The aim of this article is to contribute with knowledge about how teachers in school-age educare describe their teaching. Teachers in school-age educare move between two different value systems as they are in a field of tension between tradition and new educational policy intentions. Written reflections from 48 teachers at 31 schools in four municipalities have been analyzed based on what has been described as necessary teaching elements; intentionality, interactivity and intersubjectivity. The deductive analysis resulted in four themes; Play-oriented teaching, Subject-related teaching, Situation-based teaching and Value-based teaching. The results, based on the study's analyzing concepts, show that the teacher's control is central to whether the activities that the teachers carry out can be called teaching or not. The results also show that teaching in school-age educare still centers around a historical core of play, child focus and adaptation to the situation, even though this has been supplemented with new educational policy intentions that emphasize teaching and evaluation of childrens’ learning. However, the analyzes also show that teachers in school-age educare can move flexibly between the two value systems.

This paper explores the conceptions of critical thinking in national and local policy documents for teaching placement, using the case of teacher education programs at a Swedish university. The concept under scrutiny is based on three contemporary theoretical models of critical thinking in education: critical thinking movement, critical pedagogy, and “criticality” movement. In Sweden, the teacher profession is framed with a broader socio-ethical scope than the focus on individual cognitive skills of the critical thinking movement. Critical reflection and self-reflection, two conceptions identified with the criticality ideal of education for critical being, prevail in the analyzed documents.

Lärare i fritidshem/fritids som profession har svårt att formulera sitt eget kunskapsfält vilket enligt professionsteorin krävs för att tydliggöra professionens egen logik (Brante, 2014). Syftet med föreliggande studie är att beskriva och undersöka lärare i fritidshem professionsutveckling och logik mellan 1880-talet och 2017. Metod Metoden är diskursanalys (Fairclough, 2013) av policydokument, historiska texter och tidigare forskning i syfte att identifiera och beskriva de diskurser som strukturerar professionens kunskapsfält och logik mellan 1880-talet och 2017. Teoretisk inramning Teoretiskt utgår studien från professionsteori (Brante, 2014) och en framträdande roll i vår analys har de analytiska begreppen ontologisk modell och professionslogik. Förväntade slutsatser En preliminär analys visar att professionen mellan 1880-talet och 2017 har varit i ständig rörelse och arbetet inom ramen för fem olika ontologiska modeller baserade på olika professionslogiker. De ontologiska modellerna är Arbetsstugan ca (1887–1940), Eftermiddagshemmet (1940–1960), det Fristående fritidshemmet (1960-1985), det Integrerade fritidshemmet (1985-2008) och det Didaktiska fritidshemmet (2008 - ). Dessa fem ontologiska modeller finns representerade i både lärarutbildning och fritidshemmets verksamhet vilket kan vara en förklaring till professionens svårighet att definiera ett tydligt kunskapsfält. Relevans för pedagogiskt arbete Studien och analysen har stor relevans för både lärarutbildning och pedagogiskt arbete i fritidshem. För verksamma lärare i fritidshem är det av stor vikt att vara medveten om att professionen i sin praktik använder sig av olika ontologiska modeller och logiker. Likaså bör detta bli ett innehåll i lärarutbildningen och kan ses som ett led i att stärka och tydliggöra professionens kunskapsfält.

This presentation highlights children´s opportunities to make their voices heard and the social and discursive practice in a Swedish leisure-time centre. Similar institutions are common in the other Scandinavian countries and after-school programs could be seen as the US counterpart to leisure-time centers. Leisure-time centers were until the 1990s first and foremost considered as a complement to the family´s upbringing of the children and an integral part of Swedish social and family politics. The educational aspect has, however, increasingly become more emphasized and nowadays leisure-time centers are considered as a complement to school.

In addition to the Educational Act and the Swedish curricula Lgr 11, one of the principal governmental documents concerning leisure-time centres is General Recommendations with Comments. Quality in Leisure-Time Centres (2007). The recommendations indicate that the activity amongst other things should be based in “fun and stimulating activities, were play and creativity get a lot of space, shaped on the basis of the age of the children, their development, needs, interests and experiences” (Translated from Swedish, pp 22-23). Another issue that is emphasized is children´s opportunities to participate in and influence the activity. Their opportunities to participate and influence should, according to this steering document, both concern group activities conducted and organized by the staff and their participation in play activities organized by the children. The children should therefore be deeply involved in the decision-making of the everyday activities in the leisure-time centre which is well in line with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Research concerning leisure-time centres are, however, limited compared to research concerning school or pre-school. This is one reason why the knowledge regarding everyday practice in leisure-time centres, including children´s opportunities to decide the content and their involvement in different activities, is inadequate.

