Entrepreneurial learning in Swedish preschools: possibilities for and constraints on children's active participation.

The purpose of this study is to examine whether children in preschool receive support and recognition in their efforts to make sense of the world around them, and if so, what characterises this support. The use of the expression 'make sense of the world around them' refers to the concept of 'entrepreneurial learning’, which means that children learn to explore the world in a creative and independent manner.

Overall the study indicates that even though the ambition of the preschool teachers is to encourage children to engage in entrepreneurial learning, the activities studied and design and setting of the activities do not always give the children the opportunity to be creative. The authors find that being creative and explorative can be difficult for children in situations in which the preschool teachers follow a pre-defined concept or have a specific objective in mind. The study also shows that it is possible to create a framework for an activity that helps encourage children's entrepreneurial skills. The authors conclude that the key element is how preschool teachers organise the activity: If an activity is planned too stringently and with a purpose that is too narrow, the children are not able to act freely or come up with their own creative solutions.

The analysis describes three different activities (one for each preschool) in which the children are given the opportunity to be creative and active under very different circumstances. During the first activity, a very specific process is followed, in which things have to be carried out according to a specific order. The children sit at tables, wear white a white lab coat and safety glasses and work on each their invention with the materials provided by the preschool teachers. Each invention consists of a piece of cardboard, on which different elements are glued. The preschool teachers are in charge of the glue gun. The children point to where they want to glue something, and are helped by one of the preschool teachers. In this context, the children are encouraged to work individually with help from the preschool teachers. However, they are prevented from taking further initiatives and only have limited possibility to influence or change the activity.

The other situation analysed consists of a drama activity, a controlled activity with LEGO and a read-aloud session. The drama activity is planned by the preschool teacher and follows a specific storyline and order (the story about the three little pigs). The children can test different roles and explore acting, but only within the given framework. In the first two activities, the children have a high degree of freedom to control the play and to make up their own rules.

In the third and final activity, the children and the adults seem to have a flexible role, and the children are given ample opportunity to control the activity themselves. To begin with, together with the adults, the children watch video footage, and look at photographs and drawings produced in connection with a project on robots. The children can click between the photographs on the screen and make comments on the process or present their own creations. After the joint session, the children work on their creations. They are encouraged by the adults to find materials, use the glue gun and to navigate independently through the activity. In this context, the children can participate actively. However, it is also accepted if a child does not want to take part in the activity or wants to do something else outside the joint theme of the project. This freedom is illustrated by a girl who does not want to present her creations and furthermore designs a butterfly instead of a robot. The adults support the girl in her choices. The analysis highlights how the ECEC teachers choose not to highlight certain solutions, but instead let the children test different strategies and let them be innovative on their own. During the activity, the ECEC teachers explain the concepts that are introduced during the activity, and encourage the children to document their learning processes.

The study was conducted in three preschools which describe themselves as preschools working with an entrepreneurial approach. Nine preschool teachers and children aged 3-5 years participated in the study. The data material consists of video footage of activities in which the teachers work with the children's entrepreneurial skills. The analysis is based on three video observations lasting between 60 and 120 minutes; one for each preschool.

Insulander, E., Ehrlin, A. & Sandberg, A. (2015). Entrepreneurial learning in Swedish preschools: possibilities for and constraints on children's active participation. Early Child Development and Care 185(10),1545-1555.