In Sweden, the Compulsory School for Students with Intellectual Disabilites (CSSID) is currently experiencing political change, as this type of school is being renamed and is undergoing organisational changes. The inclusion of children with intellectual disabilities (ID) in schooling, and in general society, has been challenged and debated for decades; such debates are at the heart of some of these changes. In this study, we have systematically investigated the policy work (e.g. government reports and statements) preceding and governing the changes. Hence, the purpose of the study is to contribute knowledge on how policy documents inscribe meaning to the inclusion of children with ID. Results show that discourses on inclusion are connected to neoliberal values and practices, such as assessment, global comparison, and accountability. It has been suggested that this may have a profound and long-term effect on how children with ID are fabricated and hence, how the child with ID and their education can be understood in terms of being included in the idea of ‘all students’ in policy, and in addition, in practice.
Barn som har intellektuell funktionsnedsättning kan få sin undervisning i grundskolan, men läsa enligt grundsärskolans läroplan. Hur är det att göra övergångar mellan olika skolformer och olika skolor för barn som har intellektuell funktionsnedsättning? Hur kan det se ut för dessa barn i förskola och skolan innan utredning inför mottagande i särskola, under utredning och efter utredning? Detta kapitel diskuterar just dessa frågor och presenterar tre föräldraberättelser om sina barns skoltid.
Early childhood intervention and habilitation services for children with disabilities operate on an interdisciplinary basis. It requires a common language between professionals, and a shared framework for intervention goals and intervention implementation. The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) and the version for children and youth (ICF-CY) may serve as this common framework and language. This overview of studies implemented by our research group is based on three research questions: Do the ICF-CY conceptual model have a valid content and is it logically coherent when investigated empirically? Is the ICF-CY classification useful for documenting child characteristics in services? What difficulties and benefits are related to using ICF-CY model as a basis for intervention when it is implemented in services? A series of studies, undertaken by the CHILD researchers are analysed. The analysis is based on data sets from published studies or master theses. Results and conclusion show that the ICF-CY has a useful content and is logically coherent on model level. Professionals find it useful for documenting children's body functions and activities. Guidelines for separating activity and participation are needed. ICF-CY is a complex classification, implementing it in services is a long-term project
This article analyses the conceptualisation of mild intellectual disability and developmental delay in young children in Sweden, particularly in regard to children's participation and possible stigmatisation in preschool. A diagnosis of intellectual disability is more likely to ensure that preschool staff received targeted external support. However, children with or without a diagnosis can exhibit the same functional problems. Current research in the area suggests that a diagnosis itself will not guarantee that external support is provided for the child. Nor does a diagnosis always lead to stigmatisation. Research indicates that the manner in which special support is delivered may contribute to stigmatisation. The current provision of special support can mean that a child does not participate in the same activities as other children, when ideally special support should facilitate participation in the same activities as others. Other means to identify children for targeted support may be necessary in order to provide targeted services earlier.
The revised Swedish national curriculum stresses that preschools should, on the one hand, place emphasis on stimulating children’s language development in Swedish, while on the other hand help children with a mother tongue other than Swedish develop their mother tongue. The aim of this study is to analyse preschool teachers’ strategies to develop multilingualism in daily life in preschools. The analysis was conducted by analysing their reflections on multilingualism and how their beliefs are transformed into educational strategies and parental cooperation. The results reveal two main strategies: joint language expression and reflection with children and parental cooperation in developing children’s multilingualism. The analysis revealed patterns of strategies for activities that we argue form multilingual educational strategies. These various strategies tend to occur in the daily work of the preschool staff.
Swedish leisure time centres (LTCs) are included in the Swedish Education Act and are used by almost every pupil in the age range of 6–9 years. They are governed by national policy documents with a certain emphasis on social learning. This article aims to highlight the LTC staff’s perspectives on their work of promoting social learning in the Swedish LTC. The article is based on a qualitative study, with data from group interviews with 21 LTC staff. The data are analysed with an abductive approach, with Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological systems theory as a theoretical point of departure. Our results show that the work is directed both by the staff’s beliefs and by the structural conditions of the activities, which the staff seldom feel able to influence. This causes frustration among staff and, owing to a lack of didactic reflections, social learning among pupils is not optimised. We argue that the LTC needs to be further explored, at the municipal and local management levels, to enable optimised social learning for pupils in the LTC.
