To Örebro University

Research aims: The overall aim is to develop strategies and knowledge about multilingual children’s conditions to learn Swedish as well as emergent literacy skills in Swedish preschools. The aim is also to develop and pilot-test the analysis tool, Social Language Environment - Domain, SLE-D (Norling, 2015).

Relationship to previous research works: Previous studies have investigated preschool staff approaches regarding the emergent literacy environment (Girolametto et al., 2007; Harle & Trudeau, 2006; Jacobs, 2004). However, research investigating preschool staff´s descriptions of how they support multilingual children’s emergent literacy processes, as well as approaches in the social language environment, is lacking.

Theoretical and conceptual framework: The analysis of data is based on theoretical foundations of bioecological and sociocultural theory (Barton, 2007; Bronfenbrenner, 1999; Vygotsky, 1962).

Paradigm, methodology and methods: The research project is carried out in collaboration between researcher and twenty four preschool teachers in Sweden. The development project has a mixed methods design where the preschool teachers participate in circle groups as well as scoring eighteen emergent literacy dimensions.

Ethical Considerations: The study was carried out in accordance with the ethical principles of social sciences research (Ministry of Education and Research, 2003:469). Preschool teachers were personally and written informed about the research project and relevant ethical considerations.

Main finding or discussion: Results regarding preschool staffs scoring, analysis and priority dimensions of language learning conditions for multilingual children in Swedish preschools will be presented.

Implications, practice or policy: This paper will contribute better understanding, how preschool teachers develop didactic as well as constructive strategies regarding multilingual children´s conditions for literacy learning in Swedish preschools.