Frida Åström

Lecturer
Department of Social work , School of Health and Welfare
Presentation Publications

Research

Frida has a PhD in disability research from the the School of Education and Communication, Jönköping University.

Frida's thesis work "Everyday life in preschool - Swedish and international approaches" contributes with a snapshot view of preschool everyday life from various perspectives. It also contributes a new observational method to study children's and preschool staff's everyday environments and activities in preschools in Sweden, Portugal and the US, as well as children's participation in the Swedish preschool free play.

Frida is also involved in the overarching research project PEPI (Participation and Engagement in Preschool International) which focuses on participation in preschool for children with and without need for special support in an international perspective. The aim is to study the relation between the preschool environment and children’s participation in preschool here and now, and over time, and to see if the relation differs between children in need of special support and typically functioning children. A popular science report in Swedish aimed at preschool staff has been written and it is based on Frida's thesis and some additional analyses from PEPI: En Dag i Förskolan

In addition, Frida and colleagues have created a reflection material in PowerPoint based on the report "En dag i Förskolan". It is in Swedish and is intended to be used as a competence development tool in the work team at preschools. You download the reflection material by clicking this link: Reflektionsmaterial

After her doctoral dissertation, Frida has performed research in, and coordinated, the Nordic research project EXPECT, which investigates the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic's restrictions on Nordic preschools.

Biography

Frida has a one-year master’s degree in Psychology from Örebro University, and has in her previous studies focused on preventive interventions, and more specifically, the effect of different parental programs to reduce behavior problems among children and youth.

Research environment

Frida belongs to the research environment CHILD.

Article

Ritoša, A., Åström, F., Björck, E., Borglund, L., Karlsson, E., McHugh, E., Nylander, E. (2023). Measuring Children's Engagement in Early Childhood Education and Care Settings: A Scoping Literature Review. More information
Åström, F., Björck-Åkesson, E., Sjöman, M., Granlund, M. (2022). Everyday environments and activities of children and teachers in Swedish preschools Early Child Development and Care, 192(2), 187-202. More information
Åström, F., Almqvist, L. (2022). Patterns of Observed Child Participation and Proximity to a Small Group including Teachers in Swedish Preschool Free Play Frontiers in Education, 7. More information
Coelho, V. Åström, F. Nesbitt, K. Sjöman, M. Farran, D. Björck-Åkesson, E. , ... Pinto A. (2021). Preschool practices in Sweden, Portugal, and the United States Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 55, 79-96. More information
Åström, F., Khetani, M., Axelsson, A. (2018). Young Children's Participation and Environment Measure: Swedish Cultural Adaptation Physical & Occupational Therapy in Pediatrics, 38(3), 329-342. More information

Doctoral thesis

Åström, F. (2023). Everyday life in preschool – Swedish and international approaches (Doctoral thesis, Jönköping: Jönköping University, School of Education and Communication). More information

Book chapter

Åström, F., Ritoša, A. (2025). Främja engagemang hos förskolebarn. In: Mara Westling Alloda & Heidi Selenius (Ed.), Specialpedagogisk forskning och tidiga insatser (pp. 203 -218). Stockholm: Stockholm University Press More information

Conference paper

Åström, F. (2019). Characteristics of Swedish Inclusive Preschools Where Children with Special Support Needs Are Highly Engaged. International Society on Early Intervention Conference, Sydney, Australia, June 25-28, 2019. More information

Other publications

Ritoša, A., Mc Hugh, E., Nylander, E., Åström, F., Karlsson, E. (2021). Assessing young children’s engagement in preschool - a scoping review protocol [protocol]. More information

Dataset

Åström, F. (2022). Mönster i barns observerade delaktighet och närhet till liten grupp med lärare i den svenska förskolans fria lek. Göteborg: Svensk nationell datatjänst More information
Åström, F., Sjöman, M. (2020). Vardagsmiljöer och aktiviteter hos barn och personal i svenska förskolor. Göteborg: Svensk nationell datatjänst More information