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Programme in Early Childhood Education

The Programme in Early Childhood Education leads to a degree in Bachelor of Arts in Preschool Education. After you have received your degree, you can apply for a teaching certification and work as a preschool teacher in Sweden. The language of instruction for the program is Swedish.

Två förskolärare och en barngrup har sångsamling inomhus.
Förskolebarn och två pedagoger har sångsamling. Foto: Maskot, Mostphotos.

As a preschool teacher, you work with children between the ages of 1-6 years. You will learn to lead, develop, and organize activities for children in a preschool.

The Programme in Early Childhood Education at Stockholm University is based on the latest research in the field of Early Childhood Education and is also closely linked to preschool activities in the field.

As a student, you will learn about children's development, play, and learning, as well as different theories and perspectives within the field of Early Childhood Education.

You will also learn how to educate small children in subject fields such as mathematics, science, technology, language, and communication.

You will learn how to use experimental and explorative learning and aesthetic expressions in teaching.

The courses in core education subjects are linked to future professional practice and comprise the following:

  • history of the school system, its organisation and conditions as well as the core values of early education, including fundamental democratic values and human rights,
  • syllabus theory and didactics,
  • theory of knowledge and research methodology,
  • development, learning, and special needs education,
  • social relationships, conflict management, and leadership,
  • assessing and analysing learning and development, and
  • evaluation and development processes.

Teacher Training Placement at a Preschool

A part of the programme is in the form of teacher training placement, where the student participates in a preschool's activities with the support of an experienced supervisor. During the teacher training placement, the student gets the opportunity to use theory based knowledge in practice and learn how to act as a teacher in real situations with the pupils. 

 

 

  • Programme overview

    The programme is 3,5 years, full time.

    To attain a degree in Bachelor of Arts in Preschool Education, the following areas are required:

    • Courses in the field of early education for 120 credits
    • Core education subjects for 60 credits
    • Teacher training practice in preschool, 30 credits

    Year 1

    First semester

    • Preschool's Mission and Educational Environments, 6 credits
    • School Placement I, Programme in Early Childhood Education, 3 credits
    • Presentation and Rhetorics, 3,5 credits
    • Children's Development and Learning, 7,5 credits

    Second semester

    • The History of Early Childhood Education and its Role in Society, 5 credits
    • Pedagogical documentation, Ethics and Curriculum Theory, 7,5 credits
    • Early Childhood Education focusing on Aesthetics and Ethics, 11,5 credits
    • School Placement II, Programme in Early Childhood Education, 6 credits

    Year 2

    Third semester

    • Early Childhood Education Focusing on Science, and Education for Sustainability, 12 credits.
    • School Placement III, Programme in Early Childhood Education, 6 credits.
    • Early Childhood Education: Focusing Mathematics and Technology, 12 credits.

    Fourth semester

    • Early Childhood Education: Focusing on Language and Communication, 22,5 credits
    • School Placement IV, Programme in Early Childhood Education, 7,5 credits

    Year 3

    Fifth semester

    • Curriculum Theory, Pedagogical Documentation and Assessment, 7,5 credits
    • Special Education - Preschool Teacher Education Programme, 7,5 credits
    • Social relations in preschool: Early childhood education and care, 7,5 credits

    The students choose one of the following elective courses within the preschool education field:

    • Pedagogical leadership in preschool, 7,5 credits
    • The aesthetic expression of child culture, 7,5 credits
    • Second Course in Special Education – Preschool Teacher Education Programme, 7,5 credits
    • Outdoor Education in Science and Mathematics in Preschool, 7,5 credits

    Sixth semester

    • Play in Preschool - Encounters and Meaning-making, 8,5 credits
    • School Placement V, Programme in Early Childhood Education, 7,5 credits
    • Law and Ethics in Schools, 2,5 credits
    • Documentation, Assessment and Quality Assurance, 11,5 credits

    Year 4

    Seventh semester

    • Knowledge, Science, and Methodology, 7,5 credits
    • Early Childhood Education and care, Scientific Method and Research Ethics, 7,5 credits
    • Degree Project, 15 credits

     

  • More information

Selected reading

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Our researchers. Your teachers

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