SWEDEN%20policy%20profile%20-%20published%2005-02-2013

40 - CHAPTER 2. WHERE DOES SWEDEN STAND COMPARED TO OTHER COUNTRIES?
involved and influence activities in the preschool. Preschool teachers are responsible for
ensuring that parents have these opportunities; families receive a good introduction to the
preschool; development dialogues take place; parents are involved in assessing the work of
preschool; showing respect to parents and the family; maintaining on-going dialogues; and
taking account of parental viewpoints.
ECEC staff in Sweden have great responsibility in informing parents and maintaining good
relationships with them. In many other OECD countries, parents are also dependent on
ECEC staff to hear about the centre’s activities, routines in the playroom or teaching, and the
curriculum. Professionally developing and training staff members’ communication skills can
therefore encourage meaningful interactions between staff and between staff and parents
with possible beneficial outcomes for both children’s and staff’s development. Additionally,
parents who are well-informed of their child’s or centre’s curriculum are more likely to use
aspects of the curriculum in the home.
Leadership and teaching management for effective implementation
Although there is an increasing need for the development of leadership skills in many OECD
countries, leadership has received only intermittent attention by early childhood theorists and
researchers. There may also be a lack of awareness among ECEC staff and managers
about the importance of leadership and management skills. However, leadership is of great
relevance in ensuring high-quality ECEC provision and good implementation of the
curriculum since leadership strengthens staff performance. Sweden addresses this in their
guidelines for preschool teachers and curriculum, which explain the responsibilities of staff,
including the different tasks of different professionals. The Swedish curriculum also indicates
the importance of the role of the head of preschool and strong management in a separate
section.
While staff in Sweden are trained on management and planning during their initial education,
and there are possibilities for professional training on this as well, there is little further
guidance and support for staff with caring responsibilities and teaching positions on
leadership and management in their playroom, i.e., how to manage their playroom and
conduct leadership. Therefore, mapping staff needs for professional development in
leadership and management might be useful, and addressing these needs might be a
possible area for reflection.
QUALITY MATTERS IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION AND CARE: SWEDEN © OECD 2013