Lekens magi! : Synen på lekens betydelse för lärandeprocesser bland pedagoger på en Reggio Emilia- respektive Montessoriförskola

Sammanfattning: This study deals with play and the importance of meaning of play in the learning process. The aim is to look in to and analyze four preschool teacher´s beliefs and views about the importance of play for children´s learning and development. The study looks at two different preschools, one based on Reggio Emilia- and the other on Montessori- pedagogy, and the aim is to compare the different views and ways of working that the preschool educators have. The theoretical basis for this study is both rooted in a socio-cultural and constructivist perspective, and deals with the relationships between theoretical concepts mean as play, learning, way of working and pedagogy. The study is based on qualitative research methods that consist of interviews and participant observations. The person’s participants in the study consisted of four active preschool educators, who work in two different preschools. The results of the investigation show that the educators have similar views on the importance of play for the children´s learning process, and this also applies to their way of working. In the interviews, they emphasize the importance of observing the child, and to start from the child´s own interests and the free play, when working with the children. But the implementation of their work differed in the sense that the Reggio Emilia- preschool educators work with theme works that extended over longer periods while the Montessori- preschool educators worked with free play.