To Örebro University

This study explores physical touch as a pedagogical action in the interplay between male preschool teachers and children in early childhood education and care (ECEC) in Sweden. Previous research shows that preschool practitioners view touch as a resource for supporting children's care and development. However, touch has also been scrutinised amid discourses on children's protection and the implementation of policies safeguarding children's bodily integrity. Men, as a minority in female-dominated ECEC, report being particularly cautious about touching children to avoid potential suspicions. The study is grounded in John Dewey's pragmatism from a transactional perspective, with fieldwork - including participant observation supported by field notes and video recordings - conducted across three Swedish preschool classes involving 45 children and three male preschool teachers. A qualitative analysis using an abductive approach identified five types of physical touch as pedagogical actions: focus-oriented, guiding, assisting, affectionate and playful. Touch takes different forms and is shaped by various contextual factors observed across pedagogical situations. These findings suggest that touch can support children's care and learning and enhance male preschool teachers' professional practice.

The present study examines how gender is constructed by four-year-old children in a Brazilian Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) setting. The Brazilian context is marked by the omission of discussions about gender in the National Curriculum for ECEC and the rise of conservative groups in the society. The study seeks to show how children’s relationships with adults, in interplay with ECEC spaces, affect how they construct gender. Gender, as a theoretical concept, informed the interpretation and discussion of our findings. A mosaic approach guided the data collection, which consisted of observations and interviews with children, their teachers, and other adults closed to the children’s context both inside and outside the setting. Data were analysed based on thematic analysis with an inductive approach. The findings reveal how the organisation of pedagogical work and the different roles taken by teachers in the class may influence children’s gender constructions. Children’s relationships with their teachers and other adults also show how stereotypical gender assumptions are both reproduced and challenged during play and other situations in the ECEC setting. We argue that educational policies and continuous training for teachers can support them in helping children expand their diverse ways of constructing gender.

Our case study presents a Brazilian perspective on children's views of their teachers in early childhood education and care (ECEC), shaped by macro, meso, and micro contexts. On a macro-level, Brazil has made some achievements in educational policies towards gender equality. However, Brazilian society still bears marks from colonialism, where notions of gender are based on heteronormative ideals and binary assumptions, reinforced by the growth of conservative groups. These stereotypical ideas persist in social and political structures, which can be reflected in children's perspectives when interacting with other children and adults in ECEC. On meso and micro-levels, it is evident that children bring stereotyped beliefs from home and can also construct ideas about gender roles in the ECEC. The findings indicate that children notice a slightly gendered division of work when expressing that their male and female teachers have different roles in the group. By recognizing children's agency, the ECEC is configured as a social arena where children can counteract gender stereotypes deeply rooted in Brazilian society. The absence of goal-oriented and systematic pedagogical work becomes apparent when gender is not on the agenda in the ECEC setting. We argue that further discussions about educational policies related to gender in teacher training programs and continuous training for teachers are required to work more systematically and goal-oriented in order to offer children diverse ways of constructing gender in ECEC in Brazil.

Only 4% of ECE staff in Sweden and Brazil are men, despite significant differences in gender equality policies and views on male caregiving. To address this gender imbalance, this study aims to explore the experiences of male preschool teacher students in Sweden and Brazil. What challenges do these students encounter, and which factors contribute to successfully completing preschool teacher education?

While previous research often focuses on practicing professionals (Hedlin et al, 2019; Warin, 2015) and masculinity theories (Heikkilä & Hellman, 2017; Haddad & Marques, 2022), fewer studies center on male ECE students, the diversity within this minority group and their sense of belonging in higher education (Grimshaw et al., 2023). To address this gap, this study combines various minority theories (Frost & Meyer, 2023; Diamond & Alley, 2022; Moss Kanter, 1977). Thematic data analysis is performed using an abductive approach within a qualitative interpretative paradigm. In-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with fourteen male students at the end of the preschool teacher training program in Sweden and Brazil. The students gave informed consent, and pseudonyms were used to protect their identities. To ensure voluntary participation, the interviewing researchers had no examining role toward the students and emphasized their right to withdraw consent at any time without affecting their education.

The results highlight the importance of male representation, mentorship, social network support, positive work experience in preschools, and the impact of intersecting categories like ethnicity and age. Also, several strategies for developing an inclusive and supportive environment for male preschool teacher students are suggested.

This study aims to understand different types of physical touch in the interplay between male teachers and children through a pedagogical perspective. Previous research shows touch has been subject to surveillance due to a discourse on children’s protection and their rights to bodily integrity (Piper et al., 2013). Men, as a minority group working in Swedish ECEC, even in other countries, express that they are extra careful when involved in touch situations with children (Brody et al., 2020). There is, though, a lack of observational studies focusing on touch interactions between men and children in ECEC. The study draws upon pragmatism by examining touch as a "transaction" between teachers, children, and their environment (Dewey & Bentley, 1949/1991). Fieldwork with participant observation has been conducted in three preschool groups in Sweden, with 45 children and three male teachers. Field notes and video recordings were used for data collection, which was analysed using a qualitative abductive approach. Ethical principles such as anonymity, confidentiality, and informed and negotiated consent, were followed continuously during the research process. The findings show five types of touch as pedagogical actions: focus-oriented action, guiding action, assisting action, affectionate action, and playful action. Touch can be short or long-term and is used in different forms, such as patching, holding, and other light-touch forms. These findings suggest that touch, as a pedagogical action, can support children’s learning and caring relations with their teachers during several situations. Touch, understood as a pedagogical action, also contributes to strengthening male teachers’ professional practice in ECEC.

