker barn i förskolorna har tillgång till och eleverna i skolorna läser, samt gjort textanalyser ur ett genusperspektiv av åtta av de mest populära barnböckerna i vårt material. Resultatet visar att de fyra intervjuade lärarna arbetar mycket med litteratur, men inte i någon större utsträckning utifrån ett genusperspektiv. De väljer eller påverkar inte heller elevernas val utifrån genus nämnvärt.

We live in a society where the technology has an enormous role in our lives. The average age of using digital tools among Swedish people is down to a very young age. In the recent period of time there has been much debate about tablets and their use in Preschools. The aim of this study is to examine the preschool teachers experiences and perceptions of tablet use and how the implementation of the tablets benefits the school activities. What is central to this research is not how kids use the tablet, but how educators are using the tablet device as supplement for children?s development.

The reason I am writing this essay is due to my curiosity on how children are interested in and how their understanding in geometry is at preschool years.My interest lies in children and arithmetic and especially geometry, which is something I belive that children deal with a great deal in their everyday routines, both in school and at home.What do children do when they work with geometry, and are they aware of what they do? To figure this out, I have taken my findings from three different interviews that I have done atmy preschool with a group of children that have been preselected.I am also curious about whether there is a difference in different types of schools. In this essay I have compared the preschool I work with a Montessori school and a third type of schoolwhere the children spends most of their day´s outdoors called ?Ur och Skur?In my results I can not see any major differences in these three Preschools work with mathematics. The childrens knowledge is at a similar level and the work with geometry hasbeen implemented in a similar way..

Abstract   In this thesis, my aim was to investigate how preschool teachers view their involvement in children's free play. In order to answer this, I chose to do semi-structured interviews with four preschool teachers in three different Preschools. My interviews has revealed similarities and support for as how history of research looks at the involvement of educationists. Both research and my results stresses the importance of being active in children's free play and to be a supportive teacher, particulary in conflict situations. For those children who have difficulty entering into the free game its the educationists task to co-play and help the children find the game.

The reason I am writing this essay is due to my curiosity on how children are interested in and how their understanding in geometry is at preschool years.My interest lies in children and arithmetic and especially geometry, which is something I belive that children deal with a great deal in their everyday routines, both in school and at home.What do children do when they work with geometry, and are they aware of what they do? To figure this out, I have taken my findings from three different interviews that I have done atmy preschool with a group of children that have been preselected.I am also curious about whether there is a difference in different types of schools. In this essay I have compared the preschool I work with a Montessori school and a third type of schoolwhere the children spends most of their day´s outdoors called ?Ur och Skur?In my results I can not see any major differences in these three Preschools work with mathematics. The childrens knowledge is at a similar level and the work with geometry hasbeen implemented in a similar way..