This paper presents results from a pilot study regarding memories of play.  

By shifting our gaze from children's play to adults, specifically students studying to become preschool teachers, this study aims to explore the relation between adults' personal experiences of play and their future pedagogical practices as preschool teachers.  Given the perspective that education encompasses interactions among individuals (cf. Todd, 2023), it is particularly noteworthy that previous research indicates that play in preschool education frequently involves interactions between children while adults observe or participate in the background. It is therefore relevant to shift the gaze from childrens play to adults/preeschool teachers to gain a deeper understanding of what forms adults' views of play.  

To access the meanings of play and the significance of play for the informants, we have used Levinas' concept of The Said and The Saying, where The Said can be seen as previous assumptions about play and the meanings of play in childhood and preschool (Levinas, 1981). By allowing the informants to draw memories and talk about play in the form of memories, we open up for new meanings that can be seen as The Saying and something that “overflows every idea of play”(cf. Johannesen, 2013) - this is to avoid locking ourselves into fixed meanings of play and the significance of play in the role of (future) preschool teachers.   

The project is based on group interviews with preschool teacher students about their memories of play and examines their views on play in relation to their future profession. This serves as an important starting point for further analysis of how adults and children engage in play together. The project utilises a retrospective design to explore their memories of play, using drawings to support the interviews (Sandberg, 2001).   

Expected results revolve around preschool teacher student’s memories of play and how they are presented through a combination of drawings and interviews.  This allows us to gain new perspectives on the conditions for play in preschool.  By focusing on adults' memories of play, this study can generate insights about the connection between personal experiences of play and future pedagogical practices.  Additionally, we can investigate new and diverse perspectives on the role of play in preschool. 

Preschool education in Sweden is founded on development, play, learning, and care (EDUCARE). In the long run, the project’s results can promote democratic and inclusive practices in preschool, ultimately positioning educators and children as co-creators of a hopeful and sustainable future through education. 

References 

Levinas, E. (1981/2008). Otherwise than being or beyond essence. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Duquesne University Press. 

Johannesen, N. (2013). Overflowing Every Idea of Age, Very Young Children as Educators. Studies in Philosophy and Education 32 (3):285-296.  

Sandberg, A. (2001). Play Memories from Childhood to Adulthood. Early Child Development and Care, 167(1), pp.13–25. https://doi.org/10.1080/0300443011670102 

Todd, S. (2023): The touch of the present. State University of New York Press: New York 

In Nordic preschool education, where play and care are central, the concept of teaching can generate tensions. Swedish preschools lack specific individual learning objectives, allowing space to explore what teaching might develop into. This study examines spontaneous teaching—unplanned, emergent interactions—as a route towards democratic values, where all participants have agency and the potential for change. Drawing on Todd (2002), it connects democracy in preschool to social justice, highlighting inclusive contributions to educational content.

To conceptualise teaching, the study employs Kansanen’s (1993) pedagogical levels—action, theory, and meta-theory—interwoven to facilitate reflection and movement across practical and theoretical domains. A relational ontological foundation (Biesta & Säfström, 2011; Sidorkin, 2002) emphasises the importance of relationships in shaping perception and understanding. Relational theory encourages democratic educational environments where agency is shared.

Methodologically, the study employs a multiethnographic approach (Marcus, 1995), tracing diverse narratives through preschool practices and philosophical inquiry. This allows observation of complex, evolving phenomena within teaching. Spontaneous teaching arises through dynamic interactions among educators, children, and content/objects—each element equally important.

A key finding is the rise of social justice through didaktik multilanguaging—a concept that illustrates the relational interaction among the child, educator, and content/object, as well as across pedagogical levels. The multilanguaging approach redefines teaching as a cooperative, meaning-making process that goes beyond measurability and welcomes transformation.

Preschool education in Sweden emphasises play, learning, and care. A concept like teaching can create tensions. This study offers insights into teaching, especially spontaneous teaching, moving beyond measurability to discuss teaching as an endeavour where children, educators, and objects or content all play central roles. The study presents a nuanced understanding of teaching in Swedish preschools, highlighting spontaneous teaching as a democratic, relational, and socially just practice.

Biesta, G., & Säfström, C.A. (2011). Ett manifest för pedagogik [A manifesto for pedagogy]. Utbildning & Demokrati, 20(3), 83-95.

Kansanen, P. (1993). On outline for a model of teachers´pedagogical thinking. I: Kansanen, P. (Ed.), Discussion on some Educational issues IV. Research report 121. Helsinki: University of Helsinki, Department of teacher Teaching

Marcus, G. E. (1995). Ethnography in/of the World System: The Emergence of Multi-Sited Ethnography. Annual Review of Anthropology, 24, 95–117. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2155931

Sidorkin, A. M. (2002). Chapter 7. Ontology, Anthropology, and Epistemology of Relation. Counterpoints, 173, 91–102. http://www.jstor.org/stable/42977063

Todd, S. (2002). Utbildning som en praktik för rättvisa - Ett Lévinas-perspektiv.Utbildning & Demokrati, 11 (1), 121-130. https://doi.org/10.48059/uod.v11i1.720

