Special educational didaktik* is a relatively recent and still underexplored concept – a didaktik voice situated at the intersection of special education and general didaktik theory. First introduced in 2020, the concept has since been further developed. Special educational didaktik is defined as the didaktik approach that is applied in a qualified and ethically responsive manner when general didaktik is considered insufficient to ensure children’s right to both support and challenges within preschool teaching. In this regard, special educational didaktik should be understood not as separate from, or fundamentally different to, the general education and didaktik of preschool, but rather as complementing and working in close relation to them. The present article seeks to conceptualise special educational didaktik by delineating it from related concepts, exploring boundary crossings, clarifying its core dimensions, and discussing implications for future research and theory development. *We use the German word ‘didaktik’ (with use of the letter k), which is common in the didaktik tradition in continental Europe and the Nordic countries, and not the English word ‘didactics’.

Föreliggande studie syftade till att kritiskt undersöka hur barn i behov av särskilt stöd presenteras i de ansökningar om tilläggsbelopp för extraordinära stödåtgärder som lämnas in av fristående förskolor. I studien användes kvalitativ textanalys och ansökningarna var från 2020 till 2024 rörande 20 barn i en stor svensk kommun. Genom ett intersektionellt perspektiv tillsammans med begreppet childism problematiserades representationerna av barn utifrån funktion, kön och ålder. Analysen visade på representationer som relaterar till teman om våld, aggression och passivitet, impulsivitet och kontroll, beroende och oberoende samt motstånd. Resultaten indikerar skärningspunkter mellan funktion och kön samt mellan funktion och ålder. Dessa resultat tillskrivs statens formuleringsmandat, vilket skapar en instrumentell hierarki av specialpedagogiskt stöd. I kontrast till statens intentioner om jämlikhet och barns rättigheter lyfter resultaten fram hur de identifierade representationerna riskerar att förstärka marginalisering, ojämlikhet och orättvisa. English abstract Hear Us Call, Resources For All! Expressive Representations in Independent Preschools’ Applications for Additional Funding for Extraordinary Support Measures This study aimed to critically examine how children in need of special support are represented in the applications for additional funding for extraordinary support measures submitted by independent preschools. The study was conducted using qualitative text analysis of applications from 2020 to 2024 concerning 20 children in a large Swedish municipality. Through the lenses of intersectionality and childism, the representations of the children were problematised based on function, gender, and age. The analysis revealed expressive representations that relate to themes of violence, aggression and passivity, impulsivity and control, dependence and independence, and resistance. The results indicate intersections between function and gender as well as between function and age. These results are attributed to the state’s formulation mandate, which creates an instrumental hierarchy of special educational support. In contrast to the state’s intentions regarding equality and children’s rights, the results highlight how the identified representations risk reinforcing marginalisation, inequality, and injustice.

Using an intersectional analysis, this article critically analyses implied and expressed norms to identify perceptions of appropriate behaviour in children’s play, and to explore how social communicative arenas such as Internet forums construct knowledge and values. Adults’ responses to an incident that occurred amongst a group of children in Swedish early childhood education as part of free play during the preschool day were analysed. The incident was described in a thread posted on the Familjeliv (Family Life) internet forum. The research questions were: what images of children are prominent in discourse on appropriate behaviour as part of free play; what discursive categorisations of children related to age, gender and sexuality can be identified within this discourse; and how do these categorisations intersect? Netnography provided the method used together with thematic content analysis. Findings reveal two contrasting views: first, the view that four-year-olds cannot commit sexual assault on another person; and second, the view that they can. Young children were constructed either as non-sexual, innocent, curious and playful, or as perpetrators who lack consequentialist thinking. Age was the dominant discursive category utilised in relation to sexuality and appropriate behaviour, followed by gender. 

Research topic/aim This article critically analyses implied and expressed norms to identify perceptions of appropriate behaviour in children’s play, and to explore how social communicative arenas such as Internet forums construct knowledge and values. Adults’ responses to an incident that occurred amongst a group of children in Swedish early childhood education as part of free play during the preschool day were analysed. The incident was described in a thread posted on the Familjeliv (Family Life) internet forum. The research questions were: what images of children are prominent in discourse on appropriate behaviour as part of free play; what discursive categorisations of children related to age, gender and sexuality can be identified within this discourse; and how do these categorisations intersect? Netnography provided the method used together with thematic content analysis. Theoretical framework The thematic content analysis we conducted was qualitative in focus and adopted a poststructural feminist approach. Using this approach, the researcher’s gaze is directed not only towards expressions in the text, but also key linguistic formulations and discursive meanings. In this study, the focus was not only on discursively constructed identity-creating categories such as gender and ethnicity, but also on age, functionality and nationality. The intention when using an intersectional analysis is to shed light on issues that are taken for granted, such as assumptions about children’s ‘normal’ development or, as in this study, appropriate behaviour. In pursuit of such a goal it becomes central to visualise and examine unspoken and stated norms, such as constructed differences between something (a child’s behaviour) or someone (a child) that is perceived as normal or deviant in different situations or relationships. Methodological design The study involved the use of netnographic method. Instead of studying a situation using responses to questions from a researcher, we focused on the replies in Familjeliv forum thread. Expected conclusions/findings Findings reveal two contrasting views: first, the view that four-year-olds cannot commit sexual assault on another person; and second, the view that they can. Young children were constructed either as non-sexual, innocent, curious and playful, or as perpetrators who lack consequentialist thinking. Age was the dominant discursive category utilised in relation to sexuality and appropriate behaviour, followed by gender. Relevance to Nordic educational research In Sweden, preschool is a non-compulsory part of the education system. Early childhood education in Sweden is aligned with the Nordic tradition. It involves close contact between staff such as care givers, preschool teachers and special educators, and parents. Play is considered integral to education and central to learning. The Swedish national curriculum emphasises the central aspect of play for children’s development. Play can be viewed as a key part of preschool experience in which children are free to explore their surroundings, express themselves, and learn together. However, different types of governance linked to play in the preschool context have been identified in the literature related to gender, age and functionality. There is a lack of critical research that brings these discursive categories to bear on free play. The present study aims to fill this gap.

