Introduction
This article is based on a study of three Swedish preschools situated in a multi-ethnic district where almost all the preschool children are multilingual. Two of these preschools actively use music as a tool to stimulate language and social development, while the third has no special focus on music and serves as a comparison.
In 2013, 80% of the preschools in Sweden were municipal. Preschool is voluntary but almost 85% of children aged 1–5 attend (National Agency of Education, 2013). The Swedish preschool system has a national curriculum and every preschool, including private alternatives, are obliged to follow it. The national curriculum states that:
(. . .) education in the preschool should, irrespective of where it is located, be equivalent. National goals specify the norms for equivalence, and the preschool should strive to achieve these goals. (National Agency of Education, 1998/10, p. 4)
The content areas in the curriculum focus on mathematics, technology, science and language development but other forms of expression, such as pictures, song and music, drama, rhythm, dance and movement are also highlighted as important areas. Preschools in Sweden are explicitly goal oriented, and both principals and preschool teachers have great influence over how to reach national curriculum goals. Their personal interest and involvement in specific subjects can therefore have a great impact on the didactic choices made at a preschool. If neither the principal nor any of the preschool teachers at a preschool are interested in a particular subject, there is a risk that the curriculum goals related to that subject will have an insignificant role in the preschool's schedule (Ehrlin, Reference EHRLIN2012). Music is such a subject, and research has shown that many preschool teachers and primary teachers are not confident in their ability to teach music (Ruddock & Leong, Reference RUDDOCK and LEONG2005; Seddon & Biasutti, Reference SEDDON and BIASUTTI2008; Russell-Bowie, Reference RUSSELL-BOWIE2009; Stunell, Reference STUNELL2010; Still, Reference STILL2011; Ehrlin, Reference EHRLIN2012). In a comparison of different subjects, Hallam et al. (Reference HALLAM, BURNARD, ROBERTSON, SALEH, DAVIES, ROGERS and KOKATSAKI2009) showed that while almost all teachers were confident in their ability to teach in general, only about half were confident about teaching music. Research shows that in order to make a difference in children's musical education, non-music specialists teaching music in primary schools need support to improve their music skills, subject knowledge and confidence (Holden & Button, Reference HOLDEN and BUTTON2006). It has also been found that preschool and primary school teachers benefit when offered courses in music (Gooding, Reference GOODING2009; Lyndell, Reference LYNDELL2011; Garvis & Pendergast, Reference GARVIS and PENDERGAST2011; Ehrlin, Reference EHRLIN2012; Nilson et al., Reference NILSON, FETHERSTON, McMURRAY and FETHERSTON2013).
Introduced in 2011, preschool teacher education in Sweden is a three and a half year academic education programme that is based on scientific evidence and proven experience. The programme focuses on content areas such as language, mathematics, technology and science, as well as documentation, evaluation and didactic issues. A preschool teacher needs a limited but interdisciplinary knowledge of the different content areas expressed as goals in the curriculum (Sheridan et al., Reference SHERIDAN, WILLIAMS, SANDBERG and VUORINEN2011). A historical survey of the Swedish preschool curriculum (Vallberg Roth, Reference VALLBERG-ROTH2001) and a study of a specific preschool-teacher training programme in Sweden (Tellgren, Reference TELLGREN2008) show that traditionally the arts have played a prominent role in Swedish preschools. Throughout the 19th century music skills were considered important to develop, and preschool teachers were required to learn to sing and play the piano. Today there is no such requirement, but as alluded to above, the Swedish national curriculum (Lpfö-98/10) states that music, art and drama should serve as both content and method in preschools’ schedules:
Creating and communicating by means of different forms of expression, such as pictures, song and music, drama, rhythm, dance and movement, as well as spoken and written language provide both the contents and methods to be used by the preschool in promoting the development and learning of the child. (National Agency of Education [Sweden], 1998/10, p. 6)
In the preschool education programme introduced in 2011, relatively few academic credits are dedicated to music and other arts, and within the educational content, greater emphasis is placed on a theoretical understanding of children's aesthetic learning processes. Questions about performance skills are set aside, even though such skills certainly are needed to achieve the curriculum goals.
Aim and research questions
The aim of this article is to draw attention to some problematic issues connected to the fact that principals’ personal level of interest and involvement in specific subjects strongly influence the didactic choices made at Swedish preschools.
