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I dette kapitel ser vi på den politiske beslutningsproces, der har ledt frem til den reviderede dagtilbudslov og den styrkede pædagogiske læreplan. Formålet er at vise hvordan processen – der er lanceret som en åben proces med involvering af daginstitutionsområdets mange interesserenter – også kan anskues som en standardiseret og ministerielt styret proces – som allerede længe inden den officielle start, var igangsat med en række forskellige initiativer. Vi vil vise hvordan, der har været flere forskellige politiske dagsordner og ambitioner med læreplanen, som har resulteret i at læreplanen må betragtes som et kompromis med forandrede og flertydige indholdselementer, som kan læses forskelligt af forskellige aktører afhængigt af hvor i feltet de er placeret. Afslutningsvist vil vi vise hvordan daginstitutionsområdet på trods af en stigende politisk opmærksomhed fortsat betragtes som et lav-prioriteret område, der kan kastes rundt mellem ministerier.

Dette kapitel præsenterer en analyse af hvordan læring har fået forrang som led i en intensivering af den politiske styring af dagtilbudsområdet med indførelse af et fælles pædagogisk grundlag og læringsmål. Både læringens forrang og intensiveringen af den politiske styring sløres gennem brug af begreber som er positivt konnoterede af professionen selv; fx leg, dannelse og børneperspektiv. Med afsæt i den ministerielle publikation ”Den styrkede pædagogiske læreplan – rammer og indhold” (Børne- og Socialministeriet, 2018) er vi optagede af at undersøge, hvordan læring skrives frem i afsnittet ”Det fælles pædagogiske grundlag”. Vi følger processen fra Mastergruppens formulering af et pædagogisk grundlag til det som nu er politisk besluttet, og som betegnes som et fælles pædagogisk grundlag. Udover at vise hvordan læring har fået forrang i forhold til de tilsyneladende ligestillede begreber i dagtilbudslovens formålsparagraf, viser vi hvordan det læringsbegreb, som nu fremgår af den ministerielle publikation, har forandret sig undervejs i policy-processen. Samtidig viser vores analyser af de forandringer af læringsbegrebet, der er sket undervejs, at det forsat er relevant at diskutere den politiske ambition om mere entydighed i læringsbegrebet. Derfor slutter kapitlet af med at problematisere ideen om at man fra centralt politisk hold skal, bør og kan bestemme et fælles læringsbegreb og et fælles pædagogisk grundlag.

Artiklen belyser, hvordan det kan give mening at forstå og arbejde med børnefællesskaber, venskaber og konflikter i forbindelse med skiftet fra en hverdag i børnehaven til nye sociale sammenhænge i skolen.

In Denmark in 2018, a number of initiatives concerning ethnic minority children were implemented. One of them is a test of Danish language in the first grade carried out in schools with more than 30 % of the children coming from so-called ‘Ghetto areas’. One of the consequences of failing this test is that the child is to be held back a grade and therefore cannot go together with his/her classmates. It seems like the test presupposes an individualized child that learn Danish language independent of the communities in which he/she participates. However, research (e.g. Stanek 2014; Lave 1988) show that learning cannot be separated from participation in communities. Even though testing traditionally is comprehended as a neutral tool for individualized measurement, children participate in testing as a social practice and as part of their everyday life together (Kousholt 2016). The official political statements argue that the test is implemented in order to ensure better Danish language skills of the children living in ‘Ghetto areas’. However, earlier research show that such initiatives paradoxically can prove harmful (McNeil 2000). From the perspective of Critical psychology (e.g. Holzkamp 2013), we wish to investigate, analyze and discuss how this language test becomes part of complex and compound school practice and sets new conditions for this practice. Hereunder; which consequences does the test have for children, parents and professionals; what does it for instance mean for the child to fail the first grade of primary school? How are schools dealing with the test and how are they being hold responsible for poor test results? Does the test lead to further individualization of the children and of the understandings of the problem and/or does it entail possibilities for new communities and transgressions?

Displacement of problems – on children’s transition fromkindergarten to schoolThis article analyses how different parties in different ways contribute to thesocietal development in which children are presented to the school’s disciplineand academic skills earlier and faster. The societal development isanalysed as being linked to both struggles between professions and tradeunions and intentions to help both children and their professional adults inconnection with the increasing demands to deliver more skilled citizensquicker. The ambition to help children become better skilled is analysed asa downward spiral throughout the (educational) system. The article focusesin particular on the historical development of preschool systems as transitionalsupport for children when they start school. The article presents historicalgrounds for establishing and developing the kindergarten class. Basedon this, the reasons for increasing the introduction of various preschool arrangementsfor kindergarten class and school preparation in kindergartenswill be analysed.Keywords: historical view, school, preschool, transition, school preparation

