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The Swedish preschool curriculum stipulates that all children independent of support needs should attend mainstream preschool groups, with equal opportunities for learning and engagement. Preschool teachers are responsible for paying attention to children in need of special support to achieve this. How support is provided for children in need of special support due to behavior difficulties in Swedish preschools varies, however. Some children, often formally identified as in need of special support, are supported by preschool staff supervised by external services. Other children receive support initiated and implemented by preschool staff, without supervision from external services. A further number of children receive no support for behavior difficulties, on top of what is provided to all children. This study investigated associations between support format (i.e., supervised support, staff-initiated support, or no additional support), support content (i.e., implementation of support), behavior difficulties, socio-demographics and engagement. A mixed methods approach was used with a sample of 232 preschool children 15–71 months with assessed behavior difficulties. Preschool staff reported on the children's engagement, behavior difficulties, socio-demographics, and support provision. Logistic regression models were used to analyze the probability of children receiving either support format. Content analysis was used to categorize the support content, reported by preschool staff through open-ended questions. Point-biserial correlations were used to test associations between support content, behavior, socio-demographics and engagement. All children receiving supervised support for behavior difficulties were formally identified by external services as in need of special support. Supervised support was also more common if children disturbed the free play in the preschool group, with the most frequent support being collaboration with external teams. Staff-initiated support was most commonly given to children with high engagement, and for children who are not early second language learners. These children were most frequently supported by staff paying attention to negative behavior. Children who were not perceived as a burden to the group were less likely to receive any form of additional support. Ways of managing the preschool group seem to guide support strategies for children with behavior difficulties, rather than child-focused strategies emphasizing engagement in everyday activities.

We reassess the relation between students’ socioeconomic status (SES) and their achievement by treating SES as multidimensional instead of unidimensional. We use data from almost 600,000 students in 77 countries participating in the 2018 PISA assessment of student achievement in math, science, and reading. The composite measure of SES that PISA uses can be broken down into six component variables that we here use as simultaneous predictors of achievement. This analysis yields several new insights. First, in the typical society, two predictors (books at home and parents’ highest occupational status) clearly outperform the rest. Second, a new composite measure based only on these two components often reveals substantially larger achievement gaps than those reported by PISA. Third, the analysis revealed remarkable differences between societies in the relation between achievement and wealth possessions. In most societies, the independent effect of wealth possessions on student achievement was zero or even slightly negative—but in the least developed societies it was strongly positive. These findings have implications for how SES achievement gaps should be measured and interpreted. Copyright © 2021 Eriksson, Lindvall, Helenius and Ryve.

Mathematical problem-solving constitutes an important area of mathematics instruction, and there is a need for research on instructional approaches supporting student learning in this area. This study aims to contribute to previous research by studying the effects of an instructional approach of cooperative learning on students’ mathematical problem-solving in heterogeneous classrooms in grade five, in which students with special needs are educated alongside with their peers. The intervention combined a cooperative learning approach with instruction in problem-solving strategies including mathematical models of multiplication/division, proportionality, and geometry. The teachers in the experimental group received training in cooperative learning and mathematical problem-solving, and implemented the intervention for 15 weeks. The teachers in the control group received training in mathematical problem-solving and provided instruction as they would usually. Students (269 in the intervention and 312 in the control group) participated in tests of mathematical problem-solving in the areas of multiplication/division, proportionality, and geometry before and after the intervention. The results revealed significant effects of the intervention on student performance in overall problem-solving and problem-solving in geometry. The students who received higher scores on social acceptance and friendships for the pre-test also received higher scores on the selected tests of mathematical problem-solving. Thus, the cooperative learning approach may lead to gains in mathematical problem-solving in heterogeneous classrooms, but social acceptance and friendships may also greatly impact students’ results. © Copyright © 2021 Klang, Karlsson, Kilborn, Eriksson and Karlberg.

To follow the trajectories of children’s engagement in learning, validated measures ofengagement appropriate for different ages and educational contexts are needed. Thepurpose of this study was to adapt and validate the school engagement questionnaire(Engagement Versus Disaffection with Learning: Teacher Report, EDL) in the Swedisheducational context, and to investigate if it assesses the same construct as a measureof engagement used for children of preschool age. After translating the questionnaireto Swedish, cognitive interviews were conducted with six teachers to check forinterpretability and relevance of the items. For psychometric validation, teachers of110 6 to 7-year-old children filled out EDL on two occasions two weeks apart.On the first occasion, they also filled out the Child Engagement Questionnaire, ameasure of global engagement intended for children of preschool age. Dimensionalstructure, convergent validity, test-retest reliability, and internal consistency of EDL wereinvestigated. Factor analysis provided support for differentiating between behavioraland emotional components of school engagement. Measures of school and preschoolengagement used in this study correlated highly, which provides support for usingthem to study the engagement of children as they develop, and their educationalcontexts change. The subscales of behavioral and emotional engagement showed goodtest-retest reliability and internal consistency.

Introduction: Research on young children’s occupational aspirations and the factors shaping them is still limited, especially in early interventions addressing gender disparities in high-status fields like STEM.

Methods: This is the first study in Sweden utilizing the Drawing the Future method, surveyed 1,832 children (aged 5–13) from 28 schools in Skåne region of southern, asking them to draw their dream jobs. This exercise was conducted in a classroom setting and facilitated by their class teacher.

Results: Significant gender differences emerged, revealing distinct stereotypical patterns in children’s future occupational aspirations and influencing factors. Only three occupations—footballer, doctor, and police officer—were popular among both genders. Girls preferred people- or animal-centered roles, while boys leaned toward jobs involving “things” (p < 0.001). Girls felt they could pursue similar careers as boys, but boys showed more skepticism (p < 0.001). Influence patterns also varied by gender: 25% of girls were inspired by mothers, while 45% of boys were inspired by fathers (p = 0.02). Beyond immediate family, girls often sought career information from acquaintances, while boys turned to media (p < 0.001). STEM interest was limited, with “game developer” being the only STEM job on boys’ lists. Additionally, a larger proportion of boys ranked STEM subjects among their top 10 favorite school subjects, while girls preferred crafts, art, and English (p < 0.001).

Discussion: These findings highlight the need for early, unbiased, evidence-based career interventions and policies to broaden children’s awareness of diverse job options and opportunities in the labor market.

The participation of all children in preschool activities is the main outcome of inclusive Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC). The current study used the Child Observation in Preschool (COP) to explore the observed participation patterns in the free play of a sample of 3–5-year-old Swedish preschool children (N = 453), and to examine the characteristics of the resulting clusters in terms of child and preschool unit characteristics. Based on a series of hierarchical and K-means cluster analyses, we identified eight distinct and meaningful clusters that could be ranked from very high to very low observed participation. Four of the clusters indicated average-to-very high observed participation. Two clusters indicated low-to-very low observed participation. The cluster displaying low observed participation had high proximity to a small group including teachers. On average, children in this cluster came from preschool units with significantly more second language learners. The cluster displaying a very low observed participation had low proximity to a small group including teachers. On average, children in this cluster were significantly more often second language learners, and the children came from units with a significantly higher number of resource staff. No significant differences appeared in the number of children with special educational needs across the clusters, although tendencies emerged. The results imply that the children in this sample had a varied degree of observed participation. Two clusters of children appeared to have difficulties in participating in free play activities where second language learners and children from preschool units with more second language learners were more common. Preschool teachers need to identify children who participate less in preschool activities and who might benefit from more teacher proximity. Teachers also need to reflect on how their proximity impacts the participation of children differently and on the type of support they provide when being close to the children.