I pose the following questions: (a) In what respect has the strong influence of principals’ personal interests been problematic at the three preschools studied? (b) In what respects do the principals’ interest and involvement in music have a supportive or restrictive effect at the two music preschools in focus?
The Swedish context and background
In Swedish preschools, the principal is in charge of every employee at the preschool and has a pedagogical obligation to see to it that the preschool strives to achieve national curriculum goals. In such an organisation, it is important to share common values, ideas and ways of understanding the work (Riddersporre, Reference RIDDERSPORRE, Riddersporre and Persson2010). The leadership in such goal-oriented organisations has been described with the theory of normative management (Alvesson & Svenningsson, Reference ALVESSON and SVENNINGSSON2008). Normative management is said to be suitable when those involved have considerable freedom to choose methods and procedures (Kärreman & Rennstam, Reference KÄRREMAN, RENNSTAM, Alvesson and Svenningsson2008; Riddersporre, Reference RIDDERSPORRE, Riddersporre and Persson2010). However, sometimes this kind of leadership is also accompanied by an indirect control mechanism. The concept of governmentality has been used to show how the investment of a specific implementation has exerted a subtle form of control over the work at preschools in Sweden (Söderman & Löf, Reference SÖDERMAN and LÖF2010).
Ludvigsson (Reference LUDVIGSSON2009) has studied the leadership at three Swedish primary and secondary schools and shown that the social interplay between principals and teachers is an important part of their overall interaction, influencing their actions as well as shaping the leadership. The study concludes that leadership must therefore be understood as a phenomenon produced and shaped by principals and teachers together.
In this article I will focus on the two preschools where teachers have been given the opportunity to develop their musical skills. At these preschools, the leadership has been highly supportive and the preschool teachers have been given time to discuss pedagogical issues related to music with each other and together with the principal. They have also had the opportunity to cooperate with a professional music and language teacher in music activities. I will show how these conditions have affected both the preschool teachers’ views of their own competence and their practice, as well as how this shared leadership has affected how the preschool teachers describe their competence in music, and the thematic focus in music at these preschools.
Theoretical and methodological framework
In the sociocultural perspective adopted in this study, learning and development are viewed as an on-going process that unfolds through participation in different social and cultural activities (Vygotsky, Reference VYGOTSKY1978; Lave & Wenger, Reference LAVE and WENGER1991; Wenger, Reference WENGER1998; Rogoff, Reference ROGOFF2003). Referring to the concept of legitimate peripheral participation – the idea that participation is legitimately peripheral at first, and then gradually increases in complexity – Lave and Wenger (Reference LAVE and WENGER1991) emphasise that learning is a process of increasing participation in different communities of practice. Through this process of learning and development, the individual changes on a personal level, as does the community of practice in which the individual is involved. In this view, learning is connected to who people are, and who they become by participating in different communities of practice (Lave & Wenger, Reference LAVE and WENGER1991, p. 95). Wenger (Reference WENGER1998) states that the foundation of learning must be sought in the communities of practice where people are involved, that learning is central to every social practice and always changes our ability to take part. Learning is therefore not only linked to pedagogical situations, everything that happens in a community of practice is relevant to learning and can be seen as a resource. From such a standpoint, the leadership of such a community can be seen as a social phenomenon created by the people involved (Hughes et al., Reference HUGHES, GINNET and CURPHY2009).
Method and data collection
The ethnographic research approach used in this study holds that the search for knowledge always takes place within a given context, and emphasises that interpretation plays a significant role in our understanding of what we are studying (Agar, Reference AGAR1996; Wolcott, Reference WOLCOTT2008). In analysing the data, a hermeneutical perspective has been central to the understanding of the act of interpretation (Bjurström, Reference BJURSTRÖM and Gemzöe2004). Sometimes one part of the data has been analysed separately, and sometimes the different parts have been analysed as a whole. A basic assumption in ethnographic research is that the researcher needs to spend time with the participants in the given context to be able to interpret what is going on. In this way the researcher gets opportunities to see and interpret situations in the given context. To strengthen the data collection, methodological triangulation has been used, which means that a phenomenon is studied by using several methods, in this case interviews, informal chats and observations (Cohen et al., Reference COHEN, MANION and MORRISON2000). Narratives shared in interviews and the researchers’ observations together serve as the foundation for making interpretations.
In this study, data were gathered in a two-step process, which involved conducting interviews and observations of preschool children and teachers in action. In an ethnographic study it is important to create proximity while still preserving appropriate distance. In this process it is crucial to maintain one's distance and critical attitude and not identify too strongly with the environment and the respondents (Wolcott, Reference WOLCOTT2008). In my own study recurrent analytical conversations with other researchers at Örebro University concerning my findings were both necessary and helpful in maintaining a critical attitude.
