Anders Skriver Jensen

Critical Perspectives on Danish Early Childhood Education and Care: Between the Technical and the Political.

This paper discusses trends in contemporary Danish early childhood education and care (ECEC). Data are sourced from various policy documents, along with material from ongoing research projects in which the authors are involved. It is claimed that contemporary policy on Danish day care services has a tendency to emphasize narrow curriculum improvements and standardized testing. The democratic dimensions are still relatively strong, but at the moment these dimensions are interpreted within a skills‐and‐testing framework, which is leading to a situation where the political masquerades as the technical.

Calcite nucleation on the surface of PNIPAM–PAAc micelles studied by time resolved in situ PXRD

Biominerals such as CaCO3 have been studied extensively in an effort to replicate materials found in nature. But understanding and controlling the formation of CaCO3 has proved a challenge for example in regards to control over crystallite size. The formation of pure calcite has been studied to some degree and a myriad of materials were made utilizing organic additives to control morphology, polymorphism and crystallite size. In this work, these aspects were combined by applying PNIPAM-b-PAAc micelles as control agents for calcite crystallization. The crystallization mechanism in this system was studied by time resolved in situ PXRD. This revealed that crystalline nanoplatelets of calcite were formed on the surface of the polymer particles. Higher concentration of polymer leads to purely crystalline calcite nanoplatelets with complete inhibition of growth of larger crystallites.

Morphology-preserving transformation of minerals mediated by a temperature-responsive polymer membrane: calcite to hydroxyapatite

Assemblies of nanocrystals with complex morphologies have attracted great scientific interest, but controlling the formation of these self-assembled structures has proved to be difficult. Here, we present a novel transformation reaction for transforming single crystals of minerals into assemblies of nanocrystals of substances with lower solubility while preserving the gross overall morphology. This study focuses on the transformation of rhombohedral calcite crystals to assemblies of hydroxyapatite (HAP) nanocrystals using poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)-block-poly(acrylic-acid) (PNIPAM-b-PAAc) to control the transformation process. This yielded particle assemblies of HAP nanoparticles grossly preserving the original rhombohedral calcite morphology.

Early Literacy: Towards a Unified Approach for Childcare and School

This paper discusses findings from the Danish contribution to the EASE project, a European research project running from 2008 to 2010 on early literacy in relation to the transition from childcare to school. It explores a holistic inclusive approach to early literacy that resists a narrow accountability-oriented Danish policy (mirroring international trends). The paper draws on Broströms (2006a, 2006b, 2008, 2009) re-conceptualization of early childhood education and care (ECEC), which perceives care, upbringing and teaching as a unified whole, challenging both childcare services and schools. The paper also draws on Gees (2001, 2003, 2004, 2008) sociocultural approach to literacy, and Honneths (2003, 2006) concept of recognition. Emphasizing participation and recognition as key elements, it claims that stakeholders in early literacy must pay attention to how diverse early literacy opportunities empower children, especially when these opportunities are employed in a project-based learning environment in which each child is able to contribute to shared literacy events.

Democracy and Care: Values Education in Nordic Preschools

This chapter deals with caring and democratic values expressed in interactions between practitioners and children in Nordic preschool settings for children aged one to five.

Values in Danish Early Childhood Education and Care

Based on video observations, interviews and joint pedagogue/researcher analyses carried out in three Danish child cares, this chapter presents three common values: democracy, care and discipline, which were communicated, expressed and negotiated through interactions between pedagogues (In this paper, we use the term ‘pedagogues’ for professionals working in child cares.) and children. The study is part of a larger Nordic project (The research project, Values Education in Nordic Preschools: Basis of education for tomorrow, and Project No. 53381 were carried out together with Nordic research colleagues.) that aims to generate new knowledge on institutionalised fostering of values in Nordic child cares.