Toddler’s Life in Swedish Preschools

The purpose of this paper is to point to some patterns dealt with in Swedish research with one to three-year old children in preschool. The focus of analyses is on questions posed, theoretical perspectives, methods and results. The empirical basis of this discussion comprises doctoral theses together with some later studies, all involving children under the age of three. The studies represent significant issues in educational research involving children under the age of three in Sweden. They span different approaches, yet there seem to be a common interest in basing research on children’s premises and gaining access to the child’s perspective. In sum, the results give an unique picture of how toddlers participate, interact and communicate while engaged in early mathematics, arts, literacy, moral issues, how to master the preschool context, express their intentions, inspire their peers to interaction and playful activities. Nevertheless, these ideas raise issues concerning the responsibility of research: How far can we go in talking in terms of children’s perspectives and how active and competent can a child be? It is extremely important to unpack and scrutinize the power relations that might be hidden in our ambition to take into account the perspective of the active competent and participating child.