Wellbeing of Children in and across Daycare, School, and Home

How we work

• Fields of expertise

  We study, among other things:
  
  - Interprofessional collaboration
  - Parental cooperation
  - Early Childhood Education and Care institutions (ECEC)
  - Schools
  - Homes
  - Childhood pedagogy and children's perspectives
  - Play and participation
  - Inclusion and inequality
  - Health promotion

• Research focus

  Our research starts with the fact that children live their lives across locations and contexts. Therefore, our research spans across professions and educational programmes and looks at pedagogical, psychological, and relational angles. Creating well-being for all children can only happen if you include children's own perspectives. Our expertise is to include all the places in which children live their lives, including early childhood education and care institutions (ECEC), schools, and homes. 

• Partners

  National and international cooperation

  We collaborate with local, national and international partners, including state and local authorities, other research institutions, children’s organisations, and professional bodies.

  We have developed a significant knowledge in our field and are widely used as expert partners, and share our knowledge nationally and internationally.

• Selected publications (selected English-language)

  Blomgren, H. (2022). Let´s hide it! Unfolding play and peer culture in a Danish prep class. BUKS - Tidsskrift for Børne- og Ungdomskultur, 38(66), 105-121. https://tidsskrift.dk/buks/article/view/133775/178844 
  
  Blomgren, H. (2021). Play pockets in kindergartens: on framing blurred practices with art, pedagogy, and play. I H. Park, & C. M. Schulte (red.), Visual arts with young children: practices, pedagogies, and learning (s. 100-110). Routledge.
  
  Blomgren, H. (2020). Aesthetically sensitive pathways to knowledge in and through action research in Danish kindergartens. Educational Action Research, 28(5), 758-774. Read here
  
  Hygum, C. U. & E. Hygum (2021) Crèche and cry, here and there: exploring children’s agency in Romanian and Danish nurseries. Ethnography and Education. Volume 16, 2021 – Issue 3: What matters in early childhood education. 327-342. Read here (Published online: 06 Apr 2021)
  
  Hygum, E.:  & Hygum, C., U. (2022) Beyond the rules, behind a smile: Children’s oppositional actions in nurseries. Under review, submitted 12.01.22
  
  Hygum, C., U. & Hygum, E. (2022) Mind the crèches! Controversial perspectives on the educational quality of Romanian créches. Under review, submitted 20.03.22
  
  Hygum, C. U. & Hygum, E. (2022) Starting strong, starting early! Children participation in the interactional space of the nursery. In print December 2022
  
  Koch, A.B. & Jensen, J.J. (in review). ”Denmark – ECEC Workforce Profile”. In: Early Childhood Workforce profiles in 33 countries with Key Contextual Data, edited by P. Oberhuemer and I. Schreyer. Munich. www.seepro.eu. 
  
  Kascak, O. & Koch, A.B. (2022) Early childhood education and care traditions and policy in an expanding Europe, Early Years, DOI: 10.1080/09575146.2022.2047012
  
  Koch, A.B. (2022). Child wellbeing in early childhood education and care during Covid-19: Child-sensitivity in small, fixed groups. Children & Society, DOI: 10.1111/CHSO.12569 
  
  Koch, A.B. (2021). Children as participants in research. Playful interactions and negotiation of researcher-child relationships. Early Years. 41 (4) 381-395. DOI: 10.1080/09575146.2019.1581730. (published online: 26 Feb 2019).
  
  Koch, A.B. & Brandt. E.Z. (2021). The use of digital media to support and enhance vulnerable children’s perspectives, voices and choices. Children & Society. 35:229-234. DOI: 10.1111/chso.12421  
  
  Koch, A. B. (2018), Children's Perspectives on Happiness and Subjective Well-being in Preschool. Children & Society, 32: 73–83. Read here
  
  Koch, A.B. (2017). Sounds of Education: Teacher Role and Use of Voice in Interactions with Young Children. International Journal of Early Childhood, 49: 57-72. Read here

  Jørgensen, H. H., Skovbjerg, H. M. & Bang, A. L. (2022). Dramatic reflections: Enhancing play qualities in a design experiment for inclusive play practices in school. Proceedings of DRS 2022:Bilbao. Read here
  
  Jørgensen, H. H., Skovbjerg, H. M, & Eriksen, M. A. (2021). Appropriating a DBR model for a ‘research through codesign’ project on play in schools – to frame participation. In E.Brandt, T. Markussen, E. Berglund, G. Julier & P. Linde (Eds.), Proceedings of Nordes. Matters of Scale (pp. 444–453). Retrieved from https://conference2021nordes.org/ 
  
  Jørgensen, H. H. (2020). Narrative inquiry for play design opportunities. In S. Gudiksen & H. M. Skovbjerg (Eds.), Framing play design: A hands-on guide for designers, learners and innovators (pp. 103–114). London: BIS Publishers.

