The digital age demands new cognitive linguistic competencies including children’s narrative skills (Cappello & Siini2024). It also evokes questions of equity and inclusion involving children’s agentic creation of and participation ineducational commons (Cappello et al. 2024). Our government-funded research-project develops a mixed-methodsmethodology that joins the two fields and includes pedagogical classroom-factors for studying how aesthetic literacyevents (ALEs) affect children’s narratives and commons. There is currently no consistent body of research that joinsthe two fields (Olsson et al. 2023). Both fields call for classroom-level studies and quantitative methods (Dillon et al.2017; Nilholm 2021). Research on children’s narratives and commons is expanding, requiring further research on theaesthetic dimension of these (Pesco & Gagné 2017; Cappello et al. 2024). We draw on philosophical-aesthetical andcultural-cognitive theories (Bergson 1896/1988; Bruner 1991; Nelson 1996) to conceptualize how narratives,commons and pedagogical classroom-factors are mutually constituted in ALEs. Within a mixed-methods paradigm(Corr et al. 2020) we develop and field-test methodology - including ethnographic methods and standardized measures for narrative skills, commons-creation skills and pedagogical classroom-factors - in a purposively sampledgroup of 54 children aged 2-6. Formal ethical approval, informed consent from caregivers and educators, and negotiated consent from children were secured. Anonymization and secure data storage procedures were applied.We present results of reliability-tests, methodological reflections and data from a first round of field-testing a mixed-methods approach for studying how ALEs affect children’s narratives and commons. Researchers, practitioners andpolicymakers may use results to study and implement ALEs that stimulate children’s narratives and commons.aesthetic literacy events, methodology-development, mixed-methods, narrative, commons. 

Research topic/aim: This study investigates how Nordic preschool teachers understand and use drama pedagogy to interpret the relationship between play and social sustainability in early childhood education and care (ECEC). It builds on collaborative reflections from Icelandic and Swedish educators implementing Playworlds (Lindqvist, 1995)—a narrative-based pedagogy where adults and children co-create imaginative worlds. The aim is to explore how educators’ engagement in role-taking and dramatic play influences their professional identity and their pedagogical reasoning about participation, belonging, and community.

Theoretical framework: The study is grounded in cultural–historical theory (Cole, 1996; Engeström, 1987) and Nordic play pedagogy traditions (Einarsdóttir & Wagner, 2006). Drama pedagogy (Bolton, 2008; Hallgren, 2018, 2022) is used as an interpretive lens, focusing on how aesthetic, emotional, and relational dimensions of play enhance children’s and teachers’ agency. The concept of expectagency (Hallgren, 2022) highlights the shared capacity to act with hope and imagination in uncertain contexts, linking play pedagogy to education for social sustainability (Johansson, 2019; Weckström et al., 2020).

Methodology/research design: The project employed a design-based research (DBR) approach (Anderson & Shattuck, 2012) within an Erasmus+ exchange between Icelandic and Swedish preschools. Data includes teachers’ reflective writing, visual documentation, and collaborative presentations. Thematic analyses were used to trace how educators integrated drama concepts, such as role, tension, and improvisation, into their reflections on play and pedagogy. Ethical approval and informed consent were obtained under the EECERA Ethical Code.

Expected results/findings: Findings reveal a developmental trajectory in educators’ confidence and participation in drama-based play. Teachers initially approached role-taking cautiously but grew into active co-creators, discovering new ways to build inclusion, empathy, and relational trust. Drama tools like shared narratives, props, and teacher-in-role were central to these transformations. The results highlight that engaging in imaginative play not only strengthens children’s social learning but also deepens teachers’ reflective and relational professionalism.

Relevance to Nordic educational research: The study advances Nordic ECEC research by linking long-standing values of democracy and participation with sustainability education. It contributes to discussions on how professional learning through play-based and drama-informed pedagogies can renew early childhood practice toward inclusive and socially sustainable communities.