This article will argue for and unfold the conceptualization of children’s proximal societal conditions. Through out different research project in which children’s everyday life in different day care settings and in schools has been studied, it becomes clear that ‘the societal’ is not something that is above or outside the institutional setting or the children’s everyday life, but something that is represented through societal structures and actual persons participating (in political ways) within the institutional settings, in ways that has meaning to children’s possibilities to participate, learn and develop.Understanding school or kindergarten as (part of) the children’s proximal societal conditions for development and learning, means for instance that considerations about an inclusive agenda are no longer simply thoughts about the school – for economic reasons – having space for as many pupils as possible (schools for all). Such thoughts can be supplemented by reflections about which version of ‘the societal’ we wish to present our children with, and which version of ‘the societal’ we wish to set up as the condition for children’s participation and development. The point is to clarify or sharpen the dialectic relation between the subject and the societal conditions. In this article I argue for and unfold the conceptualisation of children’s proximalsocietal conditions. This concept is developed through research based on theGerman/Danish version of Critical Psychology. Various research projects studyingchildren’s everyday life in different day care settings and in schools have made it clear that ‘the societal’ is not an abstraction – something above or outside the institutional settings or children’s everyday life. Rather, it is something that is represented through societal structures and actual persons participating within the institutional settings in ways that have meaning to children’s possibilities of participating, learning and developing.Understanding school as (part of) children’s proximal societal conditions fordevelopment and learning means, for instance, that considerations about an inclusive agenda are no longer simply thoughts about the schools’ capacity for as many (different) pupils as possible (the school for all). With the concept of proximal societal conditions, we come to reflect on e.g. school not only as “a place to learn” but also as a societal meeting place where children participate in societal (re)production, hence developing as societal beings. Such a perspective has wider political and ethical implications on how we understand school and its many participants as a part of society. The aim is to clarify or sharpen the dialectic relation between the subject and the societal conditions.Through an analysis of inclusion and exclusion processes in a Danish elementaryschool, I develop the concept of children’s proximal societal conditions in order to emphasise how such processes not only affect the potentially singled-out child, but also have meaning to all the other children. I also show how such processes are always connected to broader societal structures such as school laws, rules for allocating professional resources and working conditions for teachers and pedagogues.

Vi underprioriterer børnenes liv uden for skolen, og det er et oplagt bud på, hvorfor mange børn og unge mennesker har vanskeligt ved at håndtere almindelige og ualmindelige udfordringer – både i og uden for folkeskolen, skriver lektor Anja Hvidtfeldt Stanek og postdoc Rolf Hvidtfeldt. Personer: Anja Hvidtfeldt Stanek & Rolf Hvidtfeldt

I dette kapitel præsenterer jeg mit blik på nogle af de praktiske og teoretiske udfordringer, som ligger i det pædagogiske grundlag, vi står med i dag, og som må formodes at få betydning for, hvordan den aktuelle praksis kan videreføres og nytænkes i det pædagogiske felt.Jeg lægger ud med kort at skitsere et historisk vue over, hvordan læringsbegrebet har bidraget til det hverdagsliv, som udleves i dagens dagtilbud, og hvordan disse bidrag hænger uløseligt sammen med øvrige diskussioner og forandringer på børnefeltet og i samfundet i øvrigt. Via analyser af aktuel praksis i dagtilbud og arbejdet med at understøtte børns læring, diskuterer kapitlet den sammenhæng, den nye styrkede læreplan både vokser ud af og spiller ind i. Afslutningsvis vil kapitlet udpege nogle alvorlige bekymringer, som reformuleringer af det oprindelige masterdokument til det endelige læreplansdokument medfører.

The theoretical basis for the presentation sees people as fundamentally active social beings, which means, for example, that when we wish to understand the actions of an individual child, we must understand those actions by looking at what other children and adults around that child are doing. Against this basis it becomes relevant to address the concept of communities, as a useful concept for children’s participation and learning in and across the various institutional contexts in which they find themselves. We need concepts allowing us to focus on how children participate and link their participation in different places – and how through their involvement they develop the ways they participate”. The question is not whether children are social beings but how the social dimension is acted out and acquires meaning. This presentation is concerned with ways in which children’s social lives appear to have meaning and with children’s subjective orientation in the ECEC. The presentation covers on the one hand the presentation of the principal findings of different research projects in ECEC and on the other a more detailed exploration of the concept of communities, including definitions of what children share and of how what they share links to what adults arrange for them. It also presents arguments for how a social approach to children’s issues paves the way for more productive measures than an individual approach offers.In Denmark the legislation of ECEC is renewed and the concept of children’s communities and the context for children’s learning is a central part of the new curriculum. This presentation will present some of the research and theoretical thoughts that has inspired the new common pedagogical basis in Denmark.