The presentations theoretical point of departure origins from a social constructionist perspective that asserts that reality is constructed through the interactions of people. This indicates that the everyday life, the social practice, at the leisure-time centre is a result of mutual constructions produced and reproduced by children and the staff when they interact. The production and reproduction of the social practice is also based on the discursive practice, how children and staff understand their social positions and how they interpret their responsibilities and the governmental steering documents that describe the intentions for leisure-time centres. The theoretical framework is used as a resource to describe and discuss children´s opportunities to decide the content and their participation in leisure-time activities.

Method

The data production is based on six weeks of ethnographic field work at a leisure-time centre in a small Swedish town. The field work consists of observations, audio-recorded ”walk-and-talk”-conversations with children and staff, photographs taken by children and staff, informal conversations and written material as protocols from staff meeting and information directed to parents produced at the leisure-time centre.

Expected Outcomes

This is a work-in-progress and a thorough analysis will be carried out during spring and fall 2013. Initial analyses of the social and discursive practice seem, however, to indicate that children have opportunities to decide the content and their participation in some activities. There are, however, many activities where children´s voice is never asked for. These activities are solely decided, planned and administered by the staff.

References

Berger, P. & Luckmann, T. (1966). The Social Construction of Reality. New York: Doubleday. Burr, V. (2003) Social Constructionism. (2nd Edition). London: Routledge. Fairclough, N. (2010). Critical Discourse Analysis. The Critical Study of Language. (2nd ed.). Harlow: Pearson Education Limited. Fairclough, N. (1992). Discourse and Social Change. Cambridge: Polity. Giddens, A. (1984). The Constitution of Society. Outline of the Theory of Structuration. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers Ltd. Haglund, B., & Anderson, S. (2009). Afterschool Programs and Leisure-Time Centres: Arenas for Learning and Leisure. World Leisure Journal 51 ,2, (pp. 116-29). Haglund, B. & Klerfelt, A. (2013). The Swedish leisure-time centre. Past – present – future. In J. Ecarius, E. Klieme, L. Stecher & J. Woods (eds.) Extended Education – an International Perspective. Verlag Barbara Budrich: Leverkusen-Opladen Haudrup Christensen, P. (2004). Children’s participation in ethnografic research. Issues of power and representation. Children and Society 18 ,2, (pp. 165-76). Hammersley, M. & Atkinson, P. (1995) Ethnography. Principles in Practice. London: Routledge. James, A. (2007). Giving Voice to Children’s Voices: Practices and Problems, Pitfalls and Potentials. American Anthropologist 109 ,2, (pp. 261-72). Klerfelt, A. & Haglund, B. (2013 manuscript, will be submitted during spring). Walk-and-talk conversations: a way to elicit children’s perspectives and prominent discourses of the leisure-time center activity. National Agency for Education. (2007). General Recommendations with Comments. Quality in Leisure-Time Centres. Stockholm: Fritzes.

Swedish leisure-time centres were formerly part of Swedish social and family policies but were transferred to an educational context in the 1990s. This transfer was accentuated by both the Education Act of 2010 and the new teacher training established in 2011, which also included education particularly directed for leisure-time centres. The state’s intention with this discursive shift was to highlight education and learning within the activity in a more distinct way. This article is based on an ethnography-inspired study at one leisure-time centre called the Sunflower. The data are based on six weeks of field work including participating observations, field notes and walk-andtalk conversations. The study takes its point of departure from representations by staff concerning what they emphasise regarding the centre’s activity, how these representations are related to each other and which strategies staff members use when talking about and monitoring the pupils’ activities. The results show the strong presence of older traditions concerning values and practices regarding the performance at work: supporting children with good care, stressing the importance of children’s free play and using a peripheral subject position during work. The results also show that a stress on the child-to-staff ratio as circumscribing the activity which is enhanced by the pupils misallocated age distribution

This article focuses on after-school programs in the US and leisure-time centres in Sweden. Texts concerning how these institutions are dealing with the concept of leisure are compared. There exist several definitions, or discourses, concerning leisure but the examined literature emphasizes normative functional activities. The leisure discourse supported by the Swedish National Agency for Education also seems to view leisure as functional time. This discourse can, however, not be seen as a hegemonic one since some schools and communities seem to have adopted other discourses. It is probable that staff, during their social practice in leisure-time centres, comprises several leisure discourses within the order of discourse and that some of these discourses have more power and are more prominent in the everyday work. This could contribute to differences between diverse leisure-time centres both concerning their social practice and the staff’s subject positions. The conception of leisure gives, therefore, also educational implications.

