To Örebro University

The first Swedish preschool for young children was established in 1836 to provide a practical solution to the problem of child supervision during the Industrial Revolution. During this period of intense industrialization, women began working in urban factories and thus required daytime childcare. A century later, in the 1930s, the Swedish idea of family policy was challenged by sociologists Alva and Gunnar Myrdal. They had a political vision of public childcare and championed a scientific approach to child development. A social pedagogical preschool was developed, emphasizing children’s right to an inspiring environment outside of the home. National reforms were implemented, establishing child health centers, child benefits for all children, and municipal grants for preschool teachers’ salaries.

This paper examines contemporary issues in early childhood teacher education in Sweden. The aim of the study was to explore dimensions of the construct of preschool teachers' competence as reported by 810 students enrolled in early childhood teacher education at 15 Swedish universities. The results showed that students' definitions of preschool teacher competence were composed of six different dimensions: a general pedagogical competence, specific content competence, distinct teacher competence, play competence, competence of child perspective, and collaborative and social competence. In general, there were quite large variations in how students perceived the concept of preschool teacher competence and the extent to which they believed they developed these competences during the course of their education. The different dimensions of preschool teacher competence are discussed in relation to the content of the early childhood teacher education in Sweden, the curriculum for the preschool and the concept of professionalism in Early Childhood Education and Care.

The aim of this study was to investigate, analyze and describe how preschool teachers experience the educational support for children in need of special support. In this interview study, the preschool teachers emphasize educational support to children in need of special support from two perspectives. In the first perspective, the preschool teachers stated that they don't do anything unique for children in need of special support, versus the view that the children need and receive more help from the staff in everyday preschool activities. In the second perspective, the preschool teachers point out the specific educational support within two themes, indirect and direct support. This study has implications for both practice and theory as it increases the knowledge and understanding about educational support that children in need of special support are offered in preschool today.