School - a place with invisible and unspoken boundaries? by Senior Lecturer, Ingmarie Munkhammmar Lulea University of Technology Department of Education Sweden September, 2007 EECERA, Prag

Curriculum In 1998 Swedish pre-school classes were introduced for six- year-olds as part of the compulsory school system. These pre-school classes share the same curriculum as primary school. The Swedish curriculum for the compulsory school was revised and adjusted for pre-school class and recreation centres.

New concepts in curriculum “The task of the school is to promote learning by stimulating the individual into acquiring knowledge” “ The school should be permeated by concern for the individual (caring), consideration and generosity” “ Creative activities and play are essential components of active learning.” “Particularly in the early year of the schooling, play is very import in helping pupils to acquire knowledge” “Opportunities for exploring, researching…” [Lpo 94. (1998). Curriculum for Compulsory School System. The Pre-School Class and the Leisure-time Centre. Lpo 94]

The research The empirical data consist of interviews with 9, six year olds. During their first year in school these children have been co- operate in joint activity in mixed group with six- and seven year olds. The schoolteacher, pre-school teacher and the recreation centre teacher are working together in joint activities with 25 seven- and six- year olds.

I have used the discourse concept of Foucault for analysing how children think, talk and also act in school. The language we use shapes and direct our way of looking and understanding the world. Foucault uses the discourse concept for these conventions of naming things and talking about them. Discourses influences on a specific practice and can be seen as discursive regimes. They govern what is possible to think, talk and also what to do. Discourses construct the object they discuss. Therefore discourses also are strongly implicated with power and constitution of truth. (Foucault,1972, 1993)

I asked 9, six year olds how they experienced their first year in school.

The findings The aim of being in school is learning; learning to read, write and count. Learning is something that takes place inside the school. You don´t learn outside the school The break is a need for the children and also a necessity for them to learn

The findings Working is an activity which has something to do with learning outcomes, like reading, writing and counting and is something you do with the teacher Playing is an activity you do with the pre-schoolteacher and recreation centre teacher and something to be of use for them In school and in pre-school children are told what to do. In pre-school they have some opportunity to choose for themselves.

Why do I have to learn to read, write and count? A perspective in present “ If you want to read a fairy-tale and the adults don´t wont to, then you can read of your own” “Then you can read what you want to read and you don´t have to ask your mum and dad.” “Because you have to know how to spell...we are writing a letter to our godchildren and I am writing it by myself”

A perspective of the future “When you are an adult and have to work then you must count a lot and read a lots in books” “So you can read books for your children when you become an adult” “It is much easier when you become an adult and must help you children with their homework” “Because when you are in the second year you got a lot of homework”

A perspective of not knowing “I really don´t know. “

You do not learn during the break and if you do so it is not learning? “ No, you just learn things like jumping skipping-rope or how to manage to wave the swing” “No, I don´t think so. But I have always believed that you just play marbles but I now have learnt that you have to move the marbles with another one to win”

The break is a need for the children and to cope with the way of learning “You can not manage to work the whole time that´s why we have a break” “ Because it is lucky for the children because it would be so strange if they don´t have some time for running and moving their legs.” “To get some fresh air …and then you work better”

Working is an activity which has something to do with learning outcomes and something you do with the teacher “When we are in the classroom we work” “With the teacher you work with mathematic and the schedule”

Playing is an activity you do with the pre- schoolteacher and recreation centre teacher and is something to be of use for them “With the pre-school teacher and the recreation centre teacher we do something about the month, we draw pictures of our own house, we make drawings from a fairy-tale and we paint” “We use to play and so on” “With the teacher we count, make letters and write…with the other teachers we do things in an another way as can be of use for us”

In school and in pre-school children are told what to do. In pre-school they have some opportunity to choose for themselves. “ In school the teacher tell us what we must do…in pre- school the pre-school teacher also told you what you must do and eat and so on. You could do what you want, except when we have to eat and when we have to gathering for meeting” “In pre-school they also told us what we have to do. We could make a lot of things. You could go out and paint and do what ever you like to do. You could play also… and sometimes you get something special to do when you have to do some painting a little…

“ You have to do things that you can not do. Sometimes you just have to. And sometimes you use to do things that you don´t wont to do, but you have to…And we have to do our homework. Do things, do things, do things. I wish that you only have to point at things you have to do and then it was already done. Point done! Point done!”

Thank you for listening