School-age educare traditions are in many ways separate from school traditions. School-age educare traditions have, however, for a long time been subjects for a transformation process since newer steering documents, directed to the leisure-time centre, emphasize traditional school concepts as education, pupils and learning. This article highlights how the amalgamating between the traditional content and the state ́s regulating intentions to change the activity is managed by the staff at one leisure-time centre by studying what activities the staff highlights and what approach they use in their interactions with the pupils. Data is based on six weeks of field work including participating observations, field notes and walk-and-talk conversations. The study shows that the staff emphasize the importance of free play and, with the help of conversations, try to get in touch with the children and make them feel safe and comfortable. The staff ́s points of departure for managing the everyday practice seems to be rooted in older school-age educare traditions despite the government ́s efforts to orchestrating the activity.

I ett internationellt perspektiv är svensk fritidsvetenskaplig forskning och utbildning ganska outvecklad. Detta arbete är därför ett försök att sammanställa en del av de befintliga fritidsvetenskapliga kunskaperna. Avsikten med denna översikt inriktar sig på att dels tydliggöra fritidsvetenskap som kunskapsfält. Dels är avsikten att ge exempel på forskning och utbildning ur ett internationellt perspektiv inom detta område. Översikten avser att bl.a. användas inom utbildningen av gymnasielärare i Barn- och fritidskunskap för att på så sätt utveckla kunskaperna om fritidsvetenskap och som en utgångspunkt för vidare forskning inom området.

Artikeln har en narrativ form och baseras på empiri från en etnografiinspirerad studie på ett svenskt fritidshem och fokuserar på hur Ann, den lärare som ansvarar för fritidshemmets verksamhet, försöker att bygga upp och driva verksamheten. Hon, liksom de statliga styrdokument hon försöker att utgå ifrån, har höga ambitioner med verksamheten men de förutsättningar skolan erbjuder för att bedriva kvalitativt hög verksamhet är bristfälliga. Hög personalomsättning i kombination med personal utan utbildning och brister i planeringstiden blir hinder både för Anns ambitionsnivå och fritidshemmets möjligheter att fungera som en plats för utbildning och lärande och på så vis motsvara styrdokumentens skrivningar.

The historical roots of what is now a modern Swedish school-age educare (SAEC) were formed from a social pedagogical starting point in which children’s social development, freedom and well-being were prioritized. SAEC has now become more focused on an educational pedagogical assignment and has been incorporated into the Swedish curriculum. SAECs could therefore be seen as institutions under reconstruction, in that their current work is formed in what can be regarded as a transition period. This transition could imply new points of departure concerning work practices and forms of documentation, both of that could challenge older traditions. Using policy enactment theory as a methodology, this case study discusses the work practices and forms of documentation that are in use now, with a specific focus on the latter. The main purpose of the article is to explore and develop SAEC staff’s points of departure for developing their documentation and assessments and how the new curriculum assignment is enacted in the context of SAEC’s pedagogical practices. The study’s findings show that the enactment process could be seen as an initiative based on local needs for clarity. The developed documentation and assessment practices are described as a cultural shift away from former practices.

The focal point of this article is a discussion of pupils' opportunities to make their voices heard and influence the activity in a Swedish leisure-time centre. The study comprises six weeks of ethnographically inspired field work including data from participating observations and walk-and-talk conversations. Two voluntary activities, referred to here as ‘free play' and ‘thematic activity', are discussed. The study shows that free play can be described as an activity where the staff take their point of departure based on the children's perspectives and the enhancement of democratic values and decision-making. The thematic activity can, as with free play, be described as a stimulating activity which is also in line with relevant steering documents. However, staff members’ points of departure are grounded in an adult perspective, a perspective that focuses on affording ‘good' activities. This results in an activity where the pupils’ opportunities to take part in democratic decision-making differ compared to that in free play.

