Preschool Teachers’ Work with Curriculum Content Areas in Relation to Their Professional Competence and Group Size in Preschool: A Mixed-methods Analysis

The study investigates kindergarten teachers’ considerations about their own work with different subject areas in the Framework Plan for Kindergartens and looks at possible correlations with their academic expertise and group sizes in kindergarten. The research questions are:

1. Which subject areas do kindergarten teachers report giving the least emphasis to in their daily work?
2. What arguments are provided by kindergarten teachers for the subject areas they emphasise the least in the curriculum framework?
3. How do these arguments relate to kindergarten teachers’ academic competence and the group size in the kindergarten?

The results show that reading and writing are the subject areas that are least emphasised in the framework plan. It emerges that kindergarten teachers did not perceive reading and writing as part of kindergarten’s core educational mandate. Kindergarten teachers focused on other subject areas such as language, mathematics, play, art and motor development. No significant correlation was found between kindergarten teachers’ assessments of the subject areas, their academic background, and group size. The study indicates the need for more academic development and structural changes to support kindergarten teachers in balancing a wide range of subject areas in kindergarten.

The study is based on data from a major survey in Sweden that focused on group sizes in kindergarten and their importance for children’s learning and development. An online survey was used that collected data from 698 kindergarten teachers from 42 municipalities in Sweden. The researchers analysed kindergarten teachers’ assessments of twelve different subject areas in the framework plan for kindergartens.

Nasiopoulou, P., Williams, P., & Lantz-Andersson, A. (2022). Preschool Teachers’ Work with Curriculum Content Areas in Relation to Their Professional Competence and Group Size in Preschool: A Mixed-methods Analysis. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 66(3), 533–548.

Online year: 2021

Issue year: 2022

Review year: 2022