Recurring in discussions with professionals, as well as in media and research (cg. Palla, 2021), are concerns regarding the portrayal of children in need of special support in relation to the struggle for resources in Swedish preschools. Perhaps the expressive constructions of children in need of special support can serve as a means to acquire additional resources. A consequence of such an approach may be that the more "special and expressive needs" are constructed and documented, the greater the opportunities for resource enhancement (cf. Persson & Tallberg Broman, 2019). This prerogativ of interpretation opens up possibilities for what can be articulated in other arenas, such as in application forms for additional resource allocation. Multiple issues arise, relating to values, perceptions of children, and the formation of children's identities in connection with the preschool's role and mission regarding quality education, making this project particularly urgent. The aim is therefore to create knowledge about how children in need of special support are described in preschool special educational resource application forms. The analysis focuses on the preschool's compensatory mission as a differentiering practice (Foucault, 2000), examining how children are described in resource application forms from an intersectional perspective. In this way, it illuminates notions of normality and deviation within the constructed categories of function, gender, and age. The project is conducted through text analysis of collected authentic documents comprising 169 pages concerning 20 children. Using qualitative thematic text analysis (Atkinson & Coffey, 2011; Silverman, 2006) from an intersectional perspective, the content is grouped according to the categories of function, gender, and age, while also revealing any potential intersections among these categories. The project is expected to contribute to both theoretical development and practice-relevant knowledge.

References 

Atkinson, P. & A. Coffey, A. (2011). Analysing Documentary Realities. In Qualitative Research: Issues of Theory, Method and Practice, edited by D. Silverman, 77–92. SAGE. 

Foucault, M. (2000). The subject and power. I J.D. Faubion (Red.). Power: Essential works of Foucault 1054-1984. Volume 3. Penguin books. 

Palla, L. (2021). När barn blir till problem och belastning i svensk förskola: Om behov av särskilt stöd och resurser i ett pressat läge. Pedagogisk forskning i Sverige, 26(4), 7–29.

Persson, S. & Tallberg Broman, I. (2019). Hög sjukfrånvaro och ökad psykisk ohälsa. Malmö stad.

Silverman, D. (2006). Interpreting Qualitative Data: Methods for Analyzing Talk, Text and Interaction. Sage. 

Utifrån ett intersektionellt perspektiv har vi analyserat vuxnas uttryck på nätet gällande en beskriven gränsöverskridande lek i förskolemiljö mellan två pojkar och en flicka. Studien är intresserad av hur de på ett internetforum förhandlar situationen med utgångpunkt i kategorierna kön och ålder. Vissa menar att barns lek är nyfiken och utforskande medan andra argumenterar för att barn kan begå övergrepp även om de är unga. Denna debatt är av relevans då det under de senaste åren blivit mer fokus på att skydda barn med en ökad oro gällande nakenhet och barns kroppar.

This study aims to develop knowledge about how ‘the Deviant’ is produced through identificatory mapping materials that operate in Swedish preschools. This is achieved by identifying and critically reviewing a base of mapping materials commonly used in Swedish ECEC today, focusing on how the documents per se, and the formulations therein, risk pointing both the writer and the recipient in certain directions. This includes analysing the pre-existing structure and content as well as the proposed purpose of the mapping material. Drawing on Foucault, I consider documentation as a productive discursive element in a larger apparatus, where the mapping materials operate as a governing technology for making normalising judgments. The analysis contributes to an understanding of the documentality governing ECEC professionals, which affects how they resonate, and act in aiming to fulfil their mission in identifying certain children. In line with this reasoning, I also point out the specific status the documents have gained in the global ECEC quality discourse. The analysis shows how mapping documents named Pedagogical Mapping operate as a discursive element of the apparatus of early childhood special education identification processes and become fruitful for visibilising, comparing, and assessing the child and for further governing.