Så är det ju – den blir aldrig färdig! En etnografisk studie om förskolepedagogers arbete med pedagogisk dokumentation. Licentiatavhandling.

The overall purpose of this dissertation is to examine how ECEC teachers implement pedagogical documentation in practice. With reference to the increasing focus on evaluation and quality assurance in Swedish ECEC settings, the aim of this dissertation is to provide a deeper understanding of the challenges and opportunities of this documentation practice.

The results indicate that pedagogical documentation depends on the circumstances and conditions under which documentation is carried out. One challenge of pedagogical documentation is that it is often influenced by different methodologies and theories, and this may cause uncertainty and doubt among practitioners of the ECEC centre. Even though documentation can be a time-consuming and complex task, it still seems to be central for the pedagogical development of ECEC teachers and ECEC centres. In this connection, the dissertation indicates that continuous skills development and education/training are crucial for the extent to which ECEC teachers can meet the increasing expectations and requirements for pedagogical documentation. Overall, the researcher assesses that the ECEC teachers considered pedagogical documentation a stimulating and meaningful pedagogical tool.

The studies were conducted at two Swedish ECEC centres (förskola), at which the researcher observed everyday activities of six ECEC teachers (förskolepedagoger). One of the selected ECEC centres had just started working with pedagogical documentation. The other centre was inspired by the Reggio Emilia approach, and had worked with pedagogical documentation for several years. The dissertation is designed as an ethnographic study, in which data was collected through observations, interviews, field notes, photographs and other local documents from the two ECEC centres. Data was collected in two rounds over a period of four months, in which the researcher spent 3-4 hours every day at the centres.

Holmberg, C. (2015). Så är det ju – den blir aldrig färdig! En etnografisk studie om förskolepedagogers arbete med pedagogisk dokumentation. Licentiatavhandling. Stockholms universitet.