The aim of this study is to explore preschool children's opportunities for learning about friction. A cultural-historical perspective is adopted in which the primary focus of analysis is children's encounters with the phenomenon of friction, on a personal level and within a social situation in which critical moments become aspects that involve opportunities for learning. The data consist of video observations carried out at a preschool in the southwest of Sweden, where four children were observed for whole days over a total of 12 days. The results show that children are in contact with the phenomenon of friction during their play. Such everyday play situations can be used by teachers to become more knowledgeable about children's current understandings of the phenomenon and ways of directing their attention toward understanding of friction in a more explicit manner, such as by inspiring children to new forms of play where the phenomenon of friction is prominent. The results indicate that a lack of adequate knowledge in this area hinders teachers from taking the opportunity to understand the children's perspectives and their intentions.

Formal ethical issues for conducting research are highlighted in national and international guidelines. Even if such strategies are grounded in democratic and rights-based values, their implementation may produce challenges. This article foregrounds dilemmas that were derived from fieldwork conducted in preschool settings with children aged one to five years. These settings are viewed as sensitive environments that demand awareness adjusted to a specific context. Through the use of empirical illustrations, children’s voices concerning their participation within a research project and their opportunities to give consent or withdraw are discussed.

In recent years, the sustainability crisis has raised interest in the concept of resilience, i.e., the capacity to persist, adapt, or transform in the face of change and challenge. However, to date, resilience has only been studied to a limited extent within early childhood education and care (ECEC). This paper reports on a study that used critical document analysis of national and international policies to explore if and how the concept of resilience within ECEC could contribute to sustainability in a world of rapid change. Five national and four international documents were analysed through the theoretical lenses of childism and place-based education. The results show that resilience is implicitly expressed in ECEC policies yet is rarely linked to sustainability issues. Instead, policies mainly limit resilience to the psychological dimension and the individual child. The conclusion is that ECEC is an apt context for supporting resilience in multiple ways. It suggests using a holistic understanding of resilience to advocate for ECEC policies that include diverse perspectives of families and local communities, incorporate indigenous voices, and recognise the interconnectedness between humans and the more-than-human world.

This article grasps the essence of how a science content can be foregrounded by elaborating around concepts as floating and sinking, in relation to boats. The data consist of a videotaped authentic session with one preschool teacher and four children. The model of pedagogical reason and action [Shulman, L. S. 1987. “Knowing and Teaching: Foundations of the New Reform.” Harvard Educational Review 57 (1): 1–23. doi:10.17763/haer.57.1.j463w79r5645541] constitutes the analytical lens. The results show that the content is framed within a series of creative activities where children’s suggestions of how to act are crucial. The scientific content is approached according to the children’s verbalisations of their understandings. Furthermore, dialectical relationships become the main tool when making the content visible.

In previous studies on teacher education, student teachers and sustainability education, it has been found that there is a great need for more knowledge in higher education within the pedagogical field. Moreover, further studies are needed focused on problematizing how preschool teacher students understand and manage education for sustainable development. Such teaching can go beyond an environmental/scientific discourse through the integration of multiple dimensions of sustainability. The present study addresses this need by studying how preschool teacher students describe education for sustainable development and how global and local sustainability issues may emerge in preschool contexts. Furthermore, sustainable development is understood as a knowledge base that enable children to understand the world and develop their creativity and curiosity, and that they, in the future, like the intentions in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education, will be able to engage or grapple with complex issues. The study is based on a critical theoretical approach and its method is critical text analysis. The empirical basis consists of nineteen essays written by preschool teacher students.