För fritidshemmet betonar policydokument att elever ska stöttas särskilt utifrån det sociala lärandet. Elevers sociala lärande kan tolkas utifrån det som i läroplanen beskrivs som arbetet med skolans värdegrund. Värdegrundsarbetet är en central del av uppdraget och i läroplanen betonas även vikten av att personal är aktiva och medvetna i sitt uppdrag. Detta kapitel baseras på en studie, vars syfte är att belysa fritidshemspersonals perspektiv på arbetet med socialt lärande i fritidshemmet. Sammanlagt gjordes fyra gruppintervjuer med totalt 21 fritidspersonal, på deras respektive arbetsplatser. Resultatet visar skilda perspektiv på hur personalen förhåller sig till att samtala om värdegrundsarbetet och hur de beskriver sin verksamhet utifrån det. Dels visar sig en uppfattning om värdegrunden som underförstådd och att den inte är nödvändig att samtala om. Dels framträder bilden av en verksamhet med en uttalad medvetenhet om betydelsen av de kollegiala samtalen som grund för arbetet med att kontinuerligt främja elevers sociala lärande. Utifrån dessa perspektiv diskuterar vi kollegiala samtal som en del av ett didaktiskt reflekterat värdegrundsarbete i fritidshemmet.
Background: Traditional disability categories may reveal little of the functional characteristics and social competence of a child. Objective: To compare the social competence of typically developing children, children with established disabilities and undiagnosed children identified by a functional approach to be in need of special support. Methods: Observations were conducted during free play using the Child Observation in Preschools, COP. Results: The variables positive emotion, social emotional warmth, teacher rated engagement and verbal to other children significantly discriminated the three groups. In a discriminant analysis based on group membership only 68% of all cases were correctly classified. Conclusions: Difficulties in classifying undiagnosed children in need of special support and children with established disabilities leads to the question of the fruitfulness of using traditional categories when assessing social competence. Instead a functional approach sensitive to the individual profile of each child is recommended.
The chapter aims to discuss the concept of social skills and relating concepts like social competence and socio-emotional learning and the status of these concept in Early Childhood Education and Care, ECEC internationally and within the Swedish preschool context in special. With a theoretical stance in systems theory and bio-ecological models, recent research on the impact of social skills on educational development and children’s health will be explored and discussed in the chapter. The impact of intrapersonal factors such as resilience as well as interpersonal relations and factors on different systems levels that reciprocally influence the everyday functioning of the child are presented. The aim of the chapter is also to share a general discussion of some of the many existing educational programs for teachers and/or parents aiming at strengthening the social skills of children, with a specific focus on their implications for the practice. The chapter ends with a discussion of how practitioners working with preschool children can adopt a holistic view of the capabilities of the child, thus strengthening the social skills and promoting educational development and health.
Aim: To investigate the prevalence of children who are in need of special support in the totalpopulation of children attending preschools (CA 1–6) in two Swedish counties, and the functionalproblems exhibited by the children in relation to demographical and environmental factors in thepreschool context.Method: Survey distributed to (N = 1138) preschools in two Swedish counties.Results: The majority of children perceived by preschool teachers and in need of special supportwere undiagnosed children with functional difficulties related to speech, language and interactionwith peers.Conclusion: Undiagnosed and diagnosed children share the same type of difficulties. Thus, in estimating theprevalence of children in need of special support in a preschool context, traditional disability categories captureonly a small proportion of the children experiencing difficulties. Therefore, a functional approach in studies ofchildren in need of special support is recommended.
The first Swedish preschool for young children was established in 1836 to provide a practical solution to the problem of child supervision during the Industrial Revolution. During this period of intense industrialization, women began working in urban factories and thus required daytime childcare. A century later, in the 1930s, the Swedish idea of family policy was challenged by sociologists Alva and Gunnar Myrdal. They had a political vision of public childcare and championed a scientific approach to child development. A social pedagogical preschool was developed, emphasizing children’s right to an inspiring environment outside of the home. National reforms were implemented, establishing child health centers, child benefits for all children, and municipal grants for preschool teachers’ salaries.