In this paper, I will discuss the meaning of the current political agenda of efficiency in early childhood education for children’s everyday lives. Furthermore, the paper will discuss how theoretical psychology plays a part in the development of educational policies and practices.Taking a historical view of a number of research projects in which children’s everyday life in daycare settings and in schools has been studied, it becomes clear that ‘the Era of Acceleration’ is not ‘just’ an academic abstraction or construction that is above or outside real lives. It is reflected in the practices in institutional settings and even pushing further in the children’s everyday lives in families. It is something that is represented through political documents and laws, societal structures, and actual persons participating in the institutional settings, in ways that have meaning for children’s possibilities to participate, learn and develop (and relax).This paper will elaborate on the dialectic between theoretical psychology, a broad concept of learning, policymaking and the development of learning arrangements for children in the era of acceleration. The paper will analyse the way in which theoretical understandings of the concept of learning are represented in the new law for daycare in Denmark and how societal arrangements develop and change in response to sometimes misunderstood views on what is best for children in transitions from e.g. preschool to school.

Current cultural understandings of adolescence are often engraved with serious concerns, having to do with e.g. school dropout, drug abuse, gaming and increased occurrence of psychological problems as depression and selfmutilation. These topics also interest researchers within psychology. Traditionally, models of developmental psychology have described the period of adolescence in general terms; as a time of increased independence and detachment from parents, and as a period of turmoil. While there is substantial research on parenting for small children, less has been done on parenting for older children, probably partly due to this idea of the parents’ diminishing role in the adolescents’ lives.In the workshop we will explore ways to understand and investigate parenthood for young teenagers. Rather than constructing this period as totally different from other periods in children’s lives, our approach is to see what comes out of applying analytical perspectives that have been successfully used in studies of parenthood for younger children. How do parents arrange for young girls and boys in ways that both safeguard their wellbeing in the present and support further development towards adult life? This is, then, our outset for exploring parenthood within a cultural psychology framework, using concepts as conduct of everyday life (Dreier, 2016), doing parenthood, practices of continuous care, and variational modes of thinking (Valsiner, 1984). We will present examples from a study following such lines, designed to get knowledge of how parenting for “bigger children” is performed and understood by the parents. The data material consists of detailed interviews with Norwegian and Danish parents in families with children 13-14 years of age, about the everyday life of their child and family. In the workshop we will invite the audience to discuss the need for this kind of knowledge in different fields of professional practices, and open up for cooperation.

Praksis er godt, men ikke nok. Skoleledere i dag skal navigere i krydspres mellem mange konkurrerende hensyn af politisk, økonomisk, faglig, praktisk og etisk karakter. Hvilke kompetencer har lederne brug for, og hvordan lærer de sig at bruge det, de kan på bedste vis? Denne bog fortæller om et kompetenceudviklingsprojekt i en dansk kommune og giver bud på, hvordan uddannelse bedst kan bidrage til en GOD nok SKOLELEDELSE.

Inspired from especially Danish/German critical psychology but also from John Dewey’s ethical, educational and psychological thoughts, this presentation will elaborate on an understanding of the dialectic between an ethical society, -school and -theory. To this aim I will argue for and unfold the conceptualization of children’s “proximal societal conditions”. Throughout different research projects in which children’s everyday life in different daycare settings and in schools has been studied, it becomes clear that ‘the societal’ is not something that is above or outside the institutional setting or the children’s everyday life, but something that is represented through societal structures and actual persons participating (in political ways) within the institutional settings, in ways that has meaning to children’s possibilities to participate, learn and develop. Understanding school or daycare as (part of) the children’s proximal societal conditions for development and learning, means for instance that considerations about an inclusive agenda in a (Danish) welfare state with well-developed school- and daycare system, are no longer simply thoughts about the school having space for as many pupils as possible (schools for all). Such thoughts can or should be supplemented by reflections about which version of ‘the societal’ we wish to present our children with, and which version of ‘the societal’ we wish to set up as the condition for children’s participation and development. These questions require an ethical theory that allows for discussions on dynamically moving between considering what constitutes an ethical society as a whole and what constitutes ethical schooling within this society.

This paper takes point of departure in research approaching both empirical and theoretical challenges related to the study of very young children’s everyday lives in institutional settings. In this paper, we present an analysis of pedagogical practice about developing democracy and influence for children in a Danish nursery. On the one hand the paper highlight the situated processes of developing a pedagogical practice of influence and democracy for children, emphasising the explorative and experimenting character of such processes, and on the other hand show, how exactly processes like these tend to be neglected and restricted in the management strategies of documentation, that forms institutional conditions for the pedagogues.