This study explores intersubjectivity in early childhood education and care (ECEC) through interaction and drawing analyses. It highlights the interactions between a teacher and two children, emphasising the mechanisms that either hinder or promote intersubjectivity. Using micro-level ethnographic methods, data from video observations are analysed with theoretical concepts from the theory of play-responsive teaching. The aim is to contribute to understanding the complexities of intersubjectivity and to show how drawing analysis, in combination with interaction analysis, may enhance insight into the complexities. The integration of drawing and interaction analyses reveals that different interpretations of objects by children and educators significantly influence the formation of intersubjectivity. This finding encourages a discussion on potential shifts in the concept of intersubjectivity, expanding it beyond merely interpersonal aspects within the theory of play-responsive teaching. Broadening the scope of intersubjectivity can also impact pedagogical practices, such as in the establishment of joint activities.

This article explores how teaching and play are conceptualised in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC). It draws upon previous research to highlight a linguistic challenge related to “the talk of” and the prevalent logic of distinction. Specifically, it addresses how play and teaching, as fundamental concepts in ECEC, tend to create a division between children and educators, known as a logical distinction. To address this concern, the article uses relational theory and the concepts of being and becoming to provide an alternative way of discussing play and teaching in ECEC that transcends this logic of distinction. This alternative language emphasises freedom in the educational interactions between children and educators, thus moving away from the conventional dichotomy observed in the conceptualisation of play and teaching in ECEC.

Vid Malmö universitet finns forskningsgruppen Didaktiska studier (DS), vars profil präglas av en flerstämmig didaktik. Denna flerstämmiga didaktik kommer till uttryck på olika sätt, bland annat genom att gruppen inkluderar didaktisk forskning inom olika områden såsom allmän didaktik, innehållsfokuserad didaktik/ämnesdidaktik (t.ex. musik-, matematik-, och språk-litteraturdidaktik), specialpedagogisk didaktik i förskola, cirkusdidaktik, fritidshemsdidaktik och didaktik i samverkan. Syftet är att belysa och bidra med kunskap om hur olika sätt att närma sig och använda teori inom empirisk forskning kan relateras till flerstämmig didaktik. Vi belyser detta genom att sätta olika didaktiska studier i relation till varandra – för att analysera likheter och skillnader i hur teori används, vilket kan hänföras till komparativ didaktik. I de didaktiska studierna används abduktiv ansats återkommande som analytisk strategi och metodologisk bestämning. Utifrån denna analys för vi en kritisk diskussion kring teoriers roll, hur den både kan berika och fördjupa förståelse av komplexa undervisnings­verkligheter, men hur teori också kan begränsa och styra forskning i olika riktningar. Vi relaterar särskilt till didaktiska nivåer, vilka inkluderar aktionsnivå, teoretisk nivå och metateoretisk nivå rörande ontologi, epistemologi och metodologi. Resultatet utfaller i en flerstämmighet på samtliga nivåer – med andra ord leder det prövande närmandet till teoriers flersidiga funktion i flerstämmig didaktik.

This thesis explores what teaching can be in preschool. In this thesis, I begin with a curious exploration to understand teaching based on the premises of preschool practice, where pedagogical relationships are central. This means that teaching is specifically examined through the lens of preschool daily life. The overall aim of the thesis is to contribute knowledge about what teaching can be in preschool, based on a multiethnographic study. The thesis is composed of three articles and a kappa. Two of the articles are based on empirical studies conducted in preschools using a video camera as a tool to generate empirical data. The third article is driven by a theoretical consideration of children's education in preschool.

Linked to Kansanen's pedagogical levels, the thesis contributes knowledge about teaching in preschools that involve a movement between 1) action language, 2) theoretical language, and 3) meta-theoretical language and methodological analysis language. The kappa is driven by an overarching research question, which is answered through a movement between Kansanen's pedagogical levels, offering further contributions through the concept of didaktik multilanguaging. Teaching in preschool, both in practice and in theory, can be both out of step and in step, involving educators, children, and objects/content, and can be much more than just finding tools to measure knowledge. The thesis contributes to ongoing discussions on how teaching, based on the preschool's premises, can have the opportunity to become socially just through didaktik multilanguaging in preschool education. Social Justice as didaktik multilanguaging focuses on social justice as the relationship between languages between the child, educator, and content/object, between the action level and the (meta)theoretical level.

Den här avhandlingen utforskar vad undervisning kan bli i förskola. 

I avhandlingen utgår jag från ett nyfiket utforskande för att förstå undervisning utifrån förskolepraktikens premisser där pedagogiska relationer är centrala. Det innebär specifikt att undervisning utforskas med förskolevardagen som utgångspunkt.  Det övergripande syftet med avhandlingen är att bidra med kunskap om vad undervisning kan bli i förskola utifrån en multietnografisk studie. Avhandlingen grundas på tre artiklar och en kappa. Två av artiklarna grundas på empiriska studier genomförda i förskola med en videokamera som verktyg för att generera empiri. Avhandlingens tredje artikel drivs av ett teoretisk tänkande om yngre barns utbildning i förskola. 

