Minding the gap: Dilemmas in a didactic and pragmatically informed teaching approach in preschool.

The study investigates how kindergarten teachers explain why they teach in a certain way with an emphasis on values. The researchers take a closer look at difficult situations that arise in kindergartens and how kindergarten teachers solve these problems.

The results suggest that in teaching that is based on values, ethical dilemmas arise related to kindergarten rules and norms. These dilemmas become part of the teaching question ‘why?’ Kindergarten teachers have to deal with these dilemmas while collaborating with the children. They must find solutions that respect values without hurting the feelings of colleagues, children or parents.

The study used material from 120 Swedish kindergartens. The researchers analysed 346 documents, including plans, teaching documents and evaluations, as well as 64 videos from kindergarten departments. The video material amounted to approximately five hours, and the written documentation contained approximately 75,000 words.

Löf, C., & Vallberg Roth, A. C. (2021). “Minding the gap: Dilemmas in a didactic and pragmatically informed teaching approach in preschool”. Nordisk tidskrift för allmän didaktik, 7(1):38-54.