The context of my research is public preschool in Sweden, which is voluntary before the age of 6, and the interaction between children and preschool teachers. I pay specific interest to how content is established when children and preschool teachers interact with a focus on the relation between “play” and “teaching” (e.g. Bingham & Sidorkin, 2004; Saevi, 2015). In recent years, teaching, as a concept has strengthened in relation to early childhood education, teaching is enabled through the Education Act of 2011 and part of the curriculum since 2018 (SFS 2010:800). Play in a Swedish preschool context can be understood as a free[1] activity for children while teaching as an activity could be understood as the opposite.

Inspired by the concept of scholé (Masschelein & Simons, 2013) I started to explore and think about the possibility of a transfer of the word free from play to teaching with a potential as being a free zone in public preschool. How and what could teaching be understood as, within a public preschool context, what happens if we apply free next to teaching, As if (Vaihinger, 1925/2009) it were play? 

I turn to Arendt (1961) for an understanding of the concept of ‘free’ in relation to play since ‘free’ play entails a high value in relation to childrens agency- in free play- children can choose- in the context of public preschool in Sweden. By using Vaihinger `s philosophy of As if, I explore teaching As if it were free next to play, with a possibility to choose.  

-[1] The question stems from the idea “children are free” in relation to play (e.g.Huizinga, 1949)