Abstract
In this chapter we present and argue for a “third way” for early childhood education, beyond the dichotomy of the social-pedagogical and the preparation-for-school approaches. On the basis of empirical research, conducted in preschools as well as other developmental research, and educational philosophy and theorizing, we argue that avoiding residing to one of the poles of this dichotomy can be achieved through examining and reflecting on the guiding metaphors constituting different perspectives on how to outline early childhood education and care practices, such as day care and preschool. A reconceptualization or re-metaphorization of learning, communication, and education is presented. We suggest that this perspective provides a way of construing central features of preschool – such as learning and caring, the social and the individual, and play and learning – as integrated, rather than disparate features that need to be related.
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Notes
- 1.
In Sweden, the word förskola [preschool] has come to replace the older name of daghem [literally: day-home]. We will therefore refer to this institution as preschool. Furthermore, the term förskollärare [preschool teacher] has come to replace pedagog [pedagogue]. We will therefore use the term teacher in this text. In Sweden, the term preschool refers to the education and care institution for children 1–5 years. Today (the latest statistics is from 2014), 83 % of all children in this age span attend preschool. For the 4–5 years old, 93 % of all children in Sweden attend preschool (Swedish National Agency for Education: http://www.skolverket.se/statistik-och-utvardering/statistik-i-tabeller/forskola/barn-och-grupper).
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Pramling, N., Doverborg, E., Samuelsson, I.P. (2017). Re-metaphorizing Teaching and Learning in Early Childhood Education Beyond the Instruction – Social Fostering Divide. In: Ringsmose, C., Kragh-Müller, G. (eds) Nordic Social Pedagogical Approach to Early Years. International Perspectives on Early Childhood Education and Development, vol 15. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-42557-3_12
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