Maria has shared so much wonderful information with me. I decided to copy/paste two conversations we recently had because I think both of them give a great glimpse into what life is like in Sweden and what their preschool system is like. She was a wonderful contact and I am so lucky I was able to find her. The first conversation we had was about quality in preschools, which was suppose to be posted a few weeks back. I wasn't able to hear from her in time, so I did the alternate assignment, but I wanted to include what she wrote.
Yes, I agree that Sweden is a wonderful place with all the systems that we have. But we also pay about 33% in income tax, and 25% tax on clothes, 12 % tax on food, 25% tax on fuel, and so on. We pay tax on everything.
We also have very much to do at work right now. This last Friday we had a planning day when we evaluated our goals. Every fall we have to write our goals and how to work with the goals and how to work with the evaluation of our goals. We have discussed a lot about how we must be able to evaluate our goals and also how we can prove that these goals are reached. We also do a parent questionnaire to help us with what we can develop to reach a better quality of work.
We don’t have any inspections like you have. But I think the National Agency plans to do more inspection in the preschools, which I think is good because the quality is important.
In the fall we are starting to work with a systematic quality assurance. The plan is that we will be working more towards our goals. So we don’t just write our goal on a piece of paper and then we evaluate our goals in the spring. We have to work more systematically with our goals.
We also have very much to do at work right now. This last Friday we had a planning day when we evaluated our goals. Every fall we have to write our goals and how to work with the goals and how to work with the evaluation of our goals. We have discussed a lot about how we must be able to evaluate our goals and also how we can prove that these goals are reached. We also do a parent questionnaire to help us with what we can develop to reach a better quality of work.
We don’t have any inspections like you have. But I think the National Agency plans to do more inspection in the preschools, which I think is good because the quality is important.
In the fall we are starting to work with a systematic quality assurance. The plan is that we will be working more towards our goals. So we don’t just write our goal on a piece of paper and then we evaluate our goals in the spring. We have to work more systematically with our goals.
The second conversation we had was about the assignment for this week: opportunities for professional development, her professional goals and her hopes and dreams. She gave such great info!!
I think you need to have commitment to your work to develop professionally. At the moment here in Sweden the topic of the children’s influence in early childhood is discussed very much. The children spend many hours of their childhood in the preschool so they should have some influence over their time. But what can they have an influence on?
Our curriculum was revised in 2010 to add the three U’s. Monitoring (in Swedish: Uppföljning), Evaluation (in Swedish: Utvärdering) and Development (in Swedish: Utveckling).
"The quality of the preschool shall be regularly and systematically documented, followed
up, evaluated and developed. Evaluating the quality of the preschool and creating
good conditions for learning requires that the child’s learning and development
be monitored, documented and analysed. Supporting and challenging children in their learning entails knowledge of each child’s experiences, knowledge and participation,
as well as influence over and interest in the different goal areas. This also requires knowledge of how the child’s exploration, questions, experiences and involvement
are used in the preschool, how the child’s knowledge changes and when they experience the preschool as interesting, fun and meaningful.
The aim of evaluation is to obtain knowledge of how the quality of the preschool i.e. its organisation, content and actions can be developed so that each child receives the best possible conditions for learning and development. Ultimately this involves developing
better work processes, being able to determine whether the work takes place in accordance with the goals, as well as investigating what measures need to be taken in order to improve the conditions for children to learn, develop, feel secure and have fun in the preschool. Analyses of the results of evaluation indicate areas that are critical for development. All forms of evaluation should take the perspective of the child as the starting point. Children and parents should participate in evaluation and their views are to be given prominence.
Guidelines
Preschool teachers are responsible
• that each child’s learning and development is regularly and systematically documented,
followed up and analysed so that it is possible to evaluate how the preschool provides opportunities for children to develop and learn in accordance with the goals and intentions of the curriculum,• that documentation, follow-up, evaluation and analysis covers how the goals of the curriculum are integrated with each other in pedagogical work,
• that the preschool as a whole i.e. its conditions, organisation, structure, contents, activities and pedagogical processes are documented, followed up and evaluated,
• that documentation, follow-up and analysis covers how the abilities and knowledge of children change over time in the goal areas in relation to the preconditions for learning and development provided by the preschool,
• that evaluation methods, how documentation and evaluation are used and influence the contents and working methods of the preschool, as well as the child’s opportunities
for development and learning in all goal areas are critically examined, and
• that the results of documentation, follow-up and evaluation in systematic work on quality are used to develop the quality of the preschool and thus the child’s opportunities
for learning and development.
