Barns inflytande i undervisning för hållbar konsumtion i en förskolegrupp

Sustainability education is mandatory in Swedish preschools, yet young children often experience sustainability issues as frightening, complex and beyond their influence. This study explores how preschool children can exercise agency and influence in teaching activities focused on sustainable consumption. Using video observations, teacher documentation, and children’s drawings, we analysed two teaching sessions involving six children (ages 3–5) and one preschool teacher. The analysis uses Practical Epistemological Analysis and Epistemological Moves (direction-givers) to examine how influence emerged during the process. Findings reveal a three-step progression - anticipation, exploration, and fulfilment - where children actively deliberated and proposed solutions for transporting fruit to their preschool in sustainable ways. Teacher moves, particularly generative, confirming, and instructional strategies, were central in enabling children’s participation and meaning making. The study highlights how pluralistic and dialogic approaches can foster agency and democratic engagement in early childhood education for sustainability.