Med anknytning till Kansanens pedagogiska nivåer, bidrar avhandlingen med kunskap om undervisning i förskola som innehar en rörelse mellan 

1) aktionsspråk 2) teoretiskt språk och 3) meta-teoretiskt språk och metodologiskt analysspråk. 

Kappan drivs av en övergripande forskningsfråga som besvaras genom en rörelse mellan Kansanens pedagogiska nivåer vilket erbjuder ytterligare bidrag genom begreppet didaktiskt flerspråkande. Undervisning i förskola såväl i praktik som i teori kan vara både i takt och otakt och inkludera pedagoger, barn och objekt/innehåll och kan vara mycket mer än att hitta verktyg för att mäta kunskap. Avhandlingen bidrar till fortsatta diskussioner om hur undervisning utifrån förskolans premisser kan ha en möjlighet att bli socialt rättvis genom didaktiskt flerspråkande i förskolans utbildning. Social rättvisa som didaktiskt flerspråkande fokuserar social rättvisa som språkande relation mellan barn, pedagog och innehåll/objekt, mellan aktionsnivå och (meta)teoretisk nivå. 

Sedan 2018 ingår undervisning i läroplanen för förskola i Sverige. Detta har lett till ett behov av en bredare förståelse för hur undervisning kan genomföras i förskola. I föreliggande studie består data av videoobservationer genomförda med etnografisk metod och syftet är att bidra med kunskap om undervisning som en gemensam handling mellan pedagoger och barn i förskola. Mer specifikt utforskas karaktären av responser mellan pedagoger och barn samt hur gemensamt innehåll framträder i interaktion mellan barn och pedagoger. Syftet är relaterat till metod och interaktionsanalys där verbalt tal och kroppsliga uttryck tillskrivs samma värde och är sammanflätade. Det senare är relaterat till studiens sammanhang, som är en förskola och specifikt en språkavdelning med deltagare från 3 års ålder. Resultatet visar att innehåll mellan pedagoger och barn där responsivitet innebär både kroppsliga och verbala uttryck för handling öppnar för att förstå undervisning som gemensam och som en samhandling där innehållet växer fram och växlar mellan pedagoger och barn. 

The purpose of this paper is two folded. One is to generate knowledge about characteristics of teaching in relation to play and how content within teaching emerge between participants. The second purpose is related to methodology and analysis whereby using interaction analysis (IA) give same attention to expressions from the body as from the spoken word to understand response in diverse ways in relation to participants different ways of communicating response. Diverse ways in this study involve both verbal and/or bodily expression. Due to the emergent need of research that explore teaching in relation to multi-lingualism in an Early Childhood Education (ECE) this study aims to contribute to that field (Norling & Lillqvist, 2016; Kultti, 2021). A central aspect in this study when analyzing teaching in relation to play is the aspect of interaction between participants. This study aims to contribute with knowledge about how teaching in relation to play can be understood by asking: 1. What can be characterized as teaching in relation to play? - What emerge as content in teaching in relation to play? - How is response expressed between participants?

This study is theoretically framed by Play Responsive Early Childhood Education and Care (PRECEC) concerning pedagogical tact (se. Van Manen, 2016) and didaktik (se. Broström, 2022; Klafki, 1995). Play-responsive teaching has a theoretical perspective where the concept of response is used about children'children'sachers’Teachers' to children'children's lead to teaching of a new content this stands concerning joint attention or make common (Barnhart, 2004; Pramling et al, 2019). Common in this study is related to Korsgaards's (2019) understanding of common as making things together. In recent years, teaching has been enabled through the Education Act (SFS 2010:800) and has been part of the curriculum since 2018. Teaching as an activity in a Swedish preschool context has led to a need for a broader understanding of what teaching can become in preschool. Through ethnographic methods and a video camera to collect data, this study explores teaching through play concerning response and making common. This study asks the following questions: What can be characterized as teaching in preschool in relation to play? How can the concept of common be understood in relation to content and teaching through play in preschool?

The aim of this study is to contribute with knowledge to the field of ECEC as to PRECEC_SCS on how social sustainability as equity can be related to teaching in relation to play, response and multiple languages. Considering previous studies (Pramling et al,2019) there is a need to explore teaching in relation to play with a focus on social sustainability. This study ties into the theory Play Responsive Early Childhood Education and Care for Social and Cultural sustainability (PRECEC_SCS). The study refers to social sustainability as related to equity and social change within an educational setting (Cazden, Cope, Fairclough, Gee, 1966). This study explores what can hinder or enable teaching in relation to play with a focus on several languages, includes body language, and responses. Drawing upon a 5-month ethnographic fieldwork where data is collected with a video camera this study explore teaching in relation to play. The empirical data is analyzed through interaction analyzes (Goffman, 1981; Schieffelin & Ochs, 1986; Goodwin, 2012). The following study has been ethically reviewed and approved (dnr 2021-03573) and all participants have given written informed consent through themselves or through a guardian. Participants are anonymized. The Initial results show how teaching in relation to play and responses through multiple languages for communication and different experiences can be linked to social sustainability as equity. These findings suggest implications for several ways of how the body as a communicator as multiple languages are of significance for teaching in relation to play and relates to social sustainability