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Children’s Perspective on Learning: An International Study in Denmark, Estonia, Germany and Sweden

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Abstract

This article explores how some children in Denmark, Estonia, Germany and Sweden describe their perspective on learning. The aim of the international study is to gain knowledge of how preschool children in Sweden, Denmark, Estonia and Germany reflect and perceive their learning in preschool and other surrounding social contexts. The results are based on 51 focus group interviews from 181 children. The results indicate that, in general, children from all four countries seem to be aware of their own learning. One can conclude that encouraging children to think about what they are doing and why they are doing it makes the activities more goal-oriented from the children’s perspective and thus more conscious. Children are able to describe their own perspectives on learning.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Education, Culture and Communication, Mälardalen University, Box 833, 721 23, Västerås, Sweden

    Anette Sandberg

  2. Department of Education, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark

    Stig Broström

  3. Department of Child and Youth Studies, Section for Early Childhood Education, Stockholm Univeristy, Stockholm, Sweden

    Inge Johansson

  4. University College UCC, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Thorleif Frøkjær

  5. State Institute of Early Childhood Education and Research (IFP), Munich, Germany

    Christa Kieferle & Angela Roth

  6. Department of Pedagogy and Didactics at Elementary and Primary Level, University of Education Ludwigsburg, Ludwigsburg, Germany

    Anja Seifert

  7. Institute of Educational Sciences, Tallinn University, Tallinn, Estonia

    Maire Tuul, Aino Ugaste & Meeli Laan

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  1. Anette Sandberg
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  2. Stig Broström
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  10. Meeli Laan
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Correspondence to Anette Sandberg.

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Sandberg, A., Broström, S., Johansson, I. et al. Children’s Perspective on Learning: An International Study in Denmark, Estonia, Germany and Sweden. Early Childhood Educ J 45, 71–81 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-015-0759-5

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