Konflikter som lärandetillfällen : Pedagogers arbete med barns konflikthantering i förskolan

Conflict management is a natural part och everyday life in preschool, where children learn to interact and develop social skills. This study explores how educators work with conflict management and how they percieve that children develop skills trough conflicts. Qualitative interviews were conducted with nine preschool educators in Halland County, and the analysis was performed using thematic analysis with Cohen's conflict pyramid as a theoretical framework. The results show that conflicts primarily arise due to competition over material resources, disagreements in play, and communication barriers. Educators work both preventively and reactively, mainly on the pyramid levels of Prevention, Self- Management and Meditation, while the Stop level is rarely used, as conflicts are usually resolved before escalation. Conflicts are viewed as valuable learning situations where children develop empathy, turn-taking, perspective-taking and self regulation. The findings contribute to a better understanding of how conflict management can be integrated into everyday preschool practice and demonstrate that conflicts can serve as meaningful opportunities for learning and social development.