Preschool, Play, Learning and Teaching

The Colloquium for Didactics and Children’s Learning is an open academic seminar where invited scholars present on-going and recent research on children’s learning and how to organize for this in contemporary information societies.

There is a particular focus on questions regarding children’s learning in preschool as a play- and theme-based institution. Questions about children’s learning and teacher-child communication in relation to knowledge domains such as language, mathematics, science and the arts are highlighted. In the context of contemporary society, it is also important to explore learning and didactics in terms of multilingualism, how new technology may alter teaching and learning in early childhood education, and learning for sustainable development; the latter which will be regulated by The Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations stating every child’s right to education and at least one year of preschool education. These contemporary themes highlight issues of participation, inclusion and equality within the framework of a didactical interest. Didactics is here understood in the Continental tradition, as distinct from the Anglo-Saxon concept of the same term. There is a variety of theoretical perspectives represented, but the group shares grounding in the educational-psychology tradition.

The colloquium is led by senior lecturer Pernilla Lagerlöf, senior lecturer Malin Nilsen and professor Ingrid Pramling Samuelsson.

Within this seminar, the research on issues of play, learning and teaching in preschools as fundamental processes for social and cultural sustainability is discussed. These interests include issues of how digital technologies change the ways in which children participate in different cultural practices and have access to a broader world of experiences, and how multilingual interaction may contribute to development of all children in a group. The seminar is led by professor Niklas Pramling.

The seminar focuses on children’s early learning of mathematics. The seminar is led by professor Camilla Björklund.