This thesis focuses on physical touch as a pedagogical action in the interplay between male preschool teachers and children in preschool. Previous research shows preschool teachers consider touch an essential resource when supporting children’s care, learning, and development. Touch has also been subject to surveillance due to a discourse on children’s protection and the adoption of policies towards children’s rights to bodily integrity. Men, as a minority group working in a female-dominated preschool, express that they are extra careful when involved in touch situations with children to avoid possible suspicions that may arise. Against this background, the thesis aims to gain knowledge about touch as a pedagogical action for male preschool teachers and children, focusing on its functions, usage, and contextual conditions.

The study draws upon John Dewey’s pragmatism from a transactional perspective by examining different types of touch as pedagogical action. Fieldwork with participant observation has been conducted in three Swedish preschool classes with 45 children and three male preschool teachers. The findings present five types of touch as pedagogical action according to their functions: focus-oriented action, guiding action, assisting action, affectionate action, and playful action. Touch is used in different forms and is shaped by contextual conditions such as pedagogical situations, unexpected events, male preschool teachers’ and children’s initiative, children’s communication needs, and children’s age. These findings suggest that touch can support children’s meaning-making, participation, and caring relations with their teachers during several situations. Touch, understood as a pedagogical action, also contributes to strengthening male preschool teachers’ professional practice.

This case study focuses on Brazilian ECEC aiming to understand children’s perspectives on their teachers through a gender lens. Brazilian society, much like that of other Latin American countries, emerged from a binary division of gender and sexuality based on heteronormative ideals and patriarchy (Lugones, 2016; Dimenstein, et al., 2020). Stereotypical ideas prevail and have consequences for gender construction in ECEC (Reis, 2016). This qualitative study is based on gender as a social construction, situational, fluid, and performative, while subject to reflection and questioning (Butler, 1990; Connell & Pearse, 2015). A Mosaic Approach (Clark, 2017) was conducted by using observation open-ended interviews with pictures and drawings as photo elicitation with 15 children, a parent questionnaire, and teacher interviews with female and male teachers. Thematic analysis of data was employed (Braun & Clarke, 2006). Information letters and consent forms were provided to all participants, including children, parents, and staff. A negotiated consent process was employed during data collection, and data were anonymized. Preliminary findings indicate that children perceive their male teacher to engage in play, while the female teacher to teach. Results demonstrate how children construct and deconstruct gender in relation to home and the ECEC setting. Male teachers can illustrate to children that care is not inherently gendered. ECEC institutions play a crucial role for the deconstruction of gender stereotypes. Consequently, there is a pressing need to advocate for Brazilian public ECEC policies that integrate gender into official curricula and incorporate gender and sexuality themes into teacher training.

This PhD research project aims to learn about touch as a pedagogical action in the interplay between men and children in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC). The following questions were addressed: (1) how does touch become a pedagogical action between male preschool teachers and children? (2) Under what conditions does touch become a pedagogical action? This project is in its final stage, with the thesis defense planned for Autumn 2024.  This study builds upon previous research that has shown that the touch between preschool teachers and children has been subject to surveillance due to a societal concern about children’s sexual abuse (CSA) and the adoption of policies towards the protection of children’s body integrity (Pruit, 2015). Men working in ECEC express concern about being suspected of CSA when they are involved in touch situations with children (Brody et al., 2020). The study draws upon Dewey’s pragmatism by examining touch as an action in the transaction between preschool teachers, children, and their environment (Dewey, 1949/1991). Fieldwork within a qualitative research paradigm was conducted. Participant observation was conducted with 45 children and three male preschool teachers from three Swedish preschools. Field notes and video recordings were used as data analyzed through a thematic analysis within an abductive approach (Braun & Clarke, 2016; Conaty, 2021). The study received approval from the Swedish Ethical Review Authority, and ethical principles such as informed consent, confidentiality, and anonymity were adhered to throughout the research process. The findings indicate that touch becomes pedagogical in five actions: focus-oriented, guiding, assisting, affectionate, and playful. These findings suggest that touch in the form of pedagogical actions creates conditions for children’s learning and care. Such actions can also support men’s professional work when touch situations are understood from a pedagogical perspective in ECEC.

This study aims to understand how cultural discourses in Norway and Brazil are represented in children’s views on their teachers as seen through a gendered lens. ECEC institutions are infused with local gender discourses represented by professional and parental beliefs. Nordic countries emphasize equality and gender sensitive practice (Edström & Brunila, 2016), while conservative forces in Brazil attempt to block educational policy focusing on gender and sexuality (Vianna & Bortolini, 2020). The theoretical framework posits gender as socially constructed performances (Butler 2004, Connell & Pearse, 2015) that are fluid and situational, cultural, political, and socially multi-leveled. In our case study methodology, data collection is modeled on the Mosaic Approach (Clark, 2017), using observation and open-ended interviews with children, and semi-structured interviews with mixed gender staff and parents. Thematic analysis using an abductive approach was conducted. Children gave assent to their participation, and adults gave informed consent. Data was anonymized. Ethical approval was obtained from National Centres for Research Data. Preliminary findings suggest that children in both settings value playfulness and kindness amongst the staff and are attracted towards staff with those competencies. The Brazilian case exhibits a binary pattern where children see only male teachers with those qualities. In Norway it is harder to distinguish a gendered pattern. We relate these findings to local gender discourses, pedagogical traditions and organizational traits. This study shows how cultural contexts affect gender sensitive practices and challenge gender stereotypes by acknowledging children's voices.