Amelie Elm

Preschool education is increasingly governed by systems of quality assurance, documentation and digital technologies. While previous research has demonstrated how documentation functions as a technology of governance, less attention has been paid to how software applications participate in shaping what becomes recognised as teaching and quality. This study examines how a quality assurance software application participates in the enactment of teaching and quality in Swedish preschool education. Drawing on policy enactment and performativity, the study conceptualises the software application as an active participant in policy processes rather than as a neutral documentation tool. A qualitative single-case study was conducted across three Swedish preschools. The empirical material consists of observations of 12 preschool activities and 72 pages of digital documentation generated through a quality assurance software application. By following activities across situated practice and digital documentation, the study examines how everyday preschool activities are translated into curriculum-aligned representations of teaching and quality. The findings demonstrate that the application does more than document preschool practice. Using categories, subcategories, visualisations and reporting structures, the software application participates by translating the activities into measurable representations of teaching and quality. In this context, the software is perceived as being better suited to documenting structured curriculum activities than relational teacher-child interactions. The application thereby contributes to shaping professional priorities and understandings of what counts as quality in preschool education.

This study explores practitioners’ beliefs and experiences of education, socialisation and care and their impact on the introduction of a software application for quality work in early childhood education. Based on field notes, audio recordings and follow-up semi-structured interviews in four Swedish preschools, it explores how teachers’ beliefs and experiences frame and are framed by the introduction of a software application by an EdTech company. The findings show that preschool teachers perceived the software as disruptive to their established beliefs and practices, despite efforts to align it with the preschool curriculum’s goals. It also highlights the challenges that practitioners faced in understanding and implementing the software, the importance of peer discussions and time for reflection. The study’s conclusions emphasise the importance of a thorough introduction, peer support and opportunities for reflection when introducing software in preschool settings. It also stresses the need to align software implementation with practitioners’ beliefs and experiences to facilitate a successful adoption. In addition, the study highlights the role of ongoing professional development in managing technological change in early childhood education.