  Molbæk, M. (2018). Inclusive teaching strategies - dimensions and agendas. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 22(10), 1048-1061. Read here

  Molbæk, M., Hansen, J. H., Lassen, M., Schmidt, M. C. S., & Jensen, C. R. (2018). Approaching Inclusion as Social Practice: Processes of Inclusion and Exclusion: Processes of Inclusion and Exclusion. Journal of Educational and Social Research, Vol 8(No 2), 9–19. Read here

  Molbæk, M., & Müller, K. R. (2019). Triangulation with video observation when studying teachers’ practice. Qualitative Research Journal, 20(1), 152-162. https://doi.org/10.1108/QRJ-07-2019-0053
  Janne Hedegaard Hansen, Suzanne Carrington, Charlotte Riis Jensen, Mette Molbæk & Maria Christina Secher Schmidt (2020) The collaborative practice of inclusion and exclusion, Nordic Journal of Studies in Educational Policy, 6:1, 47-57, DOI: 10.1080/20020317.2020.1730112

  Janne Hedegaard Hansen, Charlotte Riis Jensen, Mette Molbæk & Maria Christina Secher Schmidt (2021) Cross-professional collaboration and inclusive school development in Denmark, International Journal of Inclusive Education, DOI: 10.1080/13603116.2021.1965800

  Jensen, C. R., Molbæk, M., Hansen, J. H., & Schmidt, M. C. S. (2022). Developing Inclusive Learning Environments – When Collaboration Is (Not) the Answer. I H. Harju-Luukkainen, N. B. Hanssen, & C. Sundqvist (red.), Special Education in the Early Years - Perspectives on Policy and Practice in the Nordic Countries (s. 103-117). Springer. International Perspectives on Early Childhood Education and Development Bind 36. Read here

  Skibsted, E. (2020): A lifeworld approach to the pupils’ general development in school. In: Nordic Psychology. 72, 4, s. 292-312.
  
  Skibsted, E., Jensen, E.S. & Christensen, M.V. (2015): Educating teachers focusing on the development of reflective and relational competences In: Educational Research for Policy and Practice. 14, 3, s. 201-212 12 s.
  
  Grindheim, L.T., Sørensen, H. V. & Rekers, A. 2021. Outdoor and Nature in Pedagogical Practices and in Cultural-Historical Theory. In L. T. Grindheim; H. V. Sørensen & A. Rekers (eds). Outdoor Learning and Play. Springer Open Access. 
  
  Fleer, M., Hedegaard, M., Ødegaard, E. E. & Sørensen, H. V. 2021. Cultures of Play and Learning in Transition. (p.1-16) in M. Fleer, M. Hedegaard, E. E. Ødegaard & H.V. Sørensen (eds). Qualitative Studies of Exploration in Childhood Education. Bloomsbury. 
  
  Birkeland, Å., Sørensen, H. V.& He, M. 2021. Micro-Transitions in Outdoor Playtime in Kindergarten: Conditions for Children’s Exploration and Cultural Formation. (p. 197-217) in M. Fleer, M. Hedegaard, E. E. Ødegaard & H.V. Sørensen (eds). Qualitative Studies of Exploration in Childhood Education. Bloomsbury. 
  
  Birkeland, Å. & Sørensen, H. V. 2021. Children’s outdoor play activities in kindergartens in China and in Norway. In L. T. Grindheim, H. V. Sørensen & A. Rekers (eds.) Outdoor Learning and Play: Pedagogical Practice and Children’s Cultural Formation. Springer
  
  Sørensen, H. V. 2021. Children’s play activities and social relations in nature and kindergarten playground. In L. T. Grindheim, H. V. Sørensen & A. Rekers (eds.) Outdoor Learning and Play: Pedagogical Practice and Children’s Cultural Formation. Springer. 
  
  Sørensen, H. V. 2019. Studying Children’s friendship activities ethically using the Interaction-Based Observation Method. In A. Edwards; M. Fleer & L. Bøttcher. Cultural-Historical Approaches to Studying Learning. Springer. 
  
  Sørensen, H. V. 2014. Ethics in researching young children’s play in preschool. Chapter 11 in: M. Fleer & A. Ridgway (eds.) Visual methodologies and tools for researching with young children. Springer.