This special issue includes 5 contributions of contemporary work based in the phenomenography and variation theory research tradition and also actualises theoretical and methodological discussions. This introduction consists of 3 main parts. First is a brief introduction to and framing for the contributions through pointing to some of the main…

This article suggests that educational psychology should pay more attention to the role of the curriculum when the optimal motivation to learn in school is considered. The curriculum frames the teaching-studying-learning process in school. This fact has several implications on the motivation to learn in school. After the child starts school, his…

From children's own perspective, play and learning are not always separate in practices during early years. The purpose of this article is, first, to scrutinise the background and character of early years education in terms of play and learning. Second, to elaborate the findings of several years of research about children's learning in preschool…

The aim of this article is to problematise and discuss collaboration between children as a means of learning and as an essential aspect of pedagogical quality in educational settings. In theories of learning, children's social interaction and collaboration are highlighted as fundamental to their learning. This implies that children's opportunities…

This article clarifies and systematizes different elements inherent in conceptualizations of adult education. Distinctions are made between an age aspect and a life-cycle aspect, and between the aspects of time, formality, organization, intentionality, and normality. (Author/LMO)

Using a four-year (1970-74) pedagogical developmental project (Brovst, Denmark), discusses crucial concepts/aspects of educational change (construction of knowledge, meaning of harvested experiences, relationship between aims and strategies). Discusses teaching strategies: negative stipulation (changing relation between children and reality)…