Proceedings of The 6th World Conference on Research in Teaching and Education
Year: 2023
DOI:
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“I am a going to be a school pupil…”
Ulla Damber, Lena Randevåg
ABSTRACT:
In the present paper development work in five Swedish preschools in vulnerable areas is presented. These preschools engaged in a three-year development project, to strengthen immigrant children’s, language- and emergent literacy skills, before formal schooling set in. All personnel were engaged in the development work, also personnel without preschool teacher education. Great emphasis was put on building a safe climate, as conflicts easily occur before children master communication in Swedish. Examples of how the preschools in these suburbs worked will be presented, for example how children’s books were used to solve conflicts, but also how spending time together in nature contributed to the creation of a social climate, where conditions for emergent literacy, also described as a social language climate, could thrive. Close relations and joint language contracts with parents, enabled literature cuddling also at home, resulting in children being better prepared for school than ever before.
keywords: preschool, second language learning, emergent literacy, social language climate, peer learning