The work team should
• regularly and systematically document, follow up and analyse each child’s learning
and development, as well as evaluate how the preschool provides the child with opportunities for learning and development in accordance with the goals and intentions
of the curriculum,
• use different forms of documentation and evaluation to provide knowledge of
the conditions for the child’s learning and development in the preschool, as well
as making it possible to monitor the child’s acquisition of knowledge in different goal areas,
• document, follow up and analyse
– communication and interaction with and between children, their participation and influence, as well as the occasions when children experience preschool as interesting, meaningful and fun,
– how the child’s skills and knowledge change continuously over time in the goal areas in relation to the preconditions for learning and development provided by the preschool,
• document, follow up, evaluate and develop
– the child’s participation and influence in documentation and evaluations, where and how the child can exercise influence, and how their perspective, explorations, questions and ideas are used, and
– influence of parents in the evaluations, where and how they can exercise influence, and how their perspectives can be used." (Curriculum)
We don’t have a requirement for professional development. It's in every manager's interest to offer the possibility for development for their employees. We have been to some lectures, and some of the employees have taken some courses. Right now we work a lot with equality, degrading treatment and values. The teachers are supposed to share the knowledge they have received from the courses. Unfortunately the cost for professional development is so high that only a few of the employees have the opportunity to take some courses. We take advantage of the knowledge each preschool teacher has. I have good knowledge about computers for example, so I have helped many of my colleagues. We also have one teacher who is good at maths. So we help each other very much and that is also a way to develop.
My professional goals have always been to run my own preschool some day, my friends and I have always said that when we were studying to become preschool teachers. At our preschool we are inspired by the Reggio Emilia philosophy. Are you familiar with Reggio Emilia? Another of my goals is to learn more about the Reggio Emilia philosophy.
My hopes professionally are that when I am 65 (retirement age) I hope I like this work as much as I do now and that I feel that I keep developing as I teacher and person. My dream is my goal: to run my own preschool.
Our curriculum was revised in 2010 to add the three U’s. Monitoring (in Swedish: Uppföljning), Evaluation (in Swedish: Utvärdering) and Development (in Swedish: Utveckling).
"The quality of the preschool shall be regularly and systematically documented, followed
up, evaluated and developed. Evaluating the quality of the preschool and creating
good conditions for learning requires that the child’s learning and development
be monitored, documented and analysed. Supporting and challenging children in their learning entails knowledge of each child’s experiences, knowledge and participation,
as well as influence over and interest in the different goal areas. This also requires knowledge of how the child’s exploration, questions, experiences and involvement
are used in the preschool, how the child’s knowledge changes and when they experience the preschool as interesting, fun and meaningful.
The aim of evaluation is to obtain knowledge of how the quality of the preschool i.e. its organisation, content and actions can be developed so that each child receives the best possible conditions for learning and development. Ultimately this involves developing
better work processes, being able to determine whether the work takes place in accordance with the goals, as well as investigating what measures need to be taken in order to improve the conditions for children to learn, develop, feel secure and have fun in the preschool. Analyses of the results of evaluation indicate areas that are critical for development. All forms of evaluation should take the perspective of the child as the starting point. Children and parents should participate in evaluation and their views are to be given prominence.
Guidelines
Preschool teachers are responsible
• that each child’s learning and development is regularly and systematically documented,
followed up and analysed so that it is possible to evaluate how the preschool provides opportunities for children to develop and learn in accordance with the goals and intentions of the curriculum,• that documentation, follow-up, evaluation and analysis covers how the goals of the curriculum are integrated with each other in pedagogical work,
• that the preschool as a whole i.e. its conditions, organisation, structure, contents, activities and pedagogical processes are documented, followed up and evaluated,
• that documentation, follow-up and analysis covers how the abilities and knowledge of children change over time in the goal areas in relation to the preconditions for learning and development provided by the preschool,
• that evaluation methods, how documentation and evaluation are used and influence the contents and working methods of the preschool, as well as the child’s opportunities
for development and learning in all goal areas are critically examined, and
• that the results of documentation, follow-up and evaluation in systematic work on quality are used to develop the quality of the preschool and thus the child’s opportunities
for learning and development.