Denna rapport grundar sig på hur ledningspersonal i skola och förskola i Gävleborgs läns 10 kommuner (samt Älvkarleby kommun) resonerar kring praktiknära forskning. Rapporten grundar sig på 13 intervjuer genomförda med ledningspersonal från dessa skolhuvudmän där intervjuernas innehåll har analyserats kvalitativt med hjälp av en tematisk analys. De forskningsfrågor som rapporten fokuserar är: 1) Vad innebär praktiknära forskning? 2) Vad bör den praktiknära forskningen rikta sig till? 3) Vilka utmaningar finns det med praktiknära forskning? Samt 4) Vad är viktigt att utveckla för att stärka samarbetet mellan högskolan och regionen? 

Varje forskningsfråga har resulterat i flera olika teman som på så vis skildrar olika sätt att resonera kring hur praktiknära forskning förstås och vad den bör rikta sig till men som även speglar olika aspekter av problem och möjligheter för skolhuvudmän och Högskolan i Gävle (HiG) riktat till arbetet att utveckla ett fördjupat samarbete rörande praktiknära forskning. Utifrån analysen av de genomförda intervjuerna framstår det som att det finns en variation hos informanterna vad praktiknära forskning egentligen är varför det finns möjligheter att dels fördjupa den befintliga förståelsen av vad praktiknära forskning innebär och dels på vilket sätt sådan forskning kan utveckla den befintliga verksamheten. En sådan fördjupning av kunskaperna skulle i sig också kunna innebära en fördjupning av det existerande samarbetet mellan HiG och regionens skolhuvudmän. I detta sammanhang ses Regionalt utvecklingscenter i Gävleborg (RucX) som betydelsefullt eftersom de, i samverkan med företrädare från HiG och regionens skolhuvudmän, organiserar en gemensam plattform där utveckling och möjliga förändringar diskuteras. Skapandet av mötesplatser för HiG och skolhuvudmän ses som mycket betydelsefulla för att skapa positiva relationer och på så vis kunna skapa fördjupade samarbeten där exempelvis praktiknära forskning är ett betydelsefullt inslag. 

I artikeln beskrivs stimulated recall, en metod där man med hjälp av ljudband- eller videoinspelat material dokumenterar en intervjupersons verksamhet. Den intervjuade får kort efter inspelningen ta del av materialet för att se och höra sig själv i aktion och kommentera inspelningen. På så sätt ska det inspelade materialet stimulera och påminna respondenten om sitt tänkande under den dokumenterade episoden. Det är svårt att se stimulated recall som en metod med en bestämd manual, som man ska följa. Det är snarare så att undersökningar som genomförts med stimulated recall kan skilja sig åt på betydelsefulla sätt, bland annat beroende på forskningsintresse, intervjutekniker men även beroende på mer grundläggande antaganden om vad respondenterna egentligen har möjlighet att verbalisera.

Kan fritidspedagoger bidra till att utveckla arbetet i skolan? I Björn Haglunds avhandling, Traditioner i möte. En kvalitativ studie av fritidspedagogers arbete med samlingar i skolan, studeras fritidspedagoger som arbetar med barngrupper under skoltid. Avhandlingens resultat pekar på att fritidspedagoger kan bidra till att utveckla och integrera fritidshemmens och skolans traditioner. Det finns dock inte någon automatik i att skolans arbete utvecklas enbart för att fritidspedagoger deltar i arbetet. På olika sätt försöker man från politiskt håll att förbättra och utveckla arbetet i skolan. De politiska intentionerna är bl.a. att arbetet ska utvecklas mot att elevernas kunskaper i olika ämnen tillgodoses samtidigt som även fostran och utvecklandet av social kompetens poängteras. Ett sätt att utveckla innehållet på ett sådant sätt anses vara att i högre grad än tidigare anknyta fritidspedagoger till skolans arbete med yngre skolbarn. Avhandlingen beskriver tre olika tillvägagångssätt som fritidspedagogerna använder sig av då man arbetar i skolan. Några av de studerade fritidspedagogerna använder sig av ett innehåll som poängterar både social fostran och kunskaper som av tradition är förknippade med skolans undervisning. Andra fritidspedagoger genomför aktiviteter som enbart syftar till att stärka barns självförtroende, skapa gemenskap i barngruppen och att fostra barnen. En tredje grupp fritidspedagoger använder sig av ett innehåll som syftar till att ligga i linje med vad man uppfattar som skolans traditioner, att anknyta till skolämnen och arbetsdisciplin. Att man bevarar de egna traditionerna eller att man övertar skolans traditioner är dock inte något som kan sägas förnya eller utveckla skolans arbete utifrån de politiska intentionerna. Det visar sig också att den enskilda fritidspedagogen betonar olika sorters innehåll och genomför olika sorters arbete vid olika tillfällen under arbetsdagen. Arbetet verkar på så sätt splittrat och fritidspedagogerna får, bl.a. beroende på deras egna syften med olika aktiviteter, olika roller i arbetet. Sammanfattningsvis kan fritidspedagoger visserligen bidra till att utveckla innehållet i skolan men om deras arbete ska utvecklas till att omfatta både social fostran och mer ämnesinriktade kunskaper är detta bl.a. beroende av deras egna uppfattningar av vad barnen gör i klassrummen och vad aktiviteter i skolan ska innehålla. Dessutom är innehållet i det arbete de utför beroende av de förväntningar som skolledning, lärare och föräldrar har på aktiviteternas innehåll.