Eleven preschool teachers and three principals were interviewed, and observations were carried out for 12 consecutive days at each preschool over the course of a period of two years, from 2008 to 2010. Interviews and observations were carried out in parallel at the three preschools. The interviews were held at the preschools and were semi-structured with a focus on the respondents’ thoughts and ideas. The interviews were recorded and transcribed. All respondents were informed about the research ethics guidelines of the Swedish Research Council (Vetenskapsrådet, 1990).
The interviews focused on the principals’ and preschool teachers’ thoughts, actions and narratives, while the observations of the daily work at the preschools gave deeper meaning to the narratives from the perspective of the researcher. Transcriptions and field notes were analysed in an abductive process. At first the data were categorised according to the theoretical framework. Concepts such as communication and participation guided this process. The data showed that questions concerning the leadership at the preschools were of crucial importance in understanding music's place and function at the preschools. Therefore previous research, and concepts concerning leadership, particularly in preschools, were needed in order to fully absorb and analyse the data. In such an abductive process the interpretations of music's place and function at the preschools were carried out during the whole process of analysis.
Contextual framework
The three preschools in the study are all situated in a single district of a large city in Sweden. The district has about 35,000 inhabitants, more than half of whom are not born in Sweden.
There are 23 municipal preschools in the district, and about 80 different languages are represented at these preschools. For this reason all the preschools place special emphasis on the children's language development, and especially on their Swedish language development. In 2000 and shortly after, two preschools began to develop a pedagogical approach that used music as a tool for language development. These music preschools have a local curriculum based on the assumption that music is a communicative tool that everyone can use despite language difficulties.
Three preschools – three principals
The study focused on the two music preschools called the Bird and the Star, with the third preschool – called the Daisy – serving as a comparison. The preschool groups of children followed at the Bird and the Star were aged 3–5, but the target group for observations at these preschools was 4-year-old children. At the Daisy preschool, all children in the target group were 4 years old when the study began in 2008.
The current principal of the Daisy preschool began working there in 2002. She has been a principal since 1986, and was a preschool teacher for five years before that. Early in her career she became interested in the philosophy of Reggio Emilia. She has read widely and attended several courses about the Reggio Emilia approach. When she became principal of the current preschool, she began to send the staff to courses inspired by the Reggio Emilia philosophy. The former principal had started to build up an interest in using music as a tool for language development, but when the current principal took over she thought no one at the preschool could convincingly argue in favour of working with music. She considers it almost impossible to run a preschool where not everyone is pulling in the same direction, and she views her role of inspirer as very important. Today there is no particular emphasis on music, but now and then preschool teachers sing along with the children.
The principal at the Bird music preschool has been working there since 2004. Before that she was a preschool teacher at the same preschool. Since 1986 she has been interested in working with music in the preschool setting, and has been a driving force in the process of setting up the school's music theme. She thinks that as principal she can now do even more to inspire staff and children musically, and she has made sure that musical activities are part of the daily schedule in all five preschool groups. Furthermore, she believes that it is the principal's standpoint that music is a tool for language development and social training. She underlines that all preschool teachers at the preschool must in some way take part in singing and playing instruments with the children. She therefore has offered everyone courses in music. The principal says it is important that all preschool teachers be skilled, confident and knowledgeable in the pedagogical approach. No one needs to be a professional musician, but everyone must take part in the musical activities and be willing to develop their musical skills.
At the Star music preschool, the principal has held her position for 18 years. Before that she was a preschool teacher. Ever since she was a student, she has had a special interest in music, and it was she who began to inspire the other preschool teachers in the process of starting a music theme for the preschool. As principal she considers it important sometimes to take the same courses as the other staff, and she likes to come up with new ideas for musical activities. This strategy gives her a better platform for inspiring others, she believes. She is convinced that her commitment is crucial, but highlights that all the enthusiasts among the remaining staff make important contributions to developing the school's music theme. All preschool teachers are expected to take part in musical activities and use music in teaching at the preschool. The principal thinks she has not put any pressure on the teachers, but instead has given them opportunities to develop their musical and pedagogical skills.