The work team should
• regularly and systematically document, follow up and analyse each child’s learning
and development, as well as evaluate how the preschool provides the child with opportunities for learning and development in accordance with the goals and intentions
of the curriculum,
• use different forms of documentation and evaluation to provide knowledge of
the conditions for the child’s learning and development in the preschool, as well
as making it possible to monitor the child’s acquisition of knowledge in different goal areas,
• document, follow up and analyse
– communication and interaction with and between children, their participation and influence, as well as the occasions when children experience preschool as interesting, meaningful and fun,
– how the child’s skills and knowledge change continuously over time in the goal areas in relation to the preconditions for learning and development provided by the preschool,
• document, follow up, evaluate and develop
– the child’s participation and influence in documentation and evaluations, where and how the child can exercise influence, and how their perspective, explorations, questions and ideas are used, and
– influence of parents in the evaluations, where and how they can exercise influence, and how their perspectives can be used." (Curriculum)
We don’t have a requirement for professional development. It's in every manager's interest to offer the possibility for development for their employees. We have been to some lectures, and some of the employees have taken some courses. Right now we work a lot with equality, degrading treatment and values. The teachers are supposed to share the knowledge they have received from the courses. Unfortunately the cost for professional development is so high that only a few of the employees have the opportunity to take some courses. We take advantage of the knowledge each preschool teacher has. I have good knowledge about computers for example, so I have helped many of my colleagues. We also have one teacher who is good at maths. So we help each other very much and that is also a way to develop.
My professional goals have always been to run my own preschool some day, my friends and I have always said that when we were studying to become preschool teachers. At our preschool we are inspired by the Reggio Emilia philosophy. Are you familiar with Reggio Emilia? Another of my goals is to learn more about the Reggio Emilia philosophy.
My hopes professionally are that when I am 65 (retirement age) I hope I like this work as much as I do now and that I feel that I keep developing as I teacher and person. My dream is my goal: to run my own preschool.
I have gained so many new insights from Maria. The preschool where she works sounds very similar to the center where I work, with the different guidelines and lessons that they follow. I was also amazed how much they pay in tax for everything!! And I thought we paid a lot of tax. After seeing how much they pay in tax, I understand how the government is able to have money to fund the things that they do. If we taxed like that, we'd have more money too. I also liked how she talked about professional development opportunities because it sounds very similiar to the opportunities that I have where I work. We have been dealing with budget cuts and the opportunities are there for professional development, but it is out-of-pocket and expensive. Overall, it was great having the chance to discuss different things with Maria and find out that the place where she works in Sweden is more similiar to where I work in America, than it is different.
Hi Amber, thank you for sharing your conversations with Maria. It has been great hearing about early childhood around the world. i was also shocked to hear how they are taxed so much. Do you think if we taxed that way here in the US we would be able to change our education system and bridge the huge achievement gap we have in the country? I know personally I hate paying taxes, however, I would not hesitate if it meant changing our education system and being able to provide better experiences for the children. How do you feel about it?
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I don't think Americans would ever be willing to pay more in taxes to help out our education system. In the city I used to live in, they had a vote that would have raised the city taxes a couple percent and "the increase in taxes may go to education". I actually voted no for it because I didn't like the "it may go to education". If it would have for sure, then I may have voted for it. I think money has to come from somewhere and perhaps raising taxes would work. In Illinois, public schools get their funds based on property tax, so that is why there is a huge gap between schools. For example, a school in East St. Louis receives a lot less funding than a school in the suburbs of Chicago. There has to be a better way to fund education and maybe higher taxes is the answer.
DeleteAmber,
ReplyDeleteI am so glad that someone was able to make a connection. I received one email and then nothing else. I want to own a learning center. It is my goal to offer child care to children who are at-risk. I want to go into the neighborhoods and advocate for those children who would have fallen through the cracks. I think it is because I work for Head Start and that is some of the things that they do. It hurts me to see a young child wandering around when they could be in someone's child care facility. I read that you hope you will still like what you do at 65. Just keep in mind that we have a different kind of child every year, at least I am. Sometimes I have to regroup and say, "Why is it again that I do what I do?" Then I look at the children and say, "Oh yeah, now I remember." Good Luck in your future endeavors.
Amber, I was excited to read that you were able to make contact with an international correspondence. Maria shared a great deal of information. That is amazing how she stated that the teachers just share information. This is a great post and very informative.
ReplyDelete