Early Childhood teacher education (ECTE) in Sweden is a 3½ year long education on an academic level. In Sweden the Parliament and government have overall responsibility for higher education. They decide on which rules are to apply to higher education and they also set out goals and guidelines. However universities have a great freedom of movement within the regulatory framework set out. They are e.g. free to decide how to organise their studies. The aim of the study presented here is to discuss how students answer on a survey concerning education for sustainability. In the first and fourth semester the ECTE students at Kristianstad University are particularly directed to learning about sustainability and education for sustainability. Critical aspects of sustainability and education for sustainability are pointed out by the teachers and by the textbooks. The survey will give answer to questions about what aspects of sustainability the students had discerned in the fifth semester. The first results of the survey indicates that the students’ experience is that the ECTE had developed their knowledge about sustainability although we can see there still are aspects that are not yet discerned. This indicates the importance of problematizing sustainability from a didactic perspective in relation to ECTE.

This article presents a new joint Nordic study module consisting of a theoretical framework, the kindergarten teacher students’ case study and a reflection talk, in natural science for the kinder-garten teacher education. The module is developed through an interdisciplinary collaboration in the Nordplus network: Learning of science concepts by kindergarten children: Nordic study module for the kindergarten teacher education (NATGREP), with science and quality in the kindergarten teacher education in focus. The introduction describes the Nordic kindergartens shortly, and concepts as quality and competence are shortly discussed. It is followed by the module’s theoretical framework. Then the study module’s development process is described accompanied by reflections of the student’s case studies in relation to the theoretical framework. At the end, the work with the study module is summarised, and the main conclusion is that the study module contributes positively to the students’ skills development, both in science and quality.

The aim of the research project is to analyze and describe how pre-school teachers during an in-service training period develop theoretical knowledge about focusing the content when planning for teaching science in pre-school. The variation theory is used for analysis as well as for the planning for teaching in pre-school. The theory can be described in terms of learning object, critical aspects, discernment, simultaneity and differences. 30 pre-school teachers from nine different municipalities participated in the project. The empirical material consists of a questionnaire as the preschool teachers answered in the beginning and in the end of the training period and of group reports. The results can be discussed as a number of critical aspects in relation to teachers'learning as: ways of understand the concept of variation, to discern the object of learning and to discern o shared space of learning.

Förskolan i Norden har på relativt kort tid förändrats från en enspråkig till en flerspråkig miljö. Utmaningen ligger i att göra flera språk till en tillgång i verksamheten och till redskap för alla barns lärande.

I boken Undervisning i flerspråkig förskola diskuteras hur förskolan, och därmed samhället i stort, kan skapa likvärdiga utvecklingsmöjligheter för alla barn, oavsett språkliga erfarenheter. Bokens kapitel berör samtal mellan förskollärare och barn i gemensamma aktiviteter men också flerspråkiga elevers skolprestation efter avslutad grundskoleutbildning. I boken redovisas flera studier från Sverige, Finland och Norge. Tematiken i denna bok begränsas därmed inte heller till att endast relatera till att lära sig majoritetsspråket. Det är hög tid att lämna enspråkighetsdiskursen med fokus på individers kunskaper i ett språk och gå vidare till en mer informerad och relevant förståelse av språk, undervisning och lärande som integrerade företeelser.

Den här boken ger redskap för att förstå och utveckla undervisningen i en flerspråkig förskolemiljö. Boken vänder sig främst till studenter på högskolenivå inom förskolans område, men den passar även för fortbildning av förskollärare.

The Swedish school system offers curriculum-based early childhood education (ECE) organised as preschool (for 0–5-year-olds) and preschool class (for 6-year-olds).The intention to create a playful and educational environment based on children ’s perspectives, interests, and questions is strongly based on historical and cultural traditions. This article develops knowledge of ECE teachers ’approaches to science-learning situations. The study applies a phenomenographic approach.The analysis is based on approximately 9.5 hours of video documentation of teacher-led and child-initiated Swedish ECE science activities. We identified two descriptive categories and four subcategories dealing with science-learning situations: (A) making anything visible, containing the three subcategories (Aa) addressing everyone, (Ab) addressing everything, and (Ac) addressing play and fantasy; and (B) creating a shared space for learning (Ba) addressing common content. These categories are related to how efforts to take advantage of children ’s perspectives are interpreted and addressed in educational practice. The article discusses and exemplifies the use of various categories and their potential implications for ECE learning practice.