At the intersection of education and policy, one of the most persistent problems is that of addressing inequalities through inclusive education. In line with efforts to address this problem, we present findings from a European Union Horizon 2020 research and innovation project called Educational Common Spaces: Passing through enclosures and reversing inequalities. The project brought together a consortium of twelve universities from eight European countries to study the question of inequality and inclusion in a variety of educational settings across the continent. In the present article we report on findings we contributed to one of the project's constituent studies: an analysis of Swedish policy and steering documents focused on inequality and inclusion in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC). We draw on and extend recent policy analyses of inclusive education in Sweden to engage in an examination of how ideas about inequality and inclusion are actualized across levels (national and municipal) and time scales (established and ongoing discourses) in the context of the early years. Our analysis of Swedish ECEC policy documents reveals a dominant logic in which inequalities are addressed through an inclusive education that is compensatory in nature, , positioning the child as a re-producerre-producer of culture, knowledge, and values, now particularly those associated with the acquisition of Swedish language. In relation to previous policy analyses, what comes forward as a new phenomenon here is the third point - the focus on early acquisition of the national language. This represents an important shift in policies and in the concluding discussion of this article we draw up some possible critical and creative ways of addressing this shift.

Pedagogue and philosopher John Dewey defined democracy as more than a societal system where citizens make choices and express their opinion (Dewey 1916). He defined democracy in terms of an ongoing co-construction of a communicative culture, “a way of life”, in education and society (Dewey 1939). In an important reading of Dewey's work, James Carey (1989) draws out the shared root of the words common, community, and communication: persons live in community by virtue of what they hold in common, and communication is the process by which they come to hold things in common. The task of early childhood education and care (ECEC) is thus to create a way of life that accommodates the ongoing, communicative co-construction of common culture, knowledge, and values across generations. To promote such a way of life in ECEC today is challenging. Across large parts of the world, ECEC is since long subject to a forceful commodification that erodes democracy, equity and inclusion in education (Roberts-Holmes & Moss 2021; Vandenbroeck, Lehrer & Mitchell 2024). In Sweden, these values are now framed as problems to be solved through children's early acquisition of the national language – a logic that reduces communication to transmission, education to instrumental teaching of cognitive linguistic skills, and that, remarkably, lacks scientific grounding and risks undermining the very democratic, equitable and inclusive practices it claims to promote (Lecusay, Olsson & Nilsson, in press; Olsson, Lecusay & Dalsgaard 2023). To counter this, we draw on an on-going government-funded project designed to study how children’s narratives and commons may be stimulated in what we call Aesthetic Literacy Events (ALEs) – playful explorations of language that activate both body and mind and that carry the potential of enhancing both children’s cognitive language-development and more equitable and inclusive education (Olsson, Lecusay & Dalsgaard 2023). We focus on one of the project’s constituent studies concerning the development and field-testing of a philosophical-pedagogical theory of ALEs. This includes educational commons theory (Pechtelidis & Kioupkiolis 2020; Cappello et al. 2024; Olsson, Lecusay & Nilsson 2024), philosophical perspectives on language and social formation (Bergson 1896/1988; Deleuze & Guattari 2004) as well as cultural-psychological theories of children’s narratives (Bruner 1991, Nelson 1996). These theoretical perspectives, we argue, make it possible to understand even the youngest children – toddlers’ – development of narratives and creation of commons as intertwined and co-emergent processes that may be stimulated in ALEs. We make this case through ex‐amples from fieldwork in Swedish preschools where we engaged with toddlers’ everyday activities as a way of field-testing and refining our developing theoretical framework. Through vignettes of a group clay activity and a moment of playful, humorous interaction, we show how toddlers’ narrative activity and creation of commons constitute moments in which culture, knowledge, and values are communicated and co-constructed. This takes place in preschools that through including elements of ALEs in their daily activities have managed to create a way of life that may constitute a space of togetherness in which democracy is not taught but lived.

