När förskolan möter neurovetenskap: kunskapsteoretiska möten i teori och i praktik

This PhD thesis in kindergarten pedagogy reports on meetings between theories and practices in Swedish kindergartens (pre-school) and knowledge from neuroscience research. The thesis statement concerns the relationship between research-based knowledge and teaching practices in kindergartens, with particular emphasis on the political requirement that pre-school, as the first level in the Swedish education system, should be based on scientific knowledge and verified experience-based knowledge. Firstly, the thesis aims to investigate what kind of knowledge is developed in the encounter between epistemological positions within and between the research fields of kindergarten pedagogy and neuroscience. Secondly, what kind of knowledge is developed in the encounter between these research fields and the kindergarten field of practice.

The results of the investigation support the objectives of the Swedish curriculum, with a double understanding of learning in both individuals and groups, which requires various epistemological and didactic methods. Kindergarten practice that is based on scientific evidence and verified experience-based knowledge therefore requires a range of theories and epistemologies that can guide kindergarten teachers. Therefore, the thesis points to the possibility of developing a multi-epidemiological didactic repertoire in order to further develop learning practices in kindergartens.

The investigation is based on nine months of ethnographic fieldwork including observations, notes and focus group interviews with 23 kindergarten teachers from three different institutions. The interviews were based on philosophical methods and exercises for mapping knowledge.

Aronsson L. (2019). ”När förskolan möter neurovetenskap: kunskapsteoretiska möten i teori och i praktik”. Akademisk avhandling. Stockholms universitet.