Research project Well-being in Preschool Class and School-Age Educare – Boyhood, Violence, and Care

The project explores how pupils and staff interact, act, and talk about issues related to well-being, violence, and care. A particular focus is placed on how boys engage with and make sense of these matters, as well as on how girls, non-binary children, and staff perceive boys’ ways of being and playing. The study also examines how different boys are approached and interact depending on their identities and backgrounds.

In Swedish politics and media, there is considerable attention to disorder and conflict in schools, and often to boys’ roles in these situations. However, there is limited research on how younger schoolchildren and educational staff themselves understand and experience these issues. When it comes to children’s experiences of racism, civil society and public agencies have provided valuable reports, but academic research on younger children’s experiences of racism in relation to gender – particularly within schools and school-age educare in Sweden – is scarce.

The project investigates how children and staff understand and talk about acts of violence and care, and how relationships and interactions may be shaped by factors such as gender, skin colour, ethnicity, ability, or socio-economic background. It further explores what “boyhood” means to both pupils and staff, and how teachers and educators in preschool class and school-age educare view, and make use of, their resources, opportunities, and strategies to promote relationships, care, well-being, safety, and equality for all children in their everyday practices.

Principal supervisor: Lucas Gottzén

Supervisor: Anna Grandin Franzén

Second supervisor: Linnéa Holmberg