Documentation of special educational needs. The governance of knowledge, learning and practitioners in the Swedish preschool

Abstract in English

Identifying special educational needs (SEN) in preschool often involves various methods of observation, mapping, and planning through documentation. These documentation practices store, communicate and distribute written content through templates and documentation systems. There is variation in such systems and approaches to documentation in different municipalities, and this has significant consequences for the ways in which knowledge is differently produced, used and shared within preschool contexts, and across wider municipality settings.

This thesis aims to gain a deeper understanding of how SEN documentation is perceived and utilised by key actors at different municipal and preschool levels; how it contributes to creating knowledge and values in early childhood education and care (ECEC); and how the (fairly) new digital systems are employed to produce and handle SEN documentation processes and practices in preschools and municipalities.

The empirical data builds on semi-structured interviews with municipal officials and principals, group interviews with preschool work teams and a survey that maps the prevalence of digital systems for SEN documentation in ECEC by Swedish municipalities. The data analyses draw on theoretical concepts of organisational learning, knowledge formation and agency.

The findings from the empirical material reveal diverse perceptions of SEN documentation and its value in various levels of preschool education stakeholders (municipal officials, principals, and work teams). This creates tensions among professionals and across levels regarding what and whose knowledge is to be inscribed and thus meaningful. In addition, digital systems for SEN documentation are becoming increasingly prevalent in preschool practices and this shapes how SEN documentation is visualised and realised, with preschool principals and work teams raising new challenges and identifying tensions and ambiguities in the process. The findings suggest that SEN documentation through analogue and digital systems plays an important role in (re)conceptualising SEN. In addition, the particular governing of documentation practices across different systems affects how SEN knowledge is generated, evaluated and distributed within municipalities and preschools, and hence sets parameters for organisational and professional learning.