This study deals with play and the importance of meaning of play in the learning process. The aim is to look in to and analyze four preschool teacher´s beliefs and views about the importance of play for children´s learning and development. The study looks at two different preschools, one based on Reggio Emilia- and the other on Montessori- pedagogy, and the aim is to compare the different views and ways of working that the preschool educators have.The theoretical basis for this study is both rooted in a socio-cultural and constructivist perspective, and deals with the relationships between theoretical concepts mean as play, learning, way of working and pedagogy.The study is based on qualitative research methods that consist of interviews and participant observations. The person?s participants in the study consisted of four active preschool educators, who work in two different preschools.The results of the investigation show that the educators have similar views on the importance of play for the children´s learning process, and this also applies to their way of working.

This is the report on a study made to find a correlation between the Johari window and the games that the possessor of given Johari window enjoys to play. A Johari window is a graph that shows an individual?s ability to receive and give feedback. One obvious correlation was found between individuals enjoying role playing games and their possessing Johari windows showing a good ability to give feedback. The reasoning behind this is that the ability to give feedback is based on the capability to express oneself to the external environment, and that one would need to be comfortable with expressing oneself to an external environment in order to enjoy interacting with the narrative that takes place within the role playing genre..

The purpose of my study is to describe how educators think about the play environment, the nature and its importance for the children's development and learning in preschool. The study is based on qualitative interviews with four active educators. The results of the study show that the teachers regarded the children's interests to a great extent when the different play environments were structured. They are also based on different themes that they have seen that the children were interested in, such as the fire station, hair salon or shop and café. Educators designing not only these play areas for different types of play for the children, but the different environments also have a learning purpose. The outdoor environment however attracts greater interest from children, to where they have more space to move freely in and outdoors, there are no limits to the children.

The purpose of this study is to gain increased understanding of managers´ attitudes and knowledge about its role in the internal organizational communication. We want to understand how managers define dialogue and further understand the role that dialogue plays for managers. We want to see whether the different managers highlight some common foundations or differences in the dialogue. With the help of the following two questions we wish to understand managers´ relationship to the dialogue within the internal organizational communication: -What meaning does the dialogue have for managers in the private sector?-What role does the dialogue play in the internal organizational communication according to these managers? We use qualitative interviews as the data collection method of our material. Using material from the interviews and mainly in accordance with William Isaacs? theory of dialogue, wecan answer our questions. The result shows that managers' views on the dialogue in many cases are similar to Isaacs? vision but differs in part. The managers believe that employees are there to contribute to the company.

This master thesis deals with the problem of integrated libraries. The number of integrated public and school libraries has significantly increased over time. These libraries are integrated for different reasons, most often because of economic considerations. The goal of the thesis is to investigate librarians´ understanding and perceptions of the professional role in this type of integrated libraries. I have investigated how librarians see and interpret their own professional role, and what factors influence their perceptions in an integrated library.The three main questions are: How do the librarians explain their professional role in an integrated library? How does their professional role change because of the fact that they work in an integrated environment? What factors, according to the librarians, influence and/or change the professional role mostly? The data has been collected through interviews with eight librarians at integrated libraries.

The aim of this study is to examine metaphors and what may be perceived as motif-circuits in Stig Dagerman?s play Den dödsdömde (The Man Condemned to Death) and the two short stories ?Den dödsdömde? (The Man Condemned to Death) and ?Mannen från Milesia? (The Man from Milesia). My intention is to discuss a single theme and identity-marks that unites all three works, using Paul Ricoeur?s The Rule of Metaphor (La mêtaphore vive) as well as the ?thematic critique? of Jean-Pierre Richard.What is metaphor for Ricoeur is for Richard themes (theme): an organizing principle, a sort of schedule around which a world is constituted. Hence, I find similarities between the motif-circuits, Ricoeur?s metaphor-theory and Richards?s themes.

The aim of our study is to examine stepparents´experiences of their role in the new family, we also want to examine if the role as stepparent is affected to the role as a biological parent. Our study is based on six semi-structured interviews, with three stepmothers and three stepfathers.By using role theory and symbolic interactionism our results indicate the requirement of constant negotiation as well as acknowledging the need to consider the other familymembers, those you may not have chosen to live with.We can see that the division of responsibility is governed by what is best for the family - to make life as easy as possible. It is clear that many stepparent lack guidance in what is expected of them in their new role; howeverr, they have been able to grow into it.  .