This paper presents results from a Swedish case study conducted as partof a HORIZON 2020 project (2021-2024), investigating the potential of ed-ucational commons to foster more equal and inclusive education. Thestudy identifies three key factors for achieving this potential: (1) the imageof children and teachers, (2) the educational task, and (3) the methodsand theories used in educational practice. Through a critical analysis ofpolicy documents and neoliberal governance in education, the paper ex-amines how these factors were activated within a Playworld/InteractivePerformance involving children, teachers, artists, and researchers explor-ing a shared question of human beings’ place in nature and culture. Theanalysis and performance are framed by the theories of Carol Bacchi,Michel Foucault, Henri Bergson, and Cultural-Historical Activity Theory(CHAT). This collaborative, socio-dramatic approach positions childrenand teachers as contributing commoners engaged in meaning-makingprocesses. The findings challenge current educational policies, whichemphasize a deficit-oriented, compensatory logic. In contrast, the Play-world approach demonstrated that the potential for educational com-mons to promote inclusion lies in practices that foster imagination, play,and narrative co-construction, supported by aesthetic and sensory expe-riences. These methods allow both children and teachers to actively con-tribute to the creation of new commons.words.

The aim of this research is to explore if and how role and imaginary play in ECEC settings can contribute to fostering education for social sustainability. The research draws on documentation from ECEC educators engaged in Lindqvist’s (1995) play pedagogy during an Erasmus exchange between Icelandic and Swedish preschools. Rooted in Vygotsky’s theories of play, aesthetics, and cultural development, this research builds on Lindqvist’s (1995) early childhood play pedagogy with emphasizes on the role of socio-dramatic play between adults and children in the creation of collaborative idiocultures of play (Fine, 2012; Lecusay and Nilsson, 2024). The study draws on an interpretivist, qualitative methodology (Creswell, 2013). Narrative analyses together with concepts from drama pedagogy (Hallgren, 2018; 2022) are applied to characterize educators' reflections and perspectives on the relationship between children's play and social sustainability (Lindqvist, 1998; Nilsson and Lecusay, 2024). Informed consent was obtained from the participating educators. Preliminary findings indicate that educators perceive character and fantasy play in ECEC settings as contributing to social sustainability. Their reflections highlight how imaginative environments and active educator facilitation shape their understanding of the relationship between play and social learning, as well as their role in fostering relational trust—key components in developing sustainable educational practices. These findings suggest that national ECEC policies should emphasize the value of adult–child fantasy play as part of sustainability education. Practice can be supported through professional development and leadership initiatives that help educators integrate collaborative storytelling and drama into everyday pedagogy to foster inclusion and social learning.

Sedan den nuvarande läroplanen (Skolverket, 2019) infördes har stort fokus legat på hur begreppet undervisning i förskolan ska tolkas och praktiseras. I detta kapitel undersöks och problematiseras lek, och då speciellt fantasilek i förskolan. Detta görs mot bakgrund av skrivningarna i läroplanen om lek, och kraven på utbildning och undervisning. Utgångspunkten är begreppen lek och lekvärld, vilka relateras till vad vi här kallar ett lyssnande, utforskande och projekterande arbetssätt. Detta arbetssätt har inspirerats av Reggio Emilia-förskolor i Italien. Vi önskar bidra till diskussionen om hur undervisning och utbildning i relation till lek kan gestaltas i förskolan. Vi hoppas att texten ska stimulera till barns och pedagogers lek och bildningsprocesser i förskolan. 

This chapter accounts for a Swedish case-study on the potential of educational commons to promote more equal and inclusive education in the early years. Several conditions decisive for this potential to be activated are identified and analysed: (1) the relation between research and practice, (2) the image of the child, (3) the role of teachers, (4) the definition of the educational task, and (5) the educational methods used. These conditions are described further in terms of how they were activated within a Playworld/Interactive performance based a common research question, shared by preschool children and adults, on human beings’ place in nature and culture. The chapter concludes that educational commons may function as a catalyst in promoting more equal and inclusive education if,

- The image of children and teachers is embedded within a shared, intergenerational search for meaning where both children and teachers are conceived as contributing commoners,

- Education defines its task not only as compensatory but also as complementary and as a place for children’s search for meaning, where imagination, play and the creative co-construction of narratives must be allowed to co-exist with more conventional and “rational” modes of learning and teaching

- Methods and theoretical tools in educational practice and research carry an aesthetic variety that incorporates both sensous-perceptive experiences and an enhancement of individual and collective memories as well as opportunities for children and adults to formulate and gather around a common object of knowledge and interest.

