Barns kamratrelationer i förskolan: samhörighet, tillhörighet, vänskap, utanförskap. Malmö: Malmö Högskola.

The study aims to provide a basis for a discussion of the kindergarten as an environment that provides all children with the opportunity to create good relationships with other children. The study examines the social relationships of 353 children in kindergarten with particular focus on relationships with peers and friends. The study also examines the staff’s perception of the children's social characteristics and social skills.

An image of children's social relationships was established through sociometrics and classification by the teachers of the children. The study suggests that three main patterns influence children's social relationships: a sense of belonging, solidarity and friendship. Most of the children in this study have social relationships in kindergarten.  Of these, 89% feel a sense of belonging, 95% have at least one friend, and almost 75% are part of friendships (indicating each other as friends). Fifty of the children do not feel that they belong, or that they have a friend. Therefore, the majority of the 18 kindergarten departments examined in this study have failed to create an environment in which all children feel that they belong to a group (as stated in the Swedish curriculum). Moreover, the study shows that each child's sense of belonging; sense of community with other children; and friendships depends on the department and the kindergarten the child belongs to, including how teachers perceive children's social skills and not structural factors or background variables. This difference cannot be explained by structural factors and the background variables of each child. There is a correlation between the teacher’s/child carer’s understanding of the child's social characteristics and social skills on the one hand and the child's status in the group and its sense of belonging and solidarity on the other. Finally, the study concludes negatively on the question about the environment of the daycare centres. Therefore, there are differences in the possibilities for children to establish good relationships at daycare centres. The differences cannot be explained by background factors, which gives rise to further examination of what causes the differences identified at the daycare centres examined.

The study design is sociometric with screening through classification. The study is organised as a cross-sectional study. The data were collected from 353 children aged three to seven years in 18 departments at nine different kindergartens. The kindergartens were selected for having different socio-economic variances, and families with different cultural orientations.

Jonsdottir, F. (2007). Barns kamratrelationer i förskolan: samhörighet, tillhörighet, vänskap, utanförskap. Malmö: Malmö Högskola.