Preschool teachers’ views of democratic learning processes in Sweden: Intergenerational perspective in interaction with children

Abstract

Democracy based education has been a central part of policy documents in preschool in Sweden. Research in early childhood education have focussed on practicing democracy and on childrens’ influence, though with a lack of intergenerational perspective, which this article will discuss. The aim of this study is to explore everyday democratic learning processes framed by an intergenerational perspective, to understand democracy in a preschool context by the research question: How do preschool teachers describe the situated democratic learning processes? The article explores preschool teachers’ reflections on how their own adult-centric agenda limited or enhanced democratic learning processes in their daily practices, during meal-time situations, circle time situations and child initiated play. The theoretical approach is an intergenerational learning perspective problematized in the view of lifelong learning in terms of learning to know, learning to do, learning to be, and learning to live together. Central concepts are relational agency and democratic subjectification. Findings will be presented under categories of: A) Features of lived democracy that became visible in the critical incidents. B) The obstacles to children’s democratic participation. C) Teachers facilitate a lived democracy. Two conclusions are drawn; 1) situated democracy as parallel learning processes between teachers and children, 2) democracy is constructed in children-teacher-agency in situated practice and children’s impact has to be considered.