The purpose of this paper is to share and discuss some results from a Swedish case-study, performed within a larger HORIZON 2020 project (2021-2024), and concerning the conditions and potential of educational commons (Pechtelidis & Kioupkiolis 2020) to promote more equal and inclusive education. Several conditions decisive for this potential to be activated are identified and analysed: 1) the image of children and teachers, 2) the definition of the educational task, and 3) methods and theories used in educational practice and research. These conditions are discussed in a critical analysis of policy-documents and neoliberal modes of governance in education as well as in terms of how they were creatively activated within a Playworld/Interactive performance where children, preschool teachers, headteachers, artists and researchers explored a common research question on human beings’ place in nature and culture. The critical policy-analysis is theoretically framed by historian of ideas Michel Foucault (1975/1991) and philoso- pher Henri Bergson (1934/2007) in an investigation of philosophical and scientific foundations of definitions of equality and inclusion as well as subsequent subject-positions attributed to children and teachers as commoners, or not. The creative activation of the Playworld/Interactive performance is theorized as a commoning practice with support from Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (Cole & Engeström 2006). Finally, the plant neurobiologist Stefano Mancuso’s work on human beings’ place in nature and culture is invoked to theorise the new common goods cre- ated by children and adults in the Playworld/Interactive performance. Playworlds are a methodological approach originally developed by educational scholar Gunilla Lindqvist (1995) that focus on arrangements that motivate adult-child joint development and engagement in socio-dramatic play. In the case study it was integrated in the joint creation of a shared imaginary world loosely based on children’s interests in plants and robots, and it was further supported by the methodological approach that participant artists’ work with through staging extra-verbal, aesthetic and performative materials and processes to promote more equal and inclusive practices (Kollaborativet 2022). Our results show that current policies and governance of education are driven by a three-folded reproductive, com- pensatory and linguistic logic. This logic gives a deficit image of children and teachers, reduces the educational task to simple transmission of knowledge and omits multimodal ways of existing and communicating in educational practices. These conditions are assessed as inefficient and even counterproductive in the promotion of equal and inclusive education. In contrast, our results from the Playworld/Interactive performance show that the potential of educational commons to promote equal and inclusive education can be activated if, the image of children and teachers is embedded within an intergenerational search for meaning where both chil- dren and teachers are conceived as contributing commoners, the educational task is defined as complementary and as the creation of commoning practices that include imag- ination, play and the creative co-construction of narratives, methods and theoretical tools carry an aesthetic variety that promotes both sensory-perceptual experiences and individual and collective memories as well as children and adults’ formulation of a common object of knowledge in the creation of new commons. 

This chapter considers questions concerning how pedagogues in Swedish preschool settings conceive of and act with respect to play in early childhood. It surveys part of the history and research on the role of preschool pedagogues in children’s play, situating this history in relation to recent Swedish policy and research debates about if and how adults should understand and be involved in play in preschool. As an illustrative case, the survey is grounded in a discussion of the practice and research on playworlds, an early childhood play pedagogy developed by Swedish preschool education researcher Gunilla Lindqvist. The chapter concludes by discussing preliminary observations from an ongoing case-based research project characterizing the perspectives and practices of preschool pedagogues in Sweden as they voluntarily integrate the playworld approach into their everyday preschool activities. The data reveal the complexities and contradictions that Swedish pedagogues are negotiating as they define and work with the concepts of play, teaching, education, and bildung.