Förskollärares uppfattningar av de yngsta barnens delaktighet och inflytande i förskolan : En fenomenografisk studie om förskollärares uppfattningar av villkoren för de yngsta barnens delaktighet och inflytande i förskolan

The aim of this study is to make visible how preschool teachers perceive young children´s participation and influence in preschool. The focus is on children aged one to three years and on the conditions that shape their possibilities to express their will and have an impact on daily activities. The study is conducted using a phenomenographic approach and is based on semi-structured interviews with seven preschool teachers working in preschool settings. The collected material was analysed to identify variations in how preschool teachers understand children’s participation and influence. The results show that preschool teachers perceive the youngest children’s influence as primarily bodily expressed and interpreted in the moment, through gaze, movements, sounds and actions that only become meaningful when noticed and interpreted by an adult. Influence is often understood as taking place within adult-initiated frameworks, where the teacher’s responsibility for structure, safety and routines is central. At the same time, influence is described as relational and age-related, meaning that children’s opportunities to influence are shaped through interaction between the child, the teacher and the preschool environment. Organisational conditions such as routines, group size and the physical environment are also perceived as important factors that can both enable and restrict children’s participation and influence. The main conclusion of the study is that the youngest children’s influence cannot be understood as individual choice alone, but rather as a relational and context-dependent practice that requires a responsive, reflective and responsible approach from preschool teachers.