This article explores how local preschool managers – that is principals, heads of childcare and education departments, and chairs of childcare and education political committees – understand their gender equality mission. It is based on three focus groups with thirteen participants in three Swedish municipalities. Theoretically, the article conceptualises gender equality as simultaneously an ‘empty signifier’ and organisational process. The analysis shows that preschool managers understand gender equality on three levels: state/politically; municipal/organisationally; and practically/pedagogically. Based on the results of the empirical analyses, we suggest that further gender equality work in preschools needs to: find a balance between politicisation and administration; be organised horizontally and allow for knowledge transformation; and be actively led by preschool principals in order to not make pre-school teachers responsible for implementing the gender equality duty.
The aim of this study is to generate new knowledge of the educationalpractice of a pre-school and of how it may contribute to the understandingof doing gender. The ethnographic study examines the place and practiceof a Steiner Waldorf pre-school, and it focuses specifically on materiality,age, spirituality and the intentions of the pre-school teachers. Fieldworkhas been conducted for a period of one and a half years in one pre-school.The methods used are mainly participant observation and interviews withthe pre-school teachers. The results highlight the importance of the materialand spatial dimensions of the pre-school for the constitution of children’sgender. The concepts of performativity and ritualization have beenused as the main analytical tools. The study draws on the scope of theseconcepts as understood by Judith Butler and Catherine Bell.
On the basis of the analysis of the empirical material, a theoretical concept,situated decoding of gender, is suggested. It is argued that what atfirst glance can be interpreted as a ‘female universe’, turns out to be a placewhere gender is made non-relevant through an unintentional, yet powerfulongoing process of naturalization. The situated decoding of gender is madepossible because of certain features in this pre-school. Firstly, a repetitivestructure characterizing educational practice has been observed. This isbased on a principle of rhythm reciprocally related to the alternations betweencontinuity and change. Secondly, there is a clear spatial and materialdemarcation that the study argues makes the pre-school an enclosed space,in the sense of being a place of nurturing and protection, where the boundariesbetween home and pre-school are maintained. Thirdly, the performativeforce of the ritualized preschool practices further enhances the decodingof gender. The ritualization highlights and supports the spiritual dimensionin the pedagogy, which sidelines the doing of gender. Fourthly, theteachers contributed to the decoding of gender through the consistency oftheir everyday actions.
Det ställs högre krav på universitetslärare som undervisar på lärarutbildningen att inte enbart besitta fördjupad ämneskunskap utan också vara ett föredöme som pedagog. Det gäller särskilt om man som lärarutbildare undervisar om feministiska och kritiska pedagogiker; för att behålla sin trovärdighet bör läraren själv gestalta en undervisning som genomsyras av dessa pedagogikers grundläggande principer som innefattar a) maktper-spektiv b) holistiskt lärande c) mångfaldstänkande och d) social förändring (Enns & Forrest 2005). En viktig del i sådan undervisning är att det finns möjlighet för studenterna att ha inflytande över sin utbildning, både genom påverka seminariernas utformning och det kursinnehåll som tas upp. De dominerande traditionerna och institutionella ramarna under vilken lärarutbildningen inordnas bidrar dock till att försvåra detta. Även studenternas syn på lärande och vilket ansvar de själva har för att skapa en öppensinnad och välfungerande seminariekultur är av stor betydelse. Läraren har oundvikligen en maktposition inte minst genom att vara den som bedömer och betygsätter studenternas prestationer. Samtidigt sker en förskjutning av makt då studenterna ges alltmer inflytande och ansvar att själva hållai seminarierna. Frågan är dock vilka studenter som har (och ges) förutsättningar att ta utrymme på seminarierna. Hur kan vi undvika att idealet om att ”ha högt i tak” på seminarierna inte utmynnar i att studenterna kränker varandra med nedsättande kommentarer? Hur kan lärarutbildare ta tillvara studenternas egna erfarenheter på seminarierna utan att vissa individer förväntas agera som representanter för sitt kön eller annan social kategori? Syftet med min presentation är att skildra den feministiska pedagogens utmaningar genom att med utgångspunkt i de ovan nämnda principerna undersöka studenters möjligheter till inflytande i sin utbildning samt hur det kommer till uttryck i lärarutbildningens seminarier.
I denna populärvetenskapliga artikel diskuteras hur föreställningen om en könsseparerad lekvärld fortfarande lever kvar i förskolan och bidrar till att pedagoger har olika förväntningar på hur flickor och pojkar leker och med vad. I leken skapas, upprätthålls och utmanas olika könsbundna lekmönster och pedagoger behöver därför fråga sig vilka slags lekar som flickor och pojkar uppmuntras att leka.
