Purpose
The purpose of the study is to investigate kindergarten teachers’ perceptions and experiences of norm-critical literature in kindergartens. The research questions are: 1) How do kindergarten teachers view norm-critical literature? 2) What do they think it should generate? 3) How do they reflect upon their own work involving norm-critical literature in relation to children’s literature in general? 4) What is the role of the guidance material available for many norm-critical books?
Result
The results show that kindergarten teachers emphasise diversity and recognition when reading to the children. They deal with stereotypes in different ways, such as changing or excluding certain words when reading aloud to the children. The kindergarten teachers believe that the pedagogical guidance material that accompanies norm-critical books is a valuable resource.
Design
Seven female kindergarten teachers from seven municipal kindergartens in Sweden were interviewed in the period 2017-2018. Each interview lasted between 30 to 60 minutes and was audio recorded. The researchers observed reading sessions involving norm-critical literature in some of the kindergartens, and also noted which norm-critical books the kindergartens had and where the books were located.
References
Hermansson, K. & Nordenstam, A. (2020). «Normkritisk barnlitteratur på svenska förskolor. En intervjustudie”. Barn, 38(4):85-98.