The Swedish school system offers curriculum-based early childhood education (ECE) organised as preschool (for 0–5-year-olds) and preschool class (for 6-year-olds). The intention to create a playful and educational environment based on children’s perspectives, interests, and questions is strongly based on historical and cultural traditions. This article develops knowledge of ECE teachers’ approaches to science-learning situations. The study applies a phenomenographic approach. The analysis is based on approximately 9.5 hours of video documentation of teacher-led and child-initiated Swedish ECE science activities. We identified two descriptive categories and four subcategories dealing with science-learning situations: (A) making anything visible, containing the three subcategories (Aa) addressing everyone, (Ab) addressing everything, and (Ac) addressing play and fantasy; and (B) creating a shared space for learning (Ba) addressing common content. These categories are related to how efforts to take advantage of children’s perspectives are interpreted and addressed in educational practice. The article discusses and exemplifies the use of various categories and their potential implications for ECE learning practice.

Att beskriva och analysera kvalitativa förändringar i pedagogers sätt att tala om undervisning och naturvetenskap som innehåll i förskolans verksamhet

Qualitative changes in teachers’ ways of talking about teaching and science as content in preschool practice

Laila Gustavsson och Susanne Thulin, Kristianstad University

The aim of the research project presented here is to analyze and describe how pre-school teachers during an in-service training period develop theoretical knowledge about focusing the content when planning for teaching science in pre-school. This particular training period can be seen as needed due to a new school 16

law and a revised curriculum for Swedish pre-schools in 2011, where the concept teaching in pre-school is used for the first time and different content areas as mathematics and science is highlighted. The variation theory is here used as a framework for analysis as well as for the pre-school teachers planning for teaching in pre-school (Marton & Booth, 1997). The theory is developed from the phenomenographic approach and can be described in terms of learning object, critical aspects, discernment, simultaneity, variation and a shared space of learning (Marton, 2014). The results in a phenomenographic study is an outcome space of categories describing qualitatively different ways of experiencing the same phenomenon. 30 pre-school teachers from 10 different pre-schools in nine different municipalities participated in the project. The empirical material consist of a questionnaire with open ended questions as the preschool teachers answered in the beginning and in the end of the training period, and of group reports as were written from scientific projects. The study has followed the ethical guidelines of the Swedish Research Council (2002). The results can be discussed as a number of critical aspects in relation to teachers' learning as: ways of understand the concept of variation, to discern the object of learning and a shared space of learning. One important factor to point out concerning the design of in-service training is the importance of keeping together theories of children’s learning and the learning object (science).

References

Marton, F. (2014). Necessary Conditions of Learning. New York: Routledge.

Marton, F., & Booth, S. (1997). Learning and awarness. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum Associates.

Swedish Research Council. (2002). Forskningsetiska principer inom humanistisk och samhällsvetenskaplig forskning [Ethical Guidelines for Humanities and Social Science. Stockholm: Vetenskapsrådet.

Qualitative changes in teachers’ ways of talking about teaching and science as content in preschool practicepresentationsformat: Muntlig presentationabstract: The aim of the research project presented here is to analyze and describe how pre-school teachers during an in-service training period develop theoretical knowledge about focusing the content when planning for teaching science in pre-school. This particular training period can be seen as needed due to a new school law and a revised curriculum for Swedish pre-schools in 2011, where the concept teaching in pre-school is used for the first time and different content areas as mathematics and science is highlighted. The variation theory is here used as a framework for analysis as well as for the pre-school teachers planning for teaching in pre-school (Marton & Booth, 1997). The theory is developed from the phenomenographic approach and can be described in terms of learning object, critical aspects, discernment, simultaneity, variation and a shared space of learning (Marton, 2014). The results in a phenomenographic study is an outcome space of categories describing qualitatively different ways of experiencing the same phenomenon. 30 pre-school teachers from 10 different pre-schools in nine different municipalities participated in the project. The empirical material consist of a questionnaire with open ended questions as the preschool teachers answered in the beginning and in the end of the training period, and of group reports as were written from scientific projects. The study has followed the ethical guidelines of the Swedish Research Council (2002). The results can be discussed as a number of critical aspects in relation to teachers' learning as: ways of understand the concept of variation, to discern the object of learning and a shared space of learning. One important factor to point out concerning the design of in-service training is the importance of keeping together theories of children’s learning and the learning object (science).Key-word: Preschool teacher, In-service training, Teaching, Science, Variation theory, Phenomenography

This empirical study analyses the qualitatively different ways in which teachers approach children’s learning in and about nature. The empirical data consists of video observations of children and teachers communicating with one another around natural phenomena found during excursions into a forest. Variation theory is presented as a framework for analysing the opportunities teachers provide for children’s learning. The study identifies three qualitatively different ways in which teachers communicate with children: one based on the principle of opening up dimensions of variation, the second building on presumed shared previous experience as a resource for making sense of a novel observation and the third involving children through using a make-believe playful approach. The implications of these three different approaches for children’s learning are discussed.