Feeling confident and competent in teaching music
At the comparison preschool the Daisy, the teachers’ narratives show that some of the preschool teachers consider music an activity suitable only for people with a special gift or a talent. They also lack a sense of confidence and competence when it comes to singing and playing instruments with the children; even so, these preschool teachers are not offered courses in music nor do they request any.
Some of the preschool teachers at the other two music preschools used to share a similar perspective, but support from their principals and courses in music have changed that. One of the preschool teachers at the music preschool The Star says:
These courses make us develop together, the whole unit, the group, and me as an individual. (. . .) All this knowledge benefits the unit, the section, and me.
It is apparent that the chance to attend various courses in singing, playing the guitar or percussion has been crucial for their ability to take part in the daily work at these preschools. Now these preschool teachers see that they are competent enough to use music in their daily work at the preschool, as a tool for language development, social training and, above all, to bring joy to the preschool. Teachers who lacked self-confidence and competence when it came to teaching music used to be in the periphery, but are now competent participants in the heart of the community. This learning process is linked to the preschools in question being communities of practice (Lave & Wenger, Reference LAVE and WENGER1991; Wenger, Reference WENGER1998).
The principals at the music preschools have inspired everyone to take part in the music activities and have stated that everyone is competent enough; the principal at the Bird says:
That's the idea that you don't need to be musical when you start. It is a process for the teachers just like for the children. You develop it together with the children. You think that you have to be good, but in this music-making process everyone can take part.
Both principals at the Bird and the Star stress that everyone can take part and develop their musical competence together with the children, and the principals at these music preschools have gained the preschool teachers’ trust. One of the teachers at The Bird says:
It is very important, because if we didn't have a principal who's positive towards this, then perhaps, well of course we would do something, but not as much. I mean she's very positive towards our taking these courses [in music] as often as possible and we’re able to buy instruments [for the preschool]. That's very important.
The principals at the music preschools have also influenced the way the preschool teachers describe their teaching. Both principals express the idea that music is a tool for language development and for creating a positive social climate. They think it is important for every preschool teacher to understand that this is the foundation, and the reason why these preschools base their teaching on musical activities.
Music as a tool
The musical activities at the two music preschools are well organised and focus on the social aspects of music and its ability to serve as a tool for stimulating language development and social participation. There is a firm belief among the preschool teachers and principals that it is important for children to participate in the language-developing musical activities, and that they boost the children's aspirations and confidence about participating. One of the teachers at the Star says:
Music is a tool. We can see that when the children come [to our group], when they are three years old, they are a little bit shy. Everyone else sings, even solo before their peers. But suddenly even the shy ones become bold. Maybe they whisper at first, but then it gets a little louder, and finally they sing along and that strengthens their self-esteem.
The atmosphere at the music preschools allows the children and preschool teachers to express themselves spontaneously through music, and the observations shows that the music can generally be seen as a way of enabling children to participate communicatively. The musical activities at ‘circle time’ are mostly singing, playing percussions, listening to music, listening for different sounds and attend movements connected to different songs. The music activities at ‘circle time’ are often group exercises, and the children can therefore also find support in collaboration in a zone of proximal development (Vygotsky, Reference VYGOTSKY1978). All instruments used in activities led by the preschool teachers are also available for the children to use in their spontaneous play. These activities are resources that increase children's aspirations and self-confidence about participating, which in turn can also support their language development. The activities enable the children to express themselves through music, for example by singing and playing percussion instruments. Observations at all three preschools confirm that the music preschools spend more ‘circle time’ in joint musical activities and that the children sing and play instruments more often during their spontaneous play. These activities enable the children to communicate with the aid of the chosen musical activity and also with support from the group. In the musical activities the children are free to express themselves as they wish; no one is forced to participate, and the children are not expected to sing or play in any specific way. The other children's expressive activities and those of the teachers are seen as supportive for those who might find it difficult to join in. The analysis also shows that music and movement complement each other in all kind of activities. If someone finds it difficult to sing, they can still take part in movement activities. An excerpt from the field notes at the Star describes an example of this.
It is 9:30 and time for circle time. The children sit down in their spots around the circle. The preschool teacher starts with a ‘good morning song’. The children sing along. After that they sing a song with finger movements. Everyone joins in, either singing or concentrating on the finger movements.
After that they talk about the day's weather and sing a ‘weather song’. Everyone takes part, and when they’re done a girl wants to sing the song herself (solo). She is allowed to, and the others listen.
They talk about today's date, day of the week, what month it is. It's the 15th and they count to 15 and put 15 small balls in a box.
