Improving children's sense of belonging through group-orientated individualisation

Abstract

A sense of belonging is essential for children in preschool. During the past decade, there has been a striking change in the orientation of the Swedish preschool environment. Now more child observations tend to focus on individual skills and assessment of ability to handle future schooling. A new discourse is clear; one that moves from a group orientation to a more individual approach. School-related skills are now more clearly the focus, within which an individualised discourse easily leads to grouping by levels and special programmes. In this action research study, a model of inclusive individualisation was tested, in which individual opportunities were anchored in a group-orientated teaching method. Nine preschool departments from four preschools participated in the study. The work involved about 45 preschool staff. At work meetings, nine departments spent about two hours each, processing and evaluating the model. The results show that the majority of the staff felt that the model opened up new issues, ideas and perspectives. It was clear that the staff were eager to plan early interventions. Communication and social skills for the children were the areas exclusively focused upon in the work with the model.