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Research group The Nordic research network for evidence-based, high-quality preschool for social justice

High quality preschool activities are crucial for children's development and learning and have significant potential for building equal and resilient democratic societies based on social justice.

There is great variation in the quality of preschool activities in the Nordic countries and too many children today attend activities where the quality is not high enough.

Ensuring high quality in preschool activities is a complex issue. There is therefore a great need for research that can provide knowledge about how high quality can be realized for all children. There are both similarities and differences in terms of policy, research and practice in the Nordic countries and increased international research cooperation has significant potential.

The aim of this network of Nordic researchers with a focus on preschool is therefore to strengthen research on evidence-based preschool practice of high quality and to identify synergies through applied multidisciplinary intervention research.

Workshops
The first workshop was conducted on May 13-14, 2024.

The second workshop was conducted in Helsinki, October 9-10, 2024.

The third workshop was hled in Stavanger, Norway, Mars 26-27, 2025.

Group members gathered for workshop 3 in Stavanger. Photo: Private.

Group description

The aim of the network is to:

Conduct a comparative analysis of policies in support of high quality in preschool.
Identify evidence-based practices of high quality, with a particular focus on socio-economically vulnerable areas.
Make an overview of methods in support of designing and evaluating high quality activities.
Lay the foundation for a Nordic research collaboration for high quality in preschool.
Theoretical and methodological starting point is taken in dynamic systems theory and 'Theory of Innovation'. The network consists of researchers with a focus on preschool from Stockholm University, Gothenburg University, Uppsala University, Jyväskylä University and Stavanger University. The planned activities include 5 workshops, scientific articles, an EU Horizon application and a Nordic conference.