Another teacher takes over and starts playing the synthesizer. The tune is quite simple, but teachers and children sing a song with different accompanying movements. It can be difficult both to sing and do the movements, but everyone does [at least] the movements.
They continue by singing a song about a spider. A big net is laid out on the floor, and children and teachers sing and accompany the song with movements. After that they sing a song about colours, with different coloured scarves illustrating the colours.
The preschool teachers at the music preschools use music as a tool for getting all the children communicatively involved, but they also make sure that the children can have musical experiences. For example, they point out different musical elements such as high or low tones, or tempo and volume during different music activities. Despite all this, they do not focus on music when describing their teaching. The interpretation is that they have gained the confidence to sing and play and to use music as a tool in their daily teaching, but have not acquired enough musical self-confidence to believe that the musical activities they offer the children are also important for their musical development. They appear to think that someone with musical talent or with advanced music training would not view what they are doing as proper music education. A teacher at the Star says.
Many people say, ‘I can't sing’, I couldn´t either and still can´t. But I can do it anyway maybe not as a super singer but I can. You should not think that it is in vain or I can't do it, at least try.
The preschool teachers at the music preschools therefore provide a simplified description of the music activities. They state that singing or playing is important, and that everyone can take part. Just sing or play, and language skills will develop. If we compare the teachers’ descriptions of how they work with music-making as a tool for stimulating language development with exactly how they describe the importance of using language correctly, it becomes clear how simplified their descriptions of actual music-making are. They explain that language ability is not expected to fall into place through their talking to the children alone. Instead the teachers emphasise the importance of naming objects, talking about what is happening during everyday activities, illustrating fairy tales and stories with pictures, and making an effort to use clear and distinct pronunciation. They also highlight the importance of expressing themselves in a linguistically correct fashion in all conversations with the children.
In comparison they simply state, just sing and play and music will stimulate social and language development. The taken-for-granted and simplified descriptions of the music making seem to limit the preschool teachers’ understanding of what they are doing. This has led to a particular discourse that music is a tool for language stimulation or social inclusion, even though the musical activities actually have a broader function. These communities of practice, where the principals have an insignificant role, have created a discourse that hides other functions of music.
In what respect has the strong influence of principals’ personal interests been problematic at the three preschools studied?
All three principals at the preschools are convinced that their interest and involvement are of crucial importance for the choice of pedagogical approach. They ascribe great importance to sharing common values and ways of understanding the work. The purpose of this normative control is to create a feeling of togetherness among the preschool teachers. And the results of the study show that the inspiration that the preschool leadership brings to each institution is of crucial importance for the didactic choices made. The interest in and involvement with a specific subject are grounded in a dialectical relation between the principal and the preschool teachers sharing the same interest. At the two music preschools, the principals demonstrate the importance of the work through their actions, for example by attending the same courses as the other staff; and at staff meetings they sometimes come up with new ideas for musical activities. That they choose to participate in different musical activities in this way has been an important factor in convincing all the preschool teachers to take part in the musical activities. But by sometimes attending the same courses as the preschool teachers, the principals also signal what subjects should be prioritised and what other subjects are less important. This is problematic.
Of course, by virtue of their position the principals are responsible for guiding the work, but they also therefore have a formal advantage. Negotiations about the pedagogical approach are in that sense unequal. The narratives presented in the interviews might make it appear as if every decision is made together and that everyone is convinced about the pedagogical approach. The comparison to the Daisy preschool in this study confirms this interpretation. The previous principal at The Daisy was interested in music, and the preschool was about to set up a music theme when the principal left her job and the current principal took over. The new principal was interested in a different approach, and therefore music figures less prominently in this preschool's schedule. The music theme was not supported by all the preschool teachers, some of whom lacked self-confidence when it comes to singing and playing with the children. Unfortunately, when the new principal arrived no one requested courses in music, nor were any offered. Even those who were confident and supported the former music-based method were not able to convincingly argue for a music theme when new ideas came up. Now the leadership at this preschool is focused on other areas and interests, and everyone seems satisfied with it. The problem here is not the change itself, but that it is so closely linked to the arrival of a new principal. The principal and the preschool teachers build up a sense of mutual confidence that holds the entire group together. This social connection seems more important than everyone being convinced of the effectiveness of the work, and there is a risk that the work at the preschool will be connected to specific persons. A change of principal could demolish a well-organised preschool and the work being done there. A principal can easily be replaced, but the process by which the principal and other staff develops a sense of trust in goals and visions takes time to establish.
