Assessment in the Early Years in Sweden: Implications for Gifted Children

• In Event: Truths and Traditions: Five Research Studies About How High-Quality Early Childhood Education and Care Is Supported in the Nordic Countries

Abstract

The objective of this presentation is to: firstly illustrate absence of discourse about assessment in Swedish ECEC curriculum content, secondly to evidence alternative discourses and approaches, and thirdly to argue assessment implications for young gifted children. Assessment is variously formative, summative, authentic, dialogic and undertaken by people such as teachers, children or by peers. Assessment can appear as be high-stakes grading, for early identification or for other diagnostic purposes, of learning, for learning, or as learning (Hattie, 2008). It happens in teachers’ everyday practice through observation, evaluation, and informal judgements.

One theoretical framework of relevance to discussion of assessment in the early years is social constructivism, which acknowledges that human development is socially situated, with ideas and understandings developed in social situations. Therefore, ECEC practices should always be framed in contexts relevant to children’s everyday social activities. Emancipation of ECEC as its own sector with its own traditions has resulted in a negative connotation of assessment with ‘schoolification’ and is a problematic term in Swedish ECEC. Nevertheless, assessment plays an important part in the everyday practices of teachers, most especially with supporting children’s learning. Although there is commitment to appropriate stimulation for all children, gifted as a term is not used in the curricula in Sweden.
This study involved a content analysis of Swedish early years’ curricula and additional teacher support materials. In phase one, the Swedish curricula for preschool and for the compulsory school were analysed. Alternative content discourses for ‘assess’ were sought, for example evaluate, observe, consider and reflect. Discourses about assessment within the documents were cross-examined, for example assessment-as-learning and assessment-of-learning. In phase two, specific tools made available to Swedish teachers were analysed such as early years child development surveys and language assessments. This analysis included possibilities and limitations for working with young gifted children, for example ceiling effects when mastery can be too-easily achieved.

Findings illustrate that ‘assessment’ as a term lacks explicit visibility in the Swedish curriculum. The 26-page Swedish early childhood curriculum (SNAE, 2018) does not mention the word ‘assess’ (bedöm) a single time. However, there is a curriculum commitment to supporting children’s learning, and knowing children well. A further finding is that accompanying resources made available to teachers may utilise a traditional assessment-of-learning focus. Finally, our attention to assessment for gifted children specifically, highlighted that current tools do not sufficiently help teachers to recognise these children’s high learning potential.

The significance of this work is not whether assessment should occur in the early years, but rather to acknowledge that this is already embedded in ECEC teachers’ everyday work, for example through observation. Therefore, the more important considerations are how these aspects of teacher work are acknowledged within curriculum, then extended with the support of diverse and ECEC context-relevant additional assessment tools to ensure that children’s learning and potential are supported. This is important for all children, but especially those with high learning potential as they already are invisible in the curriculum.

Authors

• Valerie Gail Margrain, Karlstad University
  Presenting Author

• Jorryt van Bommel, Karlstad University
  Non-Presenting Author