The aim of this project was to develop a product which gives one or more objects of daily use an additional function. Thru the creativity of children the object shall transform into a new source for play for pre-school children.The purpose of this work was to research how fantasy and free play of children could be enhanced. I wanted to know how I can motivate children to use their fantasy transforming objects into new sources for play.This was achieved by means of developing a number of different prototypes which I tested in Kindergarden. My observations lead to the development of a cloth-wrap for the chair which provides the required source for ongoing role-play. The chair suddenly transforms into a new landscape and multi-purpose object where children?s fantasy is stimulated and creative play is supported..

The purpose of this study is to gain knowledge about how teachers in preschool regard their participation in children's play. Through this study you will get an insight into how teachers' involvement affects children's learning. I have chosen to look at the study from a socio-cultural perspective.The study is based on qualitative interviews with four pre-school teachers.The result shows that teachers believe that it is important to attend in children's play to support, challenge and develop their play. One sees that teachers take different roles based on the needs of the children?s group, such as actively participate in the play, being a supportive teacher, serve as inspiration or to be an observer.

ABSTRACTA Qualitative Discursive Analysis of Eight Contemporary Geography BooksTeacher Training with an Intercultural Profile 2006Author: Susanne LjunglöfTutor: Jan-Eric MattsonThe aim of this paper is to describe which discourses concerning the different continents problems, future and development that I can find in the descriptions of the continents in a number of contemporary geography books.The aim has been divided in four questions:- Which aspects of the continents problems are expressed in these geography books?- Which impressions concerning the continents development and future are expressed in these geography books?- Which conceptions about the population in the different continents are expressed in these geography books?- Which cultural reference creates these discourses?The method used for conducting this study is a text analytical method called general discourse analysis.My conclusions:- The different continents problems, development and future are described through entirely diverse discourses.- The reviewed geography books take their origin i a western perspective in their description of the different continents.- As a reader it is always important to be aware of the ethnocentric perspective that could be expressed.

The purpose of this thesis is to examine which role public libraries play or could play within bibliotherapy. The study is based on qualitative interviews with five librarians who, in one way or another have experienced bibliotherapy activities. Further, we have interviewed two treatment assistants and one counsellor, who have cooperated with the librarians, to get their view. We have used the following research questions: Which bibliotherapeutic activities, if any, are pursued in public libraries in Sweden, and how do they look upon bibliotherapy? What role do public libraries play/could play within bibliotherapy? Ever since the term bibliotherapy was coined in the beginning of the twentieth century, the definition has been under debate. We have identified four main subjects of discussion.

The aim of this study is to increase knowledge and understanding of free play or free fun time importance for children of age around five years in preschool, in order to promote children?s development and learning. The focus was on exploring and better understanding of teacher?s and educators? approach to the free fun play time as a tool in their educational work, and also about their own role in this context as well as analyzing of forms, rules and structures spontaneously created by groups of children having free play fun time. Another important moment of this study was to give more light on approaches to this issue in education theories by Piaget, Vygotsky and Freud among others.As to the practical experimental part of the study it has been performed at a preschool and kindergarten in a suburb at the outskirts of Stockholm, with four employed educators there and with groups of children of age around five.

The purpose of this thesis is to examine which role public libraries play or could play within bibliotherapy. The study is based on qualitative interviews with five librarians who, in one way or another have experienced bibliotherapy activities. Further, we have interviewed two treatment assistants and one counsellor, who have cooperated with the librarians, to get their view. We have used the following research questions: Which bibliotherapeutic activities, if any, are pursued in public libraries in Sweden, and how do they look upon bibliotherapy? What role do public libraries play/could play within bibliotherapy? Ever since the term bibliotherapy was coined in the beginning of the twentieth century, the definition has been under debate. We have identified four main subjects of discussion.

Background: Living with stroke not only means coping with physical limitations, but a stroke also leads to other losses, which in various ways may change an individual?s life. A nurse can play a significant role in regards to consequences in the ordinary day of life for patients with stroke. Aim: The aim of this literature study was to describe patients? experiences living with stroke.