I denna populärvetenskapliga artikel presenteras och problematiseras de vanligaste pedagogiska strategierna som används i jämställdhetsarbeten i förskolan. Dessa är baserade på kompensatorisk genuspedagogik och normkritisk pedagogik. I min forskningsstudie på en waldorfförskola framkom att pedagogerna använde ytterligare strategier som utgår från ett situerat könsavkodande, där olika aspekter av kön görs icke-relevant. Denna strategi diskuteras också och vidare redogörs det för olika delar av jämställdhetsarbetet i förskolan såsom interaktion, undervisning, rum och material, yttre ramfaktorer och självarbete.
Food is an important sustainability issue. It is a politically and emotionally charged subject, raising complex questions that entail varying interrelated themes - ranging from health and identity to environmental problems and globalization. Free school lunches for all pupils in Swedish primary and secondary schools provide unique opportunities to promote healthier and more sustainable food and eating habits. Drawing on John Dewey’s educational philosophy and a didactic model of sustainability commitment, the aim of the study is to explore the challenges and possibilities of integrating the school meal in environmental and sustainability education (ESE).
The study is based on semi-structured interviews with pupils, teachers, and school kitchen staff in four schools in Sweden.
The results show that the school meal, as a common everyday experience, can provide concrete food-related examples addressing both the social, environmental, and economic dimension of sustainable development and highlight various content areas such as (un)sustainable food production and consumption, global and local food cultures, and food waste. However, to support the pupils’ sustainability commitment, the teacher must offer a variety of learning experiences. For instance, engaging the pupils in meaningful hands-on exercises and experiments as well as offering theoretical and problem-solving discussions.
It is concluded that rethinking school meal as a pedagogical tool for ESE instead of viewing it as merely a lunch break is possible, but it requires that the teacher has sufficient knowledge about food as a sustainability issue.
The aim of this study is to explore the educator’s role in enhancing young children’s participation while developing their artistic expressions, knowledge, and skills in dance education. According to research, EC educators’ limited knowledge and skills to teach dance leads to focusing on the joy of movement at the expensive of broadening children’s repertoire of movements and awareness of aesthetic qualities (Pastorek Gripson et al. 2022:351). The study is drawing on the work of Isadora Duncan (1928) and Rudolf Laban (1948) as well as the Deweyan concept of aesthetic experience (Dewey 1987). The data is based on interviews with three EC educators and their long-standing documentation of dance teaching. It consists of films, photographs, and transcripts. The analysis of data was a multi-staged process. It was conducted together with the educators through an abductive theme analysis, as a part of a learning evaluation within an action research paradigm (Svensson et al. 2009). All the children’s guardians signed consent forms. Attending dance sessions was voluntary. All the filming and photographing were made by the participants as a part of their everyday practice. The participants’ names are replaced with pseudonyms. The findings demonstrate how the teaching evolves from and challenges children’s interests. Various dance genres were systematically introduced to inspire and educate. Children and educators were mirroring each other in dance improvisations. They choreographed dance tales together based on toddlers’ movements. Finally, an open-ended model for teaching dance is presented, consisting of five parts: Introduction - Inspiration – Improvisation - Instruction – Involvement.
This article is based on data generated in an ethnographic study of gender in a Swedish preschool. Drawing on Judith Butler’s understanding of performativity and (un)doing of gender, a new theoretical concept, situated decoding of gender, is further developed by showing how the material and spatial dimension of the educational practice and the teachers’ actions contribute to establishing and maintaining this process in an early childhood educational setting. Instead of normalising the gender binary, a reverse process occurs that turns what is perceived as feminine or masculine into a gender decoded state in which gender is made less relevant, or even irrelevant. It is argued that this continuous reiterative process emerges and is maintained by three main factors: a) the preschool’s physical environment, b) the regular and repetitive structure of the educational practice and c) the consistent actions of the teachers in the everyday practice.
Drawing on the concept of school foodscape, the aim of this study is to examine pupils' perceptions and experiences of vegetarian school food in order to gain a deeper understanding of children's food choices and how it can change. Twenty-three semi-structured group interviews with 76 pupils in three schools have been analysed. The results show that the pupils' main reasons for choosing or rejecting vegetarian food differed from those of adults. Resistance towards vegetarian school food was not based on prejudices against vegetarianism, but on various taste and recognition factors. Instead of health and environmental reasons, the pupils highlighted different animal ethical reasons. The students' perceptions reflected their families’ norms and values of food and eating, rather than their gender. Finally, pedagogical implications of the results are discussed.