In summary it is clear that all three preschools are process oriented and that the leadership and the preschool form a community of practice. The preschool teachers are more or less led towards a desired approach by their principal. These leaders are actively trying to get everyone involved in the pedagogical approach and they guide and inspire the development of the daily work.
The principals’ interest and involvement in music – supportive or restrictive?
The leadership at all three preschools has influenced the schools’ development processes. But the pedagogical approach must be put into practice by preschool teachers who feel confident and competent enough to carry out the work. At the music preschools it was crucial that the preschool teachers first had the opportunity to attend courses in music. With the support of both the principal and each other they have then developed a pedagogical approach based on music that they believe in and feel confident that they can carry through.
It is obvious that the preschool leadership has created opportunities that have been supportive of music development both for preschool teachers and children at the music preschools. The principals have offered courses in music to all teachers at these preschools, which has been crucial for music development. The music learning process is clearly connected to the preschool as a social practice. All teachers now feel confident about using music as a tool for language development and social training, but they avoid saying that the musical activities are also important for the children's musical development. The leadership has in that respect also been restrictive. The principals at the music preschools have influenced the preschool teachers’ ways of describing the didactic choices made. The preschool teachers at the music preschools describe music as a tool, although the teaching also focuses on music as such. In this way the influence has been restrictive. A step forward would be to grasp – and express – that music making in the preschool is also important for the children's musical development. Arguing in such a way would more strongly justify music's place in the preschool curriculum. It would also make the preschool teachers aware of what they really are doing.
Conclusion
The result of this study rests on three theoretical frameworks that contribute different dimensions to the research: hermeneutics, ethnography and socio-cultural theory. The hermeneutical perspective employed here holds that the search for knowledge – our interpretation and understanding of what we encounter – is an interaction between our understanding of at times, different parts of something and at other times, a whole picture (Bjurström, Reference BJURSTRÖM and Gemzöe2004). The research questions are therefore answered in a hermeneutical interpreting process where different parts of the data have been analysed separately, and sometimes analysed as a whole in an effort to understand the place and function of music at the music preschools. The ethnographic research approach used is based on a search for knowledge within a given context, and emphasises that interpretation plays a significant role in our understanding of what we are facing (Wolcott, Reference WOLCOTT2008). The socio-cultural assumption that learning and development are considered to be an ongoing process that takes place through people's participation in different social and cultural activities has been the lens through the data have been analysed (Lave & Wenger, Reference LAVE and WENGER1991; Wenger, Reference WENGER1998). As mentioned above, an important assumption in this study is that leadership is a social phenomenon, with principals and preschool teachers shaping the leadership together (Hughes et al., Reference HUGHES, GINNET and CURPHY2009); therefore, both principals’ and preschool teachers’ points of view were analysed to reach understanding.
Didactic objectives in which content, methods and goals are debated are vital for the legitimisation of all pedagogical intentions and pursuits. Teaching music requires practical skills, musical knowledge and the confidence to describe what is happening in didactic terms. The results of the present study imply that preschool student teachers must receive good-quality education in music, since they are the future teachers and principals at Swedish preschools. Consequently, it is important that music be made a standard subject in the preschool teacher training programmes in Sweden.
As the study has shown, it takes time to become skilled in music and comfortable teaching it. Since the Swedish preschools’ steering documents state that music should have a place in preschool schedules, principals at preschools also need to make sure that all preschool teachers have the necessary musical knowledge, practical skills and confidence to sing and play in the preschool setting, even if no one at the preschool has a special interest in music. This is, of course, important when it comes to all subject areas and goals of the national curriculum. The research shows that the preschools are led by principals that:
• have a personal interest in the pedagogical approach at the preschool;
• are influenced by what is considered important to develop, both in theory and practice;
• set aside time for the preschool teachers to discuss their work, and set priorities that enable the preschool teachers to find a common way of talking about the pedagogical approach at the preschool that is convincing;
• provide further training for teachers to develop the skills needed at the preschool.
These strategies open up opportunities but can also be restrictive. The principal is ultimately responsible for ensuring that the preschool strives to reach national curriculum goals. This must include making sure that all preschool teachers receive further training in all requisite areas. Principals are most certainly role models at preschools and need to be aware of it.
Anna Ehrlin is a Lecturer in didactics with a special responsibility for the arts at the Division of Education, Mälardalen University, Sweden. Her major research interest is the function and place of music in education.