Preschool teachers share their environment with young children on a daily basis and interventions promoting social competence are generally carried out in the preschool setting. The aim was to find out if and how preschool teachers' definitions of social competence are related to factors in the preschool environment like: a) the number of children having problems related to social competence; b) thesupport provided to the children; and c) the preschool environment and current research definitions. Method: 481 preschools from 22 municipalities in Sweden participated. Data was analyzed using a mixed methods design in which a qualitative content analysis was followed by group comparisons using quantitative methods. Results: Preschool teachers defined social competence mainly as intrapersonal skills, or as interpersonal relations. The definitions of social competence were not related to the numbers of children having problems related to social skills or social competence in units, the amount ofthe support provided to the children or the preschool environment. Conclusion: Preschool teachers' definitions of social competence are partly multidimensional, which implies that the interventions aimed at promoting children's social skills and social competence also should be multidimensional. Preschool teachers' definitions of social competence have little relevance to environmental factors, which indicate that social competence, as a construct is more dependent upon perceptions of the individual than on contextual factors.
This paper examines contemporary issues in early childhood teacher education in Sweden. The aim of the study was to explore dimensions of the construct of preschool teachers' competence as reported by 810 students enrolled in early childhood teacher education at 15 Swedish universities. The results showed that students' definitions of preschool teacher competence were composed of six different dimensions: a general pedagogical competence, specific content competence, distinct teacher competence, play competence, competence of child perspective, and collaborative and social competence. In general, there were quite large variations in how students perceived the concept of preschool teacher competence and the extent to which they believed they developed these competences during the course of their education. The different dimensions of preschool teacher competence are discussed in relation to the content of the early childhood teacher education in Sweden, the curriculum for the preschool and the concept of professionalism in Early Childhood Education and Care.
In previous research transitions have been described in many different ways; as a sensitive period (Rimm-Kaufman & Pianta, 2000), as critical moments (Garpelin, 2014) and rites of passage (van Gennep, 1960). Dockett (2014) describes educational transitions as the "change in the identity and agency of individuals as they engage in different educational settings and adopt different roles" (p. 189). Although no shared definitions exist, the common feature for all definitions of transition is the notion of processes of change. This chapter draws upon findings from an ongoing project investigating the transitions from preschool to compulsory school for students with intellectual disabilities (CSSID) and for young children with intellectual disabilities in Sweden. In the following sections we will first describe some key points highlighted in the transition research today, such as the meaning of positive transition. This is followed by viewing transitions from the perspective of the bioecological model and the developmental niche. The chapter ends with a discussion of the key points and challenges regarding transitions for young children with intellectual disabilities.
Stakeholder collaboration has been identified as a facilitator for positive transition outcomes for all children, and especially for children in need of special support. However, the type and extent of stakeholder collaboration have shown to be related to teachers' view of their transition practises. Thus, this study set out to examine the transition activities reported by 253 teachers in Compulsory School for Students with Learning Disabilities in Sweden. The purpose was to study the type of transition activities performed and how important teachers regarded these activities to be. The results show that overall teachers are engaged in transition activities that can be described as mainly traditional, as they do not differ from transition activities carried out in other educational settings. The results also show that untraditional transition activities, such as home visits and joint parent meetings with preschools, are viewed as important, but rarely executed. The results are discussed from an ecological systems perspective, emphasising the interconnectedness of individuals and their environment. Focus is given to individualised transition processes and developmentally appropriate transition activities for young children with learning disability.
Purpose: To describe 0-16-year-old children with disabilities receiving paediatric specialist dental care from a biopsychosocial perspective, with focus on relationship between oral health, medical diagnosis, and functioning. Method: A questionnaire with an International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health - Children and Youth version (ICF-CY) Checklist for Oral Health was completed using structured interview, direct observation, and information from dental records. Descriptive data analysis was performed together with principle component analysis to calculate factors of functioning used in cluster analysis in order to present functioning profiles. Results: Ninety-nine children with at least one major medical diagnosis were included. Twenty had previous caries experience. Two factors of functioning were calculated, labelled "Physical ability" and "Intellectual ability, communication, and behaviour". Based on functioning profiles three clusters were determined. There were no statistically significant differences in caries experience between medical diagnoses or clusters. Conclusion: It was possible to identify profiles of functioning in children with disabilities receiving specialist dental care. Despite complex disabilities, the children had good oral health. Neither medical diagnosis nor functioning was found to have a clear relationship with oral health. To understand the environmental context leading to high-quality oral health, further studies of dental management in relation to medical and oral diagnoses and child functioning are needed.