This chapter focuses on the pedagogical potential of the school meal. The qualitative study presented is based on data from a three-year research project. The aim of the study is to examine how the school meal can be integrated into teaching various subjects in primary school. The following research questions are answered: Which food-related themes and content areas are highlighted in teaching different school subjects, and how are these connected to school food and meals? How can the teaching contribute to the development of different types of food literacy? Thirty-seven teachers from four different primary schools in Sweden were interviewed twice about their experiences in using the school meal and food in their teaching. The results show that learning about, of and through (school) food took place during lessons in the classroom and in the school’s restaurant. The character of the school subject and its central content, as well as interdisciplinary cooperation between teachers and the restaurant staff, provide various possibilities for contributing to the development of pupils’ functional, interactive, and critical food literacy.
The aim of this ethnographic study is to examine children’s risk-taking decisions and actions in exploratory and physical plays in green public playscapes. Although research shows that play that involves risk-taking elements and actions are essential for children’s development, adults hesitate to let children participate in such plays due to fear of injury (Brussoni et al. 2021, Sando et al. 2021). The study is drawing on John Dewey’s (1938) concepts of experience and growth and theories of risky play (Sandsæter et al. 2021). The methods used are participation observation and informal conversations with twenty-one children and three preschool teachers as a part of an ethnographic approach. The data consists of field notes, audio recordings and photographs. The data analysis is conducted as a theme analysis within the paradigm of childhood sociology.The children’s guardians gave their informed consent. The long field study contributed to the establishment of close relationships, and the researcher was often invited into the children’s play. Any sign of unwillingness to participate during observations, was fully respected. The participant’s names are replaced with pseudonyms.The results show that the preschool teachers allow children to explore potential risks in the outdoor environment and make independent decisions, rather than imposing rules to eliminate the exposure of risky situations. The children co-operate around risk-taking, supporting each other physically and emotionally to overcome fear and calculate risks. The study has implications for practice by demonstrating how children can develop responsible risk-managing behaviors when given the opportunity to face different challenges.
Towards an Inclusive School Meal. Strategies to Provide Equal Opportunities. The aim of this study is to explore how the school meal can be organized in different ways in order to become more inclusive for all pupils. The study is based on data from a three-year research project where school and kitchen staff in three schools have been interviewed twice about their experiences of the school meal situation to identify current challenges and desirable improvements. Despite a similar set of problems with logistics and the physical and psychosocial environment of the canteen, the schools choose different strategies to provide equal opportunities for the pupils. The strategies consisted of a variety of common and individual solutions aimed at all pupils or specific groups of pupils, often with disabilities. Spatial, social and didactic aspects of inclusion and different understandings of inclusion were reflected in the schools’ organisation of the school meal.
In this article, we call for a gendering of children’s rights by using an intersectional approach. First, age and gender in different theoretical frameworks are highlighted. Second, we demonstrate the interconnection of age and gender in United Nations human rights treaties and interpretation guidance. Third, current gendered rights issues are identified and new ones are proposed. Finally, we argue that further gendering of children’s rights is necessary to acknowledge issues relating to children with different gender, sexual orientations and ethnicities.
The aim of this study is to examine how the triadic relationship between children, toys and the educational context of a Waldorf preschool may contribute to children’s growing imagination. The toys provided at Waldorf preschools in general are simple objects, and the selection is limited. Still, the toys are supposed to stimulate the imagination of children. In this analysis, we draw on Iris Murdoch’s distinction between imagination and fantasy in order to highlight two qualities of the ability of imagination: Imagination implies openness and curiosity towards new ways of being and acting, and fantasy suggests a closed approach that offers few new possibilities. The distinction between these qualities enables us to examine how the relationship between children, toys and educational context opens or closes the children’s growing imagination. The study identifies three particular factors that influence the possibilities for children’s imagination. These are: a) the form of the toys; b) the placement of the toys; and c) the pedagogical intentions of the teachers and their interactions with the children.
This article is based on a fieldwork study that explored a 1-year-long process of integrating children's human rights-respecting practice in a preschool through a project with a popular culture theme. Drawing on John Dewey's educational theory, educative participatory experience is suggested as a useful concept to further understand and develop different forms of participation practices. The twofold aim of the article is to demonstrate the children's educative participatory experiences and relate these to the teacher's acknowledgement of both children's collective agency and their individual capacity to participate. The methods used are semi-structured interviews and video-documented and participatory observations. The data mainly consists of field notes, video recordings, photographs and transcripts. The results show that the teachers are viewing the children, and providing possibilities for them to act, as knowledgeable experts, competent conflict-solvers and reflective and caring practitioners. Furthermore, they consider both the children's individual and collective rights and responsibilities when creating a rights-respecting preschool environment.