Undervisningsstrategier och praktiker i förskolans undervisning för hållbar utveckling

Abstract in English

The thesis aims to describe education for sustainable development (ESD) in Swedish preschools and the factors affecting its implementation. The new Swedish preschool curriculum from 2019 mentions teaching explicitly for the first time and highlights the sustainability perspective, hence the importance of this study. This study investigates how ESD is conducted in Swedish preschool and also explores how the learning environment, implementation support in the form of eco-certification, and the new curriculum affect ESD in preschool. Empirical data comprises interviews with 16 randomly selected preschool teachers from 16 preschools in eight municipalities; in addition, two teachers at two preschools were observed teaching, and the former and current curricula were analysed. Data was analysed through thematic and content analysis based on a pragmatic perspective of ESD where teaching practices and teaching strategies are central concepts. The results identify four ESD practices that describe a pluralistic view of teaching and a new teaching-strategy, semi-spontaneous teaching. What characterises semi-spontaneous teaching is that it occurs on the initiative of children in an environment well-considered by the teacher or with the teacher’s teaching material. The study also identifies a ESD characterised by a holistic perspective on sustainable development. An investigation of these influencing factors gives the following results: the learning environment affects ESD in terms of the preschool teachers’ choice of teaching strategy; implementation support resulted in only minor differences where teachers at eco-certified preschools describe a more structured and planned ESD than teachers at non-eco-certified preschools; and the new curriculum presents a holistic perspective on sustainable development that leans towards pluralistic teaching and that therefore has greater potential to influence ESD in a pluralistic and holistic direction than the former curriculum.