Afterschool programs in the United States and leisure-time centres in Sweden could emphasize children’s leisure as well as be of importance to children’s learning. However, in both cases, the association to leisure is mostly ignored and the acceptance is not widely practiced. Instead, other discourses that partly are more related to the field of education serve as a guide for programming in afterschool programs and leisure-time centres. The authors present the argument that afterschool programs and leisure-time centres could be more associated with leisure activities and presented in a new way with the guidance from the field of leisure that also could be beneficial for educational research. Existing definitions of leisure, and their possible consequences for the activities, are discussed in terms of the framework of afterschool programs and leisure-time centres. The authors argue that knowledge grounded in understanding the importance of leisure and its potential to develop and satisfy people could be a means to develop both the activities and the current work of the staff in afterschool programs and leisure-time centres.

Research directed at institutions focusing on diverse aspects of childreńs social and cognitive development outside school is a growing field. This article discusses Swedish school-age educare centres for children between 6–12 years of age before and after school. These centres are regarded as important for young children’s learning and care, although national statistics and an increasing amount of research shows that the preconditions for fulfilling these assignments are not favourable. This case study is based on Giddens’ theory of structuration and studies staff at three educare centres using a mix of different methods, including interviews, observations and vignettes. The staff assert that their work is regarded as subordinate to that of class teachers. This is demonstrated by distant management, a fragmented working day and a lack of time for planning the work. These conditions are seen to affect the quality and the staff´s opportunities to fulfil their mission.

Principals in Sweden face leadership challenges as pedagogical leaders of School-age educare Centers (SAECs). This study examines how principals identify both professional development needs as well as challenges they face in supporting the SAEC teachers. The empirical data is based on reflections from 29 principals and vice-principals from four different municipalities in Sweden, which were analyzed using a framework for successful school leadership (Leithwood, K., A. Harris, and D. Hopkins. 2020. “Seven strong claims about successful school leadership revisited.” School Leadership & Management 40 (1): 5–22) and thematic analysis. Within the key areas for development three main themes were found: personal professional understanding of SAEC, building collaborative cultures within and between SAEC departments, and increasing student participation and engagement. The participants further identified specific challenges in supporting the SAEC teachers: building a culture of collaboration between SAEC and the compulsory school, structuring planning and collaboration, and improving assessment practices in SAEC.The results highlight how by not prioritizing the work in SAECs has impacted their ability to lead the program; they emphasize their need to improve and develop the SAECs and their desire to change their leadership priorities.

This presentation highlights children’s social and discursive practice in Swedish leisure-time centres. A leisure-time centre provides activities, before, during and after school, directed to children between six and twelve years old. This institution is closely connected to primary school, staffed with university-educated pedagogues and is, among other things, supposed to contribute to children’s development and to offer a meaningful leisure. Research concerning leisure-time centres is, however, insufficient. How and in what way leisure-time centres really contribute to children’s development is not well studied and what meaningful leisure comprises is not clearly defined in the Swedish curriculum. Knowledge won from research concerning leisure-time pedagogues and children’s construction of meaningful leisure and their everyday lives in the leisure-time centre could contribute to make children’s voice heard, initiate change and to develop the social practice within this institution. This point of departure is closely linked to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the presented study drag attention to children’s opportunities to be active participants in the production of data.