This study investigateslanguage-promoting strategies and support of concept development displayed bypreschool staffs´ when interacting with preschool children in literacy-relatedplay activities. The data analysed consisted of 39 minutes of video, selectedsystematically from a total of 11 hours of video material from six Swedishpreschool units. The selected sequences were play situations where preschoolstaff and child/children were present and teachers used strategies for creatinga high instructional climate. The results show that spontaneous play, dramaticplay, adult-initiated play and child-initiated play, as well as access toobjects or toys offer numerous opportunities in literacy-related playactivities to support children’s concept development. Results showed thatduring play activities, such events stimulated children’s language modellingand presented opportunities to increase the preschool children’s conceptdevelopment. However, more research is needed in this area, especiallyconcerning how preschool staffs´ participation, timing and sensitivity help supportchildren in literacy-related play activities.
The purpose of this paper is to make visible which language events may occur in literacy-related play activities in preschool and how multilingual and Swedish speaking preschool children are supported in these play activities. Previous research shows that preschool children have unique opportunities to develop their language and emergent literacy skills in literacy-related play activities in preschool (Nitecki & Chung, 2013; Saracho, 2004; Turnbull et al., 2009). The theoretical approach is based on Vygotsky’s social cultural theory and Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological theory which explores emergent literacy learning and development in a social context. In this study, data, in the form of video observations, was collected from six preschool units in three cities in Sweden, with children from one to five years old. Manifest content analysis, using both deductive and inductive approaches, was performed on the transcripts. The study was carried out in accordance with the ethical principles of social sciences research (Ministry of Education and Research, 2003). Preschool staff and
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parents were personally and in writing informed about the study. The parents gave written permission for their children to be part of the data collection. The results show that mainly during play activities, children sought confirmation of language concepts, to make sense of, and understand, the concepts based on earlier experiences. The findings show six themes of events in the literacy-related play activities. This paper will contribute to better understanding the preschool staff’s presence in play events and the unique opportunities afforded to develop both multilingual and Swedish speaking children´s language.
This study investigates the definitions of the construct "young children in need of special support" given by preschool staff in Sweden in 540 preschool units. The study has a mixed-methods design based on qualitative analysis of an open-ended question and quantitative analysis of questionnaire responses. The results reveal two general perspectives in definitions of the construct, a child perspective and an organisational perspective. Units with a child perspective had a higher proportion of children in need of special support, especially girls. The study highlights that the term "children in need of special support" is partially socially constructed and is partially based on perceived child characteristics. The perceptions of what is considered to be a child in need of special support held by staff in a unit may impact on the services provided to children in need of special support.
The aim of this study is to investigate preschool teachers' perceptions of good practice in play, their skills, and perceptions of play competence. The theoretical framework is based on interactionist theories, which congregate theories of learning, in which individuals and the environment influence and are influenced by one another in a continuous interaction and communication, such as socio-cultural theories and ecological system theories. The study has a qualitative and quantitative approach. Interviews were conducted with preschool teachers (N = 30) to gain a deeper understanding of their perceptions of the concept of play competence. In addition, a survey was distributed to preschool teachers (N = 115) in order to gain a broader understanding of their perceptions of different dimensions of teacher play competence and to investigate if and how these perceptions were related to factors such as age, type of education, and number of years in the field. The results showed that preschool teachers describe play competence as a multidimensional construct, encompassing different competencies such as attentive, cognitive, and organizational. The results from the quantitative analyses showed that experienced teachers rate their play competence higher than teachers with limited experience of work in educational settinngs. Thus, this indicates that play competence develops during practical experience in the field.
The aim of this study was to investigate, analyze and describe how preschool teachers experience the educational support for children in need of special support. In this interview study, the preschool teachers emphasize educational support to children in need of special support from two perspectives. In the first perspective, the preschool teachers stated that they don't do anything unique for children in need of special support, versus the view that the children need and receive more help from the staff in everyday preschool activities. In the second perspective, the preschool teachers point out the specific educational support within two themes, indirect and direct support. This study has implications for both practice and theory as it increases the knowledge and understanding about educational support that children in need of special support are offered in preschool today.