Learning in preschool: Teachers’ talk about their work with documentation in Swedish preschools

Abstract

This article investigates preschool teachers’ professionalism and professional strategies in relation to narratives about learning in preschool. These are expressed through the teachers’ talk about documentation. A policy on increased systematic documentation in preschools has been introduced in Sweden. Preschool teachers were interviewed about their work with documentation in different preschool settings. The analysis departs from theories considering education policy as interpreted and enacted in local contexts and from theories that stress the actor’s perspective on preschool teaching professionalism. Furthermore, the teachers’ references to an institutional narrative about learning are the focus. Institutional narratives that construct breaks and continuities within the institution’s past are referred to in texts and talk within institutions. They are used as a means to govern the institution and by the teachers to position themselves. Results show that the teachers frequently refer to a ‘preschool-kind of learning’ that departs from the children’s interests in their talk about documentation. This, I argue, stands out as a professional strategy that allows teachers to deal with contradictory policies about what should be documented. In their talk about how to conduct documentation, the teachers position themselves as learners. This is a way of ‘doing professionalism’ that allows teachers to deal with demands for accountability in a way that also allows for professional agency.