Our theoretical point of departure origins from a social constructionist perspective, which emphasizes that reality is constructed by people who interact. Within this theoretical perspective a meaningful leisure in leisure-time centres is mutually constructed by staff and children in their everyday practice. This means that the social practice at leisure-time centres is a consequence of human conceptions and attempts to structure and categorize the activities. The participants, in this case leisure-time pedagogues and children, are producing and reproducing the everyday social practice by mutual negotiations. They learn to handle the activities that are included and settle the meaning of the activities through these interactions.

Metods/methodology

We use methods that make children’s perspectives visible and reflect the pedagogues’ intentions with their work at two leisure-time centres situated in two different socio-economic areas. The data production consists of narrative interviews, ”walk-and-talk”-conversations and artefacts that contribute to illustrate the social practice. We have stressed the importance of employing a reflexive and dialogical perspective in order to make children’s voices heard as a way to enter into children’s ‘culture of communication’. The participating children received a digital camera and were encouraged to show and take pictures of places they related to, on the basis of questions that gave possibilities to express meanings about their everyday life. The children and the researchers were talking during the walk and after the children’s photographing. The study was carried out in the same way concerning the leisure-time pedagogues although the questions were somewhat different.

Expected Outcomes

This is a work-in-progress and a thorough analysis will be carried out during spring and summer 2011. Initial analyses of the social and discursive practice seem to indicate that there are several opportunities for children to develop social skills in the studied leisure-time centres. This includes, for example, establishing relations to other children and learning negotiating strategies through the interaction. The leisure-time centres also give opportunities to share experiences and are arenas that could contribute to develop children’s identity. The presentation will be concluded by an ethical discussion concerning the children’s participation in the study.

References

Berger, P. & Luckmann, T. (1966). The Social Construction of Reality. New York: Doubleday. Burr, V. (2003) Social Constructionism. (2nd Edition). London: Routledge. Chouliarki, L. & Fairclough, N. (1999) Discourse in the late modernity: Rethinking critical discourse analysis. Edinburgh: University Press. Christensen, P. & James, A. (eds.) (2008). Research with Children: Perspectives and Practices, London: Routledge. Fairclough, N. (2003) Analysing Discourse. Textual Analysis for Social Research. Routledge: London. Fairclough, N. & Wodak, R. (1997) Critical Discourse Analysis. I T. van Dijk (red.), Discourse as Social Interaction. Discourse Studies: A Multidisciplinary Introduction. Volume 2. London: SAGE Publications Ltd. Haglund, B. & Anderson, S. (2009) Afterschool Programs and Leisure-Time Centres: Arenas for Learning and Leisure. In World Leisure Journal 51(2), 116-129. Haudrup Christensen, P. (2006) Children’s participation in ethnografic research. Issues of power and representation. Children and Society, v. 18(2), 165-176. Hill, M. (2005) Ethical Considerations in Researching Children's Experiences, pp 61-86. In S. Green, and D. Hogan (eds) Researching Children's Experience: Methods and Approaches. London: Sage. Klerfelt, A. (2006) Cyberage narratives – creative computing in after school centres. Childhood, (13)2, 175-203. Mischler, E.G. (1986) Research Interviewing: Context and Narrative. Harvard Cambridge: University Press. Ochs, E. & Capps, L. (2001) Living narrative. Creating lives in everyday storytelling. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

This paper highlights a method that is supposed to describe, above all, children’s social and discursive practice in Swedish leisure-time centres. A leisure-time centre provides activities, before, during and after school, directed to children between six and twelve years old. This institution is close connected to primary school, staffed with university-educated pedagogues and supposed to give children a meaningful leisure. What meaningful leisure comprises is, however, not clearly defined in the Swedish curriculum (cf. Haglund, 2009, Klerfelt, 2007). Our theoretical point of departure origins from a social constructionist perspective, which emphasizes that reality is constructed by people who interact (Berger and Luckmann, 1966). Within this theoretical perspective a meaningful leisure in leisure-time centres is mutually constructed by staff and children in their everyday practice (cf. Fairclough and Wodak, 1997). There is a need to develop methodological tools to study how a meaningful leisure practice, defined and constituted by children and leisure-time pedagogues, could be explored. We investigate methods that make children’s perspectives visible and reflect the pedagogues’ intentions with their work. The data production consists of narrative interviews, ”walk-and-talk”-conversations and artefacts that highlight the social practice (cf. Mischler, 1986; Beach 2005). As this is a work-in-progress analysis will be carried out during fall 2010. The concluding discussion describes methodological and ethical aspects concerning the accomplished study.