The aim of this study is to observe Swedish preschool children in their natural habitat and without any intervention. Four different observations are made and thereafter analyzed. Throughout the whole study the subject of interest is the children's communication in their play. Children can communicate with each other in various ways, for instance with speech and without speech, i.e. with their physical language, aesthetic and multi language.

The aim of this study is to examine metaphors and what may be perceived as motif-circuits in Stig Dagerman?s play Den dödsdömde (The Man Condemned to Death) and the two short stories ?Den dödsdömde? (The Man Condemned to Death) and ?Mannen från Milesia? (The Man from Milesia). My intention is to discuss a single theme and identity-marks that unites all three works, using Paul Ricoeur?s The Rule of Metaphor (La mêtaphore vive) as well as the ?thematic critique? of Jean-Pierre Richard.What is metaphor for Ricoeur is for Richard themes (theme): an organizing principle, a sort of schedule around which a world is constituted. Hence, I find similarities between the motif-circuits, Ricoeur?s metaphor-theory and Richards?s themes.

In a time of increasing urbanization the human tenure effects on the land has lead to a decrease and fragmentation of areas that are valuable to urban wildlife. These actions have had a detrimental effect on the species and habitats that exist in cities and towns.This paper investigates, through the study of relevant literature and the undertaking of interviews and field visits, the role that biodiversity plays in our society. The current attitude towards urban biodiversity and the responsibility for its promotion within the landscape architect profession has been explored.This paper includes three English case studies and a design proposal investigating how one can work to promote biodiversity on a smaller scale.This paper concludes that urban biodiversity is multi-functional ? being of ecological, social and cultural significance. The landscape architecture profession must be aware of the need to combine a variety of different factors such as economical, social and environmental aspects.

The aim of the study was to investigate peer interaction among toddlers 12 to 30 months of age and the teachers? ways to direct the children?s play in outdoor free play situations in a Swedish preschool. Data was gathered through direct observation, and the phenomenology of Merleau-Ponty in combination with the assumption of children as social actors built the theoretical framework of the study. The results showed that the toddlers used different strategies to invite peers to interaction and made use of strategies in entering ongoing play that previously have been observed among older preschoolers. These strategies, bodily and therefore in accordance with the phenomenological approach, support the assumption of toddlers as social actors that actively engage in and make sense of their life worlds in the preschool.

The aim of this study is to investigate how preschool teachers reason about gender stereotypical and gender neutral toys and other material. I would also like to see how the pedagogues reason about gender segregation when it comes to toys. To investigate the issue, I have interviewed three pedagogues from different preschools. The results showed that the work procedures differed a bit from school to school, although they all wanted to achieve the same goal. A goal that our curriculum mention as well: Not to make a difference between boys and girls.

The study is of qualitative research method, where the interviews are the main material for the study. This study aims to analyze teachers and pupils perspectives on outdoor education in the early years of the elementary school. The main reason for this study is that all the literature in the area tends to lift up the positive aspects of the field. While the practice of education tends to go the other way, where the majority of our children?s classes takes place inside the classrooms.

Aniara is a versified epos written by Harry Martinson in 1956. The story is about a large group of people who are being evacuated from earth to Mars because the earth is radiated. However something goes wrong. They fall out of course and end up on a never ending journey in space.This essay examines the relations between the eposAniara and Lars Rudolfssons dramatization for Stockholm City Theater, played during the fall/winter of 2010. Through performativity and narrative theories I analyze narrations and characterization in the text and in the play.

The aim of this studyhas been to capture preschool children's strategies, when they include and exclude each other in play. My aim was also to find out how children choose to integrate into an already existing game. My questions were: What strategies are used by the children at the preschool when they want to exclude or include each other? How to integrate the children when they want to be involved in an ongoing game and how they will be received during the time of play? My theoretical starting points are from Vygotsky's theory of proximal development zone, and Michel Foucault's perspective on power, and also research on the subject.The empirical study was conducted using the observations at two preschools. The children I observed were between four to five years old.The results show that children used different strategies, and when the strategy did not work so the child could switch to another.