Stockholm university

Early Childhood Education

Studies in Early Childhood Education can offer you possibilities to work with issues that concern preschool and preschool-aged children, as researcher or civil servant in a municipality or state organization. Early Childhood Education is an interdisciplinary discipline focusing on preschool aged children’s lives, language, play, development and learning.

Subject description

The core of Early Childhood Education as discipline concerns preschool-aged children’s lives, development and learning in and outside of preschool, and the preschool institution as a historical and contemporary societal institution. The subject draws from knowledge produced in research concerned with children’s wellbeing, language practices, aesthetic articulations and play, as well as issues that concern the care of children and children’s development and learning in general.

A major interest comprises ethical and children’s rights issues. In the field of Early Childhood Education, there is also a strong focus on how the preschool attends to its societal responsibilities. But also how laws, the curriculum, political policies and structural conditions affect the preschool institution, the preschool teacher profession and the children, historically and in the present.

The discipline is characterized by its usage of multiple research theories and methods that make it possible to produce knowledge that makes a difference to the preschool institution and influences future policies.

Career opportunities

Preschool didactics is not a main area, but can be included as optional courses in a bachelor's degree with another main area. However, the content is in the professional education for preschool teachers. The preschool teacher programme is listed under Education.

Courses and programmes

Degree

  • Preschool didactic research
  • Historical studies
  • The ecology of development and learning
  • Visual, aesthetic and ethical knowledge production
  • Professional studies
  • Intervention studies
  • Values, diversity, equality and sustainability

Research

Preschool didactic research

  • Historical studies
  • The ecology of development and learning
  • Visual, aesthetic and ethical knowledge production
  • Professional studies
  • Intervention studies
  • Values, diversity, equality and sustainability