Board games are traditionally seen as an important Swedish leisure-time centre activity, but research regarding this activity is sparse. This study aims to fill part of that void through a web survey directed to members in a closed Facebook group focusing on leisure-time centres. Fifty-five informants’ answers were analysed using critical discourse analysis to find why staff at leisure-time centres use board games. The article also discusses the subject positions the staff use when playing board games with the children. The results reveal four prominent discourses, which were termed: supporting social structure, learning social competence, substituting digital games, and learning cognitive abilities. The results also reveal three subject positions while playing board games: developer, supervising judge, and participant. The informants’ discourses regarding their reasons for using board games and the positions the staff settled into while playing board games drew mostly from a social pedagogical arena. However, features that emphasize traditional school related content are also evident.

In this article a background to the growing need of establishing school-age educare as a field of research in Sweden is presented. Firstly a short review of the history of the school-age educare is given and then a description of how the activity is organized today. Some examples of studies produced within this field are presented. Both accomplished studies and ongoing research are given account for. The article concludes with actions suggested for covering existing gaps of research. 

This article highlights the discourses of children and leisure-time pedagogues regarding ways the activity at two different Swedish school-age educare centres are mutually constructed. Two different topics are stressed: children’s perspectives and school-age educare centres as a social and educational practice. Data was constructed through walk-and-talk conversations supported by photos from a digital camera. The results are described through narratives that depict the children’s discourses in their school-age educare activity. The emerging discourses show that children’s perspectives are met in several ways but also that their perspectives are, in some respects, ignored. These results have the potential to contribute by helping to make children’s voices heard as a tool to change the social practices in school-age educare centres.

This chapter describes the Swedish school-age educare from a cultural and  historical perspective to give the reader an informative picture of how  Swedish school-age educare is organised and put into practice followed by  critical reflections. This is done by describing purposes, origins, policies,  and impacts (methods) of extended education performed both in the school-age  educare centres as a part of the public educational system and in  recreational activities provided outside the educational system run as  community-programmes. Schools and school-age educare centres are integrated  and can be managed as public or independent schools. The independent schools  could be owned and run by parents, private companies or organisations, but  both public and independent schools are financed by taxes. School-age educare  centres are chosen, both by politicians and parents, as the most preferred  provision for children aged 6-12 years which means that governmental  resources, political discussions, and research are directed toward this way  of organising extended education.

Syftet med denna artikel är att utifrån en fenomenologisk och barndomssociologisk ansats problematisera och diskutera hur barns perspektiv kommer till uttryck i fritidshemslärares skriftliga beskrivningar av sin undervisning. Fokus är fritidshemslärares beskrivningar av sina utgångspunkter för undervisningen samt tillvägagångssätt för genomförandet. Studien bygger på skriftliga reflektioner från 48 lärare i fritidshem på 31 skolor i fyra svenska kommuner. I analysen framträder olika utgångspunkter för undervisningen beroende på om den är planerad eller oplanerad. I de skriftliga reflektionerna över den planerade och genomförda undervisningen överväger ett barnperspektiv hos lärarna; ett perspektiv som utgår från barns bästa, men utifrån vuxnas villkor. Utgångspunkten för planeringen är läroplanen och liten hänsyn tas till elevernas intressen och erfarenheter. I den oplanerade undervisningen framträder barns perspektiv tydligare; elever ges här större möjligheter till makt, inflytande och handling. Här beskrivs elevernas intressen, nyfikenhet och frågor som utgångspunkt för undervisningen. ’Samtal’ och ’diskussion’ är frekventa ord, vilka också indikerar att lärare och elever samtalar om saker som har mening för eleverna. Resultatet antyder att det kan finnas en glidning mellan de två perspektiven i den oplanerade undervisningen. Undervisningen kan växla från det ena perspektivet till det andra, medan motsvarande inte kan ses i lärarnas beskrivningar av den planerade undervisningen. Sammanfattningsvis belyser resultatet det korsdrag som fritidshemslärare ofta ställs inför vid planering och genomförande av undervisning.