In today?s history teaching in Sweden, role-play and historical re-enactment receive littleattention. Even though many students find history as a subject boring and irrelevant, verylittle is done to improve the mode of teaching. My theses is that this could be done bypresenting new ways of teaching and at the same time find a way to make more studentsinterested in history. The main aim is to investigate if there are ways to offer students anexperience of history by carrying out different interactive exercises with a touch of roleplayand historical recreation.

As a leisure time pedagogue I find it hard to have an insight into what children are playing, and how they play when it comes to free play. My experience is that in some free play, conflicts arise, which reveal hierarchies and power structures containing violations, whereas other occasions of free play suddenly come to an end as the pedagogue interferes. In this essay I investigate my responsibility as a leisure time pedagogue during children´s free play, based on two differing play situations. I also investigate the play as a phenomenon by looking into previous research on children?s play and development psychology.

This is a qualitative study that explores how bilingual children develop their language through play. The study is based on observations and interviews conducted in a preschool located in a multicultural area of Stockholm.The purpose of using two qualitative methods; observations and interviews, was to get a bigger picture of the study area. The results of the study, illustrated through observations and interviews that I have conducted, shows that the game has great role for bilingual children's language development. Furthermore, the results show that the informants are aware of the importance of play for bilingual children's language development especially when they are talking about investing in the promotion of children's language by using different methods and materials in their pre activity for various games and activities.One of my conclusions is that bilingual children learn the language during both free play and structured play especially when educators are present and aware of the activities that they perform. It is also important to see children as individuals to cover all the needs of children at different activities.

The case method is a relatively new pedagogical method in Sweden that is based on students exercising their skills in the analysis of complex situations and problems that are based in reality and that help students to see a broader perspective and context.The purpose of this study has been to investigate, through interviews with students and teachers, the advantages and disadvantages of the case method in teaching geography.The results of the study show that both teachers and students share almost the same opinion. The conclusion is that the case method is a didactic method that is well suited for teaching geography, as it is based on reality and develops the students? ability to analyze, argue and find solutions in several areas within the subject of geography. If a student is strong in these skill areas they can really benefit from the application of the case method in the teaching of geography, but for students who are weaker in these skills, the case method can be a disadvantage.

The purpose of my study is to examine how four teachers reflect on free play and controlled play in preschool. What are their reflects concerning free play, controlled play and children?s development and education. The main focus of this research is the experiences of the teachers and I compare their perspectives against each other regarding free and controlled play.To be able to realize this study, I propose the following questions:What kind of vision does the teacher have concerning free play and controlled play?According to the teacher, how does playing affect the children?Which development areas are affected by participating in the play?This is a qualitative study, based on interviews with four teachers from two different preschools.

The purpose of this study is to create knowledge about the view on play and work with play in Nepal?s preschools. To do that I travelled to Nepal and interviewed people who had an insight in either work regarding play in preschools or the view on play. I used a kind of interview were the person I interviewed got the phenomenon ?play? to discuss and to reason about, without my values.

This thesis is based on research and observations of children on a preschool when playing in the free-play. What do the children choose to play with, when they get to choose for themselves? And how do they play? Do boys and girls together or do they divide themselves up? How important is the free-playing for the development of the child? Genus is also an important element which is interesting to observe and to see different patterns in. The abidance?s have been made while the children have been playing, and from discrete observations notes have been taken.I have been working with material, and literature from distinguished researchers within the subject.

In Swedish school library research, the role of the school library has seldom been studied in a subject-specific context. When it has been, the subject has usually been a theoretical subject such as Swedish or Social studies. The purpose of this master's thesis is to study what role or roles the school library can play in a different context, in the program-specific subjects at a trade oriented program in the Swedish upper secondary school, and to determine what factors affect the possibility for the school library to play a role in such a context. The Food Programme was selected as the specific program to be studied. In this program, the students learn a trade, in this case bakery, and the teaching in the program-